Hey folks,

I purchased a used 2014 captiva back from a local dealership back in 2016. This vehicle ran fine up until late 2021, when the key started getting stuck in the ignition due to a faulty shifter. The only way to remove the key was to unhook and reattach the battery from the terminal. The shifter was replaced, but I started having key lock issues again about 3 months ago.

What's scary is that the wheel will sometimes completely lockup when reversing or driving at slow speeds. The car will start normally, but as I go to back out, or drive forward, the wheel completely locks up, and I lose my ability to hit the acceleration. The car is completely powered when this happens. Electricity is running, radio is on, heating, etc. It's as if the key was in the OFF position, and the car was in park. I've only had this happen in a parking lot so far, but I'm not sure I want to get on the high way and the wheel lockup on me. The only way to return to normal is to turn the car off, then back on (haven't had a key lock on me when this has happened).

I took the car to get serviced at a local firestone, and they're saying they couldn't replicate the issue. There were some faulty VVT solenoids and the evap purge canister needed to be replaced, but I dont think those would be directly related to the locking issue. I then took the car over to the dealership, and they were unable to find an issue with the steering. They did say the battery had low voltage, but when I took it to autozone to replace it, they said it was returning normal readings. I'm honestly stumped at what I could do at this point. Has anyone ever experienced this before? What should I try next?

To summarize:

• Key was getting locked in the ignition late 2021. Shifter was diagnosed as the issue and replaced. Key lock was fixed for about a year, but has returned.
• Wheel now locks while the car is reversing or driving at low speeds. Wheel locks, acceleration is completely gone, but the engine and electrical run normal. The only way to return to normal is by turning the car off, then back on again.
  • Issue was taken to firestone, but they were unable to diagnose the issue. They did however find an issue with the evap canister and VVT solenoids. p0010 and p0455 are the CEL codes.
  • I took the car to a local chevy dealership, and they were also unable to find an issue with the steering, however their diagnostic report stated that the batter had low voltage and needed to be replaced.
  • Took battery to autozone, and they stated that it was at normal level. They would not let me swap out for a new one since it read good.

Let me know if you need more information.

 

I had the same problem about a year ago. The problem is bad grounding and the solution is easy and FREE. Simply run a grounding strap from your negative battery post to your engine and to the body. For the body, I removed a shock bolt, scraped the paint for good connection and attached the strap there. Never another problem.

 

Hey there- I just had the exact same situation happen to me today. Start the car up, check engine light is on (weird), reverse the car (hear strange noise), put the car in drive and the brakes lock up and the wheel locks up as if the car was forcing me to put it into park. Turn the car off, brakes and wheel are no longer locked, travel about five feet and the same thing happens again. Three years ago I had the same exact key stuck in ignition issue and was finally able to fix it after having a mechanic look into it. Now I don't know what's going on. My car is currently stuck in the Jewel parking lot and before I call a mechanic I was wondering if you ever found a solution ?