Nissan Repair: 1995 Maxima gear shift lever and ignition key lock., shift lever, gear shift

Question
Hi Von, this sounds like a two-fold question ..but I think are actually related. On my 1995 Maxima I sometimes have difficulty in shifting out of Park. more noticeable in colder weather. Also ignition key is difficulty to turn. I can sometimes mess with steering wheel and it will release. I just picked up my car from having a new starter installed (it had "Stick" and would not diatsenagage)..anyway when I picked up the car I noticed I didn't need to press the gearshift release button to shift gears!  Thought that was very odd.  When I drove home and "parked" I could not remove my key from igition! I tried messing around with shift lever but still cannot remove key.  The mechanic that did repairs mentioned ordering and "inhibitor relay" for the car. But NEVER mentioned anything to me about this issue with the gear shift and key removal problems.  HELP.  I don't know is this is all connected. Or if someone got a little to "rough" with it and broke something.

Answer
Becky,

This is a common problem with the shift interlock sticking.  The inhibitor relay is a different thing in that it prevents the car from starting in gear.  I would have the ignition and shifter lubricated to enable the ignition to release so it can be removed.