88 Camry Auto Shifer - Sloppy no neutral switch?

[mcamphr2]

Discovered recently after I bought this 88 Camry (now at 280K) that I could turn off the car while still in Drive. Could also start in drive and and all the other stops on the shifter. After swapping out a cruise control unit because it didn't work but the lights came on - I realized that these might be related - any thoughts on that theory? and can this be fixed with the shifter - should I look for a new one or a used one from a junk yard?

Oh - I was able to pull the key from the ignition switch while the car was still running and it kept running? spooky, as that was totally inadvertent.

Thanks,

Martin
Oregon

[white90dx]

You should be able to turn the engine off in any gear selector position, but you should not be able to turn the key all the way to the "lock" position (with the button just above the key). It shouldn't start in any gear posiion other than P and N.

There are no relays between the ignition switch and the starter solenoid, so the only thing that could be not working is the neutral start switch.

As for the key coming out, that is a common problem. I was able to get new keys cut at the dealer (they have to be done from the VIN, not copies of your old worn keys) to fix the problem on my Camry. The lock cylinder may also be worn enough that this might not fix the problem in which case you would have to get a new lock cylinder.

-Charlie

PS. Having driven manual trans cars pretty much all of my life, pulling the key out has stumped me on a few occasions (the shifter must be in N or P to remove the key when everything is working). Later I noticed the car was in D...

[mcamphr2]

I took out the neutral switch and cleaned and regreased the contacts - put it back together and the car no longer starts in each of the stops only in park and neutral (as it is supposed to) and the cruise control now works- yea!

Thanks all