Hyundai Sonata Won’t Start In Drive, Locks Up

I blew my (mental) gasket today in a tense situation in peak hour traffic when I stopped my car (intentionally) but couldn’t get it to start again.

When you turn the engine off while in Drive (D) you can’t actually turn the keys all the way to the “lock” position to remove them. In this situation:

• the transmission is in D (drive) and can only be moved into N (neutral)
• you cannot move the transmission into P (park) even with the foot brake applied
• the keys cannot be removed from the ignition
• the keys can be twisted into the “start” position but the car won’t start while the transmission is in D (drive)
• the car will only start again with the transmission in N (neutral)

It is only when the car is running, and the foot is on the brake, that you can put the car in P (park) and switch the car completely off removing the keys.

Believe me, this is so frustrating.

I don’t know if my car has a fault, or if Hyundai want to just put unsuspecting drivers in impossible situations in heavy traffic.