Wont go in to gear until you push botton on side of shifter

key wont come out or turn to off until gear selector is in park [ recognize that its in park ] your selector or transmission selector cable is damaged

Remove the center console viewing from the passenger side just under the shifter you will see the gear shift silenoid push in the button and now you can remove your key and shift into another gear

sounds like my problem. its just tthat plastic button that comes out so you have to find where it fell and put back in again. can replace the whole handle.

Same thing happened to me today(but while in drive!). had to crawl UNDER vehicle, driver side, behind the transmission where it narrows down, and the shifting rod (connected to your shifter in vehicle) came disconnected from what i assume was a gear knob on transmission. its basically a screw and nut holding the two together. ill temporarily replace it tomorrow until i can order correct screw and nut. hope this is same situation and helps. easy fix.

ps if you push the gear -knob all the way forwards under vehicle, that is in the Park gear.

does the gear shifter move? if the gear shifter moves and it wont shift then you have broken linkage, if it wont move you may have ignition linkage problems or the button may not be pushing in all the way, also the brake pedal is tied in too

If you press the Break pedal and the shift button does not engage, Your Solenoid did not activate to release it out of park. either the: solenoid is out - Bent levers - Solenoid harness disconnected - Break activation wire may be damaged. this piece is easy to replace as it sits on the right side (passanger side) of the shift lever. remove center console cover to access the soleniod which is held on by two 10mm nuts. and a C- clamp

Option A

1. remove driver side seat
2. insert the key and turn to midway between "lock" and "accessories" position,
3. push stiff wire tool such as metal coat hanger, into the hole in the side of the gear housing at the ignition lock, to push in the spring loaded pin in the housing
   
4. while pushing on the pin, pull out on the key to remove the cylinder
5. to re-assemble, reverse the procedure; check that the tooth segment driver pins in the gear lever housing are in the correct position to receive the new cylinder
6. push in the spring again, and insert the cylinder until it clicks
   

Option B

1. Cut down a spare key so that it's about 1.5 inch long measured from the tip, and has no lobes.
2. unscrew the console: two screws under the shifter boot, two screws in the rear base visible after removing the ashtray.
3. insert the key in the ignition, turn to "run", put shifter in neutral.
4. lift console up on shifter lever, if necessary you can undo the three Torx T25 bolts holding shifter into base and lift it out, to completely remove the console.
5. undo the gear lever housing nuts, needs a special Saab tool but you can make one yourself, it just has three tabs equidistantly spaced - here's a pic, from saabcentral forums
6. remove the lever housing, place in a vice, and follow Option A above.
   

Is it a push botton switch on the dashboard or manual shifter.If it's a push botton switch,replace switch and if it's a manual shifter, replace transfer case solenoid.

See if your brake lights are working you may have a blown stop fuse.
you can remove the small acsess panel by the shifter and put a somthing in the hole to manually release the shifter.

Take the gear shifter apart an lube it . key graphite .