It's a feature. If your door locks are iced up in the winter, drive around for a while and then stick your key in the door. After the ice melts, you can get in and start the engine so you can drive around for a while to warm up the key and...It's normal for the ignition key to be hot, though I don't know the cause. :|
I noticed that everyone asking about this phenomenon seem to be driving '03-04 models. The key in my '08 doesn't get warm.The key is warm after driving the Element because of the anti-theft system
which recognizes the key. There is a chip in the key and an exciter/receiver
around the lock. The electrical components around the lock create heat
as they operate and some of this heat makes the key warm.