My xA was working fine, then for no perceptable reason, my keys stopped working in the ignition switch. All keys still work in all of the other locks. I moved the steering wheel to various positions while trying to turn the key. I sprayed teflon lubricant on the keys and into the lock, and I wiggled and pushed on the key in every direction. The key won't turn the lock at all.

My car is stranded.


-Pete :cry:

That happened in my friends nissan recently, and what her dealership told her to do was push really hard on the brake while turning the key, and that worked! Kind of a lame fix though. It was a fairly new maxima. Don't know if thatll even help at all. good luck though!

My car is stranded.


I'm no guru, but maybe a fuse is dead. Call your dealer! and no, not your street pharmacist!

this hapopen to my civic once my friend fixed it some how but thing is i dont remember exactly what he did. im not sure if he disconnected the batt then reconnected and tried it. im not 100% since it was about a year and a half ago so yeah

The problem is not electrical.

The problem is that the key won't turn at all. No one has touched the switch except me. It was fine, then I put the key in, and it felt a little tight, and it won't work at all.

-Pete :(

same thing happen to me the key wouldnt turn and thatds what i think he did but if you think its not electrical and yhou dont know best bet is to call if you havent already hope you get that fixed let us know what it is incase it happens to any of us

So...I had to go to the store, so I went to my car... put the key in the keyhole, and turned.. it wouldn't turn! I was like "No ____ing way..." I was panicking! I put it in, took it out, wiggled it, etc! It wouldn't turn. I then turned the wheel ever so slightly and I heard a click. Then I tried turning the key again, and it worked... Try that out!

Might sound like a silly question but is the car in "Park"?

Might sound like a silly question but is the car in "Park"?

I have a manual transmission... there is no "Park" =P

Might be your steering wheel was locked?

It really sounds like the steering locked.
Is the steering wheel turned in a direction?
I would insert the key and the then turn the wheel as hard as I could in the direction that the wheel is turned an jiggle the key.
This should work.

dood , can you have any worse luck? WTF?

What did you end up doing with your roof and the tree?

Might be your steering wheel was locked?
In the first post I mentioned that I turned the sterring wheel to various positions. I know what you guys are saying, but I was all over that.

Today I figured, if I need the ignition replaced, I can't make it any worse, so I went at it hard when I got home from school. I realized the key wouldn't go all the way into the slot, it was sticking out about 1/4 inch further than usual. I hit it a bunch of times last night and it wouldn't go in further, so today I used a hammer. It went in after about 5 hits, and wouldn't come out, and wouldn't turn. After about 5 minutes of wiggling and prying, it turned. Now everything is working normally again.

I just wonder how long it will be before this happens again. I'll try to get the lock changed when I get a chance, but will a dealer change it for me, if it's working now?

-Pete

Hmmm. I wonder if maybe you should try your spare key to see if that still works, too.

Maybe the key was f 'd up all along... :cry:

make sure you drive around with that hammer :D

If it was under warrenty, i would have called the dealer and told him to come get it. I wouldnt let the dealer know you abused it by using a hammer and such, but i would take it to him and let the techs take a look.

Hmmm. I wonder if maybe you should try your spare key to see if that still works, too.

Maybe the key was f 'd up all along... :cry:

make sure you drive around with that hammer :D
All of the keys worked the same. They all worked in every lock except the ignition.

You're right about the hammer!

-Pete :)

:shock:

That is going to be one huge keychain! :D

If it was under warrenty, i would have called the dealer and told him to come get it. I wouldnt let the dealer know you abused it by using a hammer and such, but i would take it to him and let the techs take a look.
The techs will only replace the ignition. I'm going to take it in, though, because I think the dealer has to order a new ignition using the code from my car. That way all of the keys will match.

I just hope the switch will work until I can get a new ignition.

-Pete

dood , can you have any worse luck? WTF?

What did you end up doing with your roof and the tree?
Yeah, it could get worse. I hope it doesn't, though.

No progress with the smashed roof. :cry:

I'll try to get a letter off to my insurance company, and Congressman Waxman, this weekend. Maybe he can help me with the city's responsibility.

-Pete http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/images/smilies/hello.gif

Spoke with my cousin pete adn he confirmed what i thought about going to the city with this. It may take some time but if you push hard enough, they shoudl cover it for you.

The dealer shoudl also not give you any hassles regarding you ignition even if you abused it. Toyots is usually pretty good about their customer service. I would expect it to continue with the Scion.

If it was under warrenty, i would have called the dealer and told him to come get it. I wouldnt let the dealer know you abused it by using a hammer and such, but i would take it to him and let the techs take a look.
The techs will only replace the ignition. I'm going to take it in, though, because I think the dealer has to order a new ignition using the code from my car. That way all of the keys will match.

I just hope the switch will work until I can get a new ignition.

-Pete

Dam, that means your gonna have to pay to have it towed in and then wait for god knows how long to get the car fixed. keep us updated. :D

Sounds like a tumbler in the ignition was mislodged.
Fords have a huge problem with their ignitions.
You must be careful and never force a key into the ignition if it wont
easily go in.
You were very lucky for it to have worked after using the force you did!
Toyota's usually have good ignitions.