hey all. yet another problem with this friggin car. lauren drove it all day, turned it off and removed the key atleast 6 times today. every time it started fine... untill i hopped in to go fill it up. the car hates me. the damned key will not turn. its like ive got the wrong key in it. i tried her key, my key and the spare. no workey!

i have had the most boring weekend in history, and this happens on sunday night. i have work tomorrow, and so does she. i tore apart the dash on this 8*F night, long after i was supposed to be in bed (3 hours ago at this point) and i cant figure out how to remove the cylinder from the housing. and i cant just remove the whole thing, because its a damned floor shift with the cable. any help is much appreciated. looks like ill have to call off tomorrow and figure out what the hell to do so she can get to work in my car.

there goes my "never called off" streak!

thanks alot guys. sorry for the rant. just shitty how stuff works out sometimes.

If your not able to turn the ignition key cylinder to run, the whole cylinder and switch assembly will need to be replaced. The locking mechanism wont allow the cylinder to come out unless its in the run position. Take the key out and tap on the key cylinder to free up the tumblers inside then put the key in and work the key back and forth, this some times works. If not you will need to buy the switch and cylinder and recode the cylinder to your key.

Jason sorry to hear about that lock cylinder problemo.
Did u try spraying a tiny bit of Wd-40 into the cylinder at all?
Did u try to turn key while jiggling the wheel?
Is the steering wheel locked right now?

Just so we don't overlook the obvious, if the steering wheel is tight against the locks it could make the key difficult to turn.

Also cross my mind maybe trans select lever not sitting right on the safety switch.

wd40 or that graphite spray, shoot it in and work the key in and out

Tried all of the above. Its a dash ignition. No wheel lock. And i tried pushing on the cable that goes to the shifter from the ign to no avail. She said she caught it at neutral and had to hit the button to get it into park. Wonder if that'* got something to do with it. Is there no pin I can drill like on the column shifts?

i dont know about any drill, but the same deal happened and to my moms old imp, and that spray for ign stuff worked. you have to get the pins to release

bought some of that on the way home from work. no luck. looks like ill be pulling the whole assembly and spending $250 on a new switch and lock. hope lauren likes eating ramen for dinner!

i dont know why this hasnt been recalled. ive found tons of threads on the net of the exact same problem.

If you take that cylinder out any good car locksmith should be able to repair it!
Make some calls Jason...u might find out they already know whats up by previous jobs.
Ps: they might even come to the car and get er done 4 ya...