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Oh my god, I am so glad I found this site!!!  My car has been sitting for a month while I try to save enough money ($350 quoted from the dealer) to pay for a new ignition lock cylinder.  I went home and used the rubber mallet trick and sure enough... it worked!  I called the dealer and he told me that this is a common problem vehicles that were made within the last 9 years.  He said it is actually caused by too much weight on your keychain!  It wears on the tumblers inside the cylinder.  He also told me that the mallet won't work forever.  I did find a site that sells the Ignition locks for a good price and they come with new keys.  I am going to order one for my neon and have someone install it for me.  The site is www.carlockandkeys.com  

HEY CHRIS I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AND SPRAY APPLIED A SYNTHETIC SPRAY OIL AND THAT PROBLEM WAS CURED.  UNFORTUNATELY THERE ARE MANY NEW PROBLEMS THAT A SIMPLE SPRAY WILL NOT FIX, SUCH AS TRANSMISSION,STARTER WIRING,AIR CONDITION, HEATER, AND STERIO PROBLEMS

CHRYSLER DOES MAKE A POOR QUALITY PRODUCT FOR A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY.  I PAID $30,000.00 FOR MY GRAND CARAVAN AND I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER CHRYSLER PRODUCT. THEY SIMPLY ARE NOT WORTH THE MONEY. WE HAVE BEEN TAKEN BY THE BIG GUY'S AND THE ONLY WAY TO GET EVEN IS TO AVOID THEIR VEHICLES UNDER ALL CICUMSTANCES.  

This is such a comon problem......your wafers in the ignition start bending this method can work for a while I do suggest replacing the ignition with new keys

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=110329124502&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=


That ignition will fit 1999 dodge 1500 van  

I agree ,Heavy key chain kill cylinder and the hammer method work .  P/S In order to change the 1999 Chrysler products ignition lock cylinder while the hammer method still works .Make sure lock is in run position and push in the little button on side of lock cylinder to remove .         Thanks  

Gentle tap key toward the lock cylinder 4 times ,it works for my 1999 town and country mini van in 15 minutes ago . Treat her/him like a lady ,Good luck.  

I have a 98 Grand Voyager and I had the same problem with the key not turning.  The problem is that the lock cylinder that you insert the key into has become loose and no longer fits the key.  The fix is pretty simple and it cost me around $100.  So simple I fixed mine last night in about 15 minutes.  First I had to go to a dealer and purchase a key lock cylinder from the parts department and they charged me $97 for the part.  They will take your key and set up the new lock cylinder to fit your key and then you can replace it yourself or have your mechanic do it.

This is what I did to my 98 Grand Voyager, other Chryslers should be similar:

1. Remove the plastic shroud covering the steering wheel column just behind the steering wheel.  I had to remove 3 screws and it popped of pretty easily.  

2. Underneath the column you can see the locking mechanism and on the bottom you will see a small latch.  If you look at the cylinder lock you just bought, look on the bottom of the cylinder and you will be able to identify the latch very easily.

3. Insert your key into the lock cylinder on the column and turn the key to ACC position.  If you can't turn the key, you will need to turn the key as much as possible to put pressure on the cylindar for the next step.

4. Take a small screwdriver and push up on the cylinder's latch and at the same time pull on your key.  The cylinder lock will slide right out.

NOTE:  It has been explained to me that for some ignition mechanisms, you will see a small hole on the bottom and you need to insert a small screwdriver up into the hole to release the latch.

5. Remove the key from the old lock cylinder and insert you key into the new lock cylinder.

6.  Insert the new lock cylinder into the ignition and you should hear a click when it locks into position.

7.  Replace the shroud and your good to go.

If your squimeesh about working on your car, have you mechanic do the job.  Depending on what he charges per hour it shouldn't cost you too much

Good luck,
Gene  

Wow, we have a 2000 Grand Caravan, the problem started last night.  We tried several times to turn the key and it would not work.  Again today, several times, with no luck.  I decided to see if it was a recall because a friend of mine said she had the same problem.  Thank you all for the advise, my husband went out and banged on the key and the key turned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

CHRYSLER LHS IGNITION SWITCH FROZEN LIKE THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN! Totally SEIZED up on me! My husband's thick rubber soled steel toed boot worked like a charm.  Put the key in and gave it a couple of firm WHACKS! Started right up!

Chrysler LHS 2000- LOVE the car, have had it for about 6 years, few problems, but minimal and cheap to fix, never any ignition problems.  I happen to be one of those "die hard" Chrysler fans. Been an owner of about 3 in the last 15+ yrs.  

Okay, so tonight (2/3/09), I get gas for my beloved LHS, jump in the car and the key won't turn..I mean, wouldn't budge a freakin millimeter! Every nice guy that tried to help me (about 6) was totally, TOTALLY perplexed. Hubby is out of town on business so I had to rely on the kindness of strangers.  I was completet dumbfounded. Never had this problem before. Tried moving the wheel at first and putting the car in neutral..NADA...Had the nice guys roll the car backwards thinking that might help while I tried to start it (lol) and the wheel totally locked up!

Finally, dejected and freezing, I had my insurance company tow it to my house...googled and came across this auto form and VOILA! the heavens opened up and God shone his light down upon me...lol  I was exasperated!

Couple of good whacks on the key and it started right up!  Thank Goddddddd for the internet and auto forums!  lol   Don't know what the future holds for this ignition problem, I'm keeping the boot handy!  Good luck to you all...SHARI in Arkansas  

I just had this problem with my 2003 Durango.  After finding this thread, I filed a complaint with the NHTSA at www.nhtsa.gov.  I would encourage everybody who reads this to do the same.  If enough people report this problem, Chrysler may be forced by the government to extend the warranty for this issue and fix for free via a TSB or a recall.  Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease folks, so if you don't complain, don't expect anything to happen.  I particularly encourage you women out there to present this as a safety issue...especially if you had to seek help from strangers, alone, in the middle of the night.  Very dangerous....


PS...the banging on the ignition lock a couple times did fix it...and yes, my wife does hang a key chain on there with about 15 keys and 3 alarm remotes.  Having said that, our 1995 Jeep ZJ with 150k miles on it and our 2002 Miata get the same heavy key chain hung on them with no problem.  This tells me that this is a design flaw/defect and should be repaired/replaced free of charge.

Regards,

Bob  

just tried this ridiculous sounding solution to a 1998 jeep cherokee. Unbelievably it worked. Thanks for sharing this info.  

I just used the mallet tap on the key to my 2000 Caravan and it worked perfectly. Does anyone know whether the key will keep turning now if I just leave it in the ignition and never remove it? It occurred to me I could just have another key made and lock the key in the car all the time to avoid having to tap it every time. Plus, if someone breaks the window, they could steal this thing very easily.

Matt  

I had the same thing happen to me this morning at 530 am when starting the van to pick up my boyfriend from work. the key wouldn't turn in the ignition. After numerous tries, turning the steering wheel, pressing the break, locking and unlocking the doors with they keychain remote and the door panels...(trying the anti-lock anti theft device) nothing.... then I came in the house to google '2000 dodge grand caravan key wont turn'... it sent me here. And when i read one of the posts.. try pulling the steering wheel left or right hard. .... IT WORKED!!!!!  I figured i'd try pulling hard left to right on the wheel before , trying the mallot trick. I didn't want to jam the key in the ignition either. But try the pulling or (jerking) of the wheel first...I pulled real hard to the right 3 times, then voila the key turned!!!! Thank you everyone for posting and responding all the ideas here!!! Something will work eventually. Thank god i have a computer!!! It always comes in handy. and thanks to google for being there!! (go goooooogle!!!!!)  

Great!  

The locked steering and ignition has happen a few times on my 98 Plymouth Voyager.  The usual key and steering wheel wiggle worked before.  Last night I had to use the rubber mallet.  Turning the key still feels a little tight.  
Now to plan B - the $15 AutoZone lock Part Number: LC13550

Can you disable the tumblers to allow any key always to work?

Thanks to all for the advice!  

Well it happened to me too!,1999 Chrysler Sebring Convert.,key wouldn't turn,goggled and found this website, banged the key 3 times with a hammer and bingo!!. Anyway this is my thought,though Dodge/Chrysler have these obvious stupid little problems,(my Caravan locks wouldn't work last week but after taking out the fuse and putting it back in everything worked fine!.) Anyway my point is as long as people like you keep helping us out maybe it would be better to have Dodges??. Believe me I have no one to turn to when my Jaguar has even the slightest problem!. Thanks again automotive.com!!