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i am currently having the same problem i tried the rubbe mallet trick and the key wouldnt budge... am i tapping it in the wrong place? can u guys tell me if i am and where and what exactly are u doing  

Thanks, you guys hit the problem on the head with that hammer trick.  I've  been a shade tree mechanic for 49 years and I've never heard of hitting a key with a rubber mallet.  For the last two days I've been upset thinking about paying a Dodge shop $200 to replace a $15 dollar part.  Especially since this van has 235,000 miles on her and I'm only looking for another 15,000 before I replace her in the fleet. I read your advice to tap the kay with a rubber mallet.  SURE I thought, but what the hell, I've nothing to lose but a couple of minutes.  IT WORKED!!  Now I have a rubber mallet in the car beside the roll of duck tape.
Thanks
RL  

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP 1999 CHRYSLER SEBRING CONVERTABLE MY KEY WONT TURN AND ITS STOPPING ME FROM GOING TO WORK AND BEING ON TIME TO SCHOOL. THIS ALL STARTED WHEN I WENT OUT OF TOWN AND I PAID SOME SLEEZE BALL $150.00 THAT I REALLY DIDNT HAVE (COLLEGE STUDENT) TO FIX IT HE CHANGED MY LOCK AND IT STILL DOES THE SAME THING. I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO. EVENTUALLY AFTER DAYS AND SOMETIMES WEEKS OF WIGGELING IT WILL START AGAIN. THE DEALERSHIP TELLS ME THEY CANT FIND OUT WHATS WRONG WITH IT UNLESSI TOW IT IN STUCK ANYWAY PLEASE HELP I HAVE A TRUSTED MECHANIC HERE IN VIRGINIA I JUST NEED TO KNOW WHATS WRONG WITH IT PLEASE HELP ME WE ARE ALL STRUGGELING  

I AM NOT ALONE!!! (and im not unlucky after all!!)
I too am a victim of the key not turning in the ignition.
I have a 2000 Dodge Neon and out of no where my key just wouldn't turn!
After trying EVERYTHING and nearly in tears (thinking of the huge bill ahead of me...im a college student....im poor. haha) i though DUH!!...INTERNET!!!! and here i am.
Whoever thought of the mallet trick is a genius or a very frustrated individual who resulted to violence to fix his car.
The mallet trick worked so well that my key wont turn without it.
My process is: while the key is in the ignition, i tap the end of the key at medium strength(as if hammering the key into the ignition hole) then it tap it down one hard time from above the key (the side of the key, flat part) THEN BINGO! turn the key and it works. its important to not tug the key out at all after the tapping because it wont work and you'll have to do the tapping again.

well it worked for me and hope it works for future victims. Good Luck!

PS- does anyone else with a neon have an issue with their car door motors. Does it make a LOUD strange sound when it locks automatically while ur driving? or make the same crazy sound when you try to lock or unlock from the outside drivers side??

LET ME KNOW!! NekoMae118@aol.com Thanks.  

I have a 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan that had the same problem.  The only thing that worked for us was hitting the end of the key quite hard with a shoe (which I kept in the van all the time).  It seemed to be worse on cold days too.  After about a year of hitting it, it started not working anymore, and finally failed.    We ended up calling a locksmith who came to the house and took it apart, greased up the individual....well I can't think of the name, but they are little things that fall into the key's grooves when you put the key in, anyway, we haven't had a problem since.  He said that those "things" were getting stuck and when you hit the key with a shoe, you basically vibrate those down to where they should be, "shake them loose".  After he lubricated them and loosened them up, they have worked fine.  He told us if we could have driven the van to him, he would have done it for 25.00, but it was a little more than that since he came to us. I think only 40 or so.  Very cheap way to fix the problem.  I would suggest trying a locksmith (instead of a dealer) before you get stuck like we did.  I hope this helps!  

It's somewhat comforting to find out that I am not in this alone!  Last night my husband drove my 2003 Chrysler T&C to a friends house in a nearby town (about 15 miles away from home) and when he was leaving the key would not turn!  He tried rocking the wheel, nothing.  All the interior comes on but the key just won't budge.  He is on his way back out there now to try lubricating it with some PB Blaster and also using the mallet trick.  We have a new cylinder that we are picking up from a local dealer and they will code the keys for us but we are going to do the labor on our own.  I'm going to be very upset if the problem continues after it has been replaced.  I am thankful for this forum and for finding a quick fix so that we can at least get the van home!  I have 4 kids to lug around and they don't fit too well in his pickup!  

Let start by saying, this forum is a money saver as well as a wealth of information. That being said, my sons 2001 Dodge Durango ignition decided to lockup also. Fortunely he was a less than a 1/4 mile from home. So I was able to fix the problem at no cost of a tow!
First of all after reading and determining that power graphit was not the way to go, I used a industrial WD-40 type spray lube. I removed the upper and lower covers of the steering colume. With a heavy rag placed under the ignition cylinder, I sprayed a large amount of lube into the cylinder, then placed key in ignition. I pulled key in and out several times, then with the handle end of a screw driver; I hit the key several times and the key turned. I did not need to used a mallet at all.
Got Durango home and was able to order a ignition cylinder on Ebay motors for $46.00 plus the guy would rekey for free if you sent him one of your keys. Or you can use new keys for ignition that come with the part. You will just have two keys now, one for the ignition and one for the doors
Now Chrysler wanted $135.00 for this part and most all auto stores wanted between $100 and 120.00 for the part. Also to have Dodge replace it would have been $350.00!
The part is so simple to replace its a joke. It took me less than 15 minutes to replace cylinder! Look thru this forum it explaine the proceedure to replace.
Lastly, mosy locksmiths are familar with this problem also and the ywill charge around a $100.00 to replace on the spot, if you chose not to have your vehicle towed.
I hope this was helpful!  

Hey Chris. I have 2002 Caravan SE with the same problem. And it is a chronic problem with Chrysler. But replacing a cylinder with the same flawed cylinder is`nt going to help. I finally got the key to turn and removed the cylinder and took it to a local locksmith. He rebuilt the cylinder and guaranteed it never to fail. And since I was paying cash he only charged me 30 bucks. It took him about 15 minutes.