Automotive Forums

Thank you soo much!!! I tried everything then I tried the rubber mallet and it started right away!  

Oh my goodness..thank you all!  We are a military family living overseas.  Last night..out of the blue..the key would not turn in our 2001 Town and Country.  With visions of never starting it again ornot being able to getit repaired here..ever..I googled and found this forum!  BINGO!  The rubber mallet worked after several whacks!!  Now the big question..how long can I keep it working this way...what do I need repaired?  I need to help the garage man..who speaks limited English, with what the problem might be.  I don't want to be off our post and not be able to start this van again.  Any suggestions?  We have never had a single problem with this van, now I am afraid to take it anywhere!!!  

Thank you to all those who posted possible solutions to ignition problems.  Our 2000 Caravan was running fine until last night when my hubby had to go out..all of a sudden the key would not turn at all.  Today my hubby found this site and started reading possible quick fix solutions.  Tried the wiggle, the key pop, the steering wheel jiggle, the hammer tap and still nothing.  Then we read the wd40 comment well not having any wd40 in the house we decided to improvise and sprayed the key with PAM cooking spray....voila the car started immediately...thanks  

I just had this happen to me this morning I was dreading the consequences.  I read this forum and went out to my garage with a hammer and hit the key a couple of times and was able to start my Lexus IS300 and unlock the steering wheel.  I really appreciate whoever originally posted this information and all the people who have forwarded it.  Thanks again guys!  

I,too, am very frusturated with our '98 Olds Intrigue.  It has been working fine, until today. My husband put the key in the ignition and it would not budge.  It is blocking our van, and I am not sure if I should call a locksmith or tow service?!  Any advice  

As I have learned from all of the great people who posted on this message board about what is obviously a widespread problem with ignition cylinders are on Chrysler proucts, I would first try tapping the ignition key with a small rubber mallet. I didnt have one available but I used the back of my wallet and it worked fine. The key is dont be too brutal. Some people have apparently hit the key too hard and broken it off in there and then they have real problems. As it is, replacement of the round ignition switch cylinder on a 1998 Chrysler Town & Country would cost about $275 --- including a $25 fee to recode the ignition tumblers. That is good for a one year warranty, and if it happens again after one year, you pay again. Nice racket. Chrysler at least ought to waive the recoding fee. I never would have known this without the people who posted, but it is apparent Chrysler is aware of the problem and is doing nothing. Our Chrysler garage was not the least bit surprised when I called about the problem. We are a two Chrysler vehicle family right now, but when it is time to replace our vehicles you can say goodbye Chrysler.  

Thanks for whoever posted the rubber mallet idea.  I'm out of warranty on my 2001 300M at 90,000.  The ignition has jammed temporarily several times over the years but a turn of the steering wheel usually worked to free it.  Last April I was returning to So. Calif. from up north and stopped to visit some rabbits north of Mojave on Hway. 395 and it jammed but good.  I spent two hours there and had called AAA on my cell when I finally cranked the wheel all the way to the left where it locked in that position.  But then the key worked.  Today it happened again in my own driveway. I couldn't get the wheel turned all the way left  because I'm parked on cement instead of dirt and I didn't want to break anything or ruin my alignment.  So I came inside and went on line to check out the Chrysler Service Bulletins.  Nary a mention. So I Googled it without Chrysler and found your board.  The mallet worked like a charm (with the key OUT by the way).  I guess I'll just have to carry one around with me. It will be a great conversation piece allowing me to tell my story over and over.

Bob  

Well, here's the update to my orgiinal problem with the "key in the ignition that won't turn" problem.  After doing tons of investigation, I found out that this is a common problem with this type of vehicle.  Here's the bottom line and, yes, it actually works:  When you put the key in the ignition and it won't turn, take a rubber mallet (I suppose a regular hammer would do the trick as well) and tap the key while it's still in the ignition. What I mean by this is that you tap the key like you're trying to drive it further into the ignition.  Just a medium tap i.e. not something that's going to render the key unusable.  It works.  After doing this for quite a while (and it's never failed), we've found that we haven't had to use the mallet trick most of the time now.  Go figure.  Seems as though the key is just "not quite right" and just needs a little help.  I hope this helps someone out there.  

Thanks all for the rubber mallet solution.  My 2001 Caravan started the "could not turn one side of the key" about 100 hundred miles before the special extended warranty expired.  After taking a trip this weekend, which ended whatever warranty is left, the key won't turn with either side - after parking it in front of the house to unload.  I was blocking the sidewalk and the back side was sticking out.  I started to panic.  I tried the WD40, pushed the vehicle side to side, wiggled the steering wheel, and started to take the steering column apart.  I was getting frustrated and decided to take a break and used Google.  I found this post and tried the rubber mallet and it worked!!!  Now the key will only turn if I use the rubber mallet.  How long can I use this solution?  Thanks all.  

I tried the tap and it worked. Called local dealer and the service man said that this is caused my too many keys on your key ring.  Apparantley the wt. of the additional keys causes tumbler problems.  My key ring had several keys on it  (I'm a AD at a high schoo) so this may be the cause.  He said $50 ignition tumbler would fix it.  

Praise G-d for this thread! I'm no mechanic but due to a logical series of events, I knew that the key failing to turn in the ignition was not due to something that I had done to the car. Recently, the key failed to turn for the third time right before the snow storm hit. I could not move my vehicle for 3 days, had to skip church service, couldn't visit a guy I'm ministering to in jail.

Just 15 minutes ago G-d answered my prayers when I tried what was recommended in this forum. My 1998 Plymouth Voyager cranked right up when I used a rubber brush (instead of a rubber mallot), rocked the vehicle while turning the steering wheel back and forth, and lastly, tried banging on the key while in the ignition again.

Now, I just found out that there is a recall on the 1998 Plymouth Voyager Fuel System, Gasoline Delivery Fuel Pump. The Recall was just put out on 11/02/2006. My vehicle would loose power and/or engine would stall, which could result in a crash. I tried to have it fixed before by an auto mechanic. Now there is a solution. See internetautoguide.com  

Just spent a miserable 3 hours out in the rain with 6 cold children because the ignition key would not turn in my 2004 Liberty. Got home jumped on Google and found this thread. Sure enough a squirt of WD40 and a smack with a rubber mallet and bingo the key turns again...  

My wife's 2003 grand caravan exerienced the same problem.  I skipped the wd 40 and went straight to the tapping the key with a screwdriver - in front of my wife (so she would know how to do it when it re-occurs).  After 3 taps, the key turned, as smooth as ever.  My wife was surprised how little force I used and that it worked.

I would recomend that you use a screwdriver, as it is more difficult to put to much force on it and break the key. Remember to show ALL drivers of the vehicle and keep that screwdriver handy!  

In general WD-40 in a lock or ignition is a bad idea.  It will collect dirt, dust, etc., and cause the problem to re-occur.  I don't doubt that the rubber malllet trick works but that is temporary solution at best.  The age-old solution is to squirt a little graphite in the key hole.  If your "tumblers" are sticking this will "lubricate" the pins in the ignition (or in your door lock) and make the thing work like new (most of the time).  Also, since the graphite is dry (unlike WD-40) it won't attrack dirt/dust/etc. like an oil-based lubricant will.  

Thanks everyone who suggested the rubber mallet trick! Our 98 Town and Country has had the stuck key problem intermittently for several month. Most times I could get it going by jiggling the key or switching to the spare set of keys. I even had all new keys made from the spare set because I thought that the keys were wearing out....not the case. I did notice that when the tumblers are working correctly, there is a "spring loaded sound" when the key is removed. When the key won't turn, that sound is not there when the key is removed. I guess the mallet trick "un-sticks" whatever is stuck with the tumblers. I did try lubrication in the cylinder but no luck with that. My tool of choice is the rubber coated handle of an adjustable wrench. I'm hoping that between the lubricant and the occasional tapping of the key, that the lube works it's way into the bad area of the cylinder. Thanks again!