ignition key won't turn: repair or wait?
 

Is this worth taking to the dealer?

Last weekend I almost got stranded in a parking lot. The key went into the ignition but I could NOT get it to turn. I jiggled it. I tried jiggling wheel. Removed key and put back in. Had a friend jiggle wheel while I tried to jiggle or turn the key. Made such clutch was all the way in and went to far as to pull up floor mat. We were trying everything for a good 5 minutes before it suddenly turned and I could get the car to start.

It hasn't done it since Sunday, but this is scary on a car with only 1,000 miles on it.

I just don't want to bring it up there just to have them say they can't find anything wrong. It's hard to be without a car all day, and they're not the most convenient people to deal with.

Anyone else ever see a problem like this?

Is there anything I can do if it happens again?

I wonder if it's not the key. Yes, I'd take it to the dealer soon. If it had happened around here, it'd be because I accidentally picked up the wrong key, but since you had already driven the car, that couldn't be the reason.

You need to PULL, HARD, on the steering wheel as if you were making a hard left turn while you turn the key. There have been several threads on this "problem". Part of the anti-theft system is the locking up of the steering column when you remove the key. Spring tension is holding the wheel in the locked position, and you have to overcome that tension by pulling down on the wheel very hard.

Is this you're first car? The other thread I just saw that you makes me think you need to RTFM

Agreed, but I was too polite to say that.

It was both of us pulling the wheel either way. My friend is a muscular 220lb delivery truck driver. If he couldn't turn the wheel, WTF is up?

I am aware of locking steering columns from my other cars, but this was nothing like past experiences.

That's about as helpful as asking you if this is "you're" first attempt at using proper grammar. :rolleyes:

I have read the manual. I've been on the road two decades, and I have never had this problem before in any other car I have ever driven. I've never had this problem before in this car until the incident this weekend. That's what made me think something was BROKEN. The problem did not happen today.

I had the same problem with my last car, was past 1,000 miles though. All I needed was a new key, part of the key was worn down, have not had a problem since getting the new key.

Without thinking I used the key to open boxes, cut tape and that wore it down and would no longer start the car without jiggling and playing with it.

Sorry to hear that! Many other members thought that they had a problem until advice like mine was followed, then the problem went away. It does sound as if you have a warranty issue, but that is another problem in itself. If the dealer service dept. can't duplicate the failure that you experienced, (the dreaded "intermittent problem" that disappears at the dealership or repair shop), they can't fix it.

You got two keys with the new car, right? Try carrying the second key on YOUR keyring for a while. If the problem never comes back, it is likely that the first key has a glitch in the chip. If you keep that key as the spare, or it is carried by the secondary driver, the problem has less of a chance of returning. Maybe the suspected problem key can be reprogrammed?

this happened with my wife's 05 pilot. For some reason, her key was directional. It would work one way but not the other. Now the car is gone wooooooooooooo

I don't think that would help him. As long as the key has the matching cut the ignition will turn even if there's no immobilizer chip. Also the immobilizer has to be within a very small distance from the ignition cylinder and having the extra key on a keyring is too far.

It all depends on exactly what is causing the failure in the OP's car with his key(s). If one key occasionally fails and the other one does not, and both fit and open the doors, it's not the "cut" that is the problem, it is the electronics.
With the intermittent nature of his problem, it sounds like it will be almost impossible to have the problem occur at the dealership service dept.

Funchy, it will probably be worth your time to bring the problem to the attention of your dealer. You may not get an instant fix, but then again maybe this is a recognized, but unpublished, issue with the 09's. A phone call to the Service Mgr., if not a visit, might get you an answer that would provide some peace of mind. Good luck.

My suggestion was to replace the key that he uses now with the extra key, not to keep both of them on his ring.

That's what confused me. My mistake if I interpreted it wrong.

No sweat. We're all trying to help the guy.

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