Car Key Won't Turn in the Ignition? Causes and Safe Fixes

First fix: release the steering wheel lock

Rock the steering wheel firmly left and right while you turn the key gently. When the steering lock is loaded against the column it binds the ignition, and taking that pressure off usually lets the key turn.

This happens most often after parking with the wheels turned, against a curb or on a slope, or after someone turned the wheel with the car off. Tension from the turned wheels presses on the lock, and the ignition cylinder cannot rotate until that load comes off.

1. 1
   Seat the key fully

   Push the key all the way in. A key that is not fully seated will not line up with every wafer in the cylinder.

2. 2
   Find the side with play

   The wheel usually moves a little in one direction before it stops. That is the side to work.

3. 3
   Turn the wheel and key together

   Hold the wheel toward the side with play and turn the key at the same moment with light, steady pressure. It can take a few tries.

4. 4
   Keep the key pressure light

   The wheel can take firm pressure; the key cannot. If you feel the key flexing, back off.

Check the shifter, the key and the spare

If the wheel is not the problem, look hard at the key itself, and check the shifter on an automatic. Trying the spare is the fastest way to tell a worn key from a worn ignition.

• The right key. Make sure it is the key for this car and not a look-alike from another car on the same ring.
• A bent key. Lay the key flat on a table. If it rocks or the blade is visibly bent, it will not seat properly in the cylinder. Straightening a bent key can weaken it enough to snap in the ignition.
• A worn key. Compare the cuts to your spare. Rounded, shallow or polished cuts mean the key no longer lifts the wafers to the right height.
• The shifter. On an automatic, push it firmly into Park. A shifter resting just short of Park can keep some ignitions from turning back to off, and many cars will not crank outside Park or Neutral.
• The spare test. If the spare turns smoothly, the original key is worn and needs replacing. If neither key turns, the cylinder is the likely problem.

Worn wafers and worn keys: why a key stops turning over time

Inside the ignition are small spring-loaded wafers that the cuts on your key lift to the right height. When the key wears, the wafers wear, or both, they stop lining up and the cylinder will not turn.

The failure is gradual. A key that sometimes turns tends to fail completely later. First it needs a wiggle, then a few tries, then one morning it will not turn at all. Worn wafers can also start grabbing the key on the way out, which is how the same wear leaves a key stuck in the ignition.

A worn key copied from a worn key copies the wear, so a quick duplicate of a tired key rarely helps. When the key is the problem, a new key cut from code to factory spec is usually the fix. When the wafers are the problem, a cylinder repair replaces the worn wafers and cleans the housing.

Debris, damage and a forced ignition cylinder

Dirt, lint or a fragment of an old key in the keyway can keep the wafers from moving. A cylinder damaged by a break-in or a forced turn may not turn at all.

Look into the keyway with a flashlight. If you can see debris, a short blast of compressed air can clear loose material. Skip household oil sprays, because many leave a film that collects dust and makes worn wafers stick worse over time.

If the car was broken into, or someone forced the key, the cylinder may be cracked or the wafers broken. Signs include a rough or loose feel, a key that goes in crooked, or fresh scratches around the keyway. That calls for a cylinder repair or replacement, and a replacement cylinder can often be coded to your existing key.

Can a dead battery stop a key from turning?

On some cars, yes. Some vehicles with a turn-key ignition use an electronic steering lock or an electronically controlled ignition that needs battery power to release, so a dead battery can leave the key frozen in place.

Signs it is the battery: dash lights that stay dim or dark with the key inserted, no door chime, and power locks that are slow or dead. A jump start or a charged battery can bring the ignition back. If the battery is healthy and the key still will not turn, the cause is usually mechanical.

Key turns, but the car will not start

That is a different problem. If the key turns but the engine does not crank, think battery or starter first, and check that the shifter is fully in Park or Neutral. If the engine cranks or starts briefly and a security light flashes on the dash, the immobilizer may not be reading the chip in the key.

A chip that is not being read can come from a damaged key, a fault around the ignition antenna, or a copy that was cut without being programmed to the car. A damaged or unprogrammed key is transponder key programming work, and our guide on how transponder keys work explains the handshake.

When to call a locksmith, and what ignition repair costs

Call when the wheel, the spare and the battery all check out and the key still will not turn, or as soon as the key starts needing a wiggle. Fixing a worn cylinder early usually costs less than replacing one that has seized.

Tell us what you have already tried, including the spare test, and we quote a flat rate by phone or text before we dispatch. The price we quote is the price you pay, with no service-call fee, diagnostic fee or trip fee on top. On site we confirm the cause in the car, then repair the cylinder, replace it or replace the switch, usually in a single visit and with no tow.

Locksmith rebuilt Honda ignition in Ventura, CA

We cover Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, San Diego County and Malibu, 6:00 AM to 11:30 PM, 7 days a week, from Thousand Oaks to Oceanside. Our Ventura County and San Diego ignition repair pages go deeper on the work itself.