Ignition repair in Vancouver
For a key that sticks, jams or won't turn.
An ignition is the hardest-working lock you own. When it sticks, the cause may be the key, the steering lock or the cylinder, at very different prices. So we check each before anything gets ordered.
Six ways an ignition fails. We diagnose them on your driveway.
The key won't turn in the ignition at all
Could be the steering lock binding, a worn cylinder, or a key worn past matching. Which one it is decides between a free thirty-second fix and a cylinder replacement. Worth knowing before you buy anything.
The key is stuck in the ignition and won't come out
Usually the cylinder has not returned fully to off, or a worn wafer is catching. On automatics it is often the shift interlock, not the lock. The key stays until the car believes it is in park.
Worn ignition wafers that accept almost any key
A late-stage symptom. Years of wear round off the wafers until the cylinder stops discriminating between keys. It feels like the car being cooperative; it is the lock having largely stopped working.
The ignition turns but nothing happens
The cylinder is doing its job and something downstream is not listening: the electrical switch behind the cylinder, the starter circuit or the immobilizer. Worth knowing before you replace a mechanical part that was never the problem.
The steering wheel lock binding the ignition cylinder
Extremely common and rarely a fault. The wheel locks against the column under tension and the key cannot turn. Gentle pressure on the wheel the way it already wants to move, while turning the key, releases it.
A key snapped off inside the ignition
Extraction first, then diagnosis. A key that snapped in the ignition usually snapped because the cylinder was already binding. Replacing the key without checking the cylinder can leave you with a second broken key.
Repair it, replace it or rekey it. The ignition decides, then you do.
Some cylinders can be stripped, cleaned, have worn wafers replaced and go back in working properly. That is the least expensive outcome, and it works more often than people expect.
Some are past it: the plug has play, the wafers are rounded, or the housing itself is damaged. Then a replacement cylinder is the honest answer.
Where that happens, the new cylinder can usually be rekeyed to your existing door key, so you carry one key rather than two.
We show you what we are looking at, explain which category yours is in, and you choose.
Sometimes the ignition is fine and the key is the problem.
A key is a consumable. Every turn wears the cuts down fractionally, and a key that is a copy of a copy started life slightly out of spec and got worse.
Eventually the cuts no longer lift the wafers to the right heights, and the symptom is identical to a worn ignition: sticking, jiggling, a particular angle that works.
The test is simple and free. If you have an original key that lives in a drawer and barely gets used, try it.
If the car starts happily on that one, your ignition is sound and you need a properly cut key rather than a cylinder.
We check this before quoting any ignition work, because it is a lot of people's actual answer.
Ignition repair prices depend on the cylinder, the column and the key.
Starting figures are on the price guide; ignition work is quoted per vehicle.
See starting pricesRebuilding the ignition cylinder compared with fitting a new one
A rebuild is labour and small parts. A replacement cylinder is labour plus a part that has to be sourced for your vehicle.
The steering column design and how buried the ignition is
Some ignitions come out in minutes. Some sit behind shrouds, airbag wiring and a lock housing that has to be drilled out by design. The column decides the labour, not us.
Rekeying the new ignition cylinder to match your door key
Usually possible and usually worth it. It costs a little more at the time and saves you carrying two keys for the life of the car.
Vehicle age and whether the ignition cylinder is still available
Older and less common vehicles sometimes need a cylinder sourced or a used unit rebuilt. You hear the lead time before committing.
Careful ignition work, done under a BC licence.
The column is full of things that cost far more than the lock: the airbag and its clockspring, the immobilizer antenna ring, the wiring loom.
The skill in ignition work is removing the cylinder without disturbing any of it.
So shrouds come off properly rather than being flexed, airbag connections are handled the way the manufacturer specifies, and the immobilizer ring goes back where it came from.
Proof of ownership is checked before any of it starts. An ignition is the one lock on a vehicle that decides whether it can be driven away.
What drivers ask about a key stuck in the ignition.
Why does my key turn in the door but not in the ignition?
The ignition works far harder and wears out years before the door locks, so it is the usual suspect. But a worn key can still work the doors, so try your least-used key first.
Can you fix a sticky ignition without replacing it?
Often, yes. Cleaning, replacing worn wafers and re-lubricating brings plenty of sticky cylinders back. We will tell you honestly if yours is too far gone, but a rebuild is always the first thing assessed.
Will a new ignition cylinder mean a different key for the doors?
Not if you ask for it to be rekeyed to your existing key, which we can usually do. Left as supplied, it comes with its own key. Ask at the time, because retrofitting it means a second visit.
Is it safe to wiggle the steering wheel to free a stuck key?
Yes, gently. Apply light pressure to the wheel the way it already moves, while turning the key. Never force the key. A brass key against a steel column snaps, and then you have two problems.
Do push-to-start cars have an ignition you can repair?
No key cylinder means no sticking-ignition fault. The start button, steering lock actuator or proximity key system can fail instead. Some of that is locksmith work and some is the dealer's. Call and we will tell you which.
Tell us what is going on, and we'll price it first.
Call, book online or ask for a callback. You will have the method and the number before any work begins.