Hard to turn Key in Ignition Switch?

[87iroc]

Has anyone had an issue where they can't turn the key in the ignition switch? When this happens on our 04 vibe, you can rock the wheel back and forth and to no avail. I watched the wife 'manhandle' the key past whatever was stopping it from turning to start it the other night and it scared me. She works in a rough neighborhood and I can see her busting the key off if she does that enough.Is this a 'std' feature if you don't hold your mouth right or push on the brake or what? Maybe we don't have the shifter all the way in park? ...Thanks,

[Mavrik]

That should not be a normal feature, of course my trans is manual so the key can be removed no matter what gear its in. I would take your Vibe to the dealership and have the lock cylinder looked at, or even the switch that tells the cylinder that the transmission is in park. Rocking the wheel won't help unless the wheel is locked into place... but next time give the selector a good push into park and see what happens. 04 Vibe so your still in warranty.

[joatmon]

Do you push the key in when you turn it?

[87iroc]

Yep, we have about 17k miles on the car right now. I think before we go to the dealer, we'll let it happen again and give the selector a nudge. Thanks for confirming it's a bug and not a feature.

[87iroc]

Yep, we push the key in a bit to start it...I watched my wife fight with it the other day and she was doing it as it was supposed to be...

[joatmon]

I asked about pushing the key in after reading the owner's manual, but then I was out for a drive and realized that I didn;t need to push the key in to turn it on, only to turn it off.In mine, when I turn it off, if the steering wheel is not pulled ot one side, it doesn't lock when I take the key out. You have to turn it some amount to get the wheel to lock in place,, can still move it a bit in both directions, and there is no trouble turning the key on. I have the manual trannny, so I don't know if the gear selector affects turning the key. I know that the auto shifter locks in park when the key is removed (from reading about the shift lock cover in http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=369) and that you have to be in either park o neutral to actually start the car. Can you turn it off and remove the key if the tranny is not in park? Anyone know if you have to be in park to turn the key?I have had replacement keys that were just a bit off, and I had to wiggle the key some to get them to work. The Vibe comes with 2 keys, do both keys behave the same?In general, I think it is a big hassle to have to go back to the dealer for service, warranty or not, but if the key is always hard to turn, then you should get it fixed.

[NovaResource2]

Yes, that is a safety feature on automatic equipped cars. The ignition key can not be removed unless the transmission is in PARK. The car can be started in PARK or NEUTRAL but the key can't be removed unless in PARK.

[RoundUp]

How often has it happened to you? That only happened to me once a few months ago. For some reason, I couldn't turn the key in the ignition. I almost called Roadside assistance, but the key finally turned after a more few tries and a bit of wiggling. It hasn't recurred. I have an automatic transmission.

[VibeChick]

That is not normal, and you should get it fixed right away. I had to replace an ignition cylinder in the last GM vehicle I owned - it was a $280 part! Get it fixed while it's under warranty!

[vibegtdriver]

I'm not saying that you do this, but if you have 52 keys and other things jingle-jangling off your key chain, it can warp the key cylinder (okay, 52 may be an exaggeration, but you know what I mean). This is because the extra downward weight on the ignition key, in turn, puts too much stress on the cylinder.That being said, I think most Vibes are too new for such a thing to happen. Anyway, it does happen, and although rare, something to consider.

[Fialchar]

I had that problem twice, on both occasions, closing the driver side door solved the problem.Both times, the steering wheel was locked and the key refused to turn. I had my foot outside the car, with the driver side door open, and as soon as I closed it the wheel freed itself up and the key just turned easy as anything.Hope that helps

[ragingfish]

That can't be anything other than coincidental.There is no interlock between the door being open and the wheel being locked.I start the car with the door open all the time.Only thing I can think is maybe the door being slammed jiggles the wheels enough to give the wheel some slack, allowing it to be turned enough to take pressure off the lock.

[87iroc]

Thanks guys.It happened to me a couple times over the weekend and both times wiggling the shifter did nothing. I am going to suggest the wife get it checked out during her spring break. Oh, and the key is an original. One of her keys got bent early on..so we really only have one good key for it. the bent one works...but not well.Also, only a few other keys hanging off of it...

[Fialchar]

Good luck, man.

[POLO]

Me to,sometimes when i put the key and turn,it block,i can't turn the key.My cousin sayme that the reason that is i park the car with the wheel very turn,he say that to park the wheel straith,but it happen to.

[bckersey]

This happens to me from time to time. I have to push (hard) in on the key while turning it. Not sure why this works but it does.

[redlava]

This happens to me once a week or so as well. I think I remember seeing something in the owners manual about it. I just turn the wheel back and fourth a little bit and turn the key at the same time and then it works fine.I believe the note is on page 2-17 in the manual on the bottom right in bold.

[Charlievibe]

I have this happen to me about once every few weeks. I have a manual transmission, so it isn't just the automatics doing it. What I have learned to do is turn the steering wheel to one direction and lightly jiggle the key in the starter. Virtually every time, it turns over like it should. When it doesn't, I pull the key out and start the process over again. I just chalk it up to an oddity of my car.Your wife should be careful, if she does break off the key she will be sunk and have to call for help - unless she knows how to hot wire a car!!!

[AKLGT]

yep. the steering wheel just locks in place and i move it to the right just slightly and have no probs turning the engine.

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by Charlievibe »I just chalk it up to an oddity of my car.Far from unique to this car.It happens with most any car. What happens is, if you pull in to park, and then turn the wheel to straighten it, there is some extra force being applied to turn the tires while stationary, rather than if you turned them while advancing forward. This extra force will "recoil" against the wheel, causing it to turn back some when you release it. The wheel then presses against the interlock, which makes it difficult to turn the key.Gently turning the wheel WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY turning the key should always allow you to start the car.This is NOT a defect. Just a whole mess with physics and stuff.