Hi everyone, for some time now my mom’s ignition switch has been giving us trouble. Sometimes when you put the key in it will not turn so you have to take it back out and twist the ignition switch up and down to line the inside part up so you can put the key in. When we turn off the car and take the key out the alarm that you left your key in comes on even though the key is out, so then you have to put the key back in and turn it down and back up to get the alarm to stop. Today we decided to call the mechanic and ask for a price they said they really have to see it first in order to give me a price on the repair. I asked if they have to take anything apart in order to give me a price because we can only afford so much and we if they take it apart and we can’t afford the repair and they can’t get it back together we would have no car. He said he didn’t think he had to take it apart and he put the owner on the phone. I told him the same thing we can’t have the car rendered inoperable, so if taking it apart in order to diagnose it could do that we would rather just leave it the way it is. He said he understands. Now the thing is it’s just me and my mom we don’t have any family to take us anywhere and can only afford so much to repair the car, the very most we can afford is 400, so should i insist on a ball park price? Did i do the right thing when i told him we are worried about taking the ignition switch apart and not being able to get it back together if we can’t afford the repair? I know our problems is not the mechanic problems but the fact is we can’t live without our car and i have to be careful, these days you can’t trust anyone and i have learned that the hard way. I don’t really have a reason not to trust the mechanic but when we had a new starter put in the cost of the starter was 140 (I looked it up online) but he charged us 250 for the starter and the total with tax and labor was about 393. I did learn from this site that it’s normal for a mechanic to mark up the price of the part. I just really need some advice.
The problem might just be the ignition lock cylinder. Take a look at the place you insert the key. Do you see a small hole the size a 1/8 inch diameter wire could be inserted into nearby where the key inserts? If so, it’s a simple matter to replace that lock cylinder, takes like 15-20 minutes total. If you are mechanically inclined you might be able to google how to do it yourself. (Don’t go poking anything into that hole until you are sure you know what you are doing btw.)
I checked, I really don’t see that hole, I wish I did it would be so great if I could solve the problem myself but I think my mom would freak out if I went poking around the car lol
Get a dealer or locskmith cut you a new key by vin. Probably the old key is just worn out.
Thanks for the advise, I did go and try my moms spare key but it works the same as the old key so I’m pretty sure it’s the switch
The ignition lock cylinder is inexpensive, the labor to replace it is about 1/2 hour. The release button to remove the lock cylinder is in the steering column under the lock cylinder. You should be able to find a video showing how to replace it.
I did find some Youtube videos on lock cylinder but I’m worried I won’t be able to do it and then we would have to have the car towed to the shop if I mess it up, plus the mechanic said it could be something in the steering column. I guess I am just over thinking things because our car is so important to us. We are going in to have it looked at on Tuesday, I’ll let everyone know how it goes.
Drive to locksmith. Ask him to replace it and maybe he can keep the key the same.
HI everyone, I just wanted to let everyone know how it went yesterday. When we got to the shop I let the gentleman know that price was a deciding factor on getting the repair done and I didn’t want anything taken apart until I get a idea of the price. After they looked at it they said it was 160 dollars to replace the ignition lock so we went ahead and got it done because that was a fair price. We would have called a locksmith but we really didn’t know a good one and we needed to get the oil changed any way. So far so good, we went to the store today I did notice the alarm didn’t go off when we left the key in the ignition but hey as long as the car starts that is what is important. I guess I was overthinking things but at the wrong shop what I was thinking could have really happened, you just can’t trust anyone. I want to thank everyone for taking the time to give me advice, I appreciate it.
Good for you for getting the problem solved. Best of luck.
Thank you, God bless