Door cylinder broke, spun freely, locked itself in wrong position, key is stuck, need key

pkka_187508
Mon, 30 Oct 2023 01:14:17 +0000
Maintenance/Repairs

Volkswagen Golf 1.6 i 2001 / 2002.

When attempting to manually lock my car, the cylinder malfunctioned. It spun freely, and then the cylinder locked at an ~50-degree turn to the right and is preventing key removal.

I’m ready to, and know i most likely have to replace the cylinder. My immediate need is to extract the key so I can drive while awaiting the replacement.

Efforts to reposition the key, including forceful turning, wiggling, and using the central lock buttons while doing so, have been unsuccessful. The manual lock/unlock stick feels like a stiff spring and unresponsive.

If I could rotate the cylinder 1-2 mm to the left the key slot would be able to come to a vertical position, and might release. However, it’s siezed stuck and I’m uncertain if this would work anyway. Any more force than applied would bend the key.

So my question is, how can I extract a key from a misaligned cylinder that won’t let key slot return to a neutral position?

Pushing/pulling also does nothing while turning/wiggling.

I can get the spare key so I can drive it in a couple of days, but it would be great to be able to move the car to a safer location asap since door lock doesnt work.

I don’t have tools or space to take the door apart at current location, so only after getting key out or waiting for spare key mechanical work is possible.

21 posts - 8 participants