Key won't turn past ACC

[bibek]

Hi,

I have a Toyota Auris 64 reg 1.6 petrol. Never had the issue before so today is the first I have seen of it.

Drove into work fine but when leaving work the key wont turn past ACC. I can see the stereo turns on and everything works as normal but I cant simply twist the key anymore to ON or START which are the next 2 notches. 

Before anyone mentions, it is definitely not the steering lock as when there is a steering lock, it wont even turn to ACC until the steering wheel is wiggled a bit.

Tried turning the key while moving the steering wheel left and right which made no difference. Tried locking/unlocking the car (central locking seems fine). Took Battery out of the key for a bit, put it back in and tried. Not sure if the ignition itself is broken or if the immobiliser is playing up ? 

Past the ACC, it feels like there is some sort of lock and the key just won't turn past it. Have had my spare key posted to me as it was elsewhere so will try that once I get it tomorrow or Thursday but before then if anyone has any idea or has this happened to them before, any help would be appreciated.

Car is still under the 5 yrs warranty so maybe Toyota will cover it but have been told, will have to pay something along the lines of £150 upfront for someone to look at it and determine whether its manufacturer fault or not.  

[FROSTYBALLS]

Is the key blade damaged? Compare it with your spare key when you receive it.

Fairly common for dealers, not just Toyota, to charge an investigation fee when looking at possible faults. If it is a manufacturing defect, ie the barrel, would imagine that it will be covered under warranty and the investigation fee won't be charged.

If it is other damage (accidental or similar) it may not be covered under warranty, and the investigation fee may be payable. Depending on how high average labour rates are in your locality, £150 may represent around 2 hours labour.

[bibek]

40 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Is the key blade damaged? Compare it with your spare key when you receive it.

Fairly common for dealers, not just Toyota, to charge an investigation fee when looking at possible faults. If it is a manufacturing defect, ie the barrel, would imagine that it will be covered under warranty and the investigation fee won't be charged.

If it is other damage (accidental or similar) it may not be covered under warranty, and the investigation fee may be payable. Depending on how high average labour rates are in your locality, £150 may represent around 2 hours labour.

Does not look like it. Maybe I am not being able to spot it but will compare it with the other key once I get it. One question though, if the blade was damaged, it wouldn't even turn to ACC would it ? 

Also in a bit of a limbo here, rang up a locksmith earlier who seemed like he hadn't dealt with it before and just quoted me £110+vat to come and have a look. Luckily, I work in a industrial estate and less than a mile from a Toyota dealership although will probably still have to get it towed there unless they come and collect the car from my work car park. 

If I've gotta tow it to the dealership myself, probably cheaper to take out a break down cover and call them instead ? Quite bizarre how it has happened. Was fine till this morning, nothing out of the ordinary till it happened. 

[Heidfirst]

does your insurance have key cover?

[bibek]

24 minutes ago, Heidfirst said:

does your insurance have key cover?

Nope, just had a look at my policy and dont think it applies to me anyway as it says key cover is for lost or stolen keys. 

Found an old thread on Yahoo answers where the OP had same issue as myself and the answers seem to suggest its the lock cylinder ? I would just be guessing but I have a bad feeling its not the key and something more expensive 😕

[Heidfirst]

2 minutes ago, bibek said:

Nope, just had a look at my policy and dont think it applies to me anyway as it says key cover is for lost or stolen keys. 

mine is for "lost, stolen or damaged".

[bibek]

4 minutes ago, Heidfirst said:

mine is for "lost, stolen or damaged".

This is my wording from the policy portal for Key Cover "If you’ve lost, or had your car or garage keys stolen, all you have to do is contact our partner the RAC who will help you out as soon as possible."
I didnt take out the key cover as its optional however Esure probably dont cover it as its worded as above unless I lie and say I lost it which I wouldn't do XD 

Not sure whether a good locksmith would be able to change the cylinder if it is the cylinder but either way looks like my bank account is going to take a hit grrrr! 

Can always take it to Toyota and risk paying more or get it done for free but I am not sure if they would class it as a "Manufacturer Defect". Dont even know how Id prove that!

[Heidfirst]

guess who I am with? https://www.esure.com/car-insurance/key-cover

If it turns out to be the cylinder rather than the key I could see them arguing the toss.

[bibek]

Thats cheeky! They only mention lost or stolen keys under key cover when I log into my portal. Anyway, too late to take it out now isnt it ? Would probably raise eyebrows if I call them to add a key cover tomorrow and make a claim the next day 🙄

Does feel like whatever is wrong, would probably be covered by it though. 

[yossarian247]

It's got to be a manufacturing defect surely? It seems unreasonable to be considered wear and tear on a four year old car. 

I have had an ignition lock barrel jam like this before, but the car in question was very old, very high mileage and very French!

[furtula]

Have you tried lubricating the cylinder, maybe with some graphite?

It's also possible that wafers inside the cylinder are either bent, or broken, causing them not to release the lock. It should be possible to replace the wafers, but the cylinder needs to go out.

 

[bibek]

26 minutes ago, yossarian247 said:

It's got to be a manufacturing defect surely? It seems unreasonable to be considered wear and tear on a four year old car. 

I have had an ignition lock barrel jam like this before, but the car in question was very old, very high mileage and very French!

That's a fair point. I'll ring Toyota again tomorrow and see what my options are. I am fairly certain even the spare key won't work but still worth making sure. Wouldn't be surprised if Toyota try and say I have been rough with the key though 😂😂

14 minutes ago, furtula said:

Have you tried lubricating the cylinder, maybe with some graphite?

It's also possible that wafers inside the cylinder are either bent, or broken, causing them not to release the lock. It should be possible to replace the wafers, but the cylinder needs to go out.

 

Not yet, had the issue as I was leaving work. Spent half an hour trying out different things , gave up and took the train home. Will try spraying some WD40 tomorrow and see if it  helps. 

[TP49]

Try not to use WD 40 if you can get an aerosol can of grease spray that works better. Spray into ignition barrel and wiggle the key but not to heavy handed.

[Notoyboy]

I'd second not using WD40.  Tried it on an old Citroen ignition lock once, which seemed to make the lock worse, as if the WD40 had washed out any remaining lubricant.  If it weren't under warranty, I'd try graphite as Dean suggests, or a tiny hint of very thin oil such as 3 in 1.  However, with being still under warranty, I'd be careful not to do anything to give them wiggle room.

[furtula]

You can try dipping the key in some grease, and working that grease into the cylinder. That way any grease that gets left behind would seem natural, and no leaks.

 

[bibek]

Just looked at Toyota warranty page and surprise surprise the 5 years warranty only applies to power train system, seatbelts and airbags 😭

Going to pop out at lunch time to grab some grease and see if that helps if not probably time to call a locksmith as it might be cheaper than taking it to Toyota?

Toyota would probably quote me for a  new lock + new key fobs + labour and that definitely won't be cheap! 

[bibek]

10 hours ago, Notoyboy said:

I'd second not using WD40.  Tried it on an old Citroen ignition lock once, which seemed to make the lock worse, as if the WD40 had washed out any remaining lubricant.  If it weren't under warranty, I'd try graphite as Dean suggests, or a tiny hint of very thin oil such as 3 in 1.  However, with being still under warranty, I'd be careful not to do anything to give them wiggle room.

Checked selco, screwfix and homebase website but don't think they sell any graphite lubricant. Can get it from other online retailers but will be couple of days before I get it. 

WD40 seem to have a silicone lubricant ? Not sure if it's any better or useful than the regular WD40 aerosol spray ? Any other lubricant/grease I can grab at above retailers you'd recommend?

Toyota warranty doesn't cover locks after the first 3 years anyway so looks like I'm stuffed. Might aswell try whatever else now and see if it fixes it. 

Edit: just spotted 3-in-1 oil at screwfix, will give that a go later. 

[TP49]

You could proberbly get a can of spray grease from Halfords. That's what I used when I had the same problem with the Hi Lux surf I had. And it certainly worked on that.

[bibek]

Bought and tried the 3 in 1 oil, made no difference. Got it towed to Toyota garage near my work. They were implying maybe a claim can be put forward for manufacturer defect after they do their investigation so just waiting to hear back from them now. 

[yossarian247]

10 hours ago, bibek said:

Just looked at Toyota warranty page and surprise surprise the 5 years warranty only applies to power train system, seatbelts and airbags 😭

 

I would double check that. They even replaced a rubber window seal on our Avensis under the Toyota warranty at 4.5 years old because it was whistling at motorway speeds. No cost to us whatsoever even though the part was about £80 and it took them two attempts to find the source of the noise. 

[bibek]

1 hour ago, yossarian247 said:

I would double check that. They even replaced a rubber window seal on our Avensis under the Toyota warranty at 4.5 years old because it was whistling at motorway speeds. No cost to us whatsoever even though the part was about £80 and it took them two attempts to find the source of the noise. 

Yeah, the guy who looks deals with Toyota warranties at this dealership said over the phone that they'd do an investigation and if it turns out its manufacturer defect (not sure why it would not be) then they would file a claim with Toyota. So fingers crossed! I'll be happy if its only going to cost me £50 for towing the car to the dealership and a few days of inconvenience of not having a car!

[bibek]

Just had a call from Toyota stating the key apparently turns in full when the barrell is out but not whilst in the unit which is weird. Missed the post yesterday so going to collect the key later on and drop it off. I still don't think it's the key but should find out more by the end of the day.

[bibek]

Finally got the car back today. It was the barrel apparently. Fixed under warranty so happy with that. 

[furtula]

Nice, hope your future driving is trouble free.