Ignition barrel failure

[D R Ward]

At my wit’s end. Couldn’t turn ignition key in car 7th November. Had to get car towed in to dealership. They couldn’t fix it so they ordered a new part (complete ignition barrel). Car under extended warranty but told that this issue wouldn’t be covered (surprise!) facing £1,000 bill for repair, but….initially told that part would be available 24th November, came and went! New delivery date for part 28th December. Have been without our car for nearly 6 weeks. No support from dealership or Toyota (emailed head office & customer complaints) anyone experienced such a problem before??

[DerekHa]

Hi there David,

Sorry to hear about your problem with the ignition switch barrel.

Have you considered contacting a locksmith? I had problems some years back with a Madza 3 ignition key/lock which was becoming more and more difficult to turn in the ignition. The place I used was local to Coventry and dealt with all lock types including vehicles. They sorted it fairly easily in under a day at what was a fraction of the cost your being asked to pay to the main stealer. I was surprised that they were able to rebuild the ignition lock, assuming of course you have a traditional type key.

Worth ringing around the locksmith's in your area I would think, although I appreciate your car would need to be recovered to their workshop.

[flash22]

Auto or manual ?

[Bper]

Hi David, This IMO is a typical situation that I believe many people find themselves in having an extended warranty but when claiming being told it's not covered. It no doubt falls into wear and tear and a bill of £1000 to change the complete barrel seems excessive.  

No doubt you asked them to provide a loan vehicle, but to no avail. As @DerekHa said maybe a locksmith could have looked at this for you.

 

[D R Ward]

Thanks for replies so far,

the AA attended the 1st call out & tried 3 different locksmiths in the Merseyside area, all of which stated “Toyota - you’ll have to go to the dealership”!!

No courtesy car available (obviously) and I’ve emailed the parts director for Toyota UK. Had a reply but no change in my predicament! Not happy coming up to the holiday season with no car….

[DerekHa]

9 minutes ago, D R Ward said:

Thanks for replies so far,

the AA attended the 1st call out & tried 3 different locksmiths in the Merseyside area, all of which stated “Toyota - you’ll have to go to the dealership”!!

No courtesy car available (obviously) and I’ve emailed the parts director for Toyota UK. Had a reply but no change in my predicament! Not happy coming up to the holiday season with no car….

Appreciate what your saying David, another option worth exploring is looking around locally for an auto-electrician that really knows what he's doing. Even if you end getting the part from Toyota his labour costs and knowledge will likely be better than the dealers.

My son needed an electronic module for his BMW X1 which BMW wanted over £1200.00 to replace, we took it to a well recommended local Auto Electrician, who had to order the part from BMW, he did the fitting, changed the old Battery AGM Battery and registered it for well under £800. Ok not cheap I know.

Worth making your own enquiries locally for a "man that can" rather than rely on others who just want to fit new parts, at least thats my experience.

One last ditch option comes to mind! Go down to the dealers and get access to YOUR vehicle go prearmed with some GT85 (similar to WD40 but better for locks) and spray some inside the ignition barrel. Your problem could be down to hardened grease in there stopping the tumblers/wafers from moving as they should.

[Haliotis]

For a release agent, silicone spray is worth a try.  I always use this in preference to WD40.

It sounds strange, because the only imaginable cause for seizure would be corrosion, possibly through dampness, but you wouldn’t expect that in a car cabin environment. Once the correct key is inserted, the tumblers should align themselves to allow the barrel to turn.  The only other resistance should be the steering lock jamming by pressure from the steering wheel, but applying a turning force on the wheel would release it and allow the key to turn.

Is there any damage to the key, which could prevent one or more of the tumblers not lining up?  But I assume you have a second key, and have already tried that?

[Bper]

I assume the AA would have tried spraying the barrel but found it didn't work.