Ignition key won't turn in barrel
 

My first post, so a brief intro: We now own a 2001 Grand Voyager auto with 39,000 on the clock, so still early days for the car as well as us, but oh, so many problems! Are they all like this!

The most recent problem has been the ignition barrel. Happily drove into town to do some shopping, no worries. Came out twenty minutes later, and the key wouldn't turn in the ignition. Tried all the usual things - steering lock, gear selector, but no joy. Called out the breakdown recovery (RAC here in the UK) and the guy confirmed a problem with the barrel itself, and no obvious fix. So, we had to be trailered home.

I've now had chance to trawl the Internet and discovered that this is a very common fault, not only with the Voyager, but with a whole host of Chryslers going back nearly twenty years, and there's an easy (if temporary) fix. With the key in the ignition, tap the end with a soft mallet while simultaneously turning the key back towards the "radio on" position. From there, you can then rotate forwards to start the car. I tried it, and it works!

What really narks me is that I've had to take the car to an authorised dealer to have a new barrel fitted. Well, I could hardly spend the rest of my time hitting the thing with a hammer! The cost has been over £150 (about $230 at today's rates), but to make good a known fault with the car. What's more, it's a fault that Chrysler could have addressed years ago.

Has anyone else come across this problem, and does it still apply to newer cars?

RE: Ignition key won't turn in barrel
 

I hadaIgnition barrelproblem on my (money pit) 2002 2.5CRD. The key would come out........even when the engine was running! Unfortunately, the only fix seems to be a replacement barrel. Mine cost around £130 at a stealership in Easyt Yorkshire

Steve

Yes the ignition lock sufferes from a poor design. See your local locksmith for the fix. What happens is that a burr develops at the edge of the keyway as the keys are ran in and out of the keyway.

My prefered method if repair was to deburr the inside of the slots where the tumblers would ride. Once the burr was removed there was no longer any metal to roll off and cause a new burr to form so the problem didn't recur.