Q: Why is my key stuck in the ignition?

asked by on November 15, 2016

My car is dead , nothing works and my key is stuck in the ignition . It turns forward but not backwards .

My car has 133934 miles.
My car has a manual transmission.

Hello. There are a few reasons the key may be stuck in the ignition. The first step of course is to make sure the steering wheel is not locked. The easiest way to get the key to release is likely to restore power to the vehicle. You will want to charge, jump start, or replace the battery. There is an ignition cylinder actuator that resets the cylinder when the key is turned to the start position. This actuator requires an electric current to function, and without voltage it will fail. If charging the system doesn’t work, the actuator may be faulty and need to be replaced. The entire cylinder will likely need to be installed at that point.

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