Fear and Loathing

What's up with that?

It's happens 30% of the time over the few days that I turn the key to start it and nothing. No cranking sound, nothing. I try a second time and bingo, it starts no problem. Any comments would be appreciated.

I was told the car needs a new ignition cylinder for $600. The key was getting stuck when i tried to turn it to start and I thought it just needed a little lub spray but the key doesn't get stuck if I simply push the key in all the way before turning to start so I didn't bother looking into it further. But it could be related.

I was kind of scarred of getting stranded these past few days while we were in a town which is 4 hours from home. It's called Tobermory and it's in central Ontario on the Bruce Peninsula. A super nice for hiking especially on a trail called the Bruce Trail which runs 800+ kms from Niagara Falls all the way north to Tobermory. Even saw a full grown papa black bear crossing the road.

Many thanks,

Fear and Loathing

Go90go

They are trying to rip you a new one. Keyswitches fail on our cars all the time (ALL mid 90's Hondas) and there is no way that a replacement should cost that much. Mine had gotten stuck in there once (in a parking garage), and after 20 minutes with some pliers, I got it free. After that, I tore the damn thing apart, cleaned it, re-lubed and re-keyed it myself. What had happened was that one of the little springs that hold the pins in place fell off, getting stuck in the cylinder. Not too hard of a fix if you're used to working with small parts, but getting the pins in the right order was a pain.

If it were only the starting problem, only the electrical side needs to be replaced, which takes 3 minutes to do. Since you've got the key stuck problem, too, you'll have to get another one from the junkyard. Just don't cut the wires around it as that controls the steering lock, etc. IIRC, the electrical side is held on by 2 or 3 screws and I can't remember how many the mechanical side had. Putting it back in was also a bitch because of the little stick that needs to be aligned with both the electrical side and the mechanical side. Good luck.

~Cheers~

Fear and Loathing

Thanks for your post.

Are you referring to the ignition cylinder when you say that you "tore the damn thing apart, cleaned it, re-lubed and re-keyed it"? If so, (according to the Chilton manual, not Manuel) did you have to centre punch the shear bolts and drill out the heads of the bolts with a 5mm bit? Then during the reinstall, you have to tighten the new shear bolts until they snap? Sounds tough...is it? If I can get it out, I will take it to a locksmith to rekey for about $30 (or so I'm told). Can I repair this as you did or does it need to be replaced from junkyard?

You say, "If it were only the starting problem, only the electrical side needs to be replaced, which takes 3 minutes to do." Could you elaborate b/c I'm not clear on this. Just to be clear, I have a 97 3.2.