Key won't turn/steering wheel is locked

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Old Feb 23, 2013 | 09:17 AM
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winning_blue's Avatar
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Key won't turn/steering wheel is locked

like the title says, my key won't go all the way into the ignition, key won't turn, steering wheel is locked? what the heck happened?
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Old Feb 23, 2013 | 09:25 AM
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terdonal's Avatar
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Did you try turning the wheel a bit? Could be a little pressure on the wheel not allowing the key to slide in properly. Just a thought.
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Old Feb 23, 2013 | 09:25 AM
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? Idk what happened but the way to probably fix it would be to pop the little silver cap by your shifter & there's an insert for your key to unlock the shifter manually ...
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Old Feb 23, 2013 | 09:26 AM
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steering wheel won't turn at all to the left, only slightly to the right.
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Old Feb 23, 2013 | 09:29 AM
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how do you get the little cap open?
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Old Feb 23, 2013 | 09:45 AM
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I got the cap up, manually moving the shifter doesn't help me with getting the key in the ignition though
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Old Feb 23, 2013 | 10:01 AM
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Not sure...what it could be maybe have someone rock the car forward & backward while you try & turn the wheel while trying to put the key in?... Try neutral...
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Old Feb 23, 2013 | 10:11 AM
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I would think it would have to be that the wheel maybe locked tight to one direction our maybe you're parked on a slant I'm sure the wheel needs to be turned to get the key in?...
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Old Feb 23, 2013 | 10:14 AM
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yeah I'm parked on a little hill, nothing crazy.. adjusting the steering column didn't help either. there has to be an actual diagnosis and way to fix this.
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Old Feb 23, 2013 | 10:21 AM
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you just have to keep turning the steering wheel side to side while trying to get the key in the ignition at the same time.
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Old Feb 23, 2013 | 10:50 AM
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even if the steering wheel won't turn to the left at all? like I said, it only turns to the right maybe 4 inches
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Old Feb 23, 2013 | 11:07 AM
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Rock the car forward & back its hard to turn the wheel because power steering is off and you've probably pressed down the brake pedal too many times...
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Old Feb 23, 2013 | 02:39 PM
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https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/help-steering-wheel-locked-796552/

Read Justins post and keep trying! Happened to me last time, it usually happens when you park your car and turn off the engine with your steering wheel turn a lot
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Old Feb 23, 2013 | 03:01 PM
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yeah usually this is caused by the steering wheel "sitting" on the locking mechanism. I usually just turn the wheel a bit so it's not resting on the steering wheel lock and then the ignition turns.

make sure your shifter is in Park also.

but this doesnt explain why your key doesnt go all the way into the ignition.
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Old Feb 23, 2013 | 03:29 PM
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I tried it all. Rocking the car and jiggling the steering wheel while trying to get the key in all the way. Nothing worked.
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Old Feb 24, 2013 | 08:43 AM
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HE SAID he cant even get the key to go ALL the way into the ignition!. Which means a tumbler proly fell in the lock cylinder. Which means you need a new lock cylinder. sorry buddy. but those are not really easy to take apart and occasionally have "break away" bolts. so if your not very mechanically inclined i would bring it to a shop. rocking the car or turning the wheel will not help
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Old Feb 24, 2013 | 10:57 PM
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yeah it's at the shop, I'll let yall know what the diagnosis is in the morning. If it is the tumbler, what kind of cost am I looking at for a fix?
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