Key Will Not Come Out of Ignition

Hi, I've got a '92 Saturn LS1 w/ a 110K. This evening after I parked it and
turned the ignition off the steering will not lock and the key can not be
removed from the ignition lock. How can I get the key out of the lock and
lock the steering wheel?

Thanks,

Mike

In article <209Bh.6591$2%1.3876@trndny02>, "Mike" > wrote:
>Hi, I've got a '92 Saturn LS1 w/ a 110K. This evening after I parked it and
>turned the ignition off the steering will not lock and the key can not be
>removed from the ignition lock. How can I get the key out of the lock and
>lock the steering wheel?

First, apply gentle pressure to the key to turn it in the proper direction.
Next, turn the steering wheel as far as you can in one direction, then as far
as you can in the other direction. At some point in that travel, you'll be
able to lock the column and withdraw the key.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Not sure if this is applicable to your car, but if it has an automatic
transmission, be sure that it is in park. Otherwise the key can not be
turned to the lock position.
Oppie

"Mike" > wrote in message
news:209Bh.6591$2%1.3876@trndny02...
> Hi, I've got a '92 Saturn LS1 w/ a 110K. This evening after I parked it
> and turned the ignition off the steering will not lock and the key can not
> be removed from the ignition lock. How can I get the key out of the lock
> and lock the steering wheel?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mike
>
>
>

On Fri, 16 Feb 2007 08:25:39 -0500, "Oppie" >
wrote:

>Not sure if this is applicable to your car, but if it has an automatic
>transmission, be sure that it is in park. Otherwise the key can not be
>turned to the lock position


This is true and there is also the chance that cylinder is worn out
too.
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

I was going on the (possibly mistaken) assumption that the key could still
be turned to run and start, just not to the lock position. If that were the
case, the cylinder should not be the culprit. The park interlock system then
seemed reasonable to suspect.


"SnoMan" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 16 Feb 2007 08:25:39 -0500, "Oppie" >
> wrote:
>
>>Not sure if this is applicable to your car, but if it has an automatic
>>transmission, be sure that it is in park. Otherwise the key can not be
>>turned to the lock position
>
>
> This is true and there is also the chance that cylinder is worn out
> too.
> -----------------
> TheSnoMan.com

On Fri, 16 Feb 2007 14:16:26 -0500, "Oppie" >
wrote:

>I was going on the (possibly mistaken) assumption that the key could still
>be turned to run and start, just not to the lock position. If that were the
>case, the cylinder should not be the culprit. The park interlock system then
>seemed reasonable to suspect.


I replace the cylinder in a Saturn once that would nt lock properly at
time and release key. When cylinder was replace, the problem never
returned. That may not be case here but it was for me.
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

"SnoMan" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 16 Feb 2007 14:16:26 -0500, "Oppie" >
> wrote:
>
>>I was going on the (possibly mistaken) assumption that the key could still
>>be turned to run and start, just not to the lock position. If that were
>>the
>>case, the cylinder should not be the culprit. The park interlock system
>>then
>>seemed reasonable to suspect.
>
>
> I replace the cylinder in a Saturn once that would nt lock properly at
> time and release key. When cylinder was replace, the problem never
> returned. That may not be case here but it was for me.
> -----------------
> TheSnoMan.com

Can't argue with that. Nothing succeeds like success.

"Oppie" > wrote in message
.. .
> Not sure if this is applicable to your car, but if it has an automatic
> transmission, be sure that it is in park. Otherwise the key can not be
> turned to the lock position.
> Oppie
>
> "Mike" > wrote in message
> news:209Bh.6591$2%1.3876@trndny02...
>> Hi, I've got a '92 Saturn LS1 w/ a 110K. This evening after I parked it
>> and turned the ignition off the steering will not lock and the key can
>> not be removed from the ignition lock. How can I get the key out of the
>> lock and lock the steering wheel?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Mike

it's a standard shift

My '92 did the same thing several years ago. I couldn't get the key
out, the tumbler wouldn't turn in any direction. It was locked into
accessory postition and I was about 10 miles from home. I went into
the store and bought some WD40 and tried everything I knew. Finally I
had it towed home. I went to Saturn, got a new tumbler keyed to my old
one. It took me about 2 hours to change it out. There are 3 screws in
the column that must be drilled out to gain access.

>From my understanding at Saturn, this is a very common problem on the
aging Saturn S series cars. I am sure I will do it again someday if I
keep the car long enough.

James

"Mike" > wrote in message news:76uBh.30$aM.22@trndny03...
>
> "Oppie" > wrote in message
> .. .
> > Not sure if this is applicable to your car, but if it has an automatic
> > transmission, be sure that it is in park. Otherwise the key can not be
> > turned to the lock position.
> > Oppie
> >
> > "Mike" > wrote in message
> > news:209Bh.6591$2%1.3876@trndny02...
> >> Hi, I've got a '92 Saturn LS1 w/ a 110K. This evening after I parked
it
> >> and turned the ignition off the steering will not lock and the key can
> >> not be removed from the ignition lock. How can I get the key out of
the
> >> lock and lock the steering wheel?
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >>
> >> Mike
>
> it's a standard shift
>
>

OK then, was there anything you had to push in order to allow turning the
key to lock the steering column? I've seen that on many cars with manual
transmissions. If there is none, then Snoman's suggestion that the cylinder
should be replaced seems like the next step.