HeavenlyHellRaiser

Well as I have seen around the forum, this is becoming a pretty common problem on our cars, as well as other new GM vehicles. A few weeks ago I went to turn my car off, and it wouldnt budge. I ended up pulling the large fuse in the rear near the battery. I've been working out of town for the past few weeks and finally got a chance to attempt to fix it. I removed the trim and filler plate, and began trying to turn the key. Nothing I could see externally, so I removed the switch with the key in the "run" position. Put a small allen wrench in the hole closest to the key end, and the whole cylinder released.

Upon inspection I noticed several of the tiny springs were not sitting properly in their place. There was a very small (1/4"x1") steel flap that the springs apparently pushed up to lock the cylinder from turning backward. This appeared to be my problem. I thought that if i removed this plate, springs, and tumblers from the assembly, I would be able to use the cylinder until I could get to the dealership. This is where I screwed up bigtime. In a rush I forgot to remove the tumblers. When I put the cylinder back in the column the first time, my key would just barely go in, but it was enough to turn the car. It turned on, turned off. Worked great, until I got it all put back together, I put the key in not thinking, and it went all the way in, and I guess pushed the tumblers out, and locked the ignition in the off position. Now I can't get it out, because i can't access the release to pull the cylinder out.

After a few hours of research, I decided to drill the ignition. I started with a bit just bigger than the key slot, and over the next hour or so, i worked up, drilling the very center, to a 5/8" bit. This was the biggest bit I had, and It still wasnt big enough to allow the cylinder to release. It was just barely big enough for my to see the small 1/8"x1" bar that locks the ignition. I used a dremel to grind enough to where i could get a tiny pick in, and about 30 minutes later I had it out. After some wiggling and a large pair of channel locks i got the ignition to turn forward, where I was able to release the cylinder and remove it from the column. I knocked all the tumblers/wafers out, and using a light sandpaper I sanded the edges to take care of any burrs caused during drilling and removal. I replaced the cylinder, and now it works fine. When I get back in town i'll go to the dealer and buy a new cylinder. My only concern, is the cylinder they're selling now, different from the original? I don't wanna buy another cylinder that will fail in a year.

*When i began to drill the ignition, i removed the shiny thin metal cover that goes on the very end of the ignition. Next to the key slot was a hole drilled approx 1/8" in, but not through. Looked like a pilot hole. I thought about drilling through that hole, but decided just to drill the center and work my way up. The small bar that I picked out, was directly in line with this hole. It seems that simply drilling that small hole would have saved me alot of time. Not 100% sure that is what its for, but thats what it appears to be. If anyone else has to drill the ignition this might help*

RBradley

As a locksmith I have run into this problem before, the spring retainer is not properly crimped into place at the factory. I use an automatic center punch but you can use a small screwdriver and a small hammer to ping the metal around the spring retainer over and stake it down. The good part about not being able to turn the vehicle off is that the ignition lock has to be in the on position to remove it via the active retainer anyway. I would not recommend driving the vehicle without a complete lock cylinder in place, it isn't very safe and you could possibly break the buzzer function if the key is not completely inserted when you turn the lock. I generally key up a new lock to the customer's key to be sure all bases are covered but simply restaking the spring retainer would probably solve any issues.

Early63

My lock cylinder failed a few months back. The replacement is a different design that looks like it will last much longer!

donbrew

This is the entirely WRONG way to fix it.

Old thread not a how to; moved.