Key won't turn at all in ignition, Steering wheel Locked Topic is solved

jtheo72 · Post by **jtheo72** » 03 Dec 2010, 02:17

Have a 2001 Volvo C70 with 105,000 Miles.

When I went to turn the key, it won't even turn to position one. The steering wheel is locked, I tried wiggling and turning it and can't get it unlocked.

Tried my spare key, same result.

I would love to get the key to turn all the way, but if not to at least find a way to unlock the wheel and put it in neutral so I can push it into the driveway before the snow plows come.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

RaymanSean · Post by **RaymanSean** » 03 Dec 2010, 06:00

Since it is cold it may be possible that some of the pins aren't dropping which would keep the tumbler locked even though the proper key is in it. I would find a safe way to warm the cabin/steering column to see it it will help.

Post by **precopster** » 03 Dec 2010, 06:11

Have you tried very gently tugging the steering wheel to one side, then very gently turning the key? Try blowing some graphite powder into the lock. If this fails RaymanSean's suggestion of heat applied to the tumbler won't hurt as this may be all that is needed & worth a try.

Any sort of force should be avoided. If you've used excessive force on the key the tumblers in the lock barrel may be damaged.

You may have to consider removing the lock barrel which may require drilling the mount posts out. Good luck.

This thread/write-up may help: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... ck#p159968

Post by **E170_Driver** » 04 Dec 2010, 08:09

This happened to my former V70 about 4 years ago; my wife had to drive the 150 mile round trip to take me to work because my key wouldn't turn...when I came back I sprayed some WD40 on my key and then into my ignition and it worked flawless for the time remaining I had the car.

Jan

neat · Post by **neat** » 30 Dec 2010, 13:42

I had a similar issue with the 2004 S60 – the key would not turn past position one. My car was towed to the dealer and they happily replaced the ignition column/cylinder for $546. Uggghhh! Wish I had read and tried some WD40 on the key, not sure that would have worked for me…but if so could have saved me a bunch of money.

other_shoe · Post by **other_shoe** » 01 Jan 2011, 17:31

Hi, I'm new to the site and to Volvos.

I had this happen today while I was replacing a control arm. I had to jiggle the wheel to get the key to turn and release the steering lock. This worked fine when the car was on the jack stands. However, when I put the car on the ground to tighten the bolts, I had to turn the wheel all the way to one side to access the bolt, and then the key wouldn't turn and the wheel was locked. I read this thread and tried some Tri-Flo on the key and lock. No luck.

On a hunch, I jacked the car back up to see if jiggling would work better without the resistance between the tires and ground, since this had worked fine earlier. With the wheels in the air, jiggling worked again. Not sure if it will help with some of the instances you all mention, but it might help someone.

daredneck0 · Post by **daredneck0** » 09 Jan 2015, 03:07

I had this problem this morning at -5F winds chills -15F
I took a hair dryer to the ignition for 30 minutes and the key turned. I hope this was just frozen and not a different issue

Ginessalink · Post by **Ginessalink** » 06 Mar 2018, 15:16

So i did same thing, key wont turn WHAT SO ever but has no problen going into the ignition, and my steering wheel was locked, I turned it to the right just a little and as i did i turned the key and it worked car started and all, just insert key, turn wheel left or right which ever way it will freely turn and turn key at same time or hold the steering wheel whichever way you turned and turn the key.

Post by **cn90** » 06 Mar 2018, 20:35

- Don't replace the tumbler (that is the DIY I wrote that "precopster" linked to above). I made that mistake, it cost quite a bit for the new tumbler, plus the hassles dealing with the security bolts etc. When this happened a second time, I removed the bottom plate.

- Try this FREE fix by removing the bottom plate and report back either here or in the thread below.
In fact, for "new...well, used" Volvo that I buy these days, I make this a project, i.e., removing the bottom plate so I am not stranded in the middle of nowhere. Wear goggles when doing this job.

- Very few things in this car lend themselves to a FREE fix, but this is one of them.

- You can thank me later LOL...

DIY: 1998 S70 GLT Ignition Tumbler FREE Fix!
viewtopic.php?t=67531

Post by **chrism** » 07 Mar 2018, 09:43

I just went through this issue a couple days ago on my 2003 V70 235,000 miles.

Starting into it, I didn't know if the problem was within the steering lock assembly or within the tumbler. Once I had it out on the bench I realized the cylinder would have to come out before I could isolate the problem. Even though this video was created to explain a different fix, it was my savior in that it shows how to get the cylinder out:

If you notice in the video, when he drills the four holes, he locates them at a 45 degree rotation relative to the lock assembly. That's important I found out the hard way - ended up having to drill two more holes in order to release the keeper ring.

As it turned out, I found that my key would get stuck in the OFF position simply due to the wear of sliding the key in and out for the last 15 years. When the key is inserted it causes 8 "blades" or "pins" to retract into the tumbler and release their grip in the channels inside the cylinder. When the key is inserted it slides through slots in each of the 8 blades, Well, over time, those slots get worn (elongated) so when the key is inserted it doesn't fully retract the blades out of the channel in the cylinder. So then the key won't turn out of the OFF position. When you get ready to pull the tumbler out of the cylinder make sure you have the key inserted so that the 8 blades and 8 tiny springs don't spill out. Once the tumbler is removed from the cylinder, make note of which blades are protruding beyond the outside diameter of the tumbler, and by how much. I pulled each of the blades out of the tumbler, one at a time, with a couple short lengths of heater hose holding the remaining 7 blades in place. (You have to remove the key to remove any of the blades.) I then filed each blade down a bit at the protruding tip, retaining the original arced shape. Test fitting the blade and spring back into the cylinder and inserting the key told me whether I needed to remove any more material or not. Caution: Each blade has to go back into the slot from which it was removed. Don't get them mixed up!

Then it was back together again, which goes quicker than the disassembly.