key broke in the ignition

[isotope1975]

Hi
I have a 98 corolla and the ignition key would not go past the ACC point....i could not get it to go to the on....i turned the steering wheel etc etc ...no luck, i've had the car for 8 years. Eventually the key snapped in the ignition and i could not get it out.

Does anyone know what the original problem may be? will i have to replace the ignition? or even the steering column? how expensive would that be?

Thanks in advance for your answers.

[gold94corolla]

I broke a key in mine recently. If you can get the key to the middle position between off and ACC, you can pull the ignition cylinder out.

Take off the plastic dash panel under the steering wheel, and have the key in the right position.

Look at the bottom of the cylinder from underneath... there should be a tiny little button right in the middle... push that in and the cylinder slides out (only if the key is in that position).

Bang it vertically on the floor to get the key out.

Have a fresh new key made, and hope that fixes it (it usually does).

Good luck.

[isotope1975]

thx for your reply...i fear it is not only a key problem though but something to do with the ignition lock itself

[Woodyg]

it is most likely a bad lock cylinder.......... just remove it and install a new one......... you could try to put grahite in and see if that works but i bet you need a new one.......this happened to me on my dodge caravan i pooped it out and popped in a new one.....