Ignition key will not turn

[Michael T]

Hi I am posting this to anyone whose ignition key is 'locked' in the ignition and will not turn.

You can wiggle / pound the steering wheel all you like, same with the gear shift. If your key will not turn to ACC, you have a broken split wafer.

This is a piece of toyota engineering inside your ignition sleeve designed to prevent lock picks.

Over time they shift and/or break. The result is a car which cannot move.

The solution ? Do NOT take it to toyota and pay a grand for a new ignition sleeve and have 2 keys for the rest of your vehicles' life.

Rather, call a locksmith and explain the problem. If he knows what you're talking about, around $150 or so later the problem is solved. He can/will simply remove the useless, broken split wafer from your ignition sleeve.

Best of luck

Michael.

[s9msb5i]

I had the same issue on my 2000 Sienna. Locksmith charged me $200 for removing the broken wafers and re-inserting the lock cylinder back. He said this is a common problem due to oversized 4rth and/or 7th wafers within in the Toyota lock cylinder. The best solution is to throw away those broken pieces than to replace the whole cylinder. The whole cylinder replacement would mean a new lock with same potentially breakable wafers.

The down side may be that ignition lock may have become little less secure. Hope thsi helps.. Cheers.