Mk5 Golf Ignition Key wont turn

[Fraz]

Hi guys,

Only owned this car a few weeks and Im new to the forum however Im struggling with this fault.

Since owning the car the starting with key has been perfect. No problems at all.

Tonight I finish work, open car as normal. Insert key into the ingition, turn key and the ignition lights go on, stereo turns on etc wiggle the steering wheel to release the steering lock however then the key wont turn any further and therefore I cant start the car??!?!

Tried it numerous times with no luck. Ended up leaving the car and will return tomorrow with the spare key however I am at a loss as to whats happened??

Any ideas?

[SpiKiE]

Is your ride a DSG one?

Is the answer to that question is "YES", see if you forgot by mistake and left the car with D/S/M or R mode selected instead of P. If you left it in any mode rather than P or N, the car won't start and the symptons are as you described.

[Eddie-NL]

where are you

[Fraz]

Its an early Gt Tdi manual guys...

Im from Glasgow mate.

Had the car recovered home today and stripped the cowling around the indicator stalks.. Noticed the warranty seals have been broken previously so Im guessing someones been in and about this area previously.

I think the ignition barrel has collapsed internally and Ill confirm this once Ive stripped it all HOWEVER I had a quick go at the paperclip trick and the ignition wont turn around far enough to be in the On position which is abit worrying... Not sure how easy this barrel will be to remove?

[Eddie-NL]

It is a shame you are the other end of the country

The ignition barrel and lock are in 3 parts

and consists of

the key barrel where the key goes in, i doubt that this your problem.
To remove this you will need to turn the key so the ignition is on and there is a small hole on the side and insert a paper clip to release it

The ignition barrel
This is bolted on to the steering column with 2x sheer nuts, and is a real pain to remove
This has the ignition switch, and has a pin which goes into the steering column to lock it

The steering column
the upper part can be remove quite easily as it is bolted on to the car dashboard main frame

If you can't strip it down
I would unbolt it from the dash

[Fraz]

Roger,

Appreciate that.

Il have a crack at stripping it down today on my day off. it appears this isnt a very common problem with mk5s...

These shear bolts. I take it a chisel and hammer will crack them and normal bolts can be used as a replacement?

[Eddie-NL]

I ended up drilling them out, normal bolts can be used

there is a plastic cage where all the wipers, indicator stalks and steering controller. this may get in the way when using a chisel

[Fraz]

Righto guys,

Stripped it down today. Turns out the ignition barrel with steering lock had disintegrated inside and everything had jammed up.

New one is 70 bucks from main dealers.

Those bolts were not fun to get out!

[Fraz]

and to add another saddening incident the new part from VW arrived locked up and useless!! Took it back and ANOTHER ordered.. lol

[Aaroncupra]

I had an odd issue with my 2007 leon cupra , went to start it one morning and my key wouldnt go in at all, was afraid to force it to much incase I broke the key,

It just felt like something was jaming it from going in, sprayed wd40 in and tapped it in lightly and it went in and a few times after I wondered was it going to go in,

Its been fine now which is odd but I contacted SEAT and they seemed surprised that the barrel could be faulty and had not really heard of this before on the mk2's,

My car had never done this before, it happened the morning I was meant to get my PSS10's fitted, trust that to happen  , they go fitted ok tho 

[Fraz]

New ignition barrel fitted and all seems well.

Initially the traction control and steering wheel warning lights were illuminated however after a few hundred yards and some lock to locks on the steering and both lights went off.

£70 down including vat!

[Phas2]

Hi Fraz,

Thanks for this really useful thread. I'm. Es to the forum and I've got exactly the same problem!!! I have I managed to strip everything down right up to the last black plastic housing around the steering column which the lighting and indicator cars clip into.

I don't have a clear view of the bolts fixing the ignition barrel to be able chisel them off and there isn't enough room to drill them out. How do I remove the bolts and ensure I can fix the news on once I've fitted the new ignition barrel?

Cheers