Open 6:00 AM to 8:30 PM · No VAT added to any job
A key that will not turn, will not come out, or turns and then does nothing is almost always the ignition rather than the key. A new barrel starts from £120, coded to the keys you already carry so you keep using the same key.
The fault is diagnosed at the vehicle before anything is quoted, because a worn barrel, a failed switch and a dead transponder all feel identical from the driver seat and cost very different amounts to put right.
Describe the ignition fault
Six symptoms account for nearly every ignition call. The symptom narrows the cause before Paul arrives, which is why the first question on the phone is what the key does rather than what the vehicle is.
| What the key does | What it usually means | What the repair involves |
|---|---|---|
| Key goes in but will not turn at all | A worn barrel, a seized lock or the steering lock under load | The barrel is freed and serviced where it is salvageable, or replaced and coded to your keys starting from £120 |
| Key turns part way then stops | Wear inside the barrel letting the wafers sit out of line | The barrel is stripped and inspected, and a worn barrel is replaced rather than patched because it will fail again |
| Key will not come back out | A failed return spring, a worn wafer or the gear selector not fully in park | The key is released without force, then the cause is fixed so it does not strand the vehicle again |
| Key turns, dashboard lights, engine will not crank | The ignition switch behind the barrel rather than the barrel itself | The switch is tested and replaced separately, which costs less than a barrel because the lock is untouched |
| Key turns and cranks, engine will not fire | The transponder or the immobiliser, not the ignition at all | The key is read and reprogrammed, or the immobiliser fault is traced, which is a key job rather than a lock job |
| Push button start does nothing | The electronic steering lock or the keyless module | The module is read, and a failed electronic steering lock is identified before any part is ordered |
A snapped blade left inside the barrel is a different job again and is covered on the {L} page, because the metal has to come out before the ignition can be judged at all.
Some ignition faults are not faults. These four take a minute each and occasionally save a call out altogether.
The steering lock takes load when the wheels are turned against a kerb, and that load holds the barrel. Push the wheel firmly left and right while turning the key gently rather than forcing it.
An automatic will refuse to release the key unless the selector is properly in park. Move it into neutral and back into park, press the brake and try again.
If the spare turns, the ignition is fine and the problem is a worn blade. If both keys behave the same way, the fault is in the vehicle.
On a push button vehicle a flat key battery stops the vehicle detecting the key. Hold the key against the start button or the marked spot on the column, which many makes allow as a backup.
Five ignition jobs come up again and again across the Wigan borough, and all five are carried out where the vehicle is parked.
Most common
Years of use round off the wafers inside the barrel until the key no longer lines them up. The barrel is replaced and coded to your existing keys so no new key is needed.
Often repairable
Dirt, a dry lock or a bent wafer can be freed and serviced without replacing anything, which is always the first thing checked.
Electrical, not mechanical
The switch behind the lock is what sends power to the starter. It is tested and replaced on its own, leaving the lock and the key as they are.
Same day job
The key is released without drilling or forcing, then the reason it jammed is dealt with so the vehicle is not left waiting for it to happen again.
Push button vehicles
Common on several European makes. The module is read first, because the symptom looks exactly like a flat battery or a dead key.
Where a barrel is replaced, it is coded to the keys you already carry wherever the make allows it. That matters, because the alternative at a dealership is often a new barrel and a full set of new keys.
Three separate parts sit behind the simple act of starting a vehicle, and each one fails in its own way. Getting the diagnosis right is the difference between a modest repair and an unnecessary one.
Each of those three produces a different symptom and a different bill, which is why nothing is replaced before it is tested. A barrel fitted to cure a switch fault leaves the driver with the same problem and a larger invoice.
A barrel rarely fails without warning. It gives several weeks of hints first, and acting on them is far cheaper than being stranded.
Any of those is worth a call while the vehicle still starts, because a barrel replaced on a driveway on a chosen day costs the same as one replaced on a roadside and loses far less of your time.
Ignition work sits alongside these jobs, and sometimes follows one of them.
Ignition work is carried out anywhere inside 25 miles of Wigan, with no call out fee added.
Every other town inside the radius is listed on the areas we cover page.
Two guides cover the parts and the costs behind an ignition fault.
A new ignition barrel with Locked Out starts from £120, with no VAT added. A barrel that can be freed and serviced costs less, and an ignition switch is quoted separately because the lock itself is left alone. The figure moves with the make and whether the new barrel can be coded to your existing keys.
Most often a worn barrel, where years of use have rounded the wafers inside until the key no longer lines them up. The other common causes are the steering lock taking load from the front wheels, an automatic selector not fully in park, and a worn key rather than a worn lock.
Sometimes. A barrel that is dirty, dry or has a single bent wafer can be stripped, serviced and put back. A barrel that is genuinely worn is replaced, because servicing it only postpones the same failure by a few weeks.
Not usually. Wherever the make allows it, the new barrel is coded to the keys you already carry so your existing keys keep working. On a few makes the barrel cannot be recoded, and that is said before the work starts rather than after.
Check that an automatic is fully in park and that the steering is not loaded against a kerb, then stop pulling. Force is what snaps a blade off inside the barrel, which turns a release into an extraction. The key is released without drilling on the same visit.
Try the spare. If the spare turns normally the lock is fine and the blade on the first key has worn. If both keys behave the same way, the fault is in the vehicle, and whether it sits in the barrel, the switch or the immobiliser is established by testing rather than by guessing.
Yes. On a push button vehicle the equivalent faults are the electronic steering lock and the keyless module, both of which are read at the vehicle. A flat key battery produces the same symptom and is ruled out first because it costs nothing to check.
Most barrels are replaced and coded inside one visit at the vehicle. Some makes require the steering column shroud to come off and a few require the barrel to be coded on the bench, which adds time and is explained on the phone.
Yes, and it is one of the more common van jobs because work vehicles turn their keys far more often than a car does. Van ignition work is carried out at the vehicle, including at a yard or a depot before the working day starts.
Key Will Not Turn?
Stop forcing it and call. A new barrel starts from £120 and is coded to the keys you already carry.