Ignition Repair in Santa Clarita, CA

Why won't my ignition key turn?

An ignition key that will not turn is one of the more stressful car problems, because it usually happens when you are already trying to leave. The key goes in, you twist it, and nothing moves. Or the key goes in and will not come back out. Either way, the car is going nowhere until the cause is found.

The good news is that this is often a mechanical problem inside a small lock, and small locks can be repaired. The ignition cylinder is a lock, the same family of mechanism we have worked on since 1987. It has internal parts that wear, collect grime, and eventually stop agreeing with the key you are holding. Sometimes the fix is a cleaning and adjustment, sometimes a repaired or rebuilt cylinder, and sometimes a replacement. What we do not do is guess. We look at the lock, the key and the vehicle first.

This page covers ignition repair: keys that will not turn, keys that are stuck, and cylinders that have worn out. If your real problem is a snapped key, a lost key, or a locked-out car, those are different jobs with their own pages, and we point you to them below.

What should I do if my key is stuck in the ignition?

A few quiet minutes of careful checking can save you from damaging the lock. Most of the damage we see on ignition cylinders comes from force, so the main advice is to stay gentle.

Before you call, work through these simple checks. They cost nothing and sometimes solve the problem outright.

• Make sure the gear selector is fully in park (or neutral for a manual). A selector that is not fully seated can keep the key from turning or releasing.
• Turn the steering wheel gently left and right while you apply light turning pressure to the key. The steering lock can bind against the wheel and hold the cylinder in place.
• Check the key itself. If it is visibly bent, chipped or rounded off, stop. Forcing a damaged key can snap it in the lock.
• If you have a spare key, try it. A spare that turns freely tells you the original key is worn and the cylinder may be fine.
• Do not hammer, pry, or force the key, and avoid spraying oil into the ignition. Oil tends to hold dust and can make a worn lock gum up further.

What causes an ignition to stop working?

Ignition problems have several common causes, and the symptom alone does not tell you which one you have. That is why we inspect before we quote a repair.

• A worn key. Years of use round off the cuts, especially on a key that has been copied from a copy. A worn key may no longer lift the internal parts to the right height.
• A worn cylinder. The internal parts inside the cylinder wear too, and a lock that once accepted any decent copy becomes picky, then stops working.
• Dirt and debris. Dust, lint and grit collect in a key slot over the years and can make the key stiff or sticky.
• A steering-lock bind. The steering column lock can hold tight against a wheel that is under tension, especially after the car was parked with the wheels turned.
• Damage from a past theft attempt. A forced ignition can still sort of work for a while, then fail. Signs include a loose cylinder or a cracked surround.
• Electrical or immobilizer trouble. A key that turns but will not start the car is a different problem, and may involve the key's chip or the car's electronics rather than the lock.

How do we repair an ignition cylinder?

Here is how a typical ignition repair call goes. The details change with the vehicle, but the order stays the same.

1. You call (213) 577-1366 at any hour. A person answers, and we ask for your vehicle's make, model and year, where it is parked, and what the key is doing.
2. We send a mobile van to your location. Because we are one company with a storefront in Westwood and our own vans, there is no dispatch middleman passing your job along.
3. We look at the key first. A worn or damaged key is a very different diagnosis from a worn cylinder, and checking it costs little time.
4. We check the vehicle by VIN or in person. This tells us how the ignition is built and what needs to be confirmed before work starts.
5. We free a stuck key if needed, working carefully so the cylinder is not damaged further. If the key has broken off, that falls under broken key extraction.
6. We clean and adjust the cylinder where that will solve it, repair it where the internals can be restored, or replace it when it is too worn to trust.
7. We test the result with the key turning smoothly through every position, and with the vehicle itself where the repair allows. Then we explain what we found and what, if anything, you should keep an eye on.

Should the cylinder be repaired or replaced?

This is the question most customers actually care about, and the honest answer is that it depends on the lock. A cylinder that is dirty or slightly worn can often be cleaned, adjusted and kept in service. A cylinder with heavy internal wear, a broken part, or damage from forced entry is usually better replaced, because a repair on a failing lock may only last a short time.

Sometimes the cylinder is not the problem at all. If a fresh key turns smoothly where the old key sticks, the repair may be as simple as cutting a new key. In that case we would rather tell you that than sell you a cylinder. A replacement key may fall under car key replacement, and if the key needs a chip programmed to start the car, transponder key programming may be part of the job.

On newer vehicles, the ignition may be tied to the car's anti-theft system. We do not make blanket promises about which cars we can do on the spot. For chip, programming and cylinder details on a specific vehicle, we confirm by VIN or in person, and where the data is unclear we say so rather than guess. Some vehicles also have ignition or immobilizer work that only the dealer can complete, and if yours is one of them we will tell you plainly before you spend anything with us, so you do not pay for a visit that cannot solve the problem.

What affects the cost of ignition repair in Santa Clarita?

We do not publish numbers on a web page, because an honest ignition repair quote depends on the car in front of us. Here is what actually moves the cost up or down, so you know what to expect when you call.

The biggest factor is the work required. Freeing and adjusting a sticky cylinder is a lighter job than rebuilding one, and rebuilding one is lighter than replacing the whole cylinder and cutting keys to match. The usually more economical route is the one that matches the real fault, which is why diagnosis comes first.

• Whether the cylinder can be cleaned or repaired, or must be replaced.
• Whether the key is the real problem and a new key solves it.
• The vehicle's make, model and year, and how its ignition and anti-theft system are built.
• Whether a chip needs to be programmed to a new key. That is a separate step from the lock repair.
• Whether the key is broken off in the cylinder, which adds extraction work.
• Where the vehicle is parked and the time of day or night you call, since a mobile visit to your location is part of the service.

Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for ignition repair?

Plenty of companies will answer the phone. Here is what we can say honestly about ours.

We have been in business since 1987, and an ignition cylinder is a lock like any other: pins or wafers, springs, a cam, and a key that has to match them. Decades of working on locks teaches you what a worn one feels like. We have a storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood, so we are a real shop with a real address, and we also run mobile service vans to reach you where your car is parked.

We are one company. The person you speak with is part of the team that does the work, not a call center passing your job to whoever is free. David, the owner and lead technician, oversees the work. Our phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year, at (213) 577-1366, which matters because ignition trouble does not keep business hours.

One more thing worth knowing: California requires locksmith companies to hold a BSIS LCO license, and you should ask any locksmith you are thinking of hiring for it. That is good advice whether you call us or anyone else. For the wider range of vehicle work we handle, see our automotive locksmith page.

What does ignition trouble look like in Santa Clarita?

Santa Clarita is a car city. It is spread across a valley of master-planned neighborhoods, and most of life here happens behind the wheel, from Saugus and Canyon Country to Valencia and Newhall. When an ignition fails, you feel it quickly, because there is rarely a short walk to anywhere that replaces the car.

The climate plays a part. This is an inland valley with hot, dry summers that regularly climb above 95°F, and wide swings between day and night temperatures. A car parked in that heat has a hot interior, and a key sitting in a worn cylinder can feel stiffer than it does on a mild day. Santa Ana wind events add another problem, because they carry dust that works into exterior lock mechanisms and gate hardware. An ignition sits inside the cabin, so it is better protected than a door lock, but a lock that has already worn from years of daily use takes dust poorly. If your key has started to feel gritty or slow, that is worth looking at before it fails completely.

Here is a scenario that fits this city well. You spend an afternoon shopping near Valencia Town Center, walk back into one of the parking structures, and your key will not turn or will not come out. Those structures are busy, and being stuck in one is awkward. If the car is also locked with the key inside, that is a car lockout rather than an ignition problem, and we handle that too. The same applies in the neighborhoods around the city: a driveway in Saugus, a street in Canyon Country, a lot in Newhall, or a ranch gate off Sand Canyon Road, which is where our mobile locksmith service comes in.

We serve all the ZIP codes in the city, including 91321, 91350, 91351, 91354, 91355, 91387 and 91390. Our storefront in Westwood is about 34 miles from Santa Clarita, so the vans do the traveling. We will give you a realistic arrival expectation when you call rather than an optimistic one, because it depends on where our vans are at that moment.

How can I keep an ignition from failing?

You cannot prevent every failure, but a few habits make a worn ignition last longer and give you warning before it quits.

Keep a heavy keychain off the ignition. A bulky ring of keys hangs from the cylinder and pulls on it every time you drive over a bump, and that constant tug is a common reason cylinders wear out sooner. Where you can, use a lighter ring and separate your car key from the rest.

Do not rely on a worn copy. If your only key has rounded edges or has been copied from a copy, have a fresh key cut before it fails. Our key duplication service can help with that where the key is a simple one, and if the key has a chip, we confirm by VIN what is needed first.

Pay attention to early signs. A key that needs jiggling, a cylinder that sticks only when the car is hot, or a key that is hard to pull out are all signs of trouble. A repair at that stage is usually a lighter job than a repair after the lock has failed completely.

If you have already lost your only key and cannot start the car at all, that is a different situation, covered under lost car key replacement.

More locksmith help in Santa Clarita

• Automotive Locksmith in Santa Clarita
• Car Key Replacement in Santa Clarita
• Key Fob Replacement in Santa Clarita
• Lost Car Key Replacement in Santa Clarita
• Transponder Key Programming in Santa Clarita
• 24 Hour Locksmith in Santa Clarita
• All services in Santa Clarita

Ignition Repair near Santa Clarita

• Valencia
• Stevenson Ranch
• Sylmar
• San Fernando
• Agua Dulce
• Acton

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