Thread: Key Won't Turn!

98 grand prix gtp. I never had a problem before. i replaced the transmission solenoid and now the key wont turn. the steering wheel is not turned, it is straight and is locked. the steering wheel wont move. the car is in park and can be manually released with the shift lock button next to the shifter. the tranny is in park because both of the wheels spin the opposite way of eachother. the car is up off the ground. the ignition appears to be in the "Off" position because the key slides in and out withought any problems. ive tried mashing on the steering wheel to the left and right side while pushing the shift lever into park and still nothing. even hit the brake a few times. the key will not turn from the off position. Any Ideas?!!! ive tried 2 sets of keys. Steering wheel is locked and ignition is in off position. ive even tried taking it apart and hit all the bypass switches underneath the steering wheel.

turn the wheel from side to side while trying to turn the key to "on"

and the car has power right?

iv'e already tried turning the wheel back and forth. still nothing. the battery is fully charged and when the key is inserted, the car makes the dinging sound when door is opened.

just flipped both keys i had around. no go. key wont move out of the off position. i thought the brake pedal sensor was only to be able to move the shift lever from park with the key on the run position

your steering wheel is LOCKED which means you need to unlock it... just so happens that the ignition is the trigger for that.

If you can't unlock the steering wheel, you wont be able to turn the key to the on position.

that makes sense. ok so in order to unlock the steering wheel, i need to get the key to turn. the key does'nt turn. do i need a new key cylinder? if so does anyone have a good write-up i can use to replace this?

The real question for me right now is this. Is the key not turning because of the locked steering wheel? or the cylinder the key goes into is junk?

I dont know how the lock mechanism works but at the same time, the position of the wheel will also make it more difficult to turn the key.

What i'm implying is there is something between the two or its one assembly.

That i can't answer.

so the car works again?