Key wouldn't turn for hours/Wheel Locked. (possible key or ignition lock cylinder?)

[Scholzpdx]

My car: 99' Saturn SL1 Sedan SOHC Automatic. 139.5k, bought at 124k last August in Chicago.

I've been having a harder time with both of my daily keys to my 99 Saturn SL1 for months now. My wife said the problem with the keys has become progressively worse. When putting my key in, i have to put it in, pull it most of the way, then push it back in a little and turn for it to move over into acc/drive. My wife over the past couple of days has been telling me the car wouldn't turn on because of this. Yesterday it took her 20+ minutes.

Today she couldn't get the key turn over for an hour. For a couple hours I couldn't get it to work. The wheel was locked and the key wouldn't budge more than a quarter of an inch. After several hundred attempts I came onto saturnfans and read the part where if you jerk the key up and down while trying to turn the key, it will work. Low and behold it did. I drove it 30 miles home and parked it, pulled the key out, put it back in and started it like I have been (prior to this incident) 7 times straight.

I've been pricing on ignition lock cylinders and aftermarket ones are going for $90 in my area. Ebay shows many 98 SL compatible for $16, but the 1999's are more ($65), even through they should be the same.

Other suggestions have been getting new keys cut from the dealer. I'm looking at my daily key, my wifes daily key, and a cut spare that we have (all given from previous owner). EVERY KEY is moderately DIFFERENT around the top and base but all HAVE worked when tried. Is this a sign that getting a new cut key according to the vin is likely the answer?

Thank you very much in advance for the suggestions.

-Scott

(Side note, thank you oh so much for the suggestion on the site that said how to jiggle it properly. We were on a 4 story parking garage that no tow company could get to and no mobile mechanics in the area. I was screwed if it didn't work!)

[fdryer]

Are all three ignition keys worn? Tried some lock lubricant? Prior to turning off the ignition, is the steering wheel returned to front/straight position so the steering wheel lock isn't engaged as this can create doubling the effort to turning the ignition key the next time the car is used? Avoiding engaging the steering column lock except for parking on inclined streets to point the wheels into the curb allows turning the ignition lock cylinder with less effort.

If the ignition lock cylinder is the issue then it may be better to start out with a pair of OEM keys cut from GM using the car's VIN and see. If the new keys won't work then the lock cylinder will need to be replaced.

[jimboman]

My keys consistently wear out from a few a years of use (2001 SW2). What I do is to always keep a few copies of an unworn key. The worn keys are nearly useless, as you've found, but an unworn key starts easily. I haven't tried lock lubricant, but perhaps that would cure the wear issue. At least key copies for these cars are only a couple bucks at Wal-Mart.

[mattwithcats]

First make sure that there is no pressure on the steering wheel anti turn lock. If the steering wheel is pushing against this the lock will not want to rotate.

Graphite in the locks helps, keys do wear out. New keys are cheaper than locks...
Also a shot from a can of compressed air into the lock first before the graphite gets the crud out...

[Woodpecker]

I just went through this. If you get a new key from the VIN at a dealer, and take the lock cylinder out and clean it up, you may be in good shape. That's all it took for me. We originally only had a bad key copy to use, and it was hit and miss. Then I couldn't get the key to turn at all, with either the bad one or the new one from the dealer. Took it apart and cleaned the lock cylinder (used brake clean and compressed air) and the housing, and put it back together. You'll see with the cylinder out the bar that runs lengthwise opposite the slots where the tumblers/pins are. If the key doesn't engage them right, the bar won't drop all the way, and you can't turn the key. When I first saw it, I was about to just file that bar down so I wouldn't get stuck again (and just about any key or object would have been able to turn the cylinder), but a cleanup worked. I too spent HOURS using all 3 keys we have trying not to call a locksmith to do it! It's not hard to get out once you can get the key to turn to ACC.

[Scholzpdx]

Thank you all for the suggestions. On sunday I used a can of canned air inside of the cylinder. A good amount of metal and dust deposits popped out. I went to a GM service center today and received two new VIN-cut keys. All of my spare keys were ridiculously worn down. Both worked pretty good while I was leaving.

I came home and parked the car. I turned it off, pulled the key out and it felt a good amount of resistance getting it out. I tried starting it again and it locked up like it did before with the old key! I jiggled the wheel right and it locked up once again! I was able to get it going after 10 seconds of figiting.

I did two applications of lock-ease and both times it's somewhat difficult to turn the key without a decent amount of figiting. Should I leave a coat of lock-ease in overnight? Should I get the tool to take off the plastic housing and take out of the cylinder for a clean?

What tool do I exactly need to get to the cylinder? A super long 5.5mm... wrench?

Thanks for the suggestions.