Cannot remove key out of ignition!!

[Himself]

first time ever, could not remove the key out of ignition. I could remove it nearly 80% of the way, but the tip of the key feels like it is catching on something and cannot come out. I have left the key in and will bring to dealer tomorrow. tried steering wheel jiggling, parking brake and park gear adjustment but cannot. Have kept the truck in garage in the meantime. any help appreciated.

[rambrush]

sure sounds like a bent wafer in the tumbler, after a lot of use and or a lot of keys on key ring they take a pounding get bent and capture the key.
But it could be not coming back into proper off position as in tranny not fully in park or such a thing.
Hard ta say with out looking will be interesting to c what dealer says about it.

[Jer]

Is it in 'P' ??

[42GAMI]

Originally Posted by rambrush

sure sounds like a bent wafer in the tumbler, after a lot of use and or a lot of keys on key ring they take a pounding get bent and capture the key.
But it could be not coming back into proper off position as in tranny not fully in park or such a thing.
Hard ta say with out looking will be interesting to c what dealer says about it.

yeah, it does sound like a snaged waffer. do/did you use your key for anything other than the ignition, like opening beer bottles or sawing? you might have damaged the key to the point the waffer snaged on a deep cut. the waffer might be bent due to a deep cut key or a spring dropped and got wedged in the tumbler. in any event, have that ingition looked into, even if you get the key out, im sure the issue will happen again.

im not sure if tundra ignitions use split waffer pins like some other toyotas, they are more sensitive to deep cut keys than regular waffers.

[Himself]

I brought the truck to the dealer and the service mech just yanked it out. It came out and he said the key looked oK and the problem did not recur after a few tries. he said come back if it comes back again. What do you think I should do? Should I ask for them to look at it more closely?

[rambrush]

Its a very good chance it will happen again, especially if a gorilla got hold of it with vise grips and yanked er out. think very thin metal part fairly stout key who do you think is going to get damaged?
Is there a lot of dirt and debri build up on the key? if so you could take wd40 to clean it out and then spray a tad bit of tri flow into it. don't recommend any graphite products. use canned air to blow er out after wd40

[42GAMI]

yeah, what he said ^ use just a tad of tri-flow. stay away from graphite, it will gum up the ignition. if you want, pm me a profile pic of your key, i can prolly eyeball it and tell you if your key has an unusually deep cut or not. or i might be able to tell if your key has a notch worn on one of the cut thats causing it to hang.

im a lookin at my key righ now and it looks like a typical 6 x 4.
6 spaces, by 4 depths. weak if you ask me, only 4096 posible combinations.

111111
111112
111113
111114
111121
111122
111123
111124
111131
111132
and so on

you can guess what my other trade used to be.

[My03Tundra]

Originally Posted by 42GAMI

yeah, what he said ^ use just a tad of tri-flow. stay away from graphite, it will gum up the ignition. if you want, pm me a profile pic of your key, i can prolly eyeball it and tell you if your key has an unusually deep cut or not. or i might be able to tell if your key has a notch worn on one of the cut thats causing it to hang.

im a lookin at my key righ now and it looks like a typical 6 x 4.
6 spaces, by 4 depths. weak if you ask me, only 4096 posible combinations.

111111
111112
111113
111114
111121
111122
111123
111124
111131
111132
and so on

you can guess what my other trade used to be.

Ummm... did you have to serve "time" after "working" in your trade?

[Tundradouger]

I have a similar problem. At first I could not get the key out. I used pliers to get the key out. So when I put the key back in, it won't turn over. no matter what I try. I push the steering wheel over, I try playing with the gear shifter and try turning at the same time. No help. Won't turn.
A guy suggest that I take the tumbler apart and use a screw driver to start my car, so I can take it down for repairs. What do you think I should do about it?

[H2O_MAN]

Had the same problem a few months ago.
Dealer replaced the cylinder and re-keyed all locks.
Everything is just fine now.

[charliebear]

Key won't release from ignition lock position unless battery was disconnected and even when the battery was disconnected, I could still
shift gears.

This was the problem I had in my 1996 Toyota Celica.

The problem turned out to be the plastic Shift Lock plate. It's located within the console underneath the shifter.

http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/h18.pdf

[Sandinmytires]

My wife has arthritis in her hands and something like turning an ignition key hurts. It forces her to be really rough on the mechanism. (Her Sienna is having a problem similar to yours.)

Your ignition key "technique" might be putting a lot of stress on the mechanism. Just a thought.

[Keyman1]

I've been a Locksmith for 24 years now. "Himself" this does not sound like a bent wafer to me. With out observing the key and lock in question myself. I would say the cuts on your key are cut in a downward slant toward the tip of the key, cuts go shallower to deeper. From head to tip. Except for the last or second to last cuts. This or these cuts maybe very shallow. If when shutting the vehicle off, the ignition does not go completely into the off or lock position the key cannot be removed. If the cuts of the key are all downhill and the teeth between the cuts are warn off; a key can be removed while the ignition is still in the on position. Now if the last cut is a high or shallow cut, then the key would stop there.
"Tundradouger" You, at the start, may have had a similar problem. But now that the key has been removed with pliers and when you try it again it will not work. I would bet there is significant wafer damage. Also, you can't just take these ignitions out. Just like that. You need to turn the key to the on position first, then press the lock retainer in to remove the ignition. As it sounds, this can be difficult to do without a working key or with a malfunctioning ignition. If any of you are having similar problems I would suggest getting a new code cut key made. This is not a duplicate of a key you already have. This is a new key cut to factory specifications. I would also suggest using a locksmith. No offense Dealers, but keys are a Locksmiths job. I adjust the key machines for the Hardware stores and Dealerships in my area. A code cut key solves a couple of problems. The cuts will now be very close to perfect and the teeth between the cuts will be present. Code cut keys average around $7.00-$15.00 as long as no transponders is present. Always try any keys you get in the passenger door first. If the key is cut incorrectly it could get stuck in and/or break off in the ignition or the door lock. The passengers door lock sees very little use. Therefore, this lock will be in the newest condition, the closest to true factory spec.'s. What better place to check a new key. On earlier models made by Toyota the ignitions keyway(key hole) would wear out. The hole would become larger with use. The core or cylinder portions of the ignition were made of Alum.So after alot of use the key would fit very sloppy. So much so that the millings on the key would no longer match up to the millings in the ignition. So that the key would not be guided into the ignition correctly and the lock would jamb. This was a very common problem with earlier model Toyotas.
Hope this helps.

[Heatwave]

Originally Posted by Keyman1

I've been a Locksmith for 24 years now. "Himself" this does not sound like a bent wafer to me. With out observing the key and lock in question myself. I would say the cuts on your key are cut in a downward slant toward the tip of the key, cuts go shallower to deeper. From head to tip. Except for the last or second to last cuts. This or these cuts maybe very shallow. If when shutting the vehicle off, the ignition does not go completely into the off or lock position the key cannot be removed. If the cuts of the key are all downhill and the teeth between the cuts are warn off; a key can be removed while the ignition is still in the on position. Now if the last cut is a high or shallow cut, then the key would stop there.
"Tundradouger" You, at the start, may have had a similar problem. But now that the key has been removed with pliers and when you try it again it will not work. I would bet there is significant wafer damage. Also, you can't just take these ignitions out. Just like that. You need to turn the key to the on position first, then press the lock retainer in to remove the ignition. As it sounds, this can be difficult to do without a working key or with a malfunctioning ignition. If any of you are having similar problems I would suggest getting a new code cut key made. This is not a duplicate of a key you already have. This is a new key cut to factory specifications. I would also suggest using a locksmith. No offense Dealers, but keys are a Locksmiths job. I adjust the key machines for the Hardware stores and Dealerships in my area. A code cut key solves a couple of problems. The cuts will now be very close to perfect and the teeth between the cuts will be present. Code cut keys average around $7.00-$15.00 as long as no transponders is present. Always try any keys you get in the passenger door first. If the key is cut incorrectly it could get stuck in and/or break off in the ignition or the door lock. The passengers door lock sees very little use. Therefore, this lock will be in the newest condition, the closest to true factory spec.'s. What better place to check a new key. On earlier models made by Toyota the ignitions keyway(key hole) would wear out. The hole would become larger with use. The core or cylinder portions of the ignition were made of Alum.So after alot of use the key would fit very sloppy. So much so that the millings on the key would no longer match up to the millings in the ignition. So that the key would not be guided into the ignition correctly and the lock would jamb. This was a very common problem with earlier model Toyotas.
Hope this helps.

It was a very common problem I had with a '78 Mercury Grand Marquis, too. Dealership screwed around with it and never did get it working properly. Took it to a local locksmith who took the lockset out and performed some kinda magic ... never had another problem with the keys in that car. But as for all the other problems that 460 cu. in. beast gave me, ....