Key won't turn in ignition

Hi, this has probably been asked a dozen times, but my key will not turn in the ignition and the steering lock is engaged. I managed to get it started after a lot of stress, effort and patience. I took it to my local Citroen garage who have told me it needs a new lock set at a cost of £615!!! I don't know a huge amount about cars, but i was thinking the ignition barrel would just need replacing. Anybody have any ideas or input so that i can get out of paying all that money?

Hi Alexsimmonite

Alexsimmonite wrote:Hi, this has probably been asked a dozen times, but my key will not turn in the ignition and the steering lock is engaged. I managed to get it started after a lot of stress, effort and patience. I took it to my local Citroen garage who have told me it needs a new lock set at a cost of £615!!! I don't know a huge amount about cars, but i was thinking the ignition barrel would just need replacing. Anybody have any ideas or input so that i can get out of paying all that money?

If you have a breakdown of the quote, it may include programming a new key and that can be costly in its own right from a dealer.

Getting the barrel from the steering column can be an issue because of the security screw in place. This racks up the labour cost.

You could go second hand and find a local mechanic to fit it and swap parts of your old key into the new key. This would be cheaper.

Have a look these listings on eBay (click here) to find a steering column complete for your year C3 and secure it before someone else does

Then its a case of finding someone willing to do the job


Some Citroen C3 ignition switch pictures in this topic.

Hello Alexsimmonite

You could also try another dealer or garage for a quote. The price you've been given does seem high for what's required.

If you go to a dealer they should be able to get a new cylinder which matches your keys, unless they think the keys are also worn. This saves having to swap the lock cylinder on the drivers door (you don't have to do this even if you change the ignition, it just means having two keys). If the keys are worn, you can get just the key blade, no need to change the complete key and reprogramme it.

Many dealerships go for the lowest labour option which isn't always the cheapest, and if you're prepared to do a bit of the work, ie swapping key blades you can make considerable savings.

Swapping a key cylinder is the sort of job any garage can do. Programming new keys to the car is a bit more involved but as I said, the blade and remote transmitter part are separate.