Problems Turning Ignition Key / Barrel

[Wayne.wirral]

Evening. I am after advice and information with regards the ignition barrel on my 2016 T6.
I’ve owned the van since brand new and it has never missed a beat or caused me any issues but today when I went to start the van the ignition barrel would not turn to allow me to start the van. After several minutes of trying to turn the ignition I used the key to open and shut the drivers side lock with no issue and then tried the ignition again but still the ignition will not turn.

Has any body else experienced this or got any advice for what to do next?

 

[sparkzer]

sounds like the steering lock is stuck on...have you given the wheel a aggressive wiggling whilst trying to turn the key?

 

[Wayne.wirral]

sounds like the steering lock is stuck on...have you given the wheel a aggressive wiggling whilst trying to turn the key?

I have tried turning the steering wheel whilst turning the key but I’ve had no luck
It doesn’t feel like the steering lock is on to be honest... but still the ignition key will not turn... I’m going to try some wd40 tomorrow and see if that does any good.
Thanks for your reply.

 

[teamfly]

Hope it's not this , but I had ignition barrel fail on my first T5 , a bit stiff to turn for a day then solid .
Hope you get sorted .

 

[Wayne.wirral]

Hope it's not this , but I had ignition barrel fail on my first T5 , a bit stiff to turn for a day then solid .
Hope you get sorted .

Thanks for the reply... I’ll try some WD40 tomorrow morning and see if it is a miracle cure.. fingers crossed...

 

[teamfly]

Fingers crossed for you .
Was about 6 years ago , but £300 ish for the barrel with a couple weeks wait to get one from VW .
Local mechanic rigged up a temp set up with one from a caddy he was breaking with chip from key attached.

 

[Wayne.wirral]

Fingers crossed for you .
Was about 6 years ago , but £300 ish for the barrel with a couple weeks wait to get one from VW .
Local mechanic rigged up a temp set up with one from a caddy he was breaking with chip from key attached.

Thanks for the reply... I’ll try it again in the morning.. hope that it is just a glitch..hope

 

[sparkzer]

If it is anything to do with the steering lock, it wouldn't hurt to let the handbrake off and roll the van forward or backwards a bit to take the pressure off the lock.

 

[Dellmassive]

If 2016 you still in 36mnth warranty?

Call out VW Assist for a look.

 

[sparkzer]

If 2016 you still in 36mnth warranty?

Call out VW Assist for a look.

....wouldnt that have ran out at best Dec 31st 2019?

 

[Smr72]

Mine doe this occasionally if the steering lock hasn’t engaged, I just take key back out turn wheel till lock engages then, ( can be a bit of an effort), retry key and it works every time, I thought initially something was wrong but now think it may be normal

 

[Wayne.wirral]

Mine doe this occasionally if the steering lock hasn’t engaged, I just take key back out turn wheel till lock engages then, ( can be a bit of an effort), retry key and it works every time, I thought initially something was wrong but now think it may be normal

Thanks very much for the reply and advice.. I will give it a go .. fingers crossed

 

[Tourershine]

@T6180 had this problem when he was at my house last week. His was also the steering lock. You'd be quite surprised the amount of force needed to disarm the steering lock if it's say on full lock. I'd be very surprised if this isn't the actual problem.

Keep us posted.

 

[Wayne.wirral]

Good afternoon.
Thank you all so much for the helpful advice that you all took the time to write and offer with the issues I am experiencing with the ignition not turning .
I ended up having to call VW Assistane and the AA man arrived...
we tried the spare key... no luck
Unlocking and locking the drivers side door with key and then ignition..no luck
Turning steering wheel either way did not engage steering lock and still the ignition would not turn

Eventually after 15 mins and trying the key in the ignition it turned and able to start the engine.. AA man thinks issue with ignition lock so van now dropped off at VW Wrexham for them to diagnose.. fingers crossed they find a fault and able to rectify because the ignition operated fine when at dealer.

Thank you all so much for the advice and replies... very much appreciated .
I will let people know what VW Wrexham advise.

 

[teamfly]

How'd u get on with this ?

 

[Wayne.wirral]

How'd u get on with this ?

Evening... I called out the AA and explained that I could not turn the ignition key and he said that he’d never heard of this before and if it was an old Ford Transit he might expect it but was surprised it was happening on a three year old T6... but we drove it down to VW commercial centre in Wrexham and they have had it and not been able to replicate the issue... I can only hope that it is a one off

 

[rtg1200]

Evening... I called out the AA and explained that I could not turn the ignition key and he said that he’d never heard of this before and if it was an old Ford Transit he might expect it but was surprised it was happening on a three year old T6... but we drove it down to VW commercial centre in Wrexham and they have had it and not been able to replicate the issue... I can only hope that it is a one off

I've repaired a good few vag ignitions where bits have broken off on the inside and jammed everything in place, or the wafers in the lock have worn down. It wont be a one off will only happen again as more metal breaks inside or more wear happens. best we've found is to take the ignition lock off the column, strip it down and clean everything out. sometimes means losing the steering lock mechanism in which case a new one would be better obviously, but not everyone is concerned about that. more often than not can get everything moving again.

 

[Fluff34567]

If you do take it apart make sure to take the wafers out in sequence and organise them so there is no way you can knock them out of sequence.

I had a sticking lock in the past and found a good sharp tap on the case would free it up

 

[symoneous]

I had the exact same issue as the OP. I was stuck in an airport parking lot with a barrage of angry drivers behind me. Quickly went to T6 forum, and lo and behold. There was the answer. Moving the steering wheel until the lock kicked in, and I was able to get the key out of the ignition and start the car.