DH's strange car problem - has this ever happened to you? (long)

Craig just bought a new 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe earlier this year and it's the best car ever! Until last night that is.... He was on his way home from his last lesson of the night and when he went to put the key in the ignition, the key would not go in! He tried several times, but to no avail - it was stuck and he could not start the car. Luckily Hyundai has a great 24-hour Roadside Assistance policy, so he called them and they sent a tow truck about 25 minutes later. So, Craig proceeds to tell the tow truck guy what happened, and he's like 'Oh, you just saved me a tow!' He told Craig that this happens with a lot of other cars too, namely Fords and Dodges - the problem is with the grooves in the actual ignition.... Apparantly, if you keep your keys in your pocket and there is any kind of particles, lint, etc. stuck to it when you start the car - that gets lodged in the internal grooves of the ignition and it will block the key from fitting properly to start to car........ Long story short, he showed Craig how to 'fix' it, while key is as far in as it can go - tap lightly with pliers and it will knock the key into place. Craig was able to drive home, but when he tried to put the keys in again this morning, the same thing happened - and this time the pliers trick wouldn't work....

This is the first time I've ever heard of anything like this happening, and being that this car is brand new, I'm surprised that we're having this problem in the first place. Craig also doesnt like the idea of having to hit the key with a pair of pliers just to get the car to start either - so we had it towed to the service center to have a new ignition put in. This is not only an inconvienience, but ODD!! Has this ever happened to anyone else? Everything is covered under the warranty, so I don't think we're getting swindled or anything liek that either.... It's just kinda bugs me since it's such a wierd thing to happen to such a new car...

I've owned mainly fords and dodges and have never had that happen to me. Get the ignition looked at, if necessary have them re-key it. Good luck!!

thanks Kriss!

I know, it's the wierdest thing I've ever heard of! The tow truck guy told Craig that keeping your keys in your pocket is the worst place bc it causes this problem..... Um, where else are you supposed to hold your keys?! I'm hoping it's something easily fixed today at the service center!

All i can say is thankgod for warranties. Bring that truck to the dealer...I am sure it wont cost him s dime to fix and I dont think they will have to replace the ignition either...I have heard of this happen before.
Scott

yep, gotta love those warranties - no cost for us! Scott, you mentioned that you've heard of this before - do you know if it's a quick fix or not? Thanks!

Ya know, I have NEVER heard of this before. I, too, would feel uncomfortable tapping my key with pliers. I’ve had Chevies, Fords and my Mazda. This sounds very odd. Lint on keys causing your keys not to work????

What I can say is we had a Hyundai Tiburon for 3 and a half years. The car was great, until it’s first mechanical failure. I’ve had plenty of cars in my life that have had problems (or attitudes as I like to say), but NEVER have I had a car so possessed as that Hyundai! It was horrible. We had an option to buy the car at the end of the lease and I refused to even hear of it. I was just glad to get rid of it. Nice car, drove great, good looking but man I hated the servicing on it. It was covered under Warranty for 3 years of the 3 and half years we had it. It had to be in the shop at least five times in the first two years. For odd things that I’ve never seen happen to cars before. Most notably was the car not starting because of the alarm they installed, only to later disconnect and still have the same problems which was fixed with a tune up? Just strange.

Jim says I was mostly annoyed because all the problems that occurred I could not resolve myself. He’s probably right. No car should be so completely possessed that it can’t be diagnosed easily for repairs. I hated that they wouldn’t give us a rental while it was in the shop. I have my car as a backup but still!

Hopefully this will be an easy fix, for all that it’s strange.
I say get the entire key assembly replaced, but that’s just me.

Good Luck.

Absolutely bring that bad boy back to the dealer and have them fix it. I've heard of cars catching on fire because of ingnition troubles. Don't mess around Helena!!

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Posted by ambersmom

Absolutely bring that bad boy back to the dealer and have them fix it. I've heard of cars catching on fire because of ingnition troubles. Don't mess around Helena!!

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OMG!!! Now, I've never heard of that but am SO GLAD now that Craig took it to the dealer this morning! I just called him and they do have the car and will get back to him later this afternoon with the problem (hopefully fixed!!)

I dont know if it is a quick fix or not but I have heard of the problem before. Make sure you dont force the key into the ignition....You could break the key...and then worse you could break a piece off in the ignition...now that wouldnt be fun.
Scott

This may sound stupid, but perhaps the steering wheel was turned all the way & 'locked'. I know that has happened w/ my cars, Acura, Toyota, VW. If the wheel is turned all the way & the key is in the ignition, it won't start. You have to put the key in and turn the wheel & then the key will turn.

How's Golem?

thanks everyone - and happy new year!!

turned out it was something that was never done at the factory when the car was first assembled - and they service center just relubricated the ignition so it won't happen again. It was a quick fix and we had the car back that night - just in time for our holiday travels

Oh, Golem is great - he was a very spoiled puppy this Christmas!! Everyone who came over with presents for us also gave presents to Golem! His favorite new toys are a tire with a rope and a beef puff chewy (yuk!) He had fun trying to eat the wrapping paper on Christmas morning too! We thought we got all of it up, but as soon as he came in the room, he runs away with a tiny piece of it in his mouth love that puppy :)