Key Won't Turn in the Ignition? The $0 Fix Works 40% of the Time (2026 Costs: $0–$500)

Here's the most reassuring statistic in this corner of car trouble: over 40% of locksmith service calls for "my key won't turn" end at a locked steering wheel or a weak battery — two problems that cost exactly nothing and take under two minutes to fix, one of which most drivers have never been taught exists. The steering column locks as an anti-theft measure when the wheel gets bumped after the key comes out; the wheel then rests under tension against the lock pin, and that tension is what's blocking your key. The fix is a technique, not a part: pressure on the wheel, turn the key, done.

The rest of the ladder stays friendlier than it looks. A worn key ($25-$75 for a fresh one cut by code) gets blamed on a $300 cylinder constantly, and the spare-key test splits them for free. A dry or dirty cylinder wants $10 of graphite. The genuinely mechanical failures — worn cylinder wafers ($200-$500, RepairPal average $291-$372) and the electrical switch behind the cylinder ($200-$400) — sit at the top, and even they have a cheaper door than most people know: the mobile automotive locksmith, who comes to you and routinely does for $300 what a tow-plus-dealership does for $700.

And one modern twist that rewrites the diagnosis on newer cars: electronic steering locks need battery voltage to release. A weak battery makes the key feel mechanically jammed — drivers call locksmiths for what a jump-start fixes. If the dash lights are dim, the "ignition problem" may be a battery problem wearing a disguise.

This guide runs the full escalation: the five-minute protocol in strict cheapest-first order, the spare-key test that separates key wear from cylinder wear, 2026 prices for every rung, the by-vehicle table (including why Mercedes and BMW play a different, pricier game), and the scripts for the locksmith, the shop, and the dealer. By the end you'll know which rung you're on, your fair number, and your next move — quite possibly before the tow truck you almost called would have arrived. And if the key turns fine but the car still won't start, that's the neighboring problem family: clicking, silent, or cranking without firing.

I built Pulscar — an AI tool that diagnoses car problems before you pay a mechanic — after spending $6,000 on misdiagnosed repairs over a few years, starting with a $380 bill for what turned out to be a $5 fix. This niche is that story's natural habitat: the gap between the 30-second wiggle and the $260 tow-plus-diagnostic is pure information. Here it is.

How to use this guide

In strict order: run the protocol — it's sequenced cheapest-first on purpose, and most readers never finish it because the problem resolves mid-list. Find your situation if the pattern has history. Check the ladder for your fair number, the table for your vehicle's multiplier, the navigator for your route and its script. Stranded in a parking lot right now? Playbook 1 is written for this exact minute.

One rule overrides everything: never force the key. Every rung on this ladder is reachable gently; force adds only two things — a snapped key ($100-$250 extraction) and scratched wafers (a bigger cylinder bill). Patience is literally the cheapest tool in this article.

First: the two-minute splits

Split one — mechanical jam or electrical lockout? Look at the dashboard as you insert the key. Lights normal: the blockage is mechanical — wheel lock, shifter interlock, key, or cylinder; continue down the protocol. Lights dim, flickering, or dark: on any car with an electronic steering lock (most 2010s-and-newer, nearly all European), low voltage keeps the release solenoid from firing, and the key feels jammed for purely electrical reasons. Charge or jump first — this "ignition failure" costs $0-$25 and fools people into locksmith calls weekly.

Split two — this key or any key? If you have a spare, it's the single most valuable diagnostic you own: spare turns easily = your daily key is worn or bent — a $25-$75 problem, not a $300 one; spare struggles identically = the cylinder (or something upstream) — continue the protocol. No spare? Look at your daily key under light: rounded, shiny-worn teeth, any bend, or a hardware-store copy stamped on cheap brass are all testimony against the key. And one warning that saves the whole exercise from repeating: when you do get a new key, have it cut by code (dealer or automotive locksmith, from your VIN with registration and ID) — a copy made from a worn key clones the wear, and you've paid to duplicate the problem.

The 5-minute driveway protocol

Step 1 — The wheel wiggle (30 seconds, fixes the plurality of cases). Left hand on the wheel: rock it left and right and feel which direction has slight give. Apply firm, steady pressure in that direction — you're unloading the lock pin — and with your right hand turn the key gently at the same time. The wheel takes the force; the key never does. It can take three or four tries and feels wrong the first time; it's the designed release, not a hack.

Step 2 — The shifter re-seat (30 seconds, automatics). Brake pressed, push the lever firmly into Park — not near Park, into it — and try the key. Then try Neutral (the interlock accepts both). A worn shifter bushing or a cup-holder crumb in the gate leaves the lever a few millimeters shy of "seated," and the ignition interlock reads that as "not parked."

Step 3 — The voltage glance (15 seconds). Dash lights, dome light, headlights: full strength? If anything's dim, Split One applies — jump or charge before spending another minute on the mechanical theory.

Step 4 — The spare-key test (1 minute). Split Two, executed. This single test reroutes more people off the expensive rungs than everything else combined.

Step 5 — The dry-lube pass (2 minutes, if you have it). Graphite or dry PTFE lock spray into the keyway, insert the key, work it gently in and out a few times, try again. A cylinder that's merely dirty or dry often surrenders here. (Classic oily WD-40 frees locks temporarily but collects lint into the wafers — the FAQ above has the full verdict.) What you never do at this step: pliers on the key, hammer taps "to seat it," or the internet's bump-and-pray methods — the column wiring bundle includes the airbag circuit, and the cylinder's wafers scratch easily. Gentle or professional; nothing in between.

Step 6 — The cold-morning check (situational). Sub-freezing night, and the lock worked fine yesterday? Moisture freezes inside cylinders. Warm the key in your hand or on the dash vent of another car — never open flame near a column full of wiring — and try again. De-icer made for locks also works. If this is your third frozen morning, the cylinder has moisture inside; the dry-lube pass after thawing displaces it.

By the end you know: mechanical vs electrical, key vs cylinder, and whether $0, $10, or a professional is next. That's the whole diagnosis — done standing in your driveway.

Find your situation: eight ways people arrive here

"It won't turn right now and I'm stranded." → Playbook 1 — the protocol in parking-lot order, then the mobile-locksmith-vs-tow decision (the locksmith usually wins on both time and money).

"It's gotten sticky over weeks — I jiggle it every morning." → The ritual is a countdown, not a quirk: wafer wear is progressive, and the jiggle that works today strands you at a gas station in August. The spare-key test names the culprit; Route 3 or 4 fixes it on your schedule.

"It started after I got a new key copied." → The clone-the-wear trap (a copy of a worn key) or a hardware-store blank cut slightly off. Cut by code, Route 3 — and if the copy lacks a transponder chip, it may turn but never start; that's a programming line item, not a cylinder one.

"Only on cold mornings." → Step 6. Moisture in the cylinder; thaw plus dry-lube usually retires the problem.

"The key broke off inside." → The FAQ above and Playbook 2: no tweezers, no glue; extraction $100-$250, then the why-it-broke conversation — because keys don't snap in healthy cylinders.

"Dash is dead too." → Split One: battery first. On electronic-steering-lock cars this is the great impostor — and the fix is a jump or a battery, not a locksmith.

"It turns to ACC but not to START." → Different rung: often the shifter interlock or the electrical switch rather than the cylinder (the mechanical lock has already yielded). Note it precisely — that one sentence saves the locksmith twenty minutes.

"Push-button car — no key to turn, but same stranded feeling." → The translation table: brake pedal pressed fully? Fob battery dead (hold the fob directly against the start button — most cars read the chip passively as a backup)? 12V battery weak? Same triage logic, different hardware; the no-click guide continues that thread.

The mirror problem: the key turned fine — now it won't come OUT

Same lock, opposite complaint, same logic — and worth two minutes here because the causes rhyme with everything above. The shifter, again (cause #1): automatics won't release the key unless the transmission reads fully in Park — brake down, lever shoved home, wiggle the shifter while pulling gently. A worn shifter bushing or a coin in the gate recreates this daily. The position: most cylinders release only from the true OFF/LOCK position — one notch further counterclockwise than ACC, sometimes needing a slight push inward before that last turn (many Fords and Toyotas are built exactly this way; check the manual before assuming failure). The dead battery: some electronic interlocks won't release the key without voltage — the same impostor from Split One, working in reverse. The wheel under tension: parked with wheels turned hard, the loaded column can pinch the cylinder; the wiggle technique frees the exit just as it frees the entry. The worn pair: a key that needs a jiggle to come out is the same countdown as one that needs a jiggle to turn — Route 3/4 money, scheduled beats stranded. And the universal rule holds in mirror: never yank. A key snapped off in the ON position is the expensive version of this story — it means the cylinder can't even lock, and the extraction becomes urgent instead of scheduled.

One more dashboard character worth naming: the security light. If the key turns, the engine cranks, but it won't fire — and a key-shaped or padlock icon is flashing — the immobilizer isn't recognizing the chip. That's not this article's lock at all: it's a programming problem (dead chip, unprogrammed copy, or a desynced system), it lives on the transponder rung ($75-$250 of programming, not hardware), and the cranks-but-won't-start guide carries the full immobilizer branch.

What actually determines your price

Which rung. The dominant factor by far: $0 technique fixes → $10 lubricant → $25-$350 key work → $100-$500 cylinder work → $200-$400 switch → $400-$1,200 electronic modules. The protocol exists to find your true rung before anyone with an invoice does.

Who you call. Mobile automotive locksmith: $75-$150/hour, comes to you, repairs and rekeys where others replace — the value pick for rungs 3-4. Dealership: highest rates, replacement-biased, but the only door for warranty, recalls, and some manufacturer-coded modules. General mechanic: fine for switches, often subs out cylinder work to… a locksmith. The dealer-vs-independent math applies with a locksmith-shaped third column.

Transponder and programming. Modern keys carry chips; cutting the blade is $25-$75, programming the chip adds $75-$250 by make. Any quote for "a new key" should say which halves it includes.

Rekey vs replace. A locksmith can often rebuild a worn cylinder's wafers to match your (fresh) key for $100-$300 — cheaper than the $200-$500 replacement, and your doors still match. Replacement wins when the cylinder body is damaged or the car's a theft-vulnerable model needing the upgrade anyway.

The tow you didn't need. $75-$150 of pure regret when the fix was a wiggle or a jump — the protocol's entire ROI in one line item.

Vehicle architecture. The table below — because a 2004 Silverado and a 2018 E-Class fail differently by an order of magnitude.

The price ladder: every rung, 2026 numbers

Read it bottom-up when a quote arrives — and note this ladder's special property: the rungs are sequential by design. Nobody should be quoting you a cylinder before a fresh key was tried, or a switch before the cylinder was assessed, or an EIS module before the battery was load-tested. Any quote that skips rungs owes you the reason.

Your number, by what you drive

The failure mode itself changes by badge — this table is half prices, half diagnosis:

Two table rules: on any pre-2010 GM, the free VIN recall check comes before every other step in this article; and on any European car, the battery gets load-tested before any module conversation — the EIS/ELV false alarm from low voltage is that tier's signature move.

Which route is yours? Answer five questions

Question 1: Under warranty — or is there an open ignition recall on your VIN (free check at NHTSA.gov)? → Route 1. Your number: $0. The GM switch saga made ignition recalls a permanent category; two minutes of VIN entry beats every rung below.

Question 2: Did the protocol's $0 rungs (wheel, shifter, battery, thaw) move anything? → Route 2. Your number: $0-$25. Most readers exit here — which is the point.

Question 3: Does the spare key turn — or does your daily key look worn, bent, or like a cheap copy? → Route 3. Your number: $25-$350 (mechanical cut by code → transponder programming). The key rung that saves the cylinder rung.

Question 4: Both keys struggle, the lube pass didn't hold, or there's a fragment inside? → Route 4. Your number: $100-$500 — extraction, rekey, or cylinder, locksmith-first.

Question 5: Dash normal, keys fresh, cylinder assessed healthy — or it's a Mercedes/BMW electronic system? → Route 5. Your number: $200-$1,200 — the switch and module tier, where the specialist-vs-dealer choice is worth hundreds.

Key won't turn: the five routes

Route 1: Warranty and recalls — $0

The ignition switch is the component that produced one of the largest recalls in automotive history (GM, 30+ million vehicles), and ignition-adjacent campaigns have been a recurring category since — including the Hyundai/Kia anti-theft software era. The two-minute move before any other spending: your VIN into NHTSA.gov's recall lookup. Open campaign = free fix, any owner, forever. Under regular warranty, ignition cylinders and switches are covered components — the dealer visit is the whole plan.

What to say: "Ignition won't turn, symptoms documented. Please check my VIN for open campaigns first, then schedule diagnosis under warranty."

Route 2: The $0 fixes — technique, not parts

Fix it yourself — that's the entire route. The wheel release: rock to find the direction with give, firm steady pressure there, gentle key turn simultaneously; three or four attempts is normal, and the wheel absorbs all the force — the key never does. The shifter: brake down, lever pushed home into Park, then Neutral as the backup gate. The battery: any dimness in the dash lights on a modern car means charge-or-jump before believing any mechanical theory — electronic steering locks are silent about their voltage needs. The freeze: hand-warmed key or lock de-icer, never flame. The quiet skill in this route is sequencing: it's ordered by frequency, so running it top-to-bottom is statistically the fastest path out of the parking lot.

Why won't my key turn in the ignition? Ranked by real-world frequency: a locked steering wheel leads by a wide margin — the column locks as anti-theft when the wheel gets bumped after key removal, and locksmith industry data attributes over 40% of "won't turn" calls to this plus its partner cause, a weak battery (on cars with electronic steering locks, low voltage keeps the release solenoid from firing, so a purely electrical problem feels exactly like a mechanical jam). Behind those: a shifter not fully seated in Park or Neutral, a worn or bent key that no longer lifts the cylinder's wafers (the spare-key test isolates this for free), debris or dryness inside the cylinder (dry graphite, never force), and finally true hardware wear — the lock cylinder itself ($200-$500) or the electrical ignition switch behind it ($200-$400). Pulscar's diagnosis runs this exact ranking against your symptoms before anyone dispatches a tow truck toward a 30-second fix.

Route 3: The key route — $25 to $350

The most-skipped rung on the ladder, and the reason cylinders get replaced a year early. Keys are the sacrificial half of the lock pair — pocket sand, coin friction, and being used as a box-cutter grind the teeth down until they can't quite lift the wafers, and the "failing ignition" is really a failing key. The fix is administrative: registration and photo ID to a dealer (or an automotive locksmith with code access), a fresh key cut to factory spec from your VIN — not traced from the worn survivor — and, on chipped keys, the programming session that marries it to the immobilizer.

Fix it yourself? The errand is genuinely DIY: gather registration + ID, call ahead ("can you cut a key by code from my VIN, and does mine need transponder programming?"), and budget the visit. The one skill point: if a bargain copy turns the cylinder but the engine won't fire, the blade is right and the chip is absent — the cranks-but-won't-start guide covers that immobilizer signature, and the fix is programming, not another blade.

At the counter: "Cut by code from the VIN, please — not a duplicate of this key. And confirm whether programming is included in the quote."

How do you unlock a locked steering wheel? Recognize what happened first: the wheel got turned or bumped after the key came out, the anti-theft column lock engaged, and the wheel is now resting under tension against the lock pin — that tension is what your key is fighting. The release is a two-hand technique: rock the wheel to find the direction with a few degrees of give, hold firm steady pressure in that direction, and simultaneously turn the key with a gentle hand. The pressure unloads the pin; the cylinder rotates; the lock retires until next time. Expect several tries, and expect it to feel wrong — pushing a locked wheel is the design. Two rules keep it free: all force into the wheel, none into the key (keys snap, wheels don't), and on cars with electronic steering locks, rule out a weak battery first — no voltage, no release, regardless of technique. Pulscar's triage walks this exact sequence before any paid option.

Route 4: The locksmith route — $100 to $500

The category's best-kept value secret: a mobile automotive locksmith does at your curb, in 20-60 minutes, what the tow-plus-shop pipeline does in a day — and the rekey option (rebuilding the cylinder's wafers to match a fresh key, $100-$300) is a repair tier dealerships mostly don't offer at all, quoting replacement instead. Rekeying keeps your doors and ignition on one key; replacement (when the cylinder body is damaged) should come with the new-key-and-matching conversation up front.

Fix it yourself? The honest boundary: on many pre-2000s cars, cylinder swaps are documented DIY (a set screw or release button once the lock turns to ON — AutoZone-guide territory, ~$40-$100 in parts). On anything modern, the column covers hide airbag wiring, security-coded parts, and steering-lock interactions — RepairPal's warning is blunt about it, and so is this article: modern columns are professional territory; the DIY rung here is choosing the right professional, and the mobile locksmith is usually them.

At the curb: "Assess whether it's rekeyable before quoting replacement — and either way, cut the new key by code and match the doors."

Should you call a locksmith or the dealership when your ignition won't turn? For most of the ladder, the mobile automotive locksmith wins the math: they come to you (deleting the $75-$150 tow), work at $75-$150/hour, and carry repair tiers dealers skip — broken-key extraction ($100-$250), cylinder rekeying ($100-$300), on-site key cutting by code and transponder programming — typically finishing in 20-60 minutes at roughly half the dealership's all-in total. The dealership is the right door in three cases: warranty coverage (ignition components are covered — pay nobody), an open recall on your VIN (free forever; ignition-switch recalls are a famous category), and manufacturer-coded electronics some aftermarket tools can't touch. European electronic ignition systems (Mercedes EIS, BMW ELV) add a third door worth knowing: independent Euro specialists who repair the modules dealers only replace, routinely at half the quote. Pulscar's report names which door fits your rung before you commit to any of the three.

Route 5: The switch and the modules — $200 to $1,200

Two different summits. The switch: the electrical component behind the mechanical cylinder — when it fails, the key may turn but nothing wakes, or accessories flicker, or START does nothing while ACC works. Different part, different failure, similar money ($200-$400), and worth naming precisely because "replace the ignition" quotes blur the two: which ignition — the $300 cylinder, the $300 switch, or (the padding version) both "to be safe"? The modules: on Mercedes (EIS/EZS) and BMW (ELV/ESL), the key-and-lock dance is electronic, failures are module failures, and the market splits sharply — dealers replace ($800-$1,500 with new keys), independent European specialists repair the same units for $400-$800. Before either: the battery load test, because low voltage impersonates a dead module on these systems more often than modules actually die.

At the shop: "Which component exactly — cylinder, switch, or module — and what test showed it? If it's the module: quote repair and replacement separately, and confirm the battery was load-tested first."

What the locksmith visit actually looks like

Twenty to sixty minutes at your curb, five checkpoints — each one a question you're allowed to ask:

The verification (5 min). They reproduce the complaint themselves and run the same splits this article did — wheel tension, voltage, your key vs a decoded read. Ask: "What's your read — key, cylinder, or upstream?" A specialist answers in one sentence with a reason.

The key decode (5 min). Your key measured against factory spec — this is where "worn key" stops being a theory and becomes calipers. Ask: "How far out of spec is it?"

The tier decision (the quote moment). Lube-and-serve, rekey, or replace — with the price of each. Ask for all three numbers even when the choice seems obvious; the spread is the honesty test.

The work (10-40 min). Extraction if needed (purpose tools, no fragments driven deeper), wafers rebuilt or cylinder swapped, fresh keys cut by code. Ask: "Cut by code, not copied?" — one sentence that prevents the clone-the-wear rerun.

The match-and-test (5 min). Every key in every position — ACC, ON, START — and the doors. A cylinder that matches the doors on one key is the finished product; two keyrings for one car is a job that stopped early. Ask for the full test before the invoice.

The diagnostic trap: the force, the tow, and the column

Trap one: the force (self-inflicted, and the most common). The situation: key won't turn, you're late, adrenaline suggests torque. What happens: the key — the softest part in the system — snaps, or the wafers scratch, or both. The math: a $0-$75 problem (wheel lock or worn key) becomes $100-$250 of extraction plus a $200-$500 cylinder that was merely dirty an hour ago. Defense: the rule from the top — all force into the wheel, none into the key, and when technique runs out, the next tool is a phone, not a wrist.

Trap two: the tow-to-dealer for a wiggle. The situation: stranded, panicked, the tow number is right there. What the pipeline bills: $75-$150 tow + $150-$200 dealer diagnostic + a day without the car — for what was, 40% of the time, a locked wheel or a jump-start. Defense: the five-minute protocol before any dispatch call, and if the protocol dead-ends, the mobile locksmith quote before the tow quote — the person who comes to the car beats the pipeline that takes the car away, on both money and hours. If the tow already happened and the invoice reads absurd, the dispute guide picks up from there.

Trap three: the column special. The situation: cylinder verdict at a general shop. What the quote says: "steering column assembly replacement — $900-$1,400," or on a European car, "EIS module plus two new keys — $1,500," presented as the only option. What's usually true: cylinders are serviced within columns (that's the entire locksmith trade), and Euro modules have a thriving repair market at half the replacement number. Columns do occasionally need replacing — after collision damage or theft-attempt destruction — but as the first quote for a sticky key, it's the overkill tier. Defense: the component question from Route 5 — "cylinder, switch, or column, and what test says so?" — plus one mobile-locksmith counter-quote, which is this trap's natural predator. The overcharging guide catalogs the pattern's cousins.

Three real quotes, decoded

Scenario 1: 2015 Camry, "ignition seized" in a mall garage — tow to dealer, $95; diagnostic, $165; verdict: locked steering column, released in under a minute. Total: $260 for a $0 fix. The wheel had been bumped by a bag while unloading. Lesson: the wiggle is step one precisely because its failure mode is this receipt — $260 is the market price of not knowing a 30-second technique.

Scenario 2: 2007 Civic, 180K, morning jiggle ritual for a year, shop quote: cylinder replacement, $380. The spare key — retrieved from a kitchen drawer — turned like day one. Fresh key cut by code: $48. The cylinder was never the patient. Lesson: the key wears before the cylinder, the spare-key test is free, and a copy of the worn key would have cloned the problem — cut by code or don't bother.

Scenario 3: 2014 Mercedes E-Class, key dead in the EIS — dealer: module + two keys, $1,480. Battery load-tested fine (the false alarm ruled out properly). Independent Euro locksmith specialist: module repaired, keys retained: $640. Lesson: on the electronic tier, "replace" is the dealer's only verb — the repair market exists, charges roughly half, and finding it is one search: "[your make] EIS/ELV repair specialist."

Your situation right now: four playbooks

"I'm stranded in a parking lot this minute." The protocol in strict order — wheel wiggle (up to five honest attempts), shifter re-seat, dash-light glance (dim = find jumper cables before anything else), spare key if it's reachable, and no force at any step. Still stuck: two phone calls in this order — mobile automotive locksmith first (20-60 min, works at the curb), tow second only if the locksmith's read demands a shop. The pipeline you're avoiding costs $260 and a day; the sequence above averages under an hour.

"The key broke off inside." Hands off the fragment — tweezers, glue, and paperclips all push it deeper or scratch the wafers, and each attempt raises the extraction difficulty you'll pay for. Mobile locksmith, extraction $100-$250, and then the real conversation: keys don't snap in healthy locks, so the cylinder gets read while they're there, and the replacement key gets cut by code — not from the surviving fragment's twin, which carries the same wear that caused the snap.

"I've been jiggling it every morning for months." The ritual is data: wafer wear is progressive, and progressive means a date exists when the jiggle stops working — you're choosing between a scheduled $150-$300 rekey at your curb and an unscheduled one in a gas-station lot. Run the spare-key test tonight (it reroutes half of these cases to a $48 key), and book whichever rung it names this week. The dry-lube trick that "resets" the ritual for a month isn't fixing anything — it's snoozing the same alarm.

"I'm buying a used car and the ignition is described as 'a little sticky.'" Translate: a $100-$500 line item wearing a shrug. Test every key that comes with the car through every position; ask when keys were last cut and whether by code; run the VIN through NHTSA.gov on your phone right there (open ignition recall = free fix = negotiating gift). Sticky-with-all-keys prices the rekey into your offer; sticky-with-one-key means the seller hands you the good key at signing and the problem was $0. The one red flag: a car sold with a single key and a sticky ignition — you're inheriting both halves of the wear pair with no baseline.

After the fix: keep it turning

The keychain diet: the single biggest cylinder-life factor is the swinging mass hanging off the key — every pound of gym tags and bottle openers is leverage working the wafers at every bump. Car key plus fob, separate ring from everything else; your cylinder will outlive the car. The annual puff: dry graphite or PTFE each fall — thirty seconds, and the cheapest line in this article. The spare-key discipline: cut a spare by code while the daily key is still healthy — a spare copied later from a worn key is a photocopy of a photocopy. The early-warning ear: the day the key needs its first jiggle is the day to calendar the rekey — you now know exactly what that ritual costs when it's allowed to mature.

Your action plan: next 5 minutes, today, this week

Next 5 minutes (free):

1. The wheel wiggle — pressure on the wheel, gentle key, several tries.
2. The shifter re-seat and the dash-light glance (dim = battery first, always).
3. The spare-key test if the spare is in reach — it's the biggest fork in the whole tree.

Today: 4. VIN through NHTSA.gov — ignition recalls are free forever and famously common. 5. Dry-lube pass ($10 at any parts store) if the cylinder is merely sticky. 6. Key inspection under light: worn teeth, bends, bargain-copy stamps — Route 3's $25-$75 exit.

This week: 7. Persistent cases → the mobile automotive locksmith with the scripts: rekey-vs-replace quoted separately, keys cut by code, doors matched, full-position test before payment. 8. Electrical or European-module verdicts → the component question in writing ("cylinder, switch, or module — and the test that says so"), battery load-tested first, and the specialist counter-quote before any four-figure signature.

If the key now turns but the car still won't start, the baton passes to the start-system family: clicking on start, no click at all, or cranking without firing — plus battery costs for the voltage side. For the money side: what a diagnostic should cost, dealership vs independent, signs you're being overcharged, and disputing a bill. And our story explains why Pulscar exists.

How these numbers were built: cross-checked against RepairPal 2026 (ignition lock cylinder replacement average $291-$372), locksmith-industry pricing (labor $75-$150/hr; cylinder repair/rekey $100-$300; switch replacement $200-$400; extraction $100-$250), retail key-cutting and transponder-programming rates, and European module repair-vs-replace market spreads. Assumes mobile automotive locksmith or independent labor; dealer totals run higher, especially with towing. Prices reviewed quarterly — last verified July 2026.

Holding an ignition quote that never named the component? Email [email protected] with the itemization and we'll place it on the ladder.