jims911

Lately, I've noticed the key is a little difficult to remove from the ignition. A bit of jiggling (the key, not me), and all seemed fine.

Tonight I got in the car, started it, and turned on the headlights. Lights did not come on. After fiddling with it (the key), it turned CCW slightly, and then the lights came on. Turned the car off, and the key didn't return to the remove position, stayed clockwise under spring pressure. Turned the key to the OFF position and pulled the key out. It did not want to come out freely, when it did, the dash still indicated that the key was not removed. Very difficult to get the key back in and out.

Seems fairly obvious that the ignition cylinder must be bad. When having this replaced (or doing it myself, have not researched that yet), will I need new keys as well? Just wondering, since they are quite expensive to replace.

Thanks for any suggestions or advice!

jims911

Sorry, just noticed Peter's post from below. I'll follow that advice. Nevermind!

DTMiller

So you're going to ignore our advice and overspend at an indie?

FRUNKenstein

Changing out the electrical portion of the switch is a job that every 996 owner should know how to do and should keep a spare switch & screwdriver tip in the glovebox. Think of it like changing a flat tire - sooner or later you are gonna get a flat tire. It can be just a minor inconvenience if you have a spare tire and know how to remove the flat tire and put on the spare. About a half hour or less and you're back on the road. But, if you get that flat tire at the wrong time and/or in the wrong place, you've got serious trouble if you don't have a spare or don't know the basic skill of mounting it on the car. Sooner or later, your ignition switch will fail - causing a myriad of electrical problems that can easily strand you. I had to replace mine twice in the 22 months I owned my '99 coupe. It's a quick and easy job and costs about $12 to $30 in parts if you DIY - plus you'll know what to do when it happens again. Or take it to your indy mechanic and pay $300 and remain in the dark on how to fix it. Nothing wrong with going that route as long as you're comfortable with throwing out your spare tire, jack and lug wrench too. My 2 cents worth.

Sneaky Pete

You can lead a horse to water.........