Smith1001

I had the the same issue past days. it was early morning time when i was about to leave for my office in Al Satwa i already had short time and then this ignition stuck and wont let my car to start. well somehow i managed to start the car and reached the office. i had to call Dubai locksmith to resolve this issue as i did not know that it was just rusty and nothing else. :\

~Porsche

I am trying to resolve my similar issue. I read all the threads, but I am still unclear on the steering lock mechanism. Where is it located? I live in an area where it is cold from late Oct-April. I don't drive the car in the winter, but we had a few stray warm days recently after a good rain to wash the salt off the roads, so I went and took her out of storage. I attribute the key issue to the cold, as it didn't happen when I bought the car last year when it was warm. If I remove the key when its cold, I usually can't reinsert the key right away, it is blocked. After about 1-2 minutes I hear the 'click', and then after still another 20 seconds or so I can then put the key back in. I replaced the electrical part on the end of the ignition, with no change. I am considering having the ignition itself replaced, but I want to understand why this is happening before paying to have that done. I replaced the electrical part myself, but I would probably have the ignition mechanism done. The dealer gets $915, and the indy Porsche shop gets $775. It looks like the later model Porsche part is about $250, so I figure they get a ~$500-600 install fee. My fear is that if I have it done, I am not convinced it will solve the problem. When I remove the key and the cylinder is blocked, the steering wheel is not locked, I can turn it fully. The after the click I can then get it to lock. Could this be a key tumbler issue? Or is this in the ignition mechanism? Or is there a cable or some sort of additional part that works with the steering wheel lock? I saw the pic in dgjks6's post, but is that pin the steering wheel lock?

Also, I did try using 3 in 1 PTFE, using the liquid on key, plunge it 5 times, wipe, reapply, repeat. This didn't change anything. I am considering a blast of contact cleaner in the ignition mechanism to see if that might help. I figure I could use masking tape and setup a cover so as not to damage the dash or plastics. Anyone try this? I saw someone used MAF with some degree of success.

cully

I had the same issue, key was stiff. Eventually, the ignition failed when I was 50 miles from home and I couldn't start my car. I got lucky and was able to use my key to break the ignition and the column lock opened, but I bet yours isn't too far behind. I replaced the ignition mechanism and it fixes the problem. I would just get it done. I replaced it myself and it is actually pretty easy. You will be working in a tight space though...

~Porsche

Thanks for the input Cully. I figure I will have to replace it, but this morning I thought if i was going to replace it anyway, I would give one last thing a try. I bought a can of CRC QD electronic cleaner, and a little tube of dry graphite powder. I had hoped to get the super fine graphite, but both autozone and advance were out of it, so I bought it at Lowes. I got the shopvac out, and put the smallest end on the hose, and I then taped off most of the opening down to about the size of a dime. I then put the spray tube into the nozzle of the contact cleaner, and turned on the shopvac. I held the vacuum tube right at the keyhole. I sprayed a good shot of the cleaner into the lock while immediately sucking it out with the shop vac placed at the key opening. I couldn't believe the large black chunks of crud that came out of the lock that I could see getting sucked into the vacuum. I figure all of the little bits of metal from the key wearing down were in there as well. The nice thing about this contact cleaner is it doesn't spray out too powerfully, plus it is meant for electronics and plastics. The MAF and brake cleaner have acetone in them, which could harm the ignitions guts, plus with the crazy powerful stream those products shoot out, it would be hard to prevent it from back-splashing out onto your leather or dash, where it most likely would do bad things. I did the contact cleaner spray and vac thing about 10 times. I would start with the end of the red spray tube right at the very opening of the keyhole and started spraying, and then pushed the tube into the lock as far as it would go while continuing to spray, with constant vacuum right at the keyhole opening, trying to get in in higher and lower on each try. I used full 2-3 second sprays. I then put the key in a few times, and turned it, and then redid the spray and vac another 3 or 4 times. I waited a few mins for the cleaner to fully evaporate, and I then shot a few squeezes of the graphite powder into the lock. I worked the key in and out a bunch of times, and then turned the key a few times. It now turns freely, and amazingly as soon as I remove the key I get the "clunk", which had taken a couple of minutes to happen previously. I put the key in and turned it, and removed it probably 30 times, partly to get the graphite worked in, and partly due to the excitement of the mechanism seeming to function properly. I will have to see if it keeps working well, but for now it seems to be good to go. One other note, it is about 40 degrees in my garage right now, and the sticking issue was much more pronounced in the colder weather. With the procedure I did, even in the cold, it is turning freely. It is nice that the remote key FOB now locks the doors. I have had to lock the doors with the key for some time now, as the sticky key cylinder didn't allow the remote lock to work. And finally, be safe if you use a flammable spray, and suck the vapors through a shopvac. I put the shop vac motor outside as far away from me as I could get it.

DBF

Thanks for the post, and I think this may be the perfect answer to fixing the "cold stuck" ignition switch. My ignition lock felt like it was hitting something when I tried turning the key. It was so tight I was concerned I might damage the key or the lock. I sprayed the CRC a few times and the key finally moved. I used a bulb syringe with a red plastic spray tube taped to the end (off a can of brake cleaner) to try to suck out the excess fluid. The CRC evaporates very quickly, so there is no residue. After several minutes of giving short sprays, removing the excess and dirt, and letting it dry, the key turned very easily. I used maybe an ounce of the CRC. After letting it sit ten minutes to make sure the CRC had dried, I used some powdered graphite in the lock. Now the switch works like new. I hear the "click" when I take the key out, and the warned bell stops immediately. After I did this, I found a tech forum in Excellence (May, 2010, issue 182) by Tony Callas and Tom Prine. They suggest spraying ignitions with a cleaner that contains the dry film lubricant Poytetraflouroethylene (PTFE) twice a year. The cleaner evaporates, leaving the PTFE to lubricate the ignition lock. They said to use this rather than graphite.

vetfever

Old thread I know, but so happy to find it as my 996 has these symptoms and need to reference it for my repair...

Plus - who knows if others are struggling a bit with their cars after a winter hibernation??

vetfever