Help! I made a mistake!

[Dis3as3d]

My ignition key was pretty sticky so I sprayed some silicone lube in the ignition to help get things moving again.  Now the key won't turn at all.  Doing some quick reading I shouldn't have lubed the key-way because there's electronics in there, lesson learned.  Is this something I can fix, or do I need a locksmith, or worse a dealer?

 

Edit: I've tried blowing compressed air in the ignition to clean it out, but no luck.

 

Edited August 2, 2020 by Dis3as3d

[stevejones]

Try some brake parts cleaner.  Have a rag ready, too...

[Dis3as3d]

49 minutes ago, stevejones said:

Try some brake parts cleaner.  Have a rag ready, too...

Tried brake cleaner, no luck.

 

My best bet right now is that it's the ignition lockout somehow got wonky after a lil lube.  It's the exact same thing where you can't turn the key at all.  Steering wheel is in the straight forward position with no stress on it, I had just pulled straight out of my garage.  

The annoying thing is you need to rotate the cylinder to the ignition position to remove the key cylinder.  Looks like I'll have to call a locksmith

 

Edited August 3, 2020 by Dis3as3d

[rusty503]

Try again while turning the steering wheel back and forth with force. I know what you said and what you think but try it anyway. It only takes a few seconds to do that. It has happened to me a few times.

[Dis3as3d]

1 hour ago, rusty503 said:

Try again while turning the steering wheel back and forth with force. I know what you said and what you think but try it anyway. It only takes a few seconds to do that. It has happened to me a few times.

Gave it a shot but still no luck. 

[erodriguez24]

Have you tried remote starting your truck then sticking the key in and trying to turn it?

[Dis3as3d]

11 hours ago, erodriguez24 said:

Have you tried remote starting your truck then sticking the key in and trying to turn it?

Yeah, It's the ignition lockout so it doesn't matter if the engine is already running or not.  

 

[Dis3as3d]

Update for whoever finds this later.  Got to the root cause of the issue.  The ignition lock WORE OUT.  The lock wafers are worn to the point the key no longer works.  Really surprising for a 4 year old truck.  I got this truck used 5 months ago, so no clue how this could have happened.

 

My best bet is the ignition lock cylinder pins were seized in the unlocked position before, and got freed up when I sprayed lube in there.

 

Pic attached of and old and new lock pins side by side.

[2018GMC]

Thanks for posting the solution!

 

This is first I’ve heard of ignition lock failure on K2xx trucks. Guessing yours was a faulty part or maybe previous owner did some questionable things to it? Would lots of crap (weight) on a key ring cause premature failure?

 

Reminds me of pre bankrupt “old GM” and the cobalt ignition failures but that was not due to freezing up but too easy for the key to turn by itself when a heavy key ring is hanging off the ignition. 

Edited August 7, 2020 by 2018GMC