I pulled up to stop in a car park and the ignition key wouldn't turn to shut off the car. The key then pulled right out of the ignition with the key still in the on position, and the car kept running with no key (had to stall the car to shut it off). What are your thoughts? Do I need a whole new ignition cylinder or has something just come undone in the mechanism. Before this happened, the key used to spin in the ignition before I turned the steering wheel and the key 'caught' and turned the engine on. I'm thinking it has maybe been on its way out for a while and this was it breaking completely.
The key slides in and out of the barrel perfectly, as normal. The problem is the key wont turn, unless you really force it - when you do this the key spins round and clicks bak into position. But it isn't actually altering the ignition position ie doesn't turn off the ignition. The battery light etc is on, so the battery will drain. I took it to the garage I got the car from and they're gonna fix it under warranty, but I'm curious as to whats happened. Its as if the steering lock is on because if the lock is on you need to turn the wheel slightly to get the key to turn. However, the steering lock isn't on (as the wheels will turn), and turning the wheel does not allow the key to turn. I had to get the car bump started - not good.