Ignition or ignition lock?

I have a 02, 3.4 automatic with 205k. As of the last week the ignition has been not releasing my key everytime. The key is pretty worn and I had a spare that hasn't seen much action. So I switched and everything was back to normal. Now it it doing it again, couldn't get key out so I was going to just leave it and unhook the battery well when I did that it let me turn the ignition and gave me my key. So do I just need to replace the ignition lock or could it be the slop due to worn bushings in my trans or a combination of both. If it is the ignition lock how hard is it to change?

 

I've experienced both problems on my trucks. My approach would be to just replace the bushings first. If it's an auto trans, they only cost a few dollars and its an easy repair. Sounds like you need them anyway. I haven't done a manual, but you can search TW and will find a thread to show that repair.

The issue of replacing the ignition switch is having different keys for the doors vs switch. I had luck on one of mine removing 1 or 2 of the tumblers and making it work.

 

I would do both but the shifter is the real cause of your problem.

As was stated Pop your right door lock cylinder out and the ignition switch cylinder and have the ignition cylinder rebuilt as good as new.

As I have a family of Locksmiths as friends I get this done real cheap I have no clue what it might cost in the real world it might be cheaper to buy all new cylinders from Toyota who knows.

 

not all ignition lock cylinders are rekeyable economically, the inexpensive ones have the end cap peened over and cant be disassembeled. You get what you pay for.

 

I can live with having to use a different key. i'm old enough to have had the pleasure of using 2 different keys to start and unlock a vehicle.

 

would using powder graphite or some kind of "lubricant" be useful?

I have 180k+ and no issues with the key at all. I guess it all depends on how rough/gentle you are with the key/cylinder

 

used contact cleaner the first time it acted up and that fixed it for about a month, probably shoulda, coulda used some graphite and it might have went longer. Original key was wore pretty good don't know how it was treated before I got it, which was 3 yr.s and 55k mile ago. I'm bad about shutting it off instead of letting it run when doing stuff around the farm.

 

I know this is a dead thread, but to anyone coming here looking for answers... NEVER use graphite in ANY lock! (I'm a locksmith). Yes, we once used graphite years ago, but the vast majority of locks were engineered to work with zero lubrication at all, and things like graphite or WD-40, while effective in the short term, leave an oily residue behind. Which only serves to further gunk up a lock by grabbing onto any dirt, dust or other debris that may be present.

Always use a lubricant that dries clean. Triflow is a Teflon based lubricant that dries clean.... if using on an ignition (or anything that has electricity running to it)... lubricate sparingly and maybe even give it a minute to dry before you turn the car over. It also helps to use the key to work the lubricant around the lock... both in and out, as well as side to side to try and evenly lubricate the pins or wafers.

If the lock in question does not have an electric component and is very dirty, spraying out with carb cleaner before applying Triflow can do wonders.

Keys and ignitions (and often, drivers side doors) wear out together... once the original key stops working an UNworn spare key will also NOT work well, as the ignition wafers have worn down. Also Toyota's often have something we call a "split wafer"... which once worn down tend to develop a knife edge which starts filing the key faster... this is why many worn T-47 keys start to get "sharper" edges as they wear down... which only compounds the problem. At the point the key starts biting or getting stuck, it's time for a re-key or new ignition.

The inexpensive ignitions CAN be rekeyed... whether it's economical to you or not is an entirely other matter. For some, having 2 keys to their car/truck is well worth not shelling out the $200 some odd bucks to pull and rekey an ignition or replacement ignition... though if you bring the new ignition itself in to a reputable locksmith and pull the old one and replace it yourself... it shouldn't cost more than $50-75 for JUST the rekey.

Though at THAT point it might make more sense to pull the drivers side door lock and have THAT rekeyed to the key that comes with the NEW ignition. That way ALL the locks are fresh and keyed to the NEW fresh key. Also it should be cheaper to rekey the drivers side lock than the ignition. On a 2nd or 3rd gen Taco it's also SUPER easy to remove them as they're just behind the little round rubber plug in the inside door frame. On 1st gen you have to remove the panel, but still quite easy.

Best of luck out there.