The key snapped off inside the ignition. Now what?

Stop turning what is left and do not fish for it — probing pushes the fragment deeper. Extraction is standard work, the cylinder usually survives, and a replacement key can be cut in the same visit.

Will a repaired ignition need a different key from my doors?

Our default is no: wherever the vehicle allows, the repaired or replacement cylinder is keyed to your existing key so everything stays on one key. When a vehicle's design forces an exception, you hear that before the work, not after.

07 / 07 · Automotive service

Ignition Repair

Fixing an ignition that will not turn, sticks, or has a key trapped in it.

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Category: Automotive
Availability: 24/7
Coverage: 10 GTA cities
The visit: 4 steps

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An ignition that will not turn is often a worn key rounding off against the wafers inside the cylinder rather than a failed ignition — the two feel identical from the driver's seat. We diagnose which it is first, because a correctly cut new key sometimes solves what looks like an expensive problem. When the cylinder has worn or seized, we repair or replace it and key it to your existing key wherever the vehicle allows.

The key and the cylinder wear as a pair
From the driver's seat, a worn key and a dying ignition cylinder feel identical: the key needs a wiggle, then a ritual, then one day it will not turn at all. Inside, a worn key's rounded cuts are mis-setting the wafers; or the wafers themselves have worn grooves that no fresh key can fix. Diagnosis comes first because the treatments differ by an order of magnitude — a new key cut to factory code is a fraction of a cylinder job, and it is the actual cure in a surprising share of “my ignition is broken” calls. We only open the column when the cylinder has genuinely failed.
Repair without multiplying your keys
When the cylinder does need repair or replacement, we keep your key ring intact wherever the vehicle allows: the repaired or new cylinder is keyed to your existing key, so the door, trunk and ignition stay on one key instead of splitting into a his-and-hers of old and new. Most ignition work — including extracting keys snapped off in the cylinder — happens at the vehicle, without a tow.

Step 1: Diagnose before touching
Key wear measured against the cylinder's behaviour — plus a check for the classic false alarm: steering-lock pressure pinning the key.
Step 2: Try the cheap cure
Where the key is the culprit, a fresh key cut to factory code — not copied from the worn one — often ends the problem on the spot.
Step 3: Repair or replace the cylinder
When the cylinder has failed, it is repaired or swapped at the vehicle, with the steering column treated with the respect its airbag deserves.
Step 4: Key it to what you carry
Wherever the vehicle allows, the finished cylinder accepts your existing key — one key ring, before and after.

Diagnosed before anything is replaced, since a worn key is a fraction of the cost of a cylinder
Repaired cylinders keyed to your existing key where possible, so you are not left carrying two
Most ignition work is done at the vehicle rather than requiring a tow

Try this first: press the brake, then rock the steering wheel gently left-right while turning the key. A parked wheel resting against the steering lock pins the cylinder, and it feels exactly like a failure. If the wheel trick does nothing, it is a real fault — call, and we diagnose whether it is the key or the cylinder before anything is replaced.