Key barrel gone?

[barely legal]

My sv6 sat in the fairly hot sun for about 5 hours today, when i went out to start it after work the key wouldn't turn at all, called holden assist or whoever they are, a guy came out from racv, he said the barrel had gotten too hot, he used an air pump to try and blow cold air into the key hole to cool it down, then put some sort of graphite powder in there to try and get it all moving again.
long story short, this all did nothing.
After being towed home i was told i'd probly have to get it replaced.
Is this the case? i'm pretty sure it is but didn't think it would hurt to ask.

[PaulSV6]

Wat the! I never heard anything like this before.
We've had some very hot days up here in Sydney, where my car has been outside.
When ive gone to start it, ive had no probs, always starts first time, everytime. Obviously there's a part of the barrel thats getting affected by the heat.

Ill ask a silly question but when u park ur car & take the keys out, do u turn the steering wheel abit to activate the wheel lock? (you'll hear a click)
Cause what happens is, when u come back & try to start it it wont. To disable this put the key in & turn to acc, then move the wheel abit.

May sound wired but thats what ive found out!

[EvilTwin]

The same thing happened to me a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I got stuck in the Adelaide CBD on a main road. Eventually (over three hours) after visits by two RAA vehicles who tried everything you mentioned and two tow trucks i got it towed to Holdens. I had the barrel replaced under warranty and have had no problems since.

I would recommend getting the barrel replaced.

[barely legal]

Ill ask a silly question but when u park ur car & take the keys out, do u turn the steering wheel abit to activate the wheel lock? (you'll hear a click)
Cause what happens is, when u come back & try to start it it wont. To disable this put the key in & turn to acc, then move the wheel abit.

I always put the steering wheel lock on, and i can't even turn the wheel the first click to get it to acc. its rooted.

[PaulSV6]

As wat EvilTwin said, its prob best to take it to a Holden delear.

[Dunnydoor Guru]

I used to work in parts at a Holden dealership in WA. We kept heaps of ignition barrels in stock, because as soon as it got reasonably hot our service dpt would be doing ignition barrel replacements everyday.
All models vt-vz are affected and once they start to get sticky or jam once, get them replaced, coz they can get really hard to get out once they have jammed a couple of times. I have even seen a couple of cases where cars have had to have whole new columns fitted because the barrels are so badly jammed in there.

[Archers]

i think this happened to my vz today?? i will no turn when the key is in, how much hassle is it to get replaced? and how long does it take? and warrenty will replace it no probs?

[barely legal]

i think this happened to my vz today?? i will no turn when the key is in, how much hassle is it to get replaced? and how long does it take? and warrenty will replace it no probs?

I had a friend come over to help me and he got the key to turn, he took the metal part of the key out of the lock/unlock part and turned it in the barrel with a pair of pliers. and with enough force and jiggling it actually turned.
warranty replaced my key barrel no problems, make sure you let them know it's in warranty though otherwise they will charge you about $150.

[Archers]

I had a friend come over to help me and he got the key to turn, he took the metal part of the key out of the lock/unlock part and turned it in the barrel with a pair of pliers. and with enough force and jiggling it actually turned.
warranty replaced my key barrel no problems, make sure you let them know it's in warranty though otherwise they will charge you about $150.

ok cool thanxs so do they pay for the tow under warrenty?

[Archers]

ok well called holden and sold them and then called roadside assit and they will tow me for free as the vechile has be serviced there, so thats a plus. i asked the price what it would cost to get replaced if it wasnt under warrenty, and it would of been 260+ so thats a good saving and free tow,

[park0]

i signed up to these forums for this exact reason haha

tried to get the car going this morning.. the key goes in but will not turn. Should i call RACV (i have gold care), holden roadside assist or the dealer.. (car still under warranty)?

thanks in advance

EDIT:

Called dealer, said to ring roadside assist - were aware of problem right away
Holden Roadside Assist are sending a tow within the hour
unfortunately will be without car until sometime tomorrow =/

[Archers]

i signed up to these forums for this exact reason haha

tried to get the car going this morning.. the key goes in but will not turn. Should i call RACV (i have gold care), holden roadside assist or the dealer.. (car still under warranty)?

thanks in advance

EDIT:

Called dealer, said to ring roadside assist - were aware of problem right away
Holden Roadside Assist are sending a tow within the hour
unfortunately will be without car until sometime tomorrow =/

wow funny how it works ay, i was reading this last week thinking thats interesting and it happened to me the next week lol, are holden gonna cover the cost?


has anyone had this problem after having it fixed?

[PaulSV6]

Geez, alot of ppl are having key barrel probs.

[Archers]

Geez, alot of ppl are having key barrel probs.

lol yeah man it suxs

[NwFil]

I have to replace my key barrel also,managed to free it so able to get home. What is it that goes wrong with the barrel? dirt ,heat(avg 42c this month so far) or just cheap barrels.

[MICKY.D]

Hey All,

I had this happen on the christmas holidays. Car was in the hot sun all day, go to start it about 6.30pm, no good.... cant undo the steering lock cant move it at all. tried f%#king everything to loosen steering off tried swinging off the thing back and forth still no luck. so i rang a family friend who's a locksmith, he says to remove the plastic housing off the key then spray some crc, then put the key in the barrel, get some multigrips and give it a tweak, so i tried it and "click". it worked, i went to his house the next day and he replaced the waffers in the barrel, he showed me them and how worn and dirty they were. since then no issues at all.
And the best part is it cost me nothing!!!!

Cheers
Micky.D
YT

[Archers]

got my car fixed all sweet but now my aircon dosent work, bloody butchers, rang holden got it booked in since it stuffed up when they had it, so hopefully they will fix it under warrenty, its like theres no gas? its not cold at all? any ideas? the compresser kicks in still? anyone else had a aircon problem?

[ruggj]

My sv6 sat in the fairly hot sun for about 5 hours today, when i went out to start it after work the key wouldn't turn at all, called holden assist or whoever they are, a guy came out from racv, he said the barrel had gotten too hot, he used an air pump to try and blow cold air into the key hole to cool it down, then put some sort of graphite powder in there to try and get it all moving again.
long story short, this all did nothing.
After being towed home i was told i'd probly have to get it replaced.
Is this the case? i'm pretty sure it is but didn't think it would hurt to ask.

Same thing happened to me on my vx, my barrel needs to be replaced now, had to call racv on wednesday because the barrel wouldnt turn, tried shaking the wheel whilst turning the key because of the steering lock, didnt do anything. When the guy from racv got to my house he was turning the keys like really rough, and i said to him oh i tried that before, and just as i finished saying he got it turning. So now its sorta working, still turns weird, so ill have to get the barrel replaced.

[les82]

this happened to my wagon. Had to call roadside assist to get it started, however it has come good

[vlv8vic]

got my car fixed all sweet but now my aircon dosent work, bloody butchers, rang holden got it booked in since it stuffed up when they had it, so hopefully they will fix it under warrenty, its like theres no gas? its not cold at all? any ideas? the compresser kicks in still? anyone else had a aircon problem?

no idea mate. sounds like a simple one like a bumped fuse or something but i'm sure they will be able to sort it. let us know how you go.

[Lumps of cheese]

Hmmm will have to be careful. Wasn't aware of this problem.

[Archers]

no idea mate. sounds like a simple one like a bumped fuse or something but i'm sure they will be able to sort it. let us know how you go.

lol didnt even think about the fuse lol will check that now lol


fuses ok, air works then it dosent, any idea? like its low on gas? leak maybe?

[-scyth-]

lol didn't even think about the fuse lol will check that now lol


fuses ok, air works then it docent, any idea? like its low on gas? leak maybe?

3 potential probs mate...

1. due to the extreme heat wave recently the A/C has probably struggled to keep the cabin temp low therefore overheating itself & shutting itself down on an electrical 'overload' safety device. The only way it will kick back in is when it cools down a bit out there. Another thing you can try is park the car in shade over night & the next morning take the car for a spin & start the A/C if it works properly then its an over heating issue/weakened 'overload'.

2. its short of gas & constantly trips in (starts working) then trips out (stops working). the reason why it trips in & out like it does is because its protecting the compressor motor from ****ing out all its oil & ceasing up. one reason why suddenly (I'm assuming your A/C was perfect before it was molested by holden) your A/C is playing funny buggers is maybe they've cracked the refrigerant pipe somehow leaking all the refrigerant. Need a leak detector to find out if theres a leak somewhere...

3. may be a long shot but, are there any error codes?

let me know how you go or better still ask Dr Bob.

[Archers]

3 potential probs mate...

1. due to the extreme heat wave recently the A/C has probably struggled to keep the cabin temp low therefore overheating itself & shutting itself down on an electrical 'overload' safety device. The only way it will kick back in is when it cools down a bit out there. Another thing you can try is park the car in shade over night & the next morning take the car for a spin & start the A/C if it works properly then its an over heating issue/weakened 'overload'.

2. its short of gas & constantly trips in (starts working) then trips out (stops working). the reason why it trips in & out like it does is because its protecting the compressor motor from ****ing out all its oil & ceasing up. one reason why suddenly (I'm assuming your A/C was perfect before it was molested by holden) your A/C is playing funny buggers is maybe they've cracked the refrigerant pipe somehow leaking all the refrigerant. Need a leak detector to find out if theres a leak somewhere...

3. may be a long shot but, are there any error codes?

let me know how you go or better still ask Dr Bob.

i tried the 1st one not that, the day i picked it up from holden it didnt work proply from the time i drove it out of the yard after being fixed [the molested her] to now, fuses ok so i will check for error codes, thanxs for the heads up

edit no fault codes at all, so im guessing the gas will be the fault, this still under warretny?

[aokman]

they are quite easy to replace, my calais one went on me, a word of warning as soon as it starts to act up get it replaced! You have to unlock it to get the barrel out of the column, its a piece of cake when you can remove it.