Barrels freed, repaired & replaced
Ignition Repair
From £120 at your door · £0 call-out
A key that needs jiggling, won't turn, or spins without catching means the barrel is on its way out. Caught early it's a repair; left alone it strands you. Either way it's fixed at your door from £120.
Won't-turn keys freed
Steering-lock pressure, worn wafers and dry mechanisms cause most stuck ignitions. Often the barrel can be freed and serviced on the spot without replacement.
Worn barrels replaced
When the barrel is finished, a replacement is fitted and — crucially — re-pinned or keys matched so your one key still opens the doors and starts the car.
Snapped keys extracted
A blade snapped off inside the ignition or door is extracted without drilling, and a fresh key cut from the pieces — see snapped key extraction.
Honest diagnosis
Sometimes "ignition trouble" is actually a worn key doing the damage. If a new key cut to factory spec fixes it, that's what you'll be sold — the cheaper answer, not the bigger job.
Good to know
Common questions.
Why won't my key turn in the ignition?+
The top three: the steering lock is loaded (turn the wheel gently while turning the key), the key itself is worn, or the barrel's wafers are sticking. If the wheel trick doesn't work, don't force it — a snapped key turns a repair into an extraction.
How much does ignition repair cost?+
From £120 at your door, including matching the replacement barrel to your existing key where possible. A seized barrel freed and serviced without parts costs less; you'll get the exact price before work starts.
Will I end up with different keys for doors and ignition?+
Not if it's done properly. Barrels are re-pinned to your existing key wherever the design allows, so one key keeps doing everything — the shortcut of fitting a random barrel with its own key is how cars end up with a keyring of confusion.
The key turns but nothing happens — is that the ignition?+
Could be the electrical side of the ignition switch, could be the immobiliser not reading the key's chip, could be starter or battery. It's diagnosed at the kerb before anything is replaced — often it's the key's transponder, which is a much cheaper fix.
Also in the van
Every other key job, covered.
Local to you
Ignition Repair near you.
£0 call-out · price agreed first
Send your reg — get a fixed price.
Takes 2 minutes · 07700 900418