Hi all,

It seems that I have a problem with my ignition key, I can't insert it further than a few mm.
I tried wobbling it in etc. but it doesn't help. Does anybody know what could be causing this?

Sounds like the barrel has collapsed. Sadly it can't be repaired so stick another on.

Oh bummer, looks like I'll be using the train to get home this week...

By barrel you mean the whole cilinder thingy so that also means new keys?

You can pretend to be a car thief. The locking ring on the column on which the steering lock engages on comes of with two allen bolts and the switch part of the ignition responds to a screwdriver once it is pulled off the lock assembly......

If you can get the key in to prevent the anti theft device to kick in.

This is a complete steering key lock

Good point, of course if the lock hasn't sprung out yet you can stop it from engaging by jamming something in the slot in the lock ring so you can get at both allen bolts.

I'm going to do some work now........

Those things are quite expensive

Anyway I've decided not to carjack my own car because I can probably replace the whole thing at work. Not too far away from here is an old Saxo Diesel for sale for 500 euro so I will probably buy that one as temporally transport for the next few weeks.

Is the replacing of the whole thing do-able for a beginner?

There is nothing technically difficult about it. However the nuts that hold the lock onto the steering column are sheer nuts, the hexagon breaks off once they reach a predetermined torque.

You therefore have to undo two nuts that are designed to be very tricky to undo as you can't easily grip them.

These are hateful things and have a habit of failing in the most difficult of places. I always remove them in the comfort of my garage and replace them with a pretty switch and button.