Have you tried your second key? It might be that the first one has worn down too much to mesh with the tumblers.

 

Grab your steering wheel and pull it to hard to the left and jiggle it, then try to turn the key. Sound's like you may have the steering column locked.

 

Thank you ActionMan. I have tried all three keys with no success.

 

Thank you Byron007. I have rocked, jiggled, pulled, yanked, etc. for over one hour. No success.

 

Well, the ignition will only start when the transmission is in either Park or Neutral. Try starting it in Neutral and see if that works.

 

ActionMan, I tried that as well. I had to manually release it from "Park", placed it in "Neutral", and no success. Did not seem to affect it at all. Still no turn.

 

There are no chips in any of the keys that could have become lodged in the ignition? Any chance that something else has gotten lodged in the ignition? It would seem that at this point the ignition might need to be removed and inspected and possibly replaced. Either that or the steering wheel lock has malfunctioned.

 

There is nothing obvious that is lodged in the ignition. And the key inserts fully and freely. It removes easily as well. It just will not turn.

 

maybe just bite the bullet and replace the iginition...but how much does that run though....? and though i'm assuming it would fix your problem i can't promise that it would.. to me though sure sounds like bad ignition though...

 

I had the same problem a couple weeks ago. Never had any issues before or hint of key/ignition issues. I pulled straight into a parking spot and parked. Came out 3 minutes later (taking my son to school for a final exam!)and key wouldn't turn, no pressure on lock. Tried rocking steering wheel while trying to start it, no luck. The steering wheel actually locked and then put pressure on lock. I flipped key over, no luck, flipped it back over, rocked wheel and it worked.

Very strange indeed. Same key has been working fine since then (knocks wood). No issues so far from wife (we both use car daily, different keys). She might actually start it more as her stuff is around town, mine is work and home.

 

I had an issue a few weeks ago, I was leaving the gym put the key in the cylinder and it wouldn't turn. Took the key out had a razor in my glovebox and very lightly scraped the groves in the key. Put it back in and on my way I went.

 

Happened to me in Houston almost 2 years ago. Fussed, fumed, fiddled then called AAA. Waited, waited, waited. Tried again; key barely turned. Made it home and swapped keys with the one in the General Junk Drawer. Worked poifectly; tried old key and it wouldn't turn, so it's the key. Got a new key cut@dealer, been using the GJD key ever since.

 

Thanks to all for the feedback. Here is "the rest of the story."

I had the car towed to JR's Automotive in Lexington, SC. First time at this shop. Very impressed! They had a locksmith take it apart. He said everything looked fine. He put it back together and JR ordered a key from the local Hyundai dealer. Works like a charm!

We compared the new dealer key with my ancient aftermarket key. Wow, what a difference. The old one was really worn down. Apparently, my old key was simply not pushing the tumblers as it once did. It finally reached the "point of no turn."

Here is the amazing part! JR charged me a $39.50 diagnostic fee and $12.65 for the key. I think that is the least expensive repair on record! Well, the tow was $75.00. Overall, not bad at all.

Glad to be on the road again!

Thanks again!

 

Sorry to bring back an old post but I really need help. I'm in Pennsylvania and my daughter has my 08 Sonata in Florida. The car is sittlng at her place of work with the key not being able to be turned in the ignition. She has tried moving the steering wheel, tried moving the shifter out of park, tried wiggleing the key, and last but not least tried the back up key I sent with her. Any suggestions? I really don't want to be at the mercy of a dealership/ repair shop!

 

Sorry to bring back an old post but I really need help. I'm in Pennsylvania and my daughter has my 08 Sonata in Florida. The car is sittlng at her place of work with the key not being able to be turned in the ignition. She has tried moving the steering wheel, tried moving the shifter out of park, tried wiggleing the key, and last but not least tried the back up key I sent with her. Any suggestions? I really don't want to be at the mercy of a dealership/ repair shop!

i would call the dealer give them your vin and have them cut u a brand new key. assuming u have the same problem rick did..

 

Mine was starting to get hard to remove, and it helped if I pushed it in slightly for the last step, from ACC to Off. I then sprayed it with WD-40, and it's smooth, but the key is wet for the first few times you remove it. Bring a small rag along!

 

Trying to work on a car when you are 1000 miles away sucks! Had it towed to Universal Hyundai, Orlando and am now at the mercy of the dealership. Had a good conversation with the service department and have high hopes that all goes well. Will post the final results in a few days.

 

Wet lubricants don't mix with locks; they can gum up the works. Use a dry lubricant specially made for locks; they're mostly graphite, which makes the tumblers slide easier without gumming them up.

 

Follow up. Daughter picked up the car saturday after Universal Hyundai's service hours. They made arangements to get it from the sales staff. Technician was able to start the car no problem(figures). They cleaned and lubed the ignition assembly, cut a new key and I had them do an oil change with synthetic oil. All in all the tow was $80 and the time at Universal was$90. The dealer could have really stuck it to me, so kudos to Universal Hyundai of Orlando.

 

Glad it all worked out an didn't break your bank..

 

A new key working is probably a coincidence and the car may (will probably) do it again. What happens is the entire ignition assembly wears and the little tab that turns the electrical ignition switch will drop into the slot of the switch. Think of an old skeleton kind of key in a house, it is how the switch is turned by the key cylinder. The problem is not mileage range specific as some cars are started more than others because of trip distances. The ultimate fix for this is very simple-

Remove the lower dash plastic and metal knee bolster. If you follow the ignition switch from where the key is inserted towards the firewall you will see a connector with 6 large wires at the rear of the ignition lock assembly. That is the actual electrical ignition switch and where the problem happens. Unplug the connector and remove the single screw that holds the switch in the aluminum assenbly. It comes off fairly easily but the key needs to be in the accessory position! If you look at where the switch goes into the lock assembly you will see where the little tab fits in. The part that rotates and actualy turns the car on is black, the case of the switch is white and it is what you need to modify. The goal is to remove enough of the white plastic so that the tab that fits into it cannot interfer with the operation of the switch. I used a dremel with a small grinding stone. Make the hole in the white plastic match the width of the slot in the black plastic that is inside the switch. If you accidentally turn the black insert you just need to make sure you have it in the accessory position before trying to reinstall it. it needs to be one click from the left most position. The switch should slide right back into the aluminum lock housing but if it doesn't you will have to make sure the tab that turns the switch is centered in the housing and that the key is in the accessory position to match the switch. It is easier thans it sounds and will NEVER leave you stranded with a stuck ''key'' hope this helps. Now I can go back to finding the thread about the noisy timing chain :O

 

Unfortunately, within 300 miles of my 2014 Hyundai Sonata my wife started experiencing the same thing.
The problem exists on both keys in my 2007 Hyundai Sonata.
What is the solution?

 

If I understand you, your car is still in warranty. Take it to the dealer and have them sort it out. The dealer has a locksmith; your keys may be bad or your lock may be bad or both may be bad. No way to diagnose the problem remotely.

 

I have a 2010 Elantra Touring it had 6000 miles on it when the switch would not work the dealer replaced it for free, now I have 60,000 on it and it is doing it once again, is it the key or is just the car is a POS, I have a Ford Explore I bought 25 years ago and have 498, 600 miles on it with the same key and switch that it came with, I asked the dealer and he said he could fix it for 495 bucks, is that a rip off or what, Please help I don't have much money

 

Should post in the proper sub forum for Elantra not sonata..

You can’t compare cars of the past with today’s plastic and lighter materials. Think how many times a day you use the ignition. Which I doubt you ever lubricated the lock cylinder. Things break sooner or later. You can change the lock cylinder yourself it’s. It to hard to do if handy..

 

Im having problems with my key not going to on from ACC
It’s four steps for the key to go thru first step is when you push the key in the lock position the second is ACC after it’s On then start
Lock-ACC-On-Start
My key is going into ACC but not turning to On