Ignition

[ccoyle88]

Hello. I have never posted here but I am having a problem with my ignition and I was hoping somebody may be able to help. I have a 1995 318ti base. This morning, I went to turn the car on and I got it to the accessory position and then it crunched and the key stayed in one place with the accessory on. I can remove the key, but the accessories still would not go off. I read up on a few threads about similar problems and decided to remove the ignition switch to see if I could do anything with that. After removal, I was able to turn the accessory off with a screwdriver but the car will not start that way either. It goes to all positions, but the engine does not turn over. I should mention that the barrel is still stuck and the wheel lock will not engage. Thanks for any and all help you can give!

-Craig Coyle

[tiFreak]

there's an anti-theft system on these cars, there's a chip inside the key and the black ring around the ignition is an antenna. try holding the key up next to it while you turn the screwdriver and it should start

[joesmoe3]

I had the same problem on the same car . . . 224,000 miles on the clock. The mechanic explained in that car BMW sought to enhance theft resistance with a weak pin below the ignition lock, that if forced breaks off locking the steering wheel and engaging the immobilizer.

In my case, after too many hours of trouble shooting, he found a chip to run the motor that bypasses the immobilizer, so that anti-theft feature is no longer active. The "weak" pin of the stock design remains with the replacement ignition switch, and the mechanic cautioned me to be gentle with the ignition switch if I don't want to be back to him prematurely for a replacement.