First off - Hi! I'm new! I bought my first A4 (a 98 avant) last night from a private seller. The car appeared to be pristine and well taken care of. I drove it from the seller's house to a restaurant for dinner and when I parked, the steering wheel locked, it wouldn't unlock. We spent a couple hours trying to get it to unlock with no success. After getting the car towed (with the wheels cut to the right), we now have it at home, and after some reading are assuming it has to do with the ignition cylinder.


Has anyone had this specific problem? Any ideas on what exact part we need to replace? We're tearing the steering column apart based on instructions that I found on AF today, but since it's labor day, we shouldn't be able to get any parts until tomorrow. There are a number of dealerships in the area as well as BowWow autovice nearby, so hopefully getting the part won't be much of an issue. For clarification, the cylinder will not rotate out past the "off" position and the wheel is locked off to the side.


Thanks for any help or advice!

 

There's a similar problem in Chrysler minivans. The temporary fix is to put the key in the ignition, and with a hammer or other heavy blunt item (e.g. MagLite flashlight), give the key several firm raps on the head.

 

Pretty sound advice. I'll definitely get going on this!



Edit:Just realized that you might not have meant break the key off in the ignition!

 

Yeah don't do that. Directly down on the top of the head of the key, like you're trying to tap it into the key hole.

 

I wish I had posted this thread last night! Hubby tried banging on the key with his hand firmly, but didn't actually use another object. The whole steering column is torn apart at this point. A family friend gets a discount at the dealer, so hopefully it's a reasonable price! Looks like the whole ignition cylinder will need replacement.

 

Ouch. Well good luck to you anyways. Now you know in case it happens to someone you know.

 

In case anyone cares, here's an update.

Ignition cylinder and the other pot-metal housing piece are on order. I'll have them in 2 days. To get the car driveable(i'm not a fan of the bus) the old parts come out and I'll start it with a screwdriver (pure class!) tomorrow and the next day and then get everything installed and good to go. lol

 

Good stuff and I hope it's a quick job for you.