Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this problem with their MINI:

Get in the car, put the key in the ignition, and it won't turn! This happened yesterday and I had to really force the key to turn...forceful enough to break something in the lock chamber...luckily I haven't...yet.

It seems to be a direct relationship with the steering wheel "locking" after the car is turned off. I turn off the car, take the key out, and reach over for my briefcase on the passenger seat...sometimes I use the steering wheel to brace myself as I reach over or sometimes the case rubs against the steering wheel and moves it, ever so slightly, causing the steering wheel to "LOCK" in position...

Anyway, now I am very careful not to move the steering wheel at all when the car is off...because it only has to move slightly before it locks, and this inturn causes the lock chamber to jam up as well..

Any one know the relation between a locked steering wheel and an immobile lock chamber?

Rock On,

-MB

2003 MINI COOPER -- CVT. Jet Black/Jet Black. Chrome Mirror Caps and Bumpers. Premium & Sport Packages. Ween CD in the player...

 

Yikes! Don't force it with the key! All you need to do is turn the wheel a little bit to relieve the pressure of the locking mechanism as you turn the key. I intentionally lock the steering wheel every night before I put the Club on the wheel. It gets to be second nature pretty quickly.

"Up on the hill, down by the river, by the ocean, across the fields..."
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yeah, what chris said.
Every car I've ever driven since the 80's when i started driving has done this.

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This usually happens when you park with the wheels turned out to one side. Try straightening the wheel before cutting the engine.

And yes, a little pressure this way or that on the steering wheel will loosen up the ignition for the key to turn easily.

 

Park with the steering wheel straight, dead center position. It seems you are forcing the wheel to lock and this causes the problem you described. Not good for the ignition lock cylinder or steering column assembly.

This is not a "MINI" problem. This applies to ANY car.

 

Happens to me too...it freaked me out when I first got my mini

 

the steering wheel lock is actually a passive theft safety feature - it doesn't allow the wheel to be [easily] turned without the key to unlock it. Not a new feature - been around for decades - seriously. Naturally, you have to unload the key lock by turning the wheel slightly before you can turn the key.

 

Hey thanks for all the replies... and advice.

I always park straight on, with wheels and steering wheel dead center...but just the slightest nudge on the steering wheel after the key is removed will lock the steering wheelin place. You guys say to just move the steering wheel slightly either way and the key will turn freely...I'll have to try that if (when) this happens again... thing is, once the steering wheel locks though, it doesn't seem to budge much at all either way.

Thanks again,

-MB

 

<<<thing is, once the steering wheel locks though, it doesn't seem to budge much at all either way.>>>

Thus it is LOCKED.

But seriously... that's the point. It's supposed to do that. You're actually supposed to lock the wheel (purposefully, although accidentally works just as well) every time you shut off the car and get out. Anti-theft, as someone mentioned. When you get the key in the ignition you simultaneously jiggle the wheel and it unlocks and your key turns. I've never been in a car that didn't have this feature...

 

The MINI isn't the first car I've had that did the wheel lock, just the easiest to engage the lock. I have an tendancy to bump the wheel when getting out or in with my right leg (1 in10 times I'll bump it enough to lock). The wheel tilt is at it's upward max, it's just the way I have the seat when driving and me being too lazy to want to re-adjust my seat every time I get in or out. I've learned the gentle technique of slight wheel pulling with key turning so as not to stress either key or steering to compensate.