What Did I Do Now?

" . . . so the car is totally unuseable . . ."

I think you hit the nail on the head. Most auto recycling facilities will give you $300 for the car. That's the best deal going. Take it there and never look back.

wait,wait ,wait.its only unuseable cause ignition is locked up.i can replace that,right?i mean unless its like $300 for a new ignition switch.lol.....it is isnt it?

Oh dear. Try looking up the term "cavalier" on CR4 forums. If you just obtained this vehicle recently, you are in for a treat. You have my condolences.

these make daily trips to the boneyard

The steering wheel lock is jammed due to the fact that the wheels were not straight when you turned the car off and then when the power steering shut down, it put even more force on the lock.

Try rocking the wheel back and forth while trying to gentle turn the ignition switch to the on position.

How did you even get a 22001 model???? I didn't think they were out yet.

He's posting this from the future!

And for all those thousand of years of technical advancement the Cavalier gotten not better.

Must be a beta model. Still needs the bugs worked out.

lol. im a she genius. lol. did u even read the super horrible problem im experiencing or u skim through and see that HUH,HUH! I spelled 2001 wrong. HUH,HUH? lol mr. gotten not better.lol

That's the kind of attitude you need to keep your sanity around here.

Ive tried that.not so much the gently part,but i cant get it to budge.actually, i took the column off and found the button to free up the steering wheel but it just locked back up agian.is there somewhere underneth car i can bang on to free up that lock?

it's all in the column

watch the video Solar gave you, especially the part where the guy puts the small screwdriver in the ignition switch

If it persists then you may find it necessary to replace the ignition lock cylinder....

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_kw=Ignition+Lock+Cylinder+chevy+cavalier
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HodowBSI2K0&feature=endscreen

right on! Awesome! Now.... do u have directions to the nearest junkyard?lol.thanx

1500 posts and someone actually said thanks! not a problem

Yep,

You'll get one of those every 1-2 thousand posts.

Well a bit of appreciation, that calls for some bonus info.....

http://www.asap-locksmith-buffalo-ny.com/asap-how-to-unlock-car-steering-wheel.html

just get back in, jerk the steering wheel back and forth until its freed, start it up and head directly to the scrap yard and end your misery

lol. ok,ok.ill take ur "great advice" into consideration.k? lol. (smartass)lol

One of the many tribal knowledge tricks to owning and driving a Cavalier is to NEVER remove the key from the ignition.

Now that you've seen SE's demo, how about keeping the ignition switch and putting a new car on it?

Ms. Westwood,

Be patient with this group. They've seen far too many Cavalier questions and as Brave Sir Robin pointed out, most of them are 'my Cavalier won't start'.

I had something similar happen in a Mercury Sable that I owned. The steering wheel wouldn't release and the key wouldn't turn. I couldn't start it nor could I get the key out.

Turns out it was a broken wire on a switch near the brake pedal. The safety interlock on the car requires the driver to press the brakes in order to start the car. This also means the key switch lock and the steering wheel won't release until the brake pedal is pressed. I had the steering column taken apart and was ready to replace a solenoid when I noticed a bare wire near the connector to the switch that sensed the brake pedal. It had been stepped on when I pushed on the brakes with my feet too high on the pedal. I must have been doing that often as I eventually broke the wire loose.

That's the first place I would look. On the Mercury, the steering lock release is controlled electrically through a solenoid. That may also be the case for your Cavalier. Look around the brake pedal, maybe you've done the same as me and broken a wire.

Good luck.

I was just messing with them .I have to admit I thought I had s very serious problem at first but .....I font.I really appreciate all the advise and was able to get my car from in front of a friends house before it got towed.

Generally, the shifter will unlock when you press the brake key.

There is in my car a mechanical release on the shifter. You have to remove a small plastic cap by the shifter. I probably should do that just to see how it works. I did have to get towed the other day,

Where is the brake "key"?

Or, what IS the brake "key"?

?????

Nope, that's past tense.

Yes, the car should be in the junk yard, but it sounds like you need it for transportation. These guys are pretty smart here and I'm surprised none of them gave you this solution.

Get a nice sturdy floor jack and a couple jack stands. Also get a couple cinder blocks to jam behind the rear tires.

Your car is front wheel drive, so you've probably jammed the steering column. If you relieve the pressure, you may get lucky. Follow these steps.

1. Set the parking brake as tight as you can.

2 Shove the cinder blocks under the back tires, so the car doesn't roll.

3. Jack up the front of the car (one side at a time) until the tires are off the ground and put the jack stands underneath in a strong place.

4. Let the pressure off the jack - the car is now sitting on the jack stands - not on tires.

5. Get in the car and move the steering wheel back and forth.

6. If this doesn't work, you'll need to change the lock cylinder. If the car isn't worth it, you can try to shove a large screwdriver in the ignition and turn with vice grips or a crescent wrench. Just break the thing.

7. If this doesn't work, get a dent puller tool and try to pull the lock cylinder out.

Let us know how this works.

know what?. i have managed to get the car on the road agian (with the help of you guys). when i showed my dad how i fixed it, i kinda expected a "good job" or a "im impressed". but the first thing he said was "u didnt have to do all that. I was just gunna junk it." lol.well...just another day in the life of tina westwood.bring it on.

Congratulations! Great to hear you're mobile again. There is definitely satisfaction in solving a vexing problem.

Ah! Perhaps the steering lock has too many lols in it?

"Lots of love"?

An introduction and some wooing first would be appropriate.

Now back to the plot. Internet auction sites (names withheld) are ideal for solving problems like this. After a few bids, someone shows up and drives it away...