A key that sticks, won't turn or won't come out leaves the car exactly where it is. Ignition repair comes to it: we find out which part has failed, rebuild the barrel where we can, and fit a new one where we can't, usually with parts we carry on board.
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Fault found before any part is fitted • Stock barrels on the van • Parts and labour guaranteed 12 months • 450+ reviews on Google and Checkatrade
For most cars, a rebuild at the car is the cheapest and quickest answer, a new barrel is the fallback, and the dealer only makes sense once the car can be driven there.
A worn barrel can usually be stripped, given fresh wafers and recoded to the key you already use. You keep the original part and one key that does everything, and it's the cheapest outcome of the three.
At the car
Almost never. Ignition repair is done wherever the car has stopped, and for the models that wear out barrels most often, the parts travel with us, so a same-day fix is the normal outcome.
The New Forest, Southampton, Portsmouth, Eastleigh, Winchester and Fareham are all covered, and the local ignition pages for Southampton, Portsmouth, Eastleigh, Winchester and Fareham have more detail. Phone lines: 8am–10pm weekdays, 10am–6pm Saturday and Sunday.
How it works
Every job begins by proving which part is at fault. The key, the barrel, the switch behind it and the steering lock can all stop a car starting, and a new barrel only fixes one of those.
The key goes against its factory cuts first, because a worn key can fail in the ignition long after it stops failing in the doors. Then the barrel is checked for wafers that stick or have worn flat, and the switch at the back is tested on its own. A key that rotates with no power to the dash points to the switch, not the barrel.
Ignition barrel repair takes the existing barrel apart, replaces the worn wafers, and codes it back to your key. The doors, boot and ignition all keep working off one key. Because nothing new is fitted except small internal parts, it's the least expensive fix.
When the barrel is cracked, seized or worn past saving, ignition barrel replacement fits a new one. Where possible it's coded to your existing key; or, if it's supplied with keys of its own, we program those to your car on the same visit, so one key still does everything.
Push-button cars have no barrel, but many have an electronic steering lock that can fail, showing a steering lock warning and refusing to free the column. W204 Mercedes C-Classes are our most frequent steering lock repair, done at the car. The ignition and steering lock unit shared by the Golf Mk5 and Mk6, Touran, Octavia, Leon and Audi A3 of that era is another known failure.
Pricing
Ignition barrel replacement cost depends on the car, whether the barrel can be rebuilt instead, and whether new keys need programming. Rebuilding is the cheapest route; swapping in a barrel coded to the key you carry is the next step up; a barrel with its own freshly programmed keys tops the scale. You'll know before we start.
We price it from the registration and a quick description of the symptom. No payment is taken in advance. Every price is given before anything is taken apart; if one symptom could be more than one fault, you hear each possible price on the phone first, then we confirm at the vehicle. Our 12-month guarantee covers the lot.
Related
A flashing key symbol with an engine that cranks but never catches means a chip problem, which is car key programming. A key snapped in the barrel needs extracting first; car key repair covers the new blade. Lost every key? That's car key replacement. For the why behind a stuck key, read our guide to keys that won't turn.
FAQ
If you're anywhere between the New Forest and Portsmouth, or up to Winchester, yes, because we come to you. The nearest ignition barrel replacement is wherever your car has stopped, whether that's a driveway, a street or a car park. Ring with the reg and symptom, and you'll get a price and a time.
For most cars, yes. Mobile ignition barrel replacement needs room to open the door and get at the steering column, and that's it. The column trim comes off, the barrel is removed, rebuilt or swapped, and everything goes back together. Some cars take longer than others, depending on how the column is built.
Yes. Van ignition repair is a big part of our work, especially on high-mileage Transits, whose barrels wear faster than most, and on Partners and Berlingos. We carry the common van barrels, so it's usually a same-day fix. See our van key replacement pages for keys as well.
Not for long. Stiffness is wear, and wear only gets worse; the usual ending is a snapped key or a car that won't start somewhere awkward. A barrel caught while it's still turning, even reluctantly, is far more likely to be a rebuild than a replacement, so it's worth booking in sooner rather than later.
Not always. On an automatic, the key often stays locked in if the selector isn't fully in park, and on some cars a weak battery causes the same thing. Check both first. If neither helps, worn wafers can be catching the blade, and that's a barrel repair we can do at the car.
Yes. The ignition switch sits behind the barrel and handles the electrics. When it fails, the key turns but the dash stays dark or the engine won't crank. We test the switch separately from the barrel, so you're only charged for the part that has actually failed.
Common ignitions
Six or seven models keep us busiest.
Ford Fiesta and Transit barrels top the list. The Golf, Touran and Audi A3 share their ignition and steering lock unit with the Octavia and Leon. The Vauxhall Corsa C snaps its ignition tail, Honda barrels wear across the range, Peugeot Partner and Citroën Berlingo ignitions give regular trouble, and the Mercedes C-Class steering lock is a regular repair for us.
Symptoms
What the key is doing tells us most of what we need to know before we arrive.
Turn the steering wheel gently each way while turning the key, in case the steering lock is pinching the barrel. If your spare key turns where the original won't, the fault is in the key, and cutting a fresh one to the original code usually solves it. If neither turns, the barrel needs attention.
No lights and no cranking with the key turned usually means the ignition switch behind the barrel, or a battery problem, rather than the barrel itself. We test both before quoting.
Don't pull or twist harder; that's how keys snap. Check an automatic is fully in park, then call. We release a stuck key by working the barrel, and extract a snapped one with proper tools.
On a push-button car, a steering lock warning or no response to the start button tends to mean the steering lock unit or the start-button module has failed, not the key. A flat fob battery can cause similar trouble, so try that first.
Trade deep-dive
An ignition barrel is a row of small spring-loaded wafers that line up when the right key goes in. The more wafers, the more there is to wear. A typical car uses around eight. A Honda uses far more, twenty-one in total, arranged in rows top and bottom with a larger wafer at the end. That makes them very secure, but it also makes them prone to wear, and plenty of locksmiths would rather not touch them. We're happy to.
Hyundai and Kia ignitions are similarly over-engineered and wear in the same way. On the Ford Fiesta, the problem is wafers that jam and grind the key down until even a fresh spare won't turn. On the Corsa D, worn wafers ride up and lock the key in place. Each fails differently, which is why we diagnose before we quote.
From the van
When an ignition jams, the quickest-looking fix is to drill it out. We avoid that wherever possible, because drilling damages the barrel housing and can turn a repair into a replacement. In most cases, a jammed barrel, Fiestas included, can be released and removed without drilling, then rebuilt or replaced. Drilling is our last resort, not our first move.
Trade deep-dive
Some faults go deeper than the barrel. On Golf-era Volkswagen group cars, a section inside the steering lock turns brittle and snaps when the key is forced against a loaded steering wheel. Because that part is cast into the lock itself, the whole unit has to be replaced. Mercedes electronic steering lock repairs are a bigger job too, though one we're well used to.
And some "ignition" problems aren't ignition problems at all. A Corsa D that's lost sync with its body control module after a flat battery needs dealer software, and a mid-2000s Ford Focus showing an engine fault may have water in its engine computer. In both cases, we'll tell you honestly rather than fit a part you don't need. See our Ford and Vauxhall pages for more.
From the van
July 2025Isuzu D-Max
Ignition barrel replaced on a Isuzu D-Max for a customer in Bitterne, done on site from the SmartTech mobile workshop. We replaced the worn barrel and tested the start and steering lock, so the vehicle was back on the road the same visit. Keeping a work van off the road costs money, so the job was booked in around the customer's day.
Bitterne
August 2025Hatchback
Ignition barrel replaced on a Hatchback for a customer in New Forest, done on site from the SmartTech mobile workshop. The faulty ignition was repaired on the driveway with no recovery truck needed, and the key was matched to the new lock.
New Forest
September 2026Iveco Daily
Van ignition and key on a Iveco Daily for a customer in Netley & Hamble, done on site from the SmartTech mobile workshop. The faulty ignition was repaired on the driveway with no recovery truck needed, and the key was matched to the new lock. Keeping a work van off the road costs money, so the job was booked in around the customer's day.
Netley & Hamble
What customers say
"I cannot recommend Alec enough. My transit custom lock was not turning. I did not know Alec at this point and called another locksmith. To cut a long story short the other locksmith attempted a repair and then gave up, leaving me with a van I could no longer use. I called Alec who came out next day; he repaired the damage done by the other locksmith and custom made a replacement ignition barrel so one key still does the doors and the new ignition. I couldn't be more pleased. Price was very fair too!"
"Did the work at a 3rd of the price of the dealership and I'm sure to a higher quality, the work was quick and professional. Could not recommend more!"
"Absolutely spot on! After ringing about 15 different companies who said they couldn't help and one company even saying the series of my car doesn't exist I found smarttech who I contacted who could finally help! The next day he came out and I now have access and a new key to my car! Fast and efficient polite service! Highly recommend!!"
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