HELP! Steering Wheel + Ignition locked
 

so my steering wheel and ignition is locked! I drove to work fine but when i got off i couldn't start the car. no matter what i do the key wont turn, nor the steering wheel. i tried locking and locking, turning the steering wheel while turning ignition, pressing brakes, making sure its in park, EVERYTHING.

any ideas? my car is still at work. going back in AM to have it towed..hope someone can help before then..

Sounds like it was parked on an uneven surface with the wheels turned - this happens a lot on the wifes e46. Sounds stupid but try starting it from the passenger seat - sometimes the offset of the weight helps

its on a flat service with the wheels straight.. tried the passenger seat thing

see if you can reach in from under the hood and twist the steering linkage - sounds like it is bound, so it is not engaging the lock mechanism correctly

If you "shimmy" the wheel (turn left and right a little) while trying to turn the ignition, it should work. It's happened many times on our cars, that's what our service advisor told us to do.

Sounds like you've tried all the usual suspects. Chucking the steering wheel back and forth usually does the trick, but that doesn't seem the case now. I wonder if it could be something in the alarm system. There may be some electronic interlock that prevents the key from turning. I had that problem in a clients Cayenne the other day. Switched to the other key they had for it and it started right up. Not sure if that helps but have you tried any other of the keys to the car?


Gar