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The above happened to me at a gas station in Albany, New York, 310 mi from home on Sunday morning July 4, 2004. I pulled up to a gas pump to fill up, and when I shut the engine off I couldn't get the key out of the ignition (’98 OBW, 107,000 mi, one owner).

 

 

At first, the key would not move. After some fiddling, I was able to turn the key to “Start” and then to “On.”

 

 

To make a long story short, I was able to drive the car home but have not been able to remove the key from the ignition. I can start the car, but when I turn it off, the farthest to the rear the key will move is to the accessory position.

 

 

Because I can’t get the key out of the ignition, I can’t tell whether the problem is with the key or with the lock cylinder. The key is an original that came with the car, not a copy. I suspect the key is quite worn.

 

 

I have checked the Haynes manual and it looks like a bear to change the lock cylinder in the steering column.

 

 

Has anyone else had this problem?

 

 

Any ideas on how to get the key out?

 

 

Has anyone else changed the lock cylinder in the steering column of this vintage Legacy (1995 -1999)?

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Had a similar problem.

The key was the culprit. I suspect your key is indeed worn.

The only way I found to get the key out was fiddling with it until it broke loose. Go all the way to start, come back while pushing and pulling on the key without exerting too much force and maybe it will get unstuck. Took me quite a while to succeed.

The only way to start anew is to have some dealer make you a new key with the VIN number of the car.

Good luck.

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I also know that if the gear selector on an automatic is not in neutral or park, the key won't go into the lock position so you can pull it out. Looks like an signal to the lock cylinder prevents this. Something else to check as well.

 

[edit] Read the original poster's sig, and realized that this car is a manual. So the above wouldn't apply.

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I just got this fixed today by a local independent Subaru specialist.

 

Required a new lock cylinder. Total cost came to $292.13, including a couple of extra keys (4 keys in total). It appeared to be quite a job. The lock cylinder is installed with bolts with heads that shear off once they're tightened, so to get the old cylinder out you have to drill out the bolts.

 

The mechanic thought he'd be able to get a local lock smith to get the key to the new ignition lock cylinder to match the door keys. Unfortunately, Subaru has designed the lock cylinder to be a sealed unit. Apparently, the tumblers inside break if you try to open it. So now I'm stuck with separate keys for the ignition and for the doors.

 

By the way, I'm told the likely cause of the cylinder going bad was having too many keys hanging off my key chain and putting too much strain on the cylinder. Live and learn.

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