I''ve been having some trouble with the ignition switch in my 01 saturn lately-stiff, hard to turn the key. So I shot a little graphite in and turned it on and off a couple of times. All of a sudden, it froze up, not quite in the lock position. I can get the key in and out, and tried both the keys I have-no dice.


So what next? Do I have to replace the switch? I did some reading up on another website, and it talked about having to remove the steering wheel. I took the top cover behind the wheel off, and I can see and get to the metal housing that holds the switch. I can also see a small hole on the top, towards the dashboard. Is that where you push in a pin to release the switch from the housing? Also, I''ve read that some Saturns need to be reprogrammed when yo put in a new switch. Is that true of this model? It''s just a plain, basic sedan. Thanks for any help.

 

I should add that from what I''ve read, the switch has to be in the "acc" position for the switch to be removed. This one is jammed between "locked" and "acc".