Ignition Rebuild That Saved a $700 Replacement
The customer's ignition had been sticking for months and finally seized in the accessory position with the steering locked. Two repair shops quoted a complete ignition and switch replacement plus a tow, and one warned he would end up carrying a second key.
Vehicle
2012 Chevrolet Silverado
Location
Round Rock
Response
Same day
On site
80 minutes on-site
What we did
- 01
On-site diagnosis isolated the fault to a worn cylinder rather than the electrical switch behind it — confirmed by testing accessory and crank circuits directly.
- 02
Cylinder removed and disassembled on the van bench; four brass wafers were badly eroded and two springs had lost tension.
- 03
New wafers and springs fitted, housing deburred and cleaned, keyway lubricated with dry PTFE rather than an oil that would attract Texas dust.
- 04
Rebuilt cylinder re-keyed to the customer's existing key so his doors, tailgate and ignition still share one key.
- 05
Reinstalled and cycled through twelve consecutive start, accessory and lock sequences before sign-off.
The result
Total cost was under half the lowest replacement quote, with no tow bill and no second key to carry. The truck has operated without a single sticking incident in the months since.
“Everyone else wanted to replace the whole thing. He opened it up, showed me the worn wafers, and rebuilt it right there in my driveway. Still perfect.”
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