Is it ok to brake the steering lock?

[BenWall]

On my old escort. Finished work today and it took my like 20 attempts to get it off the lock. Im guessing this is because of the immobiliser and the signal thing in my key? I have heard that getting Ford to reprogramme it can be costly.

The cars worth nothing, so could I break the lock and still be able to start the engine?

 

[bmh.01]

Not if the immobilser won't come off because of the transponder in the key. If its just the steering lock then I can't see why not.

 

[BenWall]

Is it normally the immobilser that controls the lock, or could the lock just be acting up on mine?

 

[SBV116]

what does the key look like? what reg is it? 9 times out of 10 its the key thats fooked!

 

[BenWall]

Its like the normal ford key, and has a red circle on it, which shows it has a immobiliser.

Year 95 I think. I tried it again and it still want unlock. Need the car in the morning to get to college. Temped to brake the lock but it might fook it.

 

[SBV116]

does the key look worn bud? have you got a spare?

 

[BenWall]

I have got a spare, but that dosnt have the red circle on it, so Im guessing it cant take the immobiliser off?

 

[Mark5290]

Surely the steering lock is just a mechanical lock on a 95 plate car, the transponder immobiliser is a seperate device, try rocking the steering wheel quite hard and then turning the key, i have had this happen on other vehicles where the steering lock mechanism was badly worn and had to apply a lot of force when rocking the steering wheel so i could get the steering lock off.

 

[BenWall]

Surely the steering lock is just a mechanical lock on a 95 plate car, the transponder immobiliser is a seperate device, try rocking the steering wheel quite hard and then turning the key, i have had this happen on other vehicles where the steering lock mechanism was badly worn and had to apply a lot of force when rocking the steering wheel so i could get the steering lock off.

Yer thats what I think now, but you have to do it really hard, so wouldnt breaking it be the best solution?

 

[SBV116]

try the other key! if it works its your key thats hooped! your right, it wont do the immobiliser though! unless you take the chip out and swap it over!

 

[AstoN]

Take the steering wheel off and below the boss you will see a little bar that pops up when u remove the key, just remove that. To find it, keep switching on the ignition and removing the key so you can see it moving up and down.