My 2004 530i has over 120000 miles and has just been towed to the dealer for third time because the key won't turn the ignition lock AT ALL. The steering column was replaced under warranty twice for this same problem but now they want $4000 to do it again just so I can start the car - no steering problem whatsoever. The key won't turn so it is not electronic problem since it wont go to step 1 where the electronics start to work. The steering wheel needed to be wiggled a little to take tension off the key but that trick failed permanently this week. The was a symptom the other 2 times.
Other cars (e90) have this kind of problem and drilling a hole in the right place fixed it. Nobody offers a fix like that for e60 early years on the web and nobody posted this problem in any of the forums - I know because I looked each time it happened; after 3 years and after another 3 and now after another 5. Dealer won't tell me if anybody else had this problem and they make it seem I am doing something to cause it. I drive the car and park it in a garage had maintenance as required. Now They want the price of a good used car to fix a problem they caused IMHO by design fault - or did they? Has anybody out there had this problem before? Is there a fix I don't know about? There should be a recall for this. My wife is calling the car a lemon because of this...after 11 years and 6 sets of tires.

 

Have you tried another key? Could be the current key is somewhat worn down. I've seen that before in another car I had (not BMW).

Had yet another car (Nissan) where I partially disassembled the column to epoxy something in the key hole that prevented the key from turning.

No way I'd pay $4K for a column. Junkyard or take the one you have apart. If it is the park steering lock, you should be able to mechanically disable it by removing some part or shaving off some metal tang or something like that.

Be careful getting the airbag out and back in if you mess with the column.

 

car is presently held captive at dealer

There is no difference with second key, the lock won't turn at all after key inserted

2 weeks at dealer and car not fixed; new steering column and lock assembly and some other parts had to be ordered and slow in arrival

awaiting verdict from BMW headquarters....ha ha!

 

i'm having the same problem right now. this is the only thread that I could find. I bought a new cylinder and it still will not turn.

 

ok, I've completed the job. drill tumblers out. order new. once you insert new one you may need to adjust the switch. problem solved. total cost, $118.48

 

I posted a video on this very thing 2 months ago. alv just repeated what I did. the absolute problem solver

 

Hi, I got the same problem now, where is the video you talked about?

NVM, I fixed it myself, now everything works as it should again.