I need help desperately! My car is stuck in a spot. The key fob lets me lock and unlock the car but refuses to let me turn the ignition. Not flooded. Steering wheel is locked. I can unlock the doors and lock them again, but can't turn the ignition or the steering wheel. What can I do? Gonna get a tow soon. Any rx8 owners in the city of Chicago??


I know this forum can be rough and there are a lot of haters on here, but I'm just a human looking for help from other humans and really need help on this badly right now. Please respond with whatever you've got. I had the battery on the keyfob replaced recently maybe four or five months ago. please help.

Check the ign key 15a fuse in the engine bay

Also disconnect the battery for a couple minutes... And while its disconnected hold down on the brake pedal.... Reconnect the battery and try to start the car

If this is a 2006+ with the keyless 'smart' key then you can pop the plastic cap off of the ignition and use the slide out valet key on your card to get you on road.

If it isn't, then I'm not sure

When my steering wheel was locked. I remember holding the brake pedal and turning the key at the same time. You could have a different problem, but its worth a try

Surprised that no-one asked yet, but maybe it is just not clear for me:

Is the ignition physically not turning, or does turning the key just not turn on the car?

If it is not able to turn physically, you might have a little problem with the locked steering wheel. It might work to just turn the wheel a bit in either direction and gently try turning the ignition again.

try wiggle the steering wheel. maybe the steering wheel lock is preventing the key from turning.

Gently turn the wheel in either direction, you should be able to do that. Hold the wheel and turn the key. That should unlock the steering wheel and be able to start the car. The Chicago thing, I am sorry. They are ruthless up there about parking.

I'm also having the same problem. The ignition will not turn with proximity key.. Sometimes I was able to move the key in and out of the door jamb and it would register. But the keyless lock in the handle doesn't work either.. The fob itself works and can lock and unlock and open trunk. But can't start without valet key. Please advise.

Replace the battery in the key FOB. I had the same problem were I could not turn the key. The problem was intermittent. Replaced the battery in the key FOB and the problem went away. It appeared that the car could not detect the key because the battery was low.

Also having the same problem as dragonlord..
Tried replacing the battery. All buttons on fob work no problem. Just can't turn the ignition without the valet key also door handle button on the exterior doesn't work either. Back to the search bar I go!

Check resistence

Replaced battery, tested both the old and new and has proper voltage... Buttons on the fob work perfectly. But as the previous poster wrote as well as my own... The external handle button doesn't work. Nor does the proximity start... The red KEY light will just blink when attempting to turn it ...

Like i said... it was at one point i could shut the door, try it, if it ffailed, i could open the door, move the fob through thedoor jam and back in, and shut the door, and it'd work... sometimes i'd have to do it more than once but it would eventually work... Not anymore now though...

I am now wondering if maybe the programming of the FOB has got scrambled and the FOB needs to be reprogrammed to the car. Either that or the FOB has gone bad and needs to be replaced.

I feel like mine just went bad.. or I'm just wanting to shotgun a part at it to see if it's fixed. Would I need to buy two fobs? I feel like everything I've read says you have to have two fobs to program.

I think you need two keys to do it yourself. I just had a FOB and spare key programmed for my 09 at the dealer. They charged me 65 dollars to cut the spare key and reprogram the new FOB and key to the car.

My 2010 GT key fob battery is dead (at work). The blade fob key (auxiliary key) lets me get back into the car. However the key will insert and twist to START but the starter will not start engage (instrument panel is illuminated though). I borrowed a coworker's CR2025 battery, placed that into my FOB, and got the car started.

So why doesn't the key work in the ignition with a dead FOB?


Mazda RX8 series II QSG says...

Solved- in my frustration I kept turning the steering back and forth and tried the key until the car started. Got home and now it will not start with the key. Gave up on turning the steering and key game and replaced the fob battery with a new CR2025- started right up without the key. 3-4 years per battery.