by Bo del Ransi

Created on: December 17, 2010   Last Updated: March 03, 2012

Any key that has turned once too often is at risk of breaking off inside the ignition switch. At that point, perhaps the broken portion may continue to start the vehicle, but the very idea is discomforting. There must be a way to get the broken key out of the ignition without removing or replacing the assembly, but the task does not look like an easy one.

The best decision is to enlist the aid of a locksmith who will know what to do to extract the key.  This can be expensive, so if going this route it may pay to shop around.

But if hiring a locksmith is altogether out, then trying out the advice below may be useful

First, fore-go the idea of putting superglue on one end of the broken key that is still in your possession. That could be a messy and terminal task. A magnet is not likely to work either, but because the entire ignition is made of steel and would not only fail but could possibly magnetize any part of the thing.

Instead of a bonafide magnet, try a tiny, magnetized screwdriver head.  Whether that item will have the necessary attraction to do the job is uncertain.

If the magnetized screwdriver head fails, glue is the only remaining idea that makes some kind of sense —— and yet it is definitely out of the question, for aforementioned reasons.

That's where the idea of sticky gel comes in. Sticky gel is used to glue pieces of paper to certain items, namely cookware, and is not only very sticky —— and very gelled —— but also does not like to come apart from itself. Sticky gel will stick to itself and even make a big grab for anything that it comes in contact with, but it's not likely to be lost in the ignition unless it is shorn in the process.

Ecko is one brand of cookware that uses sticky gel (popularly known as "booger glue"). It will peel off from the paper and the non-stick coating of the cookware that the product label is attached to. Sticky gel is also available online from dispenser rolls in pre-measured, graduated lengths and is also used in direct mail to glue pennies or plastic to paper forms.

The idea of tacking the sticky gel to the end of the retrievable end of the broken key is out of the question but because that will cause the sticky gel to shear off inside the key hole and muck up the intricate lock chambers.

What is really needed should be smaller in at least two dimensions than the original key and blunt enough at one end to drape a strand of sticky gel over. The idea

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