# S.O.S NEED HELP FAST. Car won't start, key stuck in ignition, leaking coolant.



## Orbital199 (Feb 7, 2005)

Right after having a brand new tire patched this morning due to a nail, i drove 25 miles to my job. Got to work, key is stuck in ignition. Try to turn it over, car won't start. I moved a small button on the outside of the ignition to get the key out, which I have to keep doing everytime i put the key in, so the problem really isnt solved. My temperature gauge showed no sign of my car over heating, however I have coolant leaking out of the drivers side and the engine was very hot. Would my car not be starting because its just too hot? And how about the key problem? Thanks guys. Im still at work and debating if i should drive it to my mechanics shop 25 miles away, assuming i can get it started later, or have it towed.


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## Trippen (Feb 21, 2006)

They key thing is normal. That button is just the key release. And most of the time you bump it when turning off the car. 

As for the water leaking. What color is it? Green or brown? If it is more then a small coffee cup full then I would check the fluid level in the radiator. If is like a coffee cup full then it might be coming from the radiator over flow. Once again very common on a hot day especially if it is the first really hot day in a while. For the non starting. try putting the car in neutral if its an Automatic and try that. Does it make a clicking sound or try to turn over at all? or is it trying to start and just not stay running??? Pull out your oil dipstick and see if the oil is a milky brown color. Like the inside of a 3 musketeers bar. if so then your have a problem with the head gasket most likely. Any noise or smell will tell us more also.


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## Orbital199 (Feb 7, 2005)

I should have been more thorough about the key in the ignition. The button i pressed to get it out wasnt the key release. It may have been connected to it, but it wasnt the button above the ignition. It was physicly stuck in there good. I had experienced this problem once before when my car overheated because of a radiator leak. The radiator is fairly new so i knew it wasnt that. It ended up being a few bad hoses that had been eaten away by an oil leak i took care of not too long ago. I should have trusted my own judgement with this one though my mechanic said hes never seen a key get stuck in the ignition just because the car overheated. But I have  Guess my car is one in a million.


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