All:

When I got in my car today at lunchtime, put the blade-style key in the ignition and tried to turn. Took a few tries but it turned - first time that's happened. By the time I made one more stop and got back to work, it's taking longer to get the key to turn and steering wheel to unlock. This is not good. I've heard of this happening over time but not within a handful of starts.

I searched on W210 ignition lock, and found Jeremy's procedure on replacing the assembly.

Before I dig into anything or perhaps bail and take the car in, I am trying to figure out what is going on here. Questions:

This is the lock cylinder jamming up, correct? Or is there another cause?

If so, I don't see one that looks right for a '97 on Pelican - the ones they list for my car look like the old style early '96 down. I suspect the lock is '97 only as the key does not have teeth, but just a single squiggle cut lengthwise into each side

How does the microchip verification that's in my keyhead/fob (I'm blanking out on the acronym for it) fit into this whole assembly? Is the lock itself fairly normal and the ID system separate?

Thanks!

__________________
Charlie

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'66 VW 1300 96K miles
'97 E300D 239K miles
'85 300D 203K miles (sold Sep 2012)