So I bought a 2004 Limited a couple of months ago. Not too long after I bought it, I noticed the infamous sticky ignition problem, and long story short my Crossfire ended up in the shop. I didn't take the car to Chrysler - I'm using a local guy that I trust. To order the needed part, the guy went through Chrysler rather than Mercedes, and it took over two weeks to get the ignition thingy and matching key. He just called me and told me that, while installing the new lock cylinder, he found that the housing was busted. He wants to order a new one (which will probably take another two weeks) and told me it would cost roughly $400 bucks.

So there is the background and here are my questions for you, the crossfire community: Can I get away with driving my crossfire while we're waiting for the part to come in so I don't have to go two more weeks bumming rides? I know very little about cars so I'm not sure what exactly this is, but "housing" sounds like something cosmetic in my mind.

It would also be helpful to know the department to call or email at Mercedes so that we can order directly from them. The way it works now, my guy calls Chrysler, and then Chrysler isn't sure who exactly to call so they just contact "the front desk" at Mercedes and eventually the order makes it way to the right person and the part is shipped. It would be nice to know who specifically to call so hopefully it won't take so stupid long.

And, if anyone who has maybe had this problem knows the part number, or where I can find the part number, or where I could get the part other than through Chrysler or Mercedes, that would also be helpful.

 

Ive never had the stick key problem with mine 135k now but you should have stopped and read here first before going the most expensive route.

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ru-2006-a.html

 

To be clear, I did read all about the problem and even downloaded the Sticky Key Fix version 5 PDF long before my car went to the shop. I had actually intended to take it to a mechanic to have them perform the procedure outlined in the PDF as I have neither the time, tools, or willpower. It just happens that the ignition locked up completely before I had gotten around to that.

The reason I ordered a new key/ignition thingy is that, at some point in the past, someone had the same problem and replaced their ignition lock with one from another car. I broke the key, and we ordered another one using the VIN, only to discover that when the new key arrived it wouldn't fit my ignition. We therefore ordered both the key and the lock using the VIN and everything seems to fit. I left all of that out of my original post as it didn't seem relevant.

Now an additional problem seems to be that the "housing" is "busted" and needs to be replaced. From what I gather the housing is actually cracked, which as far as I know isn't covered in the sticky-ignition-key-fix-all guide. I found a part on ebay for much less:

link

Assuming this is the correct part, can I order from ebay, or is this part linked to my VIN in the same way my key and ignition lock are?