Vantage S - Bizarre “Key In Ignition” Error, can’t lock

[VantageAston]

Hi All,

My very low mileage 2012 Vantage S has a really strange problem and I’m hoping to summon the power of this to fix what the dealer has been unable to!

A few months back I realized my glass key remote wouldn’t work, so I tried the other one and same thing, I could only lock the door using the physical key in the door locks, and the dash has the error “KEY IN IGNITION” with no key in the dock. The key didn’t stick and was fine going in and out. When I sue the physical key, the central locking works as expected but the wing mirrors don’t fold in.

I have already tried taking out the ignition, cleaning it, greasing it and reinstalling to no effect.

The car was due its biannual service and the dealer is stumped.

They tried swapping another ignition in to the car but same problem.

The battery is one year old and apparently tested fine and there’s no error codes.

Does anyone have some ideas what this could be?


I read somewhere that certain VIN ranges of Vantage cars had ground / earth mount issues but I can find the service bulletin or more info?

(I’m wondering if it’s a power issue as I took the car on a 200 mile drive and when I parked, the car let me lock via the remote and the key in ignition error was gone but it came back the next day).

Does anyone also have an idea what fuses I should check?

And I have one other very occasional gremlin where the mirrors themselves (not the wing) go out of their set position when the wing mirrors fold in and out. But it’s only once every so often.

Any ideas? Open to trying anything..

[LTP]

VantageAston said:

And I have one other very occasional gremlin where the mirrors themselves (not the wing) go out of their set position when the wing mirrors fold in and out. But it’s only once every so often.

Any ideas? Open to trying anything..

Can't help with the ignition key issue, especially as you say your dealer swapped out the dock and the problem persists. My first reaction would be to disconnect the battery and let it sit for a good 10 minutes, then reconnect and see if the AML equivalent of <Ctrl><Alt><Del> works.

As far as the mirrors losing position after folding, yes, my 2015 V8V Coupe occasionally does that. All I do is press the memory button for my stored seat position and the mirrors correct themselves back to the memory position. Mine is linked to the "auto dip in reverse" setting. Doesn't do it if I drive forward to a stop, then key off.

Edited by LTP on Sunday 30th April 19:38

[VantageAston]

Thanks! The mirror issue apparently is coming but good tip about the seat memory - I’ll try that next time (if I ever get the wing mirrors to fold in again!).


I tried disconnecting the battery before anything else but only did it for a minute or so. I’ll try a solid 15mins and see if that clears anything.

Thanks again and please let me know if you have any other bright ideas….

Edited by VantageAston on Sunday 30th April 20:10

[LTP]

VantageAston said:

Thanks! The mirror issue apparently is coming but good tip about the seat memory - I’ll try that next time (if I ever get the wind mirrors to fold in again!).


I tried disconnecting the battery before anything else but only did it for a minute or so. I’ll try a solid 15mins and see if that clears anything.

Thanks again and please let me know if you have any other bright ideas….

No problem. One thing I probably should have mentioned is I have my mirrors set to auto-fold on locking the car, but the memory position issue occasionally happens no matter how the mirrors are folded, manually or on locking.