Weight of Keychain on Ignition in Vehicle

[RFOneWatt]

Question -- Has anyone ever had the ignition switch on their vehicle come to any harm from the weight of your keys and accessories?

Common sense tells me that anything with any sort of weight constantly bouncing can't be good, but has anyone ever actually had this problem, specifically caused by too much weight on your key chain?

-T

[cgk]

Interesting question, I am not very mechanical so I have no helpful opinion....but WELCOME ABOARD.

[Mr. Whippy]

Excessive weight will absolutely lead to damage of keyed ignition switches.  I'd suggest a quick release of some kind if you have more than a few trinkets on a vehicle ignition key.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I have heard of the potential for damage, but I only carry keys on my keychain.  But then, I have a fair number of keys, so even that is fairly considerable.  Still, I have to imagine that auto manufacturers make allowances for things like that when they design ignitions, at least within reason.  If someone has a bowling ball as a keychain, well, there's no accounting for people like that, but I have to assume they take at least a certain amount of weight into consideration, coupled with impacts from road hazards.

All I can say for sure is, out of all the problems I've had with a variety of different cars and trucks over the years, the ignition has never been a problem.

Def

[RFOneWatt]

Thanks for the replies! I'm happy to be here.  I've been lurking for quite a while.

I'm aware that it can't be good, and less is obviously better but was curious if anyone actually HAD the problem.

With some of the key chains that a lot of females carry I'd think the problem would be pretty common if it was a "real" issue.

BTW -- I found the best way to get the wife to accept my multi-tool fetish.  I simply got her a pink Squirt for her key chain and a purple CS4 for her purse/EDC.

She mostly gets it now. <grin>

-T

[Mr. Whippy]

What wears are the tumblers and the teeth on the key.  It takes a while, but excess weight will damage it. 

Luckily, most people don't keep cars long enough to have a problem with it.

[Benner]

Hasn't happened to myself, but have read it about other people.

[glorn]

I can only tell you that my mechanic friend has said that this is in fact a real problem. So I keep my truck key and fob on a separate ring from my house key and EDC stuff. All of it goes on a S-biner together. I only take off and use what I need.

[Grant Lamontagne]

If I was to do that, I'd have a lot of lost keys...

Def

[Greenmanbacchus]

Hey everyone
Short Answer: Too much weight on your keyring will cause wear and damage your
vehicle's ignition. In 26 years of automotive service, I've seen it happen many times.
I've had it happen with my own car only once in over 35 years of driving...and I do have a pretty fair
amount of weight on my keys. One  thing that I've done in recent years to ease the load is to have
duplicate EDC rings ( House, car, etc) on that same big ring...all on quick-disconnects and color-coded.
It's not that hard to disconnect the small ring with ignition key and trunk/door key....that goes in the ignition
and the big ring stays in my pocket or on my belt clip. Yeah, I know...who needs another step?
Still, it beats losing your keys ( Or spending your Mut money on a new ignition)
GMB

[scrappy]

I have 12 key, a swiss champ, flashlight and another knife on my keys. In 14 years I have had no problems

[jzmtl]

I have 12 key, a swiss champ, flashlight and another knife on my keys. In 14 years I have had no problems

Swiss champ on your key? Christ you people have giant keys!

[Mike 56]

No it is not good for them. That said the only ones i have had to replace were Toyota. Other cars i have had got loose but still worked. Right now i have a 2007 Kia that the ignition is loose from my wifes keys but is still working just a little hard to turn.

Mike