Ignition Switch

[kissingmybbgoodbye]

How specific is the ignition switch for a car ?

Currently my car a mahindra scorpio diesel 2008 is with the dealership and it needs replacement of the ignition switch. Feedback I am getting is that they have no stock in South Africa(and they say others won't work) and they don't know when it will arrive from india it can be anything from a week to 2 weeks. Car has been a week allready with them.

Needless to say i won't buy another mahindra again as it is not the first time i encountered a problem due to no spare part availability in South Africa (Last time it was a bumper which took about 2 months)

Nor will I buy any car from this dealership (they sell different brands as well) as their feedback is non existent. I have to constantly phone them to get any info out of them

 

[Azbubu]

is it necessary? just hotwire her.

 

[kissingmybbgoodbye]

is it necessary? just hotwire her.

Thats why I wonder why they need a specific ignition switch. The dealership claims other ignition switches are not compatible or won't work

 

[syrrano]

It probably has a steering lock which is part of the switch assembly, but if they remove the entire assembly then you can probably fit a universal switch on the dash somewhere. Depends how you feel about keeping it original

 

[kissingmybbgoodbye]

It probably has a steering lock which is part of the switch assembly, but if they remove the entire assembly then you can probably fit a universal switch on the dash somewhere. Depends how you feel about keeping it original

In the end I want it working, but I don't want to be inconvenienced for weeks without transport and have to keep borrowing cars

 

[bubbatentoe]

Ouch, ignition issues as NASTY.
back in the day I once drove 50km with my Uno's ignition gripped lightly in my hand
I let go = car dies.
:-(

 

[upup]

take to outo electrician and fit any other one.

 

[D3x!]

Yeah take it to a decent auto elec.

Now I am not experienced etc but just taking a guess, would it not be possible to but one off the same make and model from say a scrap yard, have it fitted, have a new key cut and programmed? Problem will be finding one in a scrap yard as not the most popular car.

But the car is in warranty right? So you shouldn't have to pay to have it fixed then, demand a courtesy car and see if they come to the party.

 

[RaptorSA]

They wanted to charge me R6K for the ignition coils on my MX-5.
And not just that, the parts would have taken weeks to get here since Ford SA didn't have stock either.

Just check around on the web if you can't somehow buy it from an overseas dealer. I managed to pick up a pair of coils from the US for R2K (postage included) and it took just 4 days to get here using the US postal service.

Lesson learned. From now on I'm ordering all parts myself and just using my mechanic for installation and testing.

EDIT: Try http://www.bajrangautoparts.com/mahindra-genuine-spare-parts.html