Yesterday morning, I tried starting my 2004 Volvo V40 (automatic, 4 cyl, turbo) with no avail.
The ignition gets stuck halfway in the II position. It goes into the I position fine (the radio turns on, etc), then it goes into the II mid way (all the engine lights turn on, fuel gauge goes up, etc) but it will not go any further, so I cannot start my car.

I'm not sure what's wrong, but I've tried to:
- Turn the steering wheel and the steering lock isn't engaged (I can turn the wheels just fine).
- I can shift into neutral and I have tried pressing the shift lock button and it still doesn't work
- I've now tried slamming it into park
- I have sprayed canned air into the ignition keyhole, then graphite powder, then WD40 and it still doesn't budge.
- I've tried all 3 keys that I have and tried rotating them 180 degrees and none of them work.

Towing the car would be tons since the closest place to get it fixed is about 50 miles away.
I just need to start the car so I can drive it to the dealership, but I can't!
I know the car will be able start if I have the key in the ignition/transponding loop and I do something else, but I'm not sure what exactly I'm supposed to do.

Does anybody know what could be wrong? Can I just order a new ignition cylinder and replace it myself (looking at something like http://www.volvopartsplus.com/?i=2&m...agecallout=4)? If replacing the ignition is pretty hard, how can I start the car?

In the mean time, I'm driving my Honda Insight and it just isn't the same

Edit: I'm thinking about trying to jump the starter solenoid but I actually cannot find the starter anywhere. Somebody told me it's underneath and I'll have to jack it up but I'm a bit scared to right now.

 

That happens with my 2000 V40 every once in a while. I find that if I give it a good hard jam into the park position, then everything is fine again. I realize this is not a "fix" & I intend to take the shift interlock apart to repair whatever is loose, or out of adjustment, however it may get you able to start the car.

 

Tried that a few times (switched into park with a lot of force) and I wasn't able to move the key any further.



Edit: so, I started the engine by:
- opening the bottom panel under the steering column
- finding the starter relay
- jumping the starter
- revving the engine a little bit (in park/n)