The ignition key on my 06 Ram occasionally will not turn. If I keep playing with it then it will finally turn. It worries me with the thought of being stranded so I need to fix it. It is not the steering wheel or the shifter lever as they have no affect on it. It appears to be the tumbler. If I get a new mopar tumbler, do I need the dealer to code it to my key?

Have you tried squirting a shot of graphite into the key slot?

Yes I did, apparently it is a common problem on these mopars. On youtube people are saying they smacked the key with a hammer and it fixed it. I want to change it out and do it right. I found dorman sells a kit that you can code the cylinder to the old key. Mopar has the same setup but at 3 times the price. Generally, I use oem parts but in this case I may try the dorman kit.

Ok, here is the follow up. I bought the dorman kit. Instructions were not that great on how to take apart the cylinder after removal for coding to the old key. I had to refer to youtube. Anyhow apparently these cylinders just wear out over time. Actually graphite and any other lube seem to just make it worse and the springs on the tumblers get clogged up. It was easy to remove and put back in.

Graphite has never hurt any switch I have used it on. But you do have to be careful not to use too much.

When I took it apart the springs that return the tumblers to position were all gummed up with the stuff. I`m sure it didn`t cause the failure but it didn`t help any either. BTW, If I jammed the key in to the cylinder hard that was the only way I could get the key to turn in the ignition ( just a tip in a emergency until you can fix it right). The quality of the dorman kit looked pretty good. I ended up getting it for $40 at Advance after perks money and discounts.