Hi, I need a copy of the ignition key for a Saturn SC2 1997. Do these keys need to be programmed?. The car i sbeing sitting for 9 months and I can not find original key.

The key decoder at the bottom of the ignition lock cylinder needs to be checked and probably replaced.

Gm and Chevy fob can be programmed at home. I have done it my self for a 01 chevy a 03 sunfire.
The steps on
 Step 1 of 5
Get in your Pontiac G6 and make sure all the doors and the trunk are closed.

 Step 2 of 5
Put your key in the ignition and hold the "Lock" button on the driver's car door.

 Step 3 of 5
Turn the G6 key in your ignition from "On" to "Off" while holding the "Lock" button, and do two more cycles of "On" and "Off" in quick succession.

 Step 4 of 5
Release the "Lock" switch on your door and press and hold the "Lock" button on your keyless remote for 10 to 15 seconds.

 Step 5 of 5
Remove the key from the ignition of your G6, and test the programming.

Or

Or

 Step 1 of 9
Enter your vehicle and close all of the doors behind you besides the driver's door. Be sure to have your keyless remote and ignition key in hand.

 Step 2 of 9
Insert and remove the key from the ignition twice in a row and then close and open the door twice in a row.

 Step 3 of 9
Insert and remove the key from the ignition again and close and open the driver's door two more times.

 Step 4 of 9
Insert the key into the ignition and close the driver's door.

 Step 5 of 9
Cycle the key in the ignition "On" and then "Off" and then remove the key from the ignition.

 Step 6 of 9
Wait for the locks to cycle to indicate the beginning of the programming sequence.

 Step 7 of 9
Press and hold the unlock and lock buttons on your remote for two seconds and then release.

 Step 8 of 9
Press and hold just the
lock button on the remote for three seconds and wait for the locks to cycle to indicate successful programming.

 Step 9 of 9
Repeat steps seven and eight to program any additional remotes and open the driver's door to end the programming sequence once you are finished.
Hope this helps

Obtain all remote transmitters for this vehicle.

1. Close all doors.

2. Insert key into the ignition cylinder but do not turn it.

3. Press and hold the Unlock button on door lock switch on drivers door.
Hold until instructed to release.

4. Remove key from ignition and then insert key into ignition without turning ignition cylinder and remove key.

5. Insert key in ignition a third time and leave key in ignition. Do Not turn ignition.

6. Release door lock switch on drivers door panel.
A Chime will sound 3 times indicating that you are in programming mode.

7. Press both the Lock and Unlock buttons on the remote up to 30 seconds.
A chime will sound 2 times if remote has programmed successful.

8. Repeat step 6 if you are programming additional remotes.

9. Remove key from ignition to exit programming mode.

NOTE: If you are having trouble getting this procedure to work, we have found that some vehicles need step 3 to be done before step 2

There is a nice video on this over on youtube. Shows the guy pulling off the plastic covers and removing the lock cylinder. You can buy a new one from a dealer, cost about 65.00 and you have to get it keyed, but I think you can buy a generic GM lock cylinder with a key from autozone or advance.

Note I have had an official saturn lock cylinder sitting at a Chevy dealer for a week now as they can not figure out how to key it. Nice to have your keys match the doors and trunk. If you go with a generic one your new ignition key will not match your doors and trunk.

Retrain the fobs following the procedure in your owner's manual:


Once entering this procedure, programming the first transmitter erases all previous transmitters. You must program all transmitters.

Program one vehicle at a time. One transmitter could be programmed into other vehicles that are also on
program mode in close proximity.
1. Sit in the driver's seat.
2. Remove the ignition key from the ignition lock cylinder.
3. Close all vehicle doors.
4. Press and hold unlock on the door lock switch.
5. While holding the door lock switch in the unlock position, insert and remove the ignition key twice. Do
not rotate the ignition lock cylinder.
6. Insert the ignition key a third time leaving the key in the ignition lock cylinder. The ignition must remain
in the LOCK position for the rest of the procedure.
7. Release the door lock switch. You will hear three chimes. This chime feedback indicates that transmitter
programming is active.
8. Press and hold the lock and unlock buttons at the same time on the keyless entry transmitter for 12
seconds. You will hear two chimes. This chime feedback indicates that the transmitter has been
programmed successfully.
9. Repeat step 8 for the rest of the transmitters (for a total of 4 transmitters).
10. Exit this procedure by removing the ignition key from the ignition lock cylinder.

try putting the shifter in N and move the pressure off the wheel.

Most all of the newer ignition keys have an ID chip in them. If they are not programmed for your car they will not work.
The dealer would be a good source to get ignition keys for your specific automobile.

Here are the program instructions

1. Close the vehicle doors.
2. Turn OFF the ignition.
3. Remove the key from the ignition.
4. Press and hold the driver side door lock switch in the UNLOCK position.
5. Insert the ignition key into the ignition lock cylinder and remove the key. (Do not turn the ignition key in the lock cylinder.)
6. Insert the ignition key into the ignition lock cylinder and remove the key. (Do not turn the ignition key in the lock cylinder.)
7. Insert the ignition key into the ignition lock cylinder. (Do not turn the ignition key in the lock cylinder.) Leave the ignition key in the ignition lock cylinder.
8. Release the door lock switch. The vehicle will sound three beeps in order to verify the Program Mode has been activated.
9. Press the LOCK and UNLOCK buttons together on the keyless entry transmitter and hold until the vehicle beeps twice to verify that the transmitter has been successfully programmed (this take approximately 15 seconds).
10. Perform the previous step to program up to four transmitters (including your old ones).
11. Remove the ignition key in order to exit the Program Mode

Try the spare key, the key itself might have unaligned notches, this same thing happend to me, and the barrel itself might be fine

Try pulling and resetting the 30amp ignition fuse - my 1999 Saturn SL1 1.9L has the same problem.