ignition won't acknowledge key removal - '97 Civic

Here's a new one for me anyway...1st problem i noticed was that my keyless remote didn't work, changed its battery with no effect. then turning the car off and removing the key i noticed the stereo was still operable and the steering wheel didn't lock. these all seem related to me and i'm not very mechanically inclined. anyone have thoughts on this? the car battery has leakage and needs changing, this much i know, but is there more to the problem than that?

well the problem lies in your steering column, most likely in the ignition terminal itself. these symptoms are very common for people who's ignitions have been punched in an attempt to steal the whole car, ut it doesnt make sense if your car was still there when you woke up, you should try to replace the ignition terminal itself because the rotator cup in the inside is probably easier turned with a slim screwdriver at this point. sounds like most of youre problem is all anti-theft related. alarm broken and steering column popped=someone tried to come up on youre car, might wanna consider a new security setup

hmm, that's an angle i hadn't considered but there is no sign of break-in or other damage. could it be that something in the steering column mechanism just gave out?

it really soyunds like you got some broken/out of place pins in your ignition lock. it has always fixed itself on its own for me, takes a few days of wiggling my key around though. that would be my best recommendation.