quarkdude

Hello all,
Been a member of the site for awhile and have hit a roadblock on trying to fix the dreaded "Key wont turn" problem. I did manage to get the key to the ACC position so I left it there and dis-connected to battery so it would not drain due to some power being on. I removed the plastic clamshell around the steering column and popped off the top portion of the lower interior panel underneath the steering column to gain access to the lock cylinder to try to remove the ignition cylinder. My problem is the transponder ring/illumination ring looks like it needs to be removed prior to removing the ignition cylinder but the dash is covering that portion and I cant figure out how to get that ring off to remove the ignition cylinder - anyone have any pics or advice to get the ignition cylinder out?
The local locksmith can replace the bad wafers in the lock cylinder that are causing it to get stuck and not allow the key to turn - for a price of about $25 - $45 depending on how many wafers need replacing. If I can get the cylinder out - I will document the removal procedure with pics here to help out anyone else that is having this issue.
The locksmith will rebuild my existing ignition cylinder so that my key will both fit the door lock and ignition - I wont have to get anything reprogrammed. This seems to be the best bang for the buck to remedy this issue that Lexus wont warranty - they know its and issue and want near $700 to fix it. Wish they would just let us bring our vehicles in and remedy the problem, we all paid enough for these vehicles to begin with.
Thanks, quarkdude

quarkdude

Wow! 86 views and no input : (
Maybe I'm on pioneer ground here. I had to get the car going so I jumped in blind and just went for it. I ended up taking everything out of the center console - shifter surround, heated seat panel, radio, and touchscreen all out. Then I had to remove the instrument cluster itself. This allowed me to flex the dash around the key hole just enough to slip the ignition illumination ring/transponder antenna over the top of the round metal ignition where the key goes in. I pushed the illumination ring down ward to get it out of the way of the cylinder core so I could pull it out. The dash is still in place because you can't remove it but the illumination ring was down just enough to remove the ignition cylinder from the switch housing. Took it to a lock smith, he found two tumbler wafers bent. That was causing the key not to turn. Took him about an hour to fix. Charged me $50 and I had the fixed unit back in my hand. Slid the cylinder back into the housing and put the dash and instrument panel back together. Took me about 5 hours total to do it but saved myself $650 of Lexus charges doing it myself. I made sure to disconnect the battery prior to removing anything and didn't hook it back up until everything was back in and hooked up. Turned the key and it started right up, problem solved. No check engine light or anything. Everything working like normal, didn't even have to reprogram the key.
,...........quarkdude

NVAKeith

iTrader: (1)

Congrats on figuring out a reasonable fix! I got lucky and mine failed under warranty so I didn't see how they pulled it apart.

thomas1

Sounds like a pain, I just did this for a neighbors Toyota Camry, but it was much easier. Make sure to do a graphite powder lube once a year..That will help the tumblers.

quarkdude

Hello all, I didn't get a step by step level repair documentation on this but here is a picture of what I had to remove to get enough dash flex to get the illumination/transponder ring out of the way.



Access to get the ignition illumination/transponder coil out of the way

Lbagdasa