Lexus RX400h / RX330 Ingnition lock Cylindar repair.....
06-02-17, 07:42 PM
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Lexus RX400h / RX330 Ingnition lock Cylindar repair.....
Firstly forgive the stupid spelling and grammar errors as I am using speak and type instead of typing this long garbage.
I'll try to make this short and concise.
Symptom: Inserting key into ignition and key fails to turn the ignition cylinder. This is NOT the steering lock prevention mechanism. This is the actual IGNITION LOCK CYLINDAR TUMBLERS FAILING TO TURN and thus turning on engine.
The only way to resolve this issue is to replace the cylindar. You can try and wiggle the key to get the key to turn but eventually the tumblers in the cylindar mechanism will fail to set properly and you will be stuck with a car you cannot turn on. Oh and for the smart asses who think spraying graphite lube solves everything....nope. Tried it multiple times as above symptoms presented more and more often.
So....in order to solve problem and get a key that turns the ignition, I have to replace entire lock cylindar.
Problem: if you go by the book, they tell you to tear out THE ENTIRE DASH BOARD AND STEERING COLUMN. Read that again. Tearing out the entire dash takes about 2-3 hours.
Ummmm nope. No thank you.
Dealer and mechanics will charge 800-1000 to replace a 75 dollar part.
So I chose to opt for a work around, I removed lower portion of dash cover by loosening the 1 10mm bolt behind kick plate on lower left and screw behind flip panel,on lower right. Disconnect electrical connections and hood latch. This gives you access to the are BELOW the ignition lock cylindar.
Problem is that the release button/lever remains at the TOP of the lock. In order to access this lever/button, I removed the dash gauge black panel covering. After removing this there is about a 2.5 inch gap in the area where the black gauge covering would,cover and the exposed portion of the dash. This space is almost directly above the lock. Again there is a space that is covered by the gauge cowling that is above the ignition lock cylindar. I chose to drill a hole in this area that would allow me to stick a pick into the lever/button area of the lock cylindar which will real ease it from its housing.
When you stick a pick or screw drive into the round hole and depress the hold pin/lever/button with the key in the ACC position, the entire cylindar mechanism has the ability to be removed.
But wait.......there is another problem. The key ignition "light" or ring around the front of the lock cylindar prevents the inner portion of the key ignition cylindar from pulling out.
First you remove the plastic piece surrounding The cylinder. Next, you will notice that the key light rain which is in front of the key ignition cylinder, is preventing it from coming out. And, a portion of the dashboard material that was behind the plastic piece is what is actually giving the key light cylinder from being removed. So I placed the original plastic piece back as normal on and traced the outline of it. I used a pencil. When I removed the plastic piece, I noticed there was an entire area of about a quarter ranch surrounding the lock cylinder that is not exposed when putting the plastic piece back on. This tells me that I have about a quarter inch all the way around the lock cylinder and ignition lock light that I could possibly remove in order to get out the ignition area light without damaging the exposed dash.
what I did was take an X-Acto knife's and essentially cut out that area within the trace line. This opened the area surrounding the lock cylinder, as well as the light surrounding the lock cylinder. There is an electrical connection on the bottom side of the lock cylinder that connects to the ignition light rain, which I removed and disconnected using a small screwdriver. Now the ignition light ring was free to move, and the ignition cylinder would then be able to be removed if I am able to remove the ignition light ring. it took some doing but I was able to force the ignition light ring out of the area. Now that The Ignition light ring was out from the surrounding lock cylinder, I was able to depress the ignition cylinder lock keeper button using a screwdriver through the aforementioned drilled hole, with the key in the ACC position. With the key in the ACC position and the keeper button/lever pressed I was able to remove the entire lock cylinder mechanism.
With the entire lot cylinder mechanism removed, I replaced it with the new one by sliding it in until I heard the click of the lock lever mechanism/button. Again you have to insert the new key and new mechanism to the ACC position to insert. Once inserted then slid the ignition cylinder light back into its original position, and reconnected that electrical connection from below. After that I replaced the first plastic ring piece back into his original position. Once I have that I changed the transponder to the new key, and connected the backing from the original key to the new key with the old transponder now inserted.
in full disclosure or I had to remove a small portion at the bottom area of the lock cylinder of – material. This remains exposed but I will create a black round plastic covering for that area and make it look good. It was a lot easier than removing the entire dashboard. I will try to post pics soon.
I'll try to make this short and concise.
Symptom: Inserting key into ignition and key fails to turn the ignition cylinder. This is NOT the steering lock prevention mechanism. This is the actual IGNITION LOCK CYLINDAR TUMBLERS FAILING TO TURN and thus turning on engine.
The only way to resolve this issue is to replace the cylindar. You can try and wiggle the key to get the key to turn but eventually the tumblers in the cylindar mechanism will fail to set properly and you will be stuck with a car you cannot turn on. Oh and for the smart asses who think spraying graphite lube solves everything....nope. Tried it multiple times as above symptoms presented more and more often.
So....in order to solve problem and get a key that turns the ignition, I have to replace entire lock cylindar.
Problem: if you go by the book, they tell you to tear out THE ENTIRE DASH BOARD AND STEERING COLUMN. Read that again. Tearing out the entire dash takes about 2-3 hours.
Ummmm nope. No thank you.
Dealer and mechanics will charge 800-1000 to replace a 75 dollar part.
So I chose to opt for a work around, I removed lower portion of dash cover by loosening the 1 10mm bolt behind kick plate on lower left and screw behind flip panel,on lower right. Disconnect electrical connections and hood latch. This gives you access to the are BELOW the ignition lock cylindar.
Problem is that the release button/lever remains at the TOP of the lock. In order to access this lever/button, I removed the dash gauge black panel covering. After removing this there is about a 2.5 inch gap in the area where the black gauge covering would,cover and the exposed portion of the dash. This space is almost directly above the lock. Again there is a space that is covered by the gauge cowling that is above the ignition lock cylindar. I chose to drill a hole in this area that would allow me to stick a pick into the lever/button area of the lock cylindar which will real ease it from its housing.
When you stick a pick or screw drive into the round hole and depress the hold pin/lever/button with the key in the ACC position, the entire cylindar mechanism has the ability to be removed.
But wait.......there is another problem. The key ignition "light" or ring around the front of the lock cylindar prevents the inner portion of the key ignition cylindar from pulling out.
First you remove the plastic piece surrounding The cylinder. Next, you will notice that the key light rain which is in front of the key ignition cylinder, is preventing it from coming out. And, a portion of the dashboard material that was behind the plastic piece is what is actually giving the key light cylinder from being removed. So I placed the original plastic piece back as normal on and traced the outline of it. I used a pencil. When I removed the plastic piece, I noticed there was an entire area of about a quarter ranch surrounding the lock cylinder that is not exposed when putting the plastic piece back on. This tells me that I have about a quarter inch all the way around the lock cylinder and ignition lock light that I could possibly remove in order to get out the ignition area light without damaging the exposed dash.
what I did was take an X-Acto knife's and essentially cut out that area within the trace line. This opened the area surrounding the lock cylinder, as well as the light surrounding the lock cylinder. There is an electrical connection on the bottom side of the lock cylinder that connects to the ignition light rain, which I removed and disconnected using a small screwdriver. Now the ignition light ring was free to move, and the ignition cylinder would then be able to be removed if I am able to remove the ignition light ring. it took some doing but I was able to force the ignition light ring out of the area. Now that The Ignition light ring was out from the surrounding lock cylinder, I was able to depress the ignition cylinder lock keeper button using a screwdriver through the aforementioned drilled hole, with the key in the ACC position. With the key in the ACC position and the keeper button/lever pressed I was able to remove the entire lock cylinder mechanism.
With the entire lot cylinder mechanism removed, I replaced it with the new one by sliding it in until I heard the click of the lock lever mechanism/button. Again you have to insert the new key and new mechanism to the ACC position to insert. Once inserted then slid the ignition cylinder light back into its original position, and reconnected that electrical connection from below. After that I replaced the first plastic ring piece back into his original position. Once I have that I changed the transponder to the new key, and connected the backing from the original key to the new key with the old transponder now inserted.
in full disclosure or I had to remove a small portion at the bottom area of the lock cylinder of – material. This remains exposed but I will create a black round plastic covering for that area and make it look good. It was a lot easier than removing the entire dashboard. I will try to post pics soon.
Last edited by HtownBlue; 06-02-17 at 07:53 PM.
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