jerdeifik

If the car is completely dead the smart key will not turn. just another thought

Jam1986

do you mean the battery is completely dead?
I think the battery is still fine coz i can still access to the cabin using smart key(without pressing any button), the cabin light still here, and i tested the headlight is still working fine...

Just query if the code reader of the cabin have problem, which means it can't recognize i am the drive but not the theft, so lock the ignition switch...

do you have any idea about the smart key light at the dash, it keeps blinking even i try to turn it...also the red LED of my smart key also keep blinking, does it mean anything?

CarGuy89

It takes a lot juice for the battery to start the car than for it to run lights and low wattage electrics. That said, I don't think it's the battery. You should be able to turn the key (and you would hear some clicking sounds). It sounds like you have some immobilizer preventing you to turn the ignition

CarGuy89

Maybe a chip died in the key (or ignition?) so it won't send/receive proper signals to enable the car to start? Have you tried any other keys?

Jam1986

I tried every smartkeys (totally i got 3), none of them could turn the switch when i twisted the wheel...

even i turned off the smart button under the dash, and plug the key to the switch, i still can't turn when i tried to twist the steering, that means it is not related to the smart key receiver or emitter...

Anyone have experienced car battery failure, could you still turn the switch?just wonder if it is related to the low bat...

anyway, i need to fix it in this few hrs, or i will call dealer to tow my LS for a check, $_$

Twix

Must I quote myself

I said exactly where the problem is...what you can do is go completly under the dash (as I beleive you can't take the plastic steering column at the beginning as the screws are blocked by the position of the steering wheel), open it and find the "module"/mechanism that has that bloody metal hinge that is stuck now and hit it (that is what my Lexus dealer did in order to get the steering wheel operational so they can move it)...

In order to identify it, you are going to have to use the service manual - "columnt tube stopper" - that's the unit making problems...

Jam1986

ya, probably thz is the problem...
anyway, Dealer came and picked it up this evening, now I am pending for the bill, desperately....hahaha

fergo308

It was. We had it here in 2000,along with the reverse cameras.



Justin...

Twix

I don't know if you really need to lock your steering wheel...I don't so instead giving $$$ for the new part, I told them to grind the metal piece of (to cut it)

Since then, no problems at all...

fergo308

In some places,a functional steering column lock is necessary to pass a registration inspection.

Here in NSW,you can't register a car that's meant to have one if it doesn't work.

I could see it being a useful feature somewhere like San Francisco,where parking on the street often means leaving the car on a steep hill,with the wheels facing the kerb. Just one more safety item to ensure your car can't become a runaway...


Justin...

Twix

Never thought about it fergo, but you have a valid point...

OK, 4 days later - any update, what do they say?

Jabberwock

I'd grind it rather than pay for new parts if local regs allow you to get away with it. You can still park uphill/downhill with front wheel against curb without a steering lock. People were doing it for years before steering locks existed.

Jam1986

hi guys, dealers hv no idea why my LS got immobilized, they said after they get my LS, the switch could turn easily and everything is fine...they couldn't explain why...

Perhaps the engine-immobilized function is stimulated by the movement during towing...

They charge me HK$90 for the three battery replacement of the remotes. And the 24-hrs towing service free of charge. LUCKY!

Twix

Before doing the cutting, my LS also unblocked three or four times after jamming...it was only a few months later when it jammed and stood jammed

fergo308

I must have jinxed myself,since this thread started and I posted in it,my own car has locked up twice...


Justin...