Ok...so I"m new with my '04 LS and the smart key is kind of throwing me for a loop. Sometimes I'm getting it to work like I think it should and others not.

The biggest issue I had was this morning when I went to go to work and couldn't get the ignition to to turn. With the key fob on the center console I would try to turn the ignition switch and it wouldn't turn. When I would try to manually insert the smart key into the key position it wouldn't let me insert it. I noticed on the dash to the left of the steering wheel there was a red blinking light on the icon that has a picture of a key inside a car and then next to it the icon for smart key it was blinking green. I also saw a red light actually blink on the key fob.

I got out of the car, locked it,unlocked it, and tried again. Still same response. Got out of the car, locked it, walked back inside my house, came back and try again. Still nothing. After about 10 min of trying to get something to work it clicked in my mind to turn off the smart key with the button under the dash. Then I was able to start the car an head to work.

So I'm trying to get some ideas as to what might be going on with the smart key and try to figure out what I can do to fix the issue. It's probably an end user problem but I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

I have other questions with the smart key but I need to get the ignition piece to work first and then I'll move on to the next set of questions.

 

did you grab the steering wheel when you reached under to turn smart key off? does it seem to be stuck or binding in some way? do the mirrors and steering wheel start to come out, but you cannot go any farther?

 

I don't remember grabbing the steering wheel but I do remember it telescoping out towards me. I think it started doing that when I would try to turn the ignition to the start position. However the ignition piece would barely turn a little and I was locked out of going to the start.

I don't think the ignition was stuck or binding that I could tell because once I turned off the smart key from the button under the dash I was able to insert the key fob and turn the ignition on like normal.

I don't remember what the mirrors did to be honest. I'm going to try to play around with it more later tonight.

 

I've had that happen on several occasions. The solution in my case was to move the steering wheel side to side. Then the car will start.

 

Thanks for the tip....but boy that doesn't sound like a good option to be honest. Guess that means something is getting lose and binding up?

 

If there is any tension on the steering wheel it will not work. Just move the SW a little to relieve the pressure and it will start. Found this out the hard way.

 

Called steering lock. Your display would show "S/T Lock". A bit of a wiggle and it should be no problem, don't worry nothing is broken.

 

the red and green lights are right. only a red and it is not detecting your smart key. if you have trouble it is usually just tension on steering wheel and a slight turn will release it. try to not be up against a curb and you will be fine

 

removing shift interlock cover and putting in neutral might help, but has not worked for me.

 

I had this problem myself after I purchased my car. It is as the others have suggested, pressure on the steering lock. I am sure you will have struck this issue with other cars when you have gone to turn the key to start up. Sometimes you need to pull the wheel either way just a little to remove pressure from the steering lock mechanism, once the pressure is removed you are able to turn the key. As for the green and red lights by the column, the red indicates the status of the security system and the green illuminates when the car has detected your key. Hope this helped.

 

It's the steering wheel lock as others have mentioned. You don't need to remove the key from your pocket by the way. If you find there's tension on the ignition switch just move the steering wheel to the left or right to release the tension and you can start the car.

 

UPDATE. It has happened 3 more times. All i did was move the steering wheel ever so slightly and it works every time. The steering wheel locking pin sticks in the steering column to tight. So moving the wheel loosens it so it slides easy. Very Poor design Pin to big or hole to small. Hopes this helps some.