I have read other post about problems turning smart key. I picked up a 2004 430 sport about 3 weeks ago and 2 times i have been out and key would not turn. Scared the hell out of me. First time was at a restaurant on a sunday night . Did not know what i could even do. Played with the switch for 10 min. then it turned. What a relief. 2nd time at a gas station. About 5 min. Embarrassing cars waiting behind me while i am not moving. Do not want to go to lexus .[Just venting]. This is my 6th lexus
1-1995 400
1-1998 400
2-2001 430
1-2003 430ul
1-2004 430. Only one with a problem Key and Passenger door lock

 

Thumbs down is only for the smart key.
Love my lexus

 

My car has been doing this since it was just a couple of years old. Anytime I had the dealer look at while it was under CPO, they could not reproduce it. I have had the switch appear to lock up intermittently many times but by now I am so used to it and how to overcome the sticking key I no longer notice it. If the ignition key switch "sticks" I make sure my foot is on the brake and I move the steering wheel slightly to the right or left while applying very light clockwise pressure to turn the ignition switch. Usually just moving the wheel half an inch to the left or right takes pressure off the locking pawl in the ignition/wheel interface to allow the ignition switch to turn (making sure foot is lightly on the brake pedal).

 

What Jab said! Both my ls's had the same quirk but takes a second or two once you get the hang of it. Do not have to do it all the time, good luck hopes its this simple.

 

Sounds good. I feel much better. Thanks. Would be great if it fell under a recall.

 

Did ya try it let us know. Think of it as another anti theft device.

 

I will when it happens again

 

Before parking the car, with your foot on the brakes, put the gear in "N-Neutral" while still having your foot on the brakes. Now push the "parking brake" all the way in, then engage gear in "P-park".

This will help you a lot with this specific problem. The steering locks when the car ins't evenly distributing the full weight around the whole chassis of the car - to the wheels - to the ground.

By pushing the parking brake first when you're in N gear, the parking brake will try to hold the weight and organize it so that your transmission isn't bearing all of the weight (recipe of a malfunctioning trans if you always leave the transmission to carry the weight of the car while parked).

When the parking brake is initialized, there won't be much tension forced to the front wheels or the front part of the car. Therefore no tension primarily on the front portion of the car and no tension on the steering assembly, leaving you to not having to encounter the "being stuck" situation.
And also a good way of maintaining a healthy 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.

 

Glad it worked for you but not sure about it being a poor design or not as my old Infinitis, Nissans and Mazdas would do the same thing. It just becomes second nature to turn the wheel after awhile. There are many write ups here on the forum re the same issue.

 

I've found this to be the case with almost all of my vehicles, even with traditional ignition switches. Just gotta turn the wheel sometimes.