Yesterday, I parked the car for church and came out four hours later. My '04 ML 430 was locked up - smartkey was on me, horn, lights worked, good battery - but I could not get the switch to turn at all.

So, I left it for a couple more hours and came back - switch turned, car started as normal.

I did some research and found there is an "incline shut down" where, if your car is parked on an incline (as low as 15 degrees) and the wheels are not turned in the same direction as the incline, your car locks up until you wiggle the steering wheel to turn the wheels toward the incline.

I could not even turn the steering wheel so I could only surmise the car had mercy on me - or it was an act of grace on a Sunday afternoon.

 

I had my steering wheel lock up on flat ground just after getting a new smart key made. Initially thinking that the new key was at fault, I called my wife to bring another key. Only then did troubleshooting begin - ok, key worked the door locks therefore key was ok. Then tugged the steering wheel - bingo! I felt like an idiot.

Felt worse later when my wife reminded me of a similar incident almost 20 years ago with a Honda when AAA sent a tow for a locked steering wheel. How does she remember that stuff?

 

is this a column lock? I get an uneasy feeling hearing it in operation based on door actuator and tilt/telescope functions. BMW had an issue with 2006 3 series, and I believe for 2007 they simply did away with the column lock--imagine being stranded then having to spend $1000 to fix something that doesn't do anything out of warranty...people resorted to DIY like door actuators here, but it's just one of those things they shouldn't have to be fixing...

 

Yes, if you cannot turn the ignition switch, you cannot unlock the steering column.

 

Here's some more insights and a possible "fix in the moment": https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...n-incline.html