I accidentally put an older rx300 key in my Moms Rx 330, I tried to turn but it would not turn and noticed it was the wrong key before i tried to force it, now the ignition does not turn at all. Its like its in lock mode. And Ive tried all the usual stuff, Brake, turning the wheel, making shore its in park. so i need help is this some kind of anti-theft device or what. help

the only thing i can think is the car is parked on a bit of an incline, but i don't know what that would have to do with anything.

please help!!!

 

Welcome to CL, cororad!

This can happen even with the right key. It has happened to both my wife and I - of course she twisted the head off the key (did I tell you I married supergirl?). I found by working the key carefully in and out while rocking the wheel, I eventually freed the mechanism both times. If you are careful and use no more than a moderate amount of force, you should be able to clear it.

Whatever you do, try not to damage anything vital. Replacing a lock cylinder can be expensive.

Any good ideas out there?

 

this is infact a anti theft device. in my old RX300, i used my key so often that it got so "used" and worn out that it thought it was a fake key. i had to get it towed to lexus, which what what i think you will have to do.

 

I guess we're stumped. keep in mind towing to lexus maybe cheaper than replacing the cylinder so, as advised, be careful. Take a deep breath. sometimes under duress, even simple stuff gets complicated. work carefully. try working key in, out , side to side while moving the wheel. good luck.

 

There have been some posts on forums where the exact same thing happened, one of the cures was to lightly tap a screwdriver that is the same size as the key into the key slot. A couple of light taps seems to have done the trick. I will find the link for you and you can read it.
Ok try this link.
http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums...ignition+stuck

posts 6 and 12

 

In my case, I called out AAA and the tech firmly moved the gear shift into park. That was all it took.

 

Man, I'm glad I must have gotten lucky. I have put the wrong Lexus key in our RX when we had it a few times. Tried to turn it and immediately knew it was the wrong key each time. The correct key has always worked right after with no problems. Maybe I was lucky that I never turned the ignition too hard at the time.

 

My god, I don't know what I would do without this forum. My ignition was stuck and no turning my wheel or turning they key back and forth would work. The car could not be shifted into N to try and straighten the wheel. The key would come out, but would not turn at all. After reading the link that jgr7 added, we went back to the restaurant where my car sat waiting. All I did was put the spare key in the ignition and jam it in and out several times. I was pretty firm with it. It turned over finally after jamming it in and out several times. It is still not working correctly, but at least I can get the car to Lexus tomorrow and find out what is wrong. I hope it is under warranty. eeesh.

 

Modern locks are either vane or pins which get moved by the personalization of the key( the counter force is provided by the springs). With the matching key, the the vanes or the pins line up such that the cylinder (barrel) can turn. With the wrong key they do not line up and with an almost matching key they almost do. [Note once the barrel is turned the vanes/pins can no longer slide up and down and thus end up preventing the key from being pulled out].

With time the edges of the pin (where they meet the barrel and the key) get rounded off. You will be surprised how often an old lock can be operated by a worn key.

With a almost matching key, you can get into a stuck vane/pin which can cause grief. People with screwdriver and force are typically jarring the mechanism to free up or with strong enough leverage can shear the vanes/pins.

Hope this helps understand what is going on inside the lock.

Note: I failed to mention the Park to release the key-lock [this prevents starter to move the vehicle]. The interlock release may need adjustment and user can "over-ride" by inserting a coin etc.


Salim

 

I realize this is a bit old, but I wanted to capture my experience with this similar problem in the hope that it might someday help someone else.

My wife mistakenly put my SC car key into her RX330. The key of course wouldn't turn, which caused her to quickly realized the problem, retreated to the house to get her key and to try again. Note, my key did not stick in or anything. It went in fine and just wouldn't turn. It cause the steering wheel to move out, somewhat to her surprise, but it didn't seem to cause any other issue.

When she then tried her key in the car the ignition was 'locked'. It wouldn't turn, but it didn't stick in the ignition. It was basically the same as when you have the steering wheel locked, and you need to release some tension on it to get the lock assembly to turn. It was 'jammed' so to say.

So I got lots of opinions. There was a whole herd of people who felt it was a security mechanism. Some solutions were things like disconnect the battery. Lock companies figured Lexus would have to get involved as the security system now would need a code to unlock it.

I was quite sure the problem was mechanical, or physical. I could rationalize how putting my key into her ignition caused pins to move that had not moved for five years. The pins wouldn't have had much lubrication and would have had opportunity to seal up with dust and grime over the past five years.

I was pretty sure that what had happened was a pin was now stuck out of place, so the folks who suggested things like lock lubricant, hitting the inserted key with a small hammer (very lightly), and even some cooling mechanisms like canned air, were on the right track. So over the past two days I have many times jarred, wiggled, lubricated etc. Always to no avail to a point where I had resigned myself to a trip to the dealership, and I was betting a $1000 or more bill for a new assembly. Note, I did call the dealership for ideas too, and all they said was bring it in and we'll change it all out. No attempt to repair or anything, just change out the whole cylinder.

But alas tonight, two days after the first wrongful insertion, was a sweet "click", and up she started. Whew, is that a relief. I was pretty sure I was a grand or even more poorer.

In the end, I am pretty sure that all that was wrong was a stuck pin, and finally enough jarring, and synthetic lock lube (not WD40!) were the keys to successfully regaining access to our RX.

I will really sleep tonight.

So if this ever happens to you, be a bit patient. Don't turn the key so hard you break it off, as more force is not going to help. And just keep wiggling, jarring, bumping, tapping, and maybe praying (if you're so inclined) and you may enjoy the same success I did tonight.

Cheers,
Jerry

 

Well done, Jerry! Thanks for sharing!
[when you wrote 'alas tonight', you meant 'alas' for the dealer. It was 'hurrah tonight' for you!]

 

Sometimes scary to think about electronics. We (us old folks) were used to mechanical issues and we always adapted to it. Electronics are like mumbo jumbo to me.

 

I have a similar problem where I can't turn my ignition key. I found that rocking the car forward and back will release the lock and allow me to turn it. If this works for you, please respond and let me know! Here's more details on my problem and "fix":
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/6010373-post14.html