Busted ignition - ignition cylinder rod replacement (2 Viewers)

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For anyone needing this later.
Ignition Key. Key wouldn't come out of ACC position when got home tonight. I've had it break completely before. Don't want to force turn it and break get key or the cylinder. . I OCD'd about it a few months ago and took it out to locksmith, he said I was good but once you know it's not smooth you know somethings up.

Update, took the cylinder out, all good. Key will not exit from ACC to off when battery hooked up. DISCONNECT THE BATTERY, KEY COMES OUT. I'm now thinking it has to do with alarm/anti theft system. I have one newish key (made from Vin) and the tumblers were checked a few months ago. Any new ideas?

BTW you do not have to get the whole assembly you can just get the broken (cheaply built toyota stem). Hard to find though, if anyone has the part # for others please post.
Sounds silly, but I'd wonder about whatever mechanism that doesn't allow the key to rotate out of ACC when the vehicle isn't in Park. Longshot, but maybe worth some electrical debugging to see if something is awry in that path.
 
For anyone needing this later.
Ignition Key. Key wouldn't come out of ACC position when got home tonight. I've had it break completely before. Don't want to force turn it and break get key or the cylinder. . I OCD'd about it a few months ago and took it out to locksmith, he said I was good but once you know it's not smooth you know somethings up.

Update, took the cylinder out, all good. Key will not exit from ACC to off when battery hooked up. DISCONNECT THE BATTERY, KEY COMES OUT. I'm now thinking it has to do with alarm/anti theft system. I have one newish key (made from Vin) and the tumblers were checked a few months ago. Any new ideas?

BTW you do not have to get the whole assembly you can just get the broken (cheaply built toyota stem). Hard to find though, if anyone has the part # for others please post.
The bracket assembly is part # 45280-60610 from a Toyota dealership- I paid about $265. That's the smallest part group you can order separately. See my post above for details. Sounds like your Park interlock is malfunctioning. Try tapping the shifter while trying to remove the key.
 
Likely was an obstruction on the park button. Now another problem.
Car will turn over but no start. Battery and starter ~3 yrs. Battery cranks good. A couple of times I'd disconnect the negative cable, reconnect and would start.
But today nothing works.
 
If security light goes on key out and off with key on. Try moving shiftier to "N" and then see if it starts.
 
2003 LX with power tilt. I’ve read all the posts but id another opinion.

Ignition is stuck in ACC. I can’t turn the key but I can remove it. Steering wheel moves freely and electronics work.

most likely need a steering bracket assembly, part number 45280-60610?

I’ve tried turning the wheel, wiggling the shifter, and jiggling the key.

Thanks.Doesn’t look too difficult.
 
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I am now part of this broken ignition rod club. 2001 LX470 with 272K miles, so it lasted a while. Luckily, It broke while parked in my parent’s driveway. I parked it almost in the center thinking it was a quick stop. Luckily, I didn’t completely block the garage door with the car in it. Because I gained so much knowledge from those who went before me, I like to add to this knowledge base. (This video was awesome: )

Paying it forward to help others. I’ll skip most of the removal procedure since it’s pretty straight forward. (I apologize if I’m not using the proper terminology.)

Helpful hint: When removing the black vent piece, hold onto the vent on the left as you yank out the bottom vent. Otherwise, you might end up pulling out left vent, which is a bear to put back.


1. To remove the smaller piece, I removed the white starter cap at the bottom. It helps to disconnect the two connectors at the bottom of the starter cap to get access to the screws to remove it. (Use a long Phillips screw driver). The tip of the rod fits into this white starter cap and rotating the rod is what starts the car. Once I removed the white starter cap, the broken piece became loose at the bottom. I fished it out using a 10 inch piece from a thick wire cloth hanger. Put a half inch, 90 degree bend at the end, and a one inch 90 degree bend on the other end, which will help as a handle and rotating the wire. Push aside the levers or cams on the inside of cylinder using a long flat screw driver or another wire piece from the cloth hanger with a slightly longer bend. (See pic 3)

2. I ordered a replacement rod from Amazon for $29. It came from Turkey but I received it in 4 days. Here’s the link for it. (see Pic 5-6) It looked the same as the old rod.

Amazon product ASIN B07H8G1QGZ
3. You have to remove the brass pieces from the old and use it in the new rod. To remove the pieces, push down on the smaller brass on the side and pull out the larger brass on the end. Tap out the large spring while holding down the small brass. Remove the small brass, and then tap out the tiny spring. Careful not to lose the small spring. It really is tiny. I had to run a metal fingernail file in the holes to deburr it. This should have been a clue.

4. I was impatient and went to my parent’s house an hour away to put it in, thinking it would be easy. I had trouble putting in the new rod. (Another clue). I finally got the new rod in and the car started right away after I connected the right wire to the black security ring. (It’s the white wire, not the black one.) Turning the key seemed stiff though. (Something told me that this could be problem. Another clue).

Helpful hint: I used a clamp to close the door indicator so the battery wouldn’t drain as I worked with the door open.

5. I couldn’t turn off the car. The key wouldn’t rotate to the left. The rod seems to be stuck at the ACC position. I spent several hours trying to pull out the rod. It was stuck. Nevertheless, I was able to get the car home so I could work on it while it was in my garage. After spending couple more hours at home, I still couldn’t pull the rod out. I thought I would have to take it to a dealership.

6. After sleeping on it, I rotated the rod so the small brass piece on the side was at the 12 O’clock position. I took a small hammer and tapped on the bottom of the rod, and the rod popped out. Easy-peasy.

7. When I looked closer and measured the old and the new rod with a caliper, I noticed that the new rod was thicker and the cams were taller or wider. I Dremel down the tip to match the original. I Dremel down the first two cams that put pressure on the rod. (See pics 7-10). I angled the cams more than the original now knowing how it worked. This should help the rod rotate with less pressure on the cams as it pushes the lever aside. I put white lithium grease on all the cams and some on the levers at the bottom of the cylinder. The new rod went in easily.

8. I didn’t take any pictures of the new rod after I worked on it. Once again, I was impatient to try it out. I hope this helps. Good luck.
car 02.png
car 01.png
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car 05.png


Pics 6-10 on the next post.
 
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Great info, for those handy and looking to save money! I bought the cam off eBay last year, and mine was also too tight and wouldn't function properly. I gave up and ordered the whole assembly and replaced it all.
 
I bought the rod and somehow got the rod installed upside down, which now it locks when I try to use it. After a year of using a screwdriver to start it, I finally bought the whole assembly to replace it once and for all. Any ideas on how to get those two bolts holding it on off? (they are rounded off like this thread - Real-time help ignition switch removal). The guy doing it just replaced the rod and never came to a conclusion how to get the old one off.
 
I bought the rod and somehow got the rod installed upside down, which now it locks when I try to use it. After a year of using a screwdriver to start it, I finally bought the whole assembly to replace it once and for all. Any ideas on how to get those two bolts holding it on off? (they are rounded off like this thread - Real-time help ignition switch removal). The guy doing it just replaced the rod and never came to a conclusion how to get the old one off.
Try using a Dremel to cut a grove to put a flat head screw driver in.
 
help needed...

so I was able to get the broken piece released from the white plastic starter housing. unfortunately, when the broken piece was released, it fell/turned sideway in the cylinder. spent the last hour trying to fish it out without any luck. does anyone know of how to get the broken piece out when it is on it side?

also, i can't seem to figure out how to get the new rod out of the replacement assembly. can't get the little nub to line up with the little notch on the bottom of the assembly where the little blade sticks out.

thanks in advance for any help offered

Haven't driven the LC much lately due to the pandemic. I was filling up gas and the stupid rod snapped two days ago. Managed to get some help to push her to the side so we are not blocking the gas pump. The parking spot was on a slight incline and it took 4 adults to push her. She is a heavy girl haha... I got back yesterday and manage to hot wire her so I can move her into a better parking spot.

Now I am in a same boat, the broken piece is turned sideway. It was getting dark and started to drizzle last night so I stopped. Car is currently at grocery store parking lot. I am going back there today and see if I can figure this puzzle out. I may just try to drive her home as is... the car is about 3 miles from my house. I rather try to do this in my garage.
 
That’s the one. Great customer service by the way too. I need to order a spare so I have one at 500k!

How does the cheap rod work so far? Still working fine?
 
The latest electric tilt part # is 45280-60610, does that replace *60510? Also, is the *60460 still the right one for the manual tilt (lc1999?)

The manual tilt is 45280-60460 per Toyota dealer. My order for my 1998 Land Cruiser is on its way. I am not sure about the electric tilt part #.
 
I have one showing up for my 2003 LX with electric tilt.

Part number verified by the dealership: 45280-60610
Screws (if you're replacing the whole assembly: 45873-60010

The 60510 PN is for the pre 03. Based on videos it looks like the housing flipped between 02 to 03. The button to remove the tumber is now on the top, and the white switch is on the bottom now. It's quite possible that the shaft is the same for all years.

I will verify tonight if everything fits correctly
 
I’m considering proactively replacing this rod on my 2000 LC with 180k miles. Does the rod slight right out if it’s intact? For how challenging it sounds to remove the broken piece it seems like the ~$200 and hour or so of my time is worth it. Thanks!
 
I’m considering proactively replacing this rod on my 2000 LC with 180k miles. Does the rod slight right out if it’s intact? For how challenging it sounds to remove the broken piece it seems like the ~$200 and hour or so of my time is worth it. Thanks!

When I tried to take out the replacement rod, which was thicker, I had trouble. It came out easily when I removed the white starter cap at the bottom and tapped the end with a small hammer. I used a Dremel to round down the places where it applies pressure. I greased it with white lithium grease before slidding it back it. Works better than original.
 
I’m considering proactively replacing this rod on my 2000 LC with 180k miles. Does the rod slight right out if it’s intact? For how challenging it sounds to remove the broken piece it seems like the ~$200 and hour or so of my time is worth it. Thanks!

Now that I have gone thru this whole ordeal, personally I would not proactively replacing this rod. But understand if you want to do it as preventative maintenance. Mine is a 1998 with almost ~248K miles when the rod broke.

What I did was I took the broken rod (the big piece) out which is pretty easy. Then take the white plastic cap at the end off. There are two small screws then this plastic piece can come off. I made a mistake not taking this white plastic completely off and that made fishing the small piece of the rod a lot harder. Just loosening the screws does not work for me. I thought at that time I need to remove the small broken piece before I can remove the white plastic cap off.

I then shoved two socket extension in place of the broken rod so now the steering is not locked anymore. Socket extensions are the ones I have in my tool box that would fit tightly at that time. I then use a small screwdriver to start the car by turning the white plastic cap manually. I taped my key near to the receiver (not sure what it is called?) so that the car would start. I drove the car home this way. If I have to drive longer distance I would secure those two socket extension so they do not move (maybe duck taped them together then tape them into the whole assembly) but as is, they were jammed in there pretty tight. Once the car is at home, I then can take my time removing the small broken piece. So removing the small broken piece is not needed to get the car moving again, but you do have to have some tools, which I always do all the time.

I bought the whole assembly from Toyota so I had time to played around with it to make sure I can install it correctly before I tried installing the rod in the car. It is not that hard to remove the intact rod. I decided to buy a genuine part to make sure it work the first time and it will last for a while.

Hope this helps!

EDIT: If I have to do this again, I bet I can get the car moving again in under 30 min. It was pretty quick to disassemble the dash. What took a long time for me was trying to get the small broken rod out WITHOUT removing the white plastic cap at the end of the assembly. I spent probably 2 hours trying all kind of things with no luck.
 
If anyone has a broken one they could ship me, I would be interested to try and identify the metal used and if it could be welded reliably. Of course I can pay shipping within the 48.

Perhaps a weld could repair and or reinforce one of these shafts.
 

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