Steering Wheel Locked, truck won’t start

So.... Here’s the back story.. I’m in the CostCo parking lot just loaded a new TV in the bed... go to start the truck and the dash reads steering wheel locked. Truck won’t start and wheel won’t unlock no matter what i do. After trying to jump it, locking and unlocking with the key fob 20 times or so, I give up and start dialing roadside assistance... I push to start one last time and BOOM magic the wheel unlocks rotates 45 degrees and the truck starts.... anyone else had this issue?

 

You turned the truck off with the wheel turned. You need to turn it slightly to unlock the wheel as you press the button. This will unlock the wheel.

 

It's a Toyota thing - had it happen in my 07 Camry. Just wiggle the wheel back and forth, it does take some force, and it'll eventually unlock. Usually within 1 or 2 wiggles it does it for me.

I'm curious if the display is the only indication in the new Tundras? In the older ones the indication is the key can't turn from off, so while wiggling the wheel I put a little pressure on the key and it eventually can turn. Does the display notification go away like the ignition key is allowed to turn?

 

I was pretty much standing on the brake pedal and moving the wheel back and forth for a good 5-10 minutes, it was really stiff, wouldn’t budge. When it finally did unlock I didn’t even have my hands on it... it was strange but I’m thinking it must have been the angle and how I was parked.

 

For years now ALL makes and models, not just Toyota, have had locking steering wheels when the ignition is off. But the steering wheel is not actually locked until a pawl slips into the locking notch. The wheel can still be turned a few degrees in either direction. If, after turning the key off, you happen to pull on the steering wheel a little as you exit, and you hear and/or feel a click, you just locked the steering wheel. When you get back in you'll find that if you try and turn the steering wheel, it will not move at all in one direction . But in the other direction it WILL move a few degrees, but will have tension on it. So merely turn the wheel slightly in the direction that it will move, against the tension, then you can turn the key easily, or in the newer models, the push button will start the vehicle. You must remove the tension that is on the pawl inside the locking notch in order to turn the key or have the push button start activate. Jiggling the wheel serves little purpose. Just pull the wheel in the direction that it will move, even if only slightly, and you will relieve that tension on the locking pawl.

 

I’ve had plenty of vehicles over the years, and had several lock up the steering wheel. But this time I guess was different. I’ll keep an eye on it, fingers crossed it was a combination of several things and just more difficult to get the wheel unlocked.

 

One thing to keep in mind. Never shut your truck off and take the key out with the wheel completely cranked in one direction. When the steering wheel locks, it locks up against the steering stops. Giving you zero wiggle room to unlock the steering wheel with the key. Always back off the steering stops a little. A half a turn can do.

 

I’m in the 2020 so its a push button... that adds a new feel to it. I’m definitely used to juggling the key while turning the wheel in previous vehicles... but the push button... new feel for sure

 

I’ve had the steering wheel lock up before in most recent vehicles but never had it to the point it wouldn’t easily disengage.
It would royally tick me off if it couldn’t be undone in 5 seconds or less!!

 

Yes this happened to me in my 2004 Toyota. Thought my ignition was going out (worn). Turns out my key was worn down from the thousands of insertions. Grabbed my spare
And it worked perfect. So even with the worn key I’d get the chime and initial lights but wasn’t able to unlock the wheel or start the truck. Take a look at your key. If it’s not sharp anymore use the spare,
if you have one , and see if that make a difference.

 

He pulls in with the steering wheel turned and the front tires come up against the concrete parking stop. Truck is in park and the tires are against the stop making it hard to turn the wheel.

 

Toyota has had this steering wheel lock feature since the 1990's or maybe older,

This vid explains it

 

This is more noticeable in our trucks because Toyota decided to remove the damn grab bar so we pull on our steering wheel to get in and out

 

Toyota has had this feature forever, my first car was an '85 Corolla, and pretty much every time I started it I had to put a little tension on the steering wheel to get it to unlock. I can imagine in the push start Tundras it's a little less second nature to get it to unlock, because I'm use to always putting tension on the wheel, and the key simultaneously to "feel it" - can't really do that with the push button.

 

LOL , I read it so fast didn't see it was a push button

 

Where did this info come from?
The OP didn’t mention any of that.

 

Speculation. I've been a tech for a very long time and towed for AAA/CAA for 10 years. We had so many people call in to say they couldn't turn the key in the ignition and their steering wheel won't budge. When we got there most of the time the front tire was up against something.
The OP was very vague in his description so I took a stab at it.

 

Gotcha.
The whole thing is just weird, pressure didn’t solve it and pushing the button again w/o pressure worked.

 

I think maybe that when the push button start is pressed the locking mechanism struggle to release because it's under tension. The OP mention on the second try it worked and the wheel spun 45°.