4runner has power but no crank

In case you need the new steering lock.

https://www.toyotapartsdeal.com/oem/toyota~actuator~assy~steer~45020-68040.html

 

New battery in, still no response. I’ve got power throughout the car, just no crank as if it’s in some sort of “safety mode”.

 

push start without foot on brake and turn wheel to see if it "unlocks" if you haven't tried that.

 

I appreciate that, that is a pricey part by the way .

 

That's the best price I could find, usually it sells for around $441.

 

God Bless!!

 

Update guys: After attempting multiple different ways to get the engine to crank and verifying the programming of the smart keys, I am going to check the ECU code B2781 code.

The code “B2781” DTC Detecting conditions are:

• Steering lock motor drive circuit is defective.
• Both lock and unlock position sensors detect "ON".

The trouble area is:

“Steering lock actuator assembly (Steering lock ECU)”

I found the hint bellow which applies to my problem in hand:

“When the engine switch is off, the main body ECU may occasionally go into a non-active state called sleep mode. Therefore, before proceeding with the inspection, it is necessary to perform the following step to wake up the ECU:

Before starting the inspection, open the driver door with the engine switch off. Then (with the engine switch still off) open and close any door several times at 1.5-second intervals”.

However I tried to open and close any door several times at the 1.5-second interval to no avail.

I will post the latest updates once I have more info, and I’ll post a step by step of how I solved the issue once I do solve it, fingers crossed ! Thank you to each and every single person that replied to this thread and chimed in!!

 

any luck? Im in a similar situation and am curious your status/results. thanks!

 

Bump

 

Update – Almost a Year Later:

I’m not even sure where to begin, but I’ve managed to semi-fix the issue myself.

Local dealers were no help—some couldn’t even diagnose the problem and made me feel like I was losing my mind. One dealer quoted me $1,400 for an electrical part plus $1,600 for labor, with no guarantee it would fix the issue. Oh, and if it didn’t work? No refunds on the part. Yeah… hard pass on that one. Eventually, I discovered a workaround. I was able to unlock the steering wheel by gently moving it left and right until I heard the little motor disengage. That got me thinking…

Here’s the trick that’s been working for me:

If the vehicle is running and I’m ready to turn it off, I first open the driver’s door before hitting the engine stop button. By doing that, the electric motor that normally locks the steering wheel doesn’t engage. Boom—problem avoided. Once the wheel is unlocked and the vehicle starts (meaning the immobilizer cooperates), just don’t shut the engine off before opening your door. If you have passengers, let them out first, then open your door and shut down the vehicle. This method seems to trick the system by preventing the electric steering lock from activating. As a result, my steering wheel no longer locks at all, even if I forget to open the door first. It’s been months of doing this consistently, so maybe I’ve re-trained the ECU or bypassed the steering lock behavior altogether.

Downsides:

The steering wheel doesn’t lock anymore (which might be a concern for some).

Occasionally, when I return to the vehicle, there’s a 5–10 second delay before it recognizes the key and the push-to-start button lights up green.

Aside from that, the issue is completely gone for me.

Hope this helps someone out there who's been scratching their head like I was.

If you guys got any questions let me know, also please let me know if this method also works for you.