XG350 ignition key hard to turn...intermittant...problem found

My 2002 XG350 would occationally have the ignition key turning so hard I
thought I might break the key off. Next time everything would work fine.
Finally figured out that it has something to do with the steering wheel lock
and if you giggle the steering wheel back and forth a little when the key is
hard to turn it frees things up and the key turns easily. Don't know if
anyone else has seen this, but I thought I'd post it in case anyone else is
having troubles.

Dan

 

This is a normal condition in any car with a steering lock. If the
steering wheel locks while there is still steering pressure applied by the
wheels and rack to the steering wheel, the steering lock mechanism will
make the ignition difficult to turn.

 

The easy ways to avoid this is to not turn the wheel when the key is out
or turned fully off.