Quote:
Originally Posted by SoCal 370Z
I'm wondering whether the failure of the 370Z's steering lock unit might related to the solenoid pin being held too tightly because owners' have the front wheels turned to the side and there is additional pressure against the pin? With a key ignition this situation is clearly present when you try to turn the key—on a steering column lock—and you can't until you have pulled the steering in the direction that relieves the pressure on the pin. In the 370Z one takes it for granted that the pin will simply release itself. When the pin is held, it is surely not good on the pin's solenoid and could accelerate failure as the solenoid remains activated trying to dislodge the pin.
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It certainly could potentially accelerate damage to the unit, however many of the actual failures seem to happen when the car is parked straight such as a gas station or parking lot. Weird.
There also seems to be more occurrences in Winter vs Summer, but that could just be coincidence.
The problem happens across the entire Nissan product line but seems to be happening slightly more often on the 370Z and GT-R. This could correlate to the extra force required to activate the lock due to the tighter steering ratio and wider tires (which amount to extra resistance). Thicker fluid in the hydraulic system could be the Winter tie in.
The one question I have to the people that have had the failures - is the steering wheel in fact locked (i.e. can you turn the wheel at all) when you find it in this state?