DIY: Replace dreaded steering-lock on 2009s and early 2010s.

GaleForce

When spring rolls around, and my Z comes out of storage for its Oil change... I'm going to try to sweet talk the service people at my local Nissan dealer to see if they will replace it under warranty... The worst they can say is no...

__________________

KaienZ34

What is your plan for this? Telling them your cars does it from time to time and it's the same part that has been recalled on the GT-R??

__________________

GaleForce

Yeah, something like that. Telling them its an intermittant problem that I can temporarily fix by hitting the lock solinoid. Might print out this thread, depends how receptive they are. If they want to do me a solid, great, if not, I tried and can't fault them for it.

Honestly this is my first Nissan, I bought it in August and stored it at the end of October. Past experiences have been with Honda and GM dealerships. The service I got from Honda was second to none! Very helpful, and very honest. GM on the other hand, their service has been horrible. I have needed to print off fixes from the Internet for them before, I've also had to do my own repairs because the techs couldn't fix it. And it wasn't isolated to one dealership. I got this kind of service from 4 different GM dealers. It will be a very very long time before I spend any more of my hard earned money on a vehicle made by General Motors.

Hopefully Nissan's service will be closer to what I got from Honda... we'll see...

Edit- my Z still has a year of factory warranty left.

__________________

kenchan

i summarized the temporary solutions to try in the DIY (very bottom)... just in case someone is stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Montez

Looks like 09/10 Max's are having that problem as well.

Will not start - Maxima Forums

kenchan

based on info at courtesyparts the 09+ maxima's are using a slightly different lock... but might be the same issue.

Product SKU: 48700-A35001

Ours is: 48700-JF00A (revB, C, D)

Montez

Yeah different part, same issue.....

fritz

Mine was intermittent (a bit like a manual lock needing a shake and seemed normal enough) but then expired...... and is on hold for possible warranty, if winter wheels and tires do not void it. Tricky Niss.

"Must be manufactured" in 2010 was my written deal on the car itself. The type B steering lock was made in early 2009 and the gas pedal assy made in late 2008.
Is that normal on a 2010 build car?

What happened to Just-in-time (JIT) production methods...I wonder.

Apart from un- reliability---4+ times now--the car's great. A curate's egg.

Any folk with an old lock? I'd like to disect it and try a relay to fool the CPU/BCM into thinking the lock is there. A real ignition switch and starter button could be nice too.


How are steering lock messages sent to the electronics to allow the engine to start ?

Fritz

wstar

I haven't been able to find this in the Service Manual (censored so as not to aid theft?), but what would happen if you just removed the whole thing from the steering column and never re-installed it? Just never locks up? Not a huge issue IMHO. Would the car throw a code with it unplugged? I wonder if it's one UpRev can silence.

__________________
7AT Track Car!
Journal thread / Car setup details

kenchan

if you removed this unit car probably wont start cause the ECU will not receive the 'all clear' signal from the BCM. BUT i think if one can make a relay simulating this switch like how the vette folks did it on their car, it can probably work.

wstar

EDIT: Scratch that idea, there's no easy way to fake it with a relay. Most of it is trivially fake-able since it's just "apply voltage to energize" and 2x redundant inverted feedback status switches that inform BCM + IPDM E/R whether the lock is in the commanded state, but then there's one critical bit that wouldn't work out: the BCM feedback on pin 111, which actually expects some timed pulses and state changes from some controller inside the lock unit in response to lock/unlock commands. So you'd need something a little more complex to fake it, like a cheap little microcontroller.

Even if you replaced the lock unit with a microcontroller-based fake: if you ever turned the steering wheel while the BCM thought it was locked, I wouldn't be surprised if it a threw a code because the steering angle changed when it shouldn't be possible.

__________________
7AT Track Car!
Journal thread / Car setup details

ChrisSlicks

Maybe a 555 timer chip in combination. Although with the price of cheap integrated micro-controllers these days I would probably be tempted to go that route too.

__________________
Hotchkis ARB | Stillen CAI | Art Pipes | Berk CBE | Stillen AP Racing Brakes | AE Performance Oil Cooler | BC Racing ER Coilovers | Doran Control Arms

KaienZ34

^^Cool info i hope it works.

__________________

kenchan

ok sorry guys, you are like talking chinese to me now... no idea wat you're saying.

ChrisSlicks

可能在组合的一块555个定时器芯片。 虽然便宜的联合微型控制器的价格我大概那些日子会被诱惑连同路线也是

__________________
Hotchkis ARB | Stillen CAI | Art Pipes | Berk CBE | Stillen AP Racing Brakes | AE Performance Oil Cooler | BC Racing ER Coilovers | Doran Control Arms