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

Reggie.keith

I found this today. It also comes with a key fob programmer for all your keys. This alone is worth the price.

Dorman 601-037 Steering Column Lock Actuator

https://www.amazon.com/Dorman-601-03...cm_wl_huc_item

Alienpoker

I know this is an old thread. Just to say this problem still exists. I just had it with a 2010 370Z Nismo. 52K on the clock, always taken care of and was very dependable until this: Stranded. And the door windows would creep down everytime you opened the doors. And you guessed it... you can’t roll them up. So you can’t just lock the car & leave it. I got a new battery for the fob, but knew in my heart it would be the dreaded steering lock failure.
I called triple A (CSAA) and had the car towed home. Not an easy task with a Nismo, you need a good driver with a flatbed and a lot of patience.
Nissan have refused to replace the unit under voluntary service campaign NTB13-014 which specifically says 2009-10 370Z. Nissan USA just say it’s VIN specific and my model isn’t affected. Yeah right. But it is. They expect me to cough up $1500 to get it fixed. Part is worth like $300 and the labor is about 0.6 hour from what I can discover. Should be a class action.

Alienpoker

Meh. Just buy this part. It replaces the lock with a box that talks to the BCM =>ECU so the car starts, but it no longer locks the steering wheel. This is the genuine fix Nissan is doing.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-Ignitio...e/352226882999
Part costs like $70... Part number is: 48708-9N00A

Alienpoker

OK. In one sentence, it works. You do not have to pay Nissan $1,000 for the fix they offer. You have options. Here’s a long explanation of what I have found.

The part number which failed on my 2010 370Z Nismo with 52,000 on the clock:
48700-JF00C-B1-01 date: 16/02/10 So that’s Rev. C I believe.

It failed on Feb 10th 2020. I parked and then 2hrs later I was stranded. Towed home by CSAA, where it sat like a lump while I figured out what to do next. Luckily my AA membership covers the towing costs.

My part was Not currently covered by Nissan Voluntary Service Campaign (VSC) #P3208 Ref: NTB-13-014. Although it lists the following vehicles:
2009-2010 370Z (Z34)
2009-2011 GTR (R35)

I can’t see anything on the document to say my vehicle is specifically excluded. But as I an ‘out if warranty’ I don’t have a great argument, although I tried. Several times.

I have reported the to Nissan corporate through ‘Customer Service’. They basically told me I had to pay ‘out of pocket’ to fix my car, And unless they issued a VSC (or recall) that covered my particular year, model and VIN they would NOT help with the costs.

What Nissan recommended:
Tow the vehicle to us. The Nissan dealer offered that they would ‘waive’ the diagnostic fee of like $140. IF I towed it there and agreed to let them fix it for around $800 +tax. From what I can tell, the part they claim to replace may still fail again in future (although the part may be within warranty at that point).
They claim:
1. That they have to diagnose the fault- they won’t accept that I know the part has failed.
2. My only option is to let them fix it, and then perhaps get reimbursed in future from Nissan USA. I didn’t buy the car from Nissan USA, I bought it from the Nissan dealer. They should stand behind cars they sell.
3. They claim both key fobs would need to be ‘reprogrammed’ at an additional cost to me.

My fix and what I found.
A. Buy Nissan OEM part. p/n: 48708-9N00A
Interchange part number: 487089N00A
Cost is about $62.00 I got free shipping.
Available from Nissan distributors and on eBay. It’s an OEM part, but I can’t say what a Nissan Parts Counter would charge. If they would even supply one.

B. According to Reggie.Keith there is a more expensive Dorman ‘fix for ESCL fault’ p/n: 601037. I haven’t seen a writeup, but assume it works or you can ask fir your money back. See: https://youtu.be/wc4LK8OMuL0
Rockauto.com price is about $300, plus tax and shipping, once you put it in the cart the price went down for me from
The info blurb says they fail when the gear teeth wear out:
All Dorman's Steering Column Lock Actuators are engineered from high-quality materials for a long service life.
Features & Benefits:
• Upgraded replacement - this steering column lock actuator features several enhancements to increase reliability over the factory design
• Improved durability - internal gear teeth made of stronger compound for longer service life
• Enhanced technology - updated software adjusts gear speed and minimized teeth wear in future
• Easy installation - includes programmer and bolts for straightforward replacement.

I chose fix A. $62 shipped. It even came with the ‘break away’ security bolts. I did not use these as it doesn’t actually lock the steering column anymore.

I replaced the part, ensured the ESCL 10A fuse was in place and pressed start. It worked. I have not had to reprogram my key fobs. It took me two weeks to research the problem fully, order the right part and replace it.

You DO get the reassuring ‘whirring noise’ when you press Start, and again when you turn off the engine and open the drivers door to leave the car. So I believe it’s actuating switched with a motor. But there is no deadbolt which moves to actuate the steering column lock. It should last longer for this reason alone. It also had a plastic top case, rather than full metal protection around the entire part.

Option B Does lock your steering column and Does have an odbc ‘dongle’ which they claim is able to reprogram your key fobs. So if you fesr you may need that, pay the extra money. It is also completely metal and comes with the ‘break away’ security bolts. I have NOT tested this solution, although others have. It offers more security arguably for the $300. Still cheaper than the Nissan Dealer Service repair, although you have little chance of reimbursement of your $300+.

Probably my final post on this issue, provided the fault now goes away. I’m leaving the fuse in place, as I like the ‘whirring sound’ it’s comforting. My belief is that the motor may need to run in fix A for the switches to open & close properly. That’s what the BCM expects to ‘see’ when it handshakes with the ESCL and then tells the ECU that the car can start. I don’t wish to cut wires on my Z, or disable functions that were factory programmed into the start-up sequence.

👾👽 AlienPoker 👽 👾

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Alienpoker

So that wasn’t my last post. If you have read the whole thread on this forum, I’ll leave you with this thought:
A $65 part which I could fit in 30mins vs. a $500 part that costs you $300 for Nissan to fit plus maybe extra charges. Hmmmmm.... makes you think.

Good luck, I hope you get back on the road.

LennyK

Other Option - Pull The Fuse = $0.00 / 10 Minutes - Isn't THIS The Best Option -

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Alienpoker

Not from my experience. I’m just offering anyone having this problem OEM and Dorman updated fixes that haven’t been covered in detail in this thread.

I’d rather pay the $62 shipped for a genuine Nissan part and leave the car factory. Hacking wires or pulling fuses might have unexpected consequences. “Your milage may vary” and you can of course do as you like. Have even read my posts?

♦️ ♠️ AlienPoker ♠️❤️

LennyK

I Have Read Your Posts & Agree That The $62 Option Is Far Better Than The Stealer Option. However - Having Pulled My Fuse Years Ago - Without Consequence - I Am Reluctant To Spend $62 So I Can Reinstall A Useless Fuse.

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Alienpoker

With a Nissan OEM part: They can’t argue with you about warranty eligibility, or that you hacked your harness and it can NEVER lock your steering wheel again, as it is missing the deadbolt. As the motor & gears don’t move a deadbolt, it will last longer (I hope)! It also communicates properly with the BCM-> ECU. I haven’t taken one apart yet, but it would be easy as the top cover is plastic. It’s almost the same price as the ‘cheater harness’ fix shipped.

The Dorman one might be useful if you live in a dangerous area, need to reprogram your key fobs (I didn’t with the ‘NISSAN OEM’ fix). Or maybe for insurance reasons you need you steering wheel to still lock.

YMMV. Good luck to all, whatever you do.

Alienpoker

JARblue

I can name at least 50 Z owners who pulled their fuse nearly 10 years ago and experienced no ill effects. The only possible item was some people complained after the ESCL fuse was pulled that there was a small delay after pushing the start button before the car would turn on. Frankly, I felt like there was always a delay and it didn't change after pulling my fuse.

Fùck Nissan. I'm not giving them a dime of my money. After the lack of customer service related to this whole ESCL failure debacle, it's horseshìt that they are charging $62 for a fix. They should be doing it for free on every single car that ever had an ESCL module installed. They never fixed the ESCL - they simply removed it after a while. And that's all this $62 piece is - an empty fùcking box. The recall was a half-assed attempt to save face. That's some greedy corporate bullshìt if I've ever seen it

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Alienpoker

Actually I sourced the $62 part I’m recommending, Nissan had nothing to do with recommending it. I did the research, and happily paid a discount Nissan reseller I trust online for an OEM part that I took a chance on. And it worked, without reprogramming key fobs or any other hassle. Took me < 30mins to fit, put the fuse back and check the car started. It has been working happily ever since, about a month.

I DID notice a starting delay Several Times after I ‘banged on the old box’ and then pulled the fuse to prove the ESCL was my issue.

It’s definitely not an ‘empty box’. The box ‘makes the noise’ and (I assume) still closes the switches. But as it doesn’t move a metal deadbolt every time you get in & out of the car, it should last the life of the car. I have NO startup delays now. I prefer this fix for $62 to others (especially Nissan’s recommended fix) as my car works Exactly as it did before. Plus I won’t be stranded and left banging on a faulty metal box trying to get some switches to close again. Time will tell. I’d be comfortable selling the car with my solution fitted.

OK. So here’s MY rant:

I bought my 370Z Nismo from a Nissan dealer in CA, and until this situation I had always serviced it where I bought it. I complained to Nissan as far up as regional customer service manager and was offered nothing. I complained to the owner of the dealership where I bought the car and was only offered to ‘waive the $140 diagnostic fee’ IF I repaired the ESCL as they recommended. Which is BS as I knew what the problem was because every Altima, Maxima, ..., GTR and 370Z with the early ESCL units are failing. It’s very widespread across the *whole* Nissan range.

For the record this is what my Nissan dealer quoted me to replace the failed part with one that would probably fail again:
Labor 1.5 hours @ $170.00/Hr = $255
Parts needed 48700-9N00B $452
Tax total $36
Total repair charges = $743

... and probably a lot more if they decided thst they needed to ‘reprogram the key fobs’ - Some people have paid for that as well. Totals to over $1,200. Now that IS a ripoff.

Will I ever take my 370Z Nismo to a Nissan dealer again? No. Even for an ester oil change or service? No. Would I buy a new GTR from them or a 400Z when that comes out? No.

Everyone is welcome to modify their 370Z car as they choose. If you find a happy solution, go for it. Luckily you have gravity on your side as the deadbolt is unlikely to move back upwards, if the gears are trashed in your faulty ESCL.

I was just trying to be helpful and offer new alternatives for those like me who are only now having this issue.

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‘It’s like deja vu all over again’
2010 370Z Nismo Magnetic Blk 6MT
‘73 240Z White 2.6L 5MT

g96818

So mine failed while I was driving to work this morning, needless to say, I was stuck with a dead car and wouldn't cycle out of the "LOCK" position. I'm an engineer so when something happens, I hit the FSM and was one of the first few to discover the fuse trick before people started posting about it. I reinstalled the fuse and did the recall as soon as it was announced for the dealership to install P/N 48700-JF00D to replace my original P/N 48700-JF00A. I left the fuse installed since I like the locked steering wheel and the whirling sound it made.

Anyways, I thought something was odd this morning when I saw the yellow light was on before I shut off the car and I didn't hear the whirling sound when I opened the door. Turns out I was right, the damn car turned into a fricking paperweight as I tried to leave work. I was shocked since this wasn't supposed to happen after the stupid Nissan fix! I searched the interwebs and came across all these old posts about banging the lock to start the car, but remembered it didn't lock the steering wheel this morning so I figured why not try the fuse trick again, but i couldn't get the damn car out of "LOCK"

Thank god this was a wide spread issue since that led me to re-find this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLPTNm0xxy4) to trick the car out of "LOCK" to do the fuse trick. But that didn't work, the car still wouldn't start and any attempt would just shut the car off again and I would have to do the trick again.

Then I remembered a great thing about a manual car is that you can do a rolling start and since I was lucky enough for my steering wheel lock to break in the unlocked position, I was able to get the car started and avoided the tow fee to get her home.

In my research tonight, I found P/N 48708-9N00A & 48700-9N00B replaces my current lock, but I thought it looked fake with all that plastic, but then I found this post and Alienpoker's fake looking part to validate that it really does look like a cheap piece of Nissan crap and doesn't really do anything besides act as a relay. I'm going to order this expensive relay and hopefully that solves my paperweight problem since it it's not starting again.

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CZP are lying thieves!

Martijn_b

Question: íf the steering lock mechanism failed - are you still able to get the car to the ON position?

My car wont start, but it does cycle to ACC and ON. Yet instead of starting everything turns off again. Dealer says the BCM cant see if the steering wheel is locked or unlocked and therefor it wont start.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

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Instagram: Boosted_Fairlady

Alienpoker

I replaced the steering wheel lock almost 2yrs ago to fix the ESCL problem and no start / no ACC on my ‘09 370Z Nismo. The fix is: Buy Nissan OEM part. p/n: 48708-9N00A
Interchange part number is 487089N00A I paid about $62.00, and got free shipping. To get that price shop around online- I wouldn’t source it from the dealer parts dept.
Never had a single problem since. No lights on the dash ever- always starts.

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‘It’s like deja vu all over again’
2010 370Z Nismo Magnetic Blk 6MT
‘73 240Z White 2.6L 5MT

Ivary

The only replacement part I can find under $500 is the Doorman solution for $350. The dealer will not stand by the recall. SB-10051829-6628 Ref NTB13-014 Voluntary Service Campaign P3208 they say my VIN is not specifically included. They are requiring me to pay full price for all diagnostic and repair costs. I had it towed home for $100.
I tried the tapping trick, it did not work. The only way I can make it unlock is grounding the pink wire. I grounded the pink wire started the car and cut the brown wire. This did not fix the problem. I grounded the pink wire started the car and pulled the fuse, that did not fix the problem. I am too physically big to do much upside down under the steering wheel. I am hoping not to spend hundreds, I have read all the posts but I am frustrated and giving up.