Good for you man:tup:

Glad to see you have a dealer that is open minded enough to listen to you.:tup:

wow thats awesome. warranty work on a part that will fail in the future. :tup:

Well, not quite. I experienced lock-up and managed to start the car with the "tapping technique". It started after that, which got me to the dealer without a tow-truck escort. The question then was when it would lock-up "hard" next. That would most likely have been outside my 36 month warranty.

Charlie- glad I (and rest of the people who contributed) could help. :tup:

Not as glad as I am! If you're ever in NC. I owe you a beer!

:tup:

thanks for sharing the severe problem;s solution..

Thanks for the post!! My car is stranded as we speak! My wheel is loose though!! Key reader warning is on so I'll try this first.

:tup: i saw that you got a RevD 'overnighted from japan.' :icon17: ;) GL on the repair. :)

If we put 10 or 15 grand in it and overnight parts from Japan then maybe my steering lock will work.:roflpuke2:

:rofl2:

any tsb yet?

Nothing yet... :shakes head:

winter hibernation will be over soon... i suggest you get a spare, replace the 2 screws to regular metric hex head screws so that you can swap out in the field using a simple wrench. unless ofcourse, getting towed and such is a non issue. eitherway is fine, your choice. :)

No way to delete it and trick the ecu into thinking the lock is there and working as of yet correct ?

we do not know yet as it appears it sends constant signal to the BCM at a certain programmed frequency. i would assume a relay could simulate the open/closed position inside the lock but there's still a PCB in there from what i read. in that case one would need to still remove the unit, open it up and replace the motor with a relay...but who knows how well that's going to last either.

by the time someone makes a full bypass module i think it's going to be like over $250 and loose steering lock feature. be cheaper to just get the oem lock and keep it in the trunk. sell it when you sell the car, kinda.

or just wait out and hope for a recall.

I doubt a recall will happen. Almost all early 370z's have already been repaired at the owner's expense. lol

Ok, some were fixed under warranty. lol

:shakes head:

What happens if you pulled the unit while the car is either running or in ACC mode (basically when the column is unlocked)? With the steering lock out, the solenoid won't engage the column and maybe it'll remain unlocked? Unless the unit is always required to be installed as the BCM will not allow the car to be started without it?

Just spitballing, really.

These threads have me nervous. I need to check the build date of my 2010.

I have a "C" unit. Build date of the car is 6/10. Built date of the unit is Feb 16th 2010. :\

Was able to stick my phone behind the OBDII port and snap away random pics until I finally got a clear one of all the details - my garage is too damn narrow for me to open the door all the way and crawl under. So there's some friendly advice for those in my situation.

My build date was 6/10 and it works fine but I replaced it with a "D" anyway and kept the "C" as insurance.

Do you have a build date of the part itself? How many miles did you drive with the C?

I wonder is the reason Nissan is not doing the recall is because a lot of the cars are/were under warrantee this whole time? Do they usually issue recalls when the car is out of warrantee? I know for the GTR they did it early on but thats probably because its their flagship and top of the line car. I wonder if we will see a recall in the next year or so. I still have 1 year left on mine, and am at 24,000 miles. I have the Rev B module.

It doesn't matter about warranty or not. Recalls are free regardless and mandatory to perform.

I am almost 100% sure my steering wheel lock finally locked up last night while less than a mile away from my apartment. While it was working you could always tell when the steering wheel unlocked on start up. Now my 370z wont start and the steering wheel actually has free motion L/R and didn't lock the last time the car was shut off.

MY biggest issue is my car is no longer under warranty (the 3yr/36k mile warranty). I have 39,XXX miles on my 09' Z. If this part was recalled on the GTR is it possible that Nissan will fix it for free?

jb- only maybe... i'd give your dealer a call. recalls/TSB is vehicle specific unfortunately.

are you good with working on cars at all? if so, i recommend you swap it out yourself and save yourself towing, etc..and possible damage while towing. it's clumsy work but not difficult to do at all. GL! :)

Interesting.... I just checked my 2010 Black Rose that was built in December of 2009. It has Rev C of the steering lock mechanism. No issues yet....

there have been reports of people's lock failing out of warranty and them having to foot the bill themselves. I guess it depends on how much your dealer wants to keep you a happy customer

I'm not sure exactly when in 09 mine was built. I think I have revB of the steering lock assembly not sure since it's sitting at the dealer. It has already been towed to the dealer so possibly lost that.... I told the dealer what I believe the issue is and why I have come to the conclusion. They originally wanted to reprogram my keys. After explaining the problem with them ,probably in more depth than the service adviser knew about, he was amazed how much research I did. If my car is recognizing the key outside the vehicle with the wireless lock/unlock button on the door the car is obviously receiving the signal and knows that the keys signal is the correct key. I am almost 100% sure I will be calling 1800nissan1 to ask them why a part on a vehicle is considered defective due to "excessive lubrication" but not on another vehicle made in the same time frame with the same part number..... They just put less lubrication only in the ones that were going into the 370s......I think I could rant about NISSAN and the horrific experience I have had ever since I got my 370Z for days and days.

First NISSAN I have ever owned and I am hitting disappointment after disappointment...... Reliability for the 370Z is crap IMO and cost more than my BMW to keep on the road. Maybe I should have spent a few extra thousand dollars and bought a second BMW at least everything would have been free for 4yrs/50k miles (except gas) and included a bumper to bumper warranty for the same time frame. Actually I would have already ended out on top of where I am right now. I have had 18 year old cars that I have beat the crap out of them, treated horribly, and not cared for at all that ran really well and never had a problem. Then I get a car that is treated well change the fluids more often than they should and it is in the shop or broken more than that 18 year old POS.

Sorry for the rant just venting... I am seriously thinking about getting it fixed and prepping it for sale to obtain something more reliable just sick of throwing money at Nissan for nothing other than poor mechanical design and engineering.

It just seem surprising to me that the steering lock assembly for the 370s that have failed out of warranty are anywhere from 2k~3k miles outside the warranty. Also, why did they ditch this steering lock assembly in 2012? Maybe because they know it's bad and they don't know how to fix the issue.

I have found 4 complaints on the internet. They took me a mere few minutes to find. I think this trend will continue and start to grow.

2009 Nissan 370Z Steering Complaints

Unfortunately, many don't report the problem on National Recall site, thus, government is not compelled to take action and investigate. The problem is widespread, dealers know it, owners know.. sooner or later, owners w/ ver "A", "B", and likely "C" will encounter the failure.

Like you said, the exact same part failed on GT-R, yet, those cars got an immediate response. I am still mystified why 370z part hasn't been recalled.

As much as I like my Z, this will be my family's last Nissan. Fun car, but dealing w/ service departments, and constantly making them understand the issue is quite frustrating.

The steering lock was designed by a German company (manufactured in the usa) and sold as oem part to nissan. While nissan is responsible for designing in this part, it is the supplier that should be held accountable.

I work for Audi and the suppliers (outside manufacturers) are not directly responsible to the end user. It is the Car Manufacturer that needs to establish an open campaign!! The supplier would have deal with Nissan only to get an updated part or separate solution established!

If the design is ultimately flawed then it would be on nissan. Supplier was just following orders as per request from the customer (nissan). I have worked for a car manufacturer supplier. Requests come in then parts are mocked made from original designs. Supplier makes the parts and 100% are inspected at every part of production. Then shipped to, in this case, Nissan. Nissan would then inspect XX per XXXX parts. Basically tear them apart to ensure proper quality is met. Oddly enough I helped manufacture steering column parts for numerous car companies. Also made other parts for all type of vehicle makes such as BMW, Porsche, Audi, you name it I very well could have made a part for any vehicle made in mid 2000s.

It should be investigated especially since Nissan removed this part on the 2012 370s because they couldn't figure out how to fix it. I think that is more of a sign that they knew there was a problem they couldn't fix with a new revision so they got rid of it to try and bury the issue. If the part is also on back order at many dealers that is also saying something.

yah, but that's not wat i meant... and believe me, i am in the oem business myself so i know how things work in these manufacturing industries including automotive. i agree nissan is our gateway to getting our cars fixed, no arguments there.

some folks here are stating that this problem is all nissan's fault. in the big picture nissan is also a victim since they trusted the supplier to do a good job when they sourced them. the supplier did not follow through with their promises. their product is unreliable to the point nissan disqualified them from their car.

i bet if nissan did another recall this supplier could belly up and that might cause even more havoc on other nissan vehicle lineup as side effect.....the natural disaster one year ago was a terrifying time for suppliers too... i am sure there were many PO's cancelled and the supplier worked together with nissan to get through the tough time. these things influence many tough decisions too.

that's how i look at it. :hello:

i think you need to relax a little. my DIY's been up since Dec. while i would never force anyone to do the work him/herself, it was your decision to pay the full repair amount and tow if nissan does not fix the problem at goodwill.

my diy is a way someone can prepare for the worst, or fix the problem before it happens. it was not made for someone to vent or me explaining what nissan might be thinking. i dont know exactly what nissan is thinking, but i do know that my diy will fix your problem if it is the faulty steering lock.

/this discussion.

Yes, your DIY might have been up since Dec.... but I bet the first thought in every Z owners mind is one day I am going to walk out to my car and it's not going to start due to a steering lock assembly.... as for getting the car towed what other choice would I have when I am away from home and have no idea what is wrong? Oh I will just let it just sit here and I will think of something later.... No that's dumb leaving your car in an unattended parking lot away from your home. Technically I could walk to the dealer right now ask them for the part take the 15min to slap that bad boy in and just pay for a tow.

Your DIY and any need for it has just shown that Nissan has failed us in more ways than one. There shouldn't even be a need for a DIY of this nature on any vehicle. Safety and Security are usually top priority for any vehicle manufacturer and since mine left the steering unlocked away from home it not only put my car at risk but also myself.

Ummmmmm. :wtf2:

How did a DIY that was intended to help fellow community members out in a bind become a rant thread?! Open another thread and rant, so it can get closed by the mods...leaving this thread open for input regarding the emergency replacement of a known bad part.

C'mon guys, "can't we all just get along"?

I ordered my new steering lock unit on the 5th from Courtesy and it arrived this afternoon. It'll be going on this weekend. I received the D version as requested. Thanks for the DIY on this!