He could have been a porter.

The guy who has this problem in Japan has been a member here since 2011 now he may have a low post count (some people will say:rolleyes:)but since he posted his "experience" on a steering lock thread tells me he has been trolling around the forum reading the threads and not posting so my point is apparently he has had enough information to decide which route to take but no he decides to "post my story" on a public thread.

Like I said in the other thread he can leave the fuse in and I will be the first to say I told you so.

heehee I guess I'm still not making myself clear. The patch gives most ppl the perception of authority, especially if the patch present itself as an expert. While it may be wrong to assume that, it's still what they believe. I think it's a rather foolish assumption, but I understand that is how some ppl are. If someone wants to believe the patch over you or other knowledgeable ppl on this site I think they are making a mistake, but I can understand why they feel that way.

I would trust the advice of many on this site, yourself included, over what some dealer told me ... but I'll still verify any advice (thank you Ronnie Reagan).

Baer383 as such a veteran of this forum as you are (some may say by the number of posts) I just wanted you to know I will be keeping the fuse. Thanks for the advise...

Don't forget that I was one of the guys that discovered this,do as you wish but if it happens I will say I told you so.

Have spent half my morning reading up on this ridiculous problem as my steering lock failed this weekend. Totally didn't know this was an issue until I sat in the grocery parking lot with melting ice cream waiting to get picked up because my lock had failed.

At any rate, I want to order the harness and go that route. I take it it isn't too late to order it? It seems to have the fewest downsides of any of the solutions.

My question is, what are the other possible methods we might have of getting the lock to disengage one last time? Just gotta get it undone once...

Try hitting it with a hammer as you try to start it some guys have had success with that.

It doesn't have to be a big hammer. The side of your fist or the toe of your shoe/boot may be enough to free it up.

If you do not have the harness when you free the lock, I highly recommend that you pull the fuse until you can install it.

If you do get the lock to free up, do NOT touch the start button (leave everything on) until you install the harness (or temporarily pull the fuse).

Harness installation is very easy and pulling the fuse is not hard to do, so you shouldn't need much luck, but here's some anyway:
Good luck.

I'm thinking about just getting it towed home (AAA FTW) and letting it hangout there until the harness arrives. It is currently at the dealership. Even if I can't get it disengaged, the replacement process for the whole mechanism doesn't sound that hard and the dealer wants $1200 for it.

Also, when we first spoke this morning, the story was - "well, this is pretty rare" and when I told him I would be looking into alternatives - "we've faced this issue several times recently and". I'm beginning to think the service department is more interested in making money than providing good service...

Thanks for the luck. I ran white hot this weekend on my NFL bets, so I'm hoping I have some left!

Sounds like you have everything under control . :) If you would like to read more about SLU problems/fixes, I've started a thread with links to the threads/posts I've found on this site. Links to posts about Steering Wheel Lock

If you don't trust your dealer, find one you do. Your warranty is with Nissan, so it doesn't matter which dealer you go to for warranty work. I fired the dealer I bought my 370Z from.

Nice conglomeration of information. Thanks for that.

I trust this dealer some. Not with my life, but they are literally across the street from where I work, so as long as I keep them on a short leash and stay informed, the convenience is pretty unbeatable. Unfortunately, I'm over my warranty by about 1,200 miles...

Ok, I went by the dealership, got access to the car and banged on the SLU (Rev B, btw) a few times and got nothing. Ugh.

I'm going to have it towed back to my house because they want $1,200 to install the part. I see everyone saying the part should be close to $500 but everywhere I look it is closer to $600. Is this correct? Link please, if not.

Finally, I am competent with tools, but not very experienced. On a 10 scale, how difficult is it to install the new part? The DIY looks easy to follow, but is it easy to execute?

On a scale from 1-10 with 10 being the hardest this is a 2

I haven't done the job myself, but going by reports by others who have, it's a very simple job. Apparently the bolts that hold the SLU aren't all that tight. It looks like having the proper, curved, thin-jawed pliers is the "trick". If you've ever replaced a sensor (or a spark plug, or a radiator hose, or ...) on a car, it should be a breeze.

Ok, great. I'm pretty sure I can do this swap.

Now, about acquiring the part... Other than courtesy, where are people getting these things for $500?

Only thing I know to tell you is search through the SLU threads - I don't think anyone has compiled a list. If you compile a list of SLU vendors, please post the list and be sure to add a link to it here --> Links to posts about Steering Wheel Lock. You can also use that thread for your search.