DIY - Steering lock internals workaround for those whose locks have already failed.

earlynerd

Thanks for the guide, I just ran into the steering lock issue last week and this helped me get my car running again. I was able to start the car after whacking the lock with a mallet and then pull the fuse, but the problem came back after a day since the bolt was barely pressing the switches. I did mine a little different, I ended up actually desoldering the switches from the board entirely and replacing them with wire jumpers. I also removed the motor connector from the board, so that I could reinstall the motor to help lock the mechanism in place while still preventing the motor from ever moving. Now there is zero possibility of the lock mechanism somehow working its way off the switches and causing the problem again.

scoot21613

Last night when I went to get into my car, I pressed the start button and it wouldn't even go to acc or on let alone actually try to start. The key symbol on the dash was intermittently on. My steering wheel was free to turn. High beams seemed full strength and when I put the key into the slot the start button lit up and when I opened the door with the key in, it would chime so I figured the key was good.

I found all this info on here about the problem but was discouraged because it seemed most people were getting the car to go to acc or their steering wheel was locked.

Since my steering wheel was unlocked, the first thing I tried was to just remove the fuse. This did not work because that only keeps the lock from engaging or disengaging, but does not affect the sensors that could be saying the lock was still engaged. The car would still not go into acc.

Then I found this thread. I tried to smash the steering wheel lock unit with a hammer. I really hit it repeatedly. Still wouldn't go into acc. I about gave up but was still stuck in a parking garage and had to drive the car later that day. I also figured even if this wasn't the problem, I was just going to pull the fuse anyway once I got the car fixed, so I may as well try to take the lock unit apart.

I was able to drill into the unit in the 8 places shown in the pictures and then pry the sides open a little with a flat head screwdriver. It took a little time, but I didn't need a dremel and the locking unit still looks fine. I took the unit apart and tested the switches for connectivity with a volt meter. One switch was functioning properly, but the other was not connecting the two leads closest to the other switch when depressed. That made me a lot more confident that this could fix it all. I removed both switches with a soldering iron and soldered a wire connecting the two terminals that were supposed to be connected when the switch was engaged. They were the 2 closer to the other switch, on both switches. Like this:
0 0--0 0--0 0

I put the unit back together and amazingly it worked when I connected it in the car and pressed the start button. I then immediately removed the fuse so that it would never attempt to lock my steering wheel again.

Thank you so much to whoever wrote this guide. You saved me a ton of money and enabled me to go on a trip this weekend. The other guides had nothing about how to resolve it when it was already broken so you really saved me.