Thanks for the video. I didn't come across that while searching. Will try again tomorrow, thanks!

Hello All,
I benefit greatly from this forum and your contribution and knowledge is GREATLY useful.
My 2010 370Z is locked and I tried eveythin besides cutting the brown wire. I finally had the car towed to the dealer this morning and they want $1,330!!:shakes head: just for the part!!! I live in Irvine, CA and this is Tustin Nissan quoting me this fee. Any help would be HIGHLY appreciated! thanks in advance

should be under recall warranty.

u can buy the lock online for 500.. or just continue banging on it until it unseizes itself.

yes I saw it on ebay for 500...Im having it towed home again tonight so I can work on the fuse again. I dont think I followed the proper sequence. What is "ACC mode"?

Wow that fuse box is not in a good location for roadside servicing! Thanks for the thread, disabling mine now before it strands me.

Hey Guys so here is a delayed update...

I removed the box and drilled the holes over the divets before cutting with a dremel....here is where it gets REAL....had a buddy that was with me who kept telling me to "drill more" (knowing damn well it's always better to drill less than more) so I punch right through the box with the drill. After cutting open with a dremel I see I went right through one the blue buttons...I take the box upstairs and decide to eat dinner and cool down before I perform brain surgery...after an hour of using glue and fabric tape i was able to salvage the button...MIRACLE!!!! So I removed the motor and that top part that releases the rod which was the real issue in my case (sorry dont know what it is called). Put everything back together and voila!!! The yellow "key" light has stayed on but I'm good with that....fast forward 4 weeks and my battery dies! I get in the car this morning and it was done for..called AAA and they jumped it and I drove it for 30mins..when i lock the care with the fob a red light with a wrench symbol begins flashing...I have read some threads on here about it being an early warning to a steering lock failure...well I "fixed" mine and pulled the fuse after this battery situation (for safe measure). I really hope I can fix this or it doesnt happen again, which is unlikely...


On another note...prior to me attempting to fix this on my own I took it to the dealer to be diagnosed so I can make a claim...This is where Nissan began screwing me..they told me "the warranty for this part which was extended" due to its issues ended in April of 2015. Which is funny because my factory warranty ended in August 2015 so it really wasnt an extension for me to begin with...they ran me their corporate loops and I waited a week just to be told the did not approve my claim....complete BS

Does the 2012 370z Nismo have this steering lock issue ? My car won't start sometimes took it to dealer and they say I have a faulty ipdm ?

No ESCL in 2012's.

The dealer is probably going to want to replace the whole IPDM/ER no matter how minor the problem is. It might be cheaper to find someone with some experience working with electricity (the IPDM is fairly simple) to repair it. More info available in the FSM (see link in my sig).

Thanks!! I got mine to run. 2010 20,000 KM #48700-JF00C sitting on the garage over the winter and been starting it every 2-3 weeks. One day it just wouldn't start. I found this post and I tried hitting the box with a rubber mallet several times but it would not work. I called Nissan dealership and Nissan Canada but told me that I have to pay around $1100 to get it fixed. I got the towing company setup and was ready to pay the amount. I tried it one last time but this time I tried hitting the box with a tire iron pretty hard and it started running!

Now my car has been running for the past week. I haven't removed the fuse. Should I still put it on ACC and remove the fuse?

I have also been thinking of writing a letter to Nissan Canada with some links here and try to get mine replaced to Rev D. Another user posted what he wrote to Nissan and got $500 back.

Yes. Most definitely yes.

Thanks
 

I removed the fuse and all is good now!!!

My 2011 Z failed today. My car won't start and the alert is showing. Only, my steering wheel is not locked. I can move the wheel. But car won't start. is the fix the same as described here, to hit the steering wheel lock under the wheel? My car is two miles from home now in a parking lot. Also, what happens if you just pull the fuse? Does that disable the lock and allow the car to start?

It's worth a try to bang on it for a while.

If the ESCL is bad, pulling the fuse at this point will just make things worse. See link in my sig.

Thanks. I didn't even look yet because from all the posts I've read my car doesn't have the electronic steering lock assembly.

My car is also a 2011 model (late 2010 production) and it has the steering lock. It locked up on me but I got it running again by following the procedures posted and removed the fuse. That was 2 years ago. Car has been running strong since.

Thanks Zbrah. I'm going back soon with an assortment of hammers.

Mine did the same think last year it was a 2011. I ended up taking it to the shop because like you mine was not locked but unlocked and stuck in a Walmart parking lot on the night of an ice storm. Pulling the fuse and betting on it didn’t work for me since what broke was a switch in the device that showed it was disengaged. Needless to say it sucked. After having check it out they verified it was the steering wheel lock that failed after having it replaced I was able to get Nissan to pay for the part and half the labor. I the pulled the fuse and have not had any issues since. So I wish u luck with getting it working and if not yell at Nissan to get a free part then pull that fuse. ��

I got it working. A big hammer and lot of patience. Took a while, but not too long. Really helps to have someone in the passenger seat pushing the start button while you are below hammering. I got it started and drove it home. As I was tapping it with the hammer oil was dripping out of the seams. I'm going to pull the fuse and not bother with replacing the unit. When mine stuck it was -2 outside. Maybe the oil was thicker and caused it to stick. It was 30 today when I got it going.

[QUOTE=kcquinn49;3720263... I'm going to pull the fuse and not bother with replacing the unit. ...[/QUOTE]
Pull the fuse ASAP or you'll probably be stranded again.

Question. My car is fine but I want to remove the fuse as a precaution. Its a 2014 model. Nissan dealer says there isn't a TSB for my car but since the car hasn't changed that much I figure I'll take the precaution and remove it..

Since my car is fine at the moment can I just remove the fuse? I don't have to get a hammer or put it in ACC mode right?

I can just do it with the car off correct?

I think they stopped putting the steering lock in for 2011 or 2012 models so you shouldn't have one.

I hope no one has to die before they make this a recall. I routinely take my Z out to places far away from civilization and cell phone signal to have some fun. And sometimes stop to take in the starry night. Could easily have ended up dead in one of these situations if the car didn't start back up.

Went to the gas station last night. Not busy, so I parked next to the door. Normally I park as far away from the door as possible, you know, because ******** like to swing their door open into other people's cars. So now I'm stranded, next to what is a very busy place on Sunday mornings. Made it 7 years with no dings. Oh well, let me go beat tf out of that box and see if I can get it started. Lovely day, pouring down rain and all, for an impromptu work on the car. Hopefully can get it started at least and drive it home into the garage and remove the fuse.

Update: well, I beat tf out of it with as much force as i could muster in the tight space. Still wouldn't switch to ACC mode. Going tomorrow when it stops raining to trying shorting out the pink wire.

Update 2: Got it working today. Stuck a pin into the wiring harness alongside the pink wire, and groumded it to the chassis with a screwdriver. At first it didn't work, but I pushed the pin a little harder and it slid in about another 1/4 inch, then it work perfectly. Touch screwdriver to pin and chassis, and boom, click - unlocked to ACC mode. Then I proceeded remove the fuse.

Thanks for having this forum. Maybe I'll have my cousin write me up an invoice from his shop so I can get Nissan to reimburse me for my parts and labor. I feel like screwing them out of the money they would have screwed me out of for their failing. I bet they didn't even reduce the MSRP when they removed the "$400" part from the build.

So went to leave for work this morning and nothing just that damn key light.

Tapped it a few times and pulled the fuse now it’s perfect! Thanks for the good right up this was a life saver! 👌👌

Mine failed again yesterday, second time. I had success with the tire iron by hitting it rapidly. Hitting it hard didn't do it. So I tapped it real fast and it went to ACC right away. Went home and removed the fuse. Easy to do. Now the key icon is on all the time. Probably telling me I have a bad fuse. So next oil change I need to make sure they don't do me any favors and replace the fuse.

Thanks for this. I recently had this problem and searched the web to help solve this.

I was able to get it back into ACC mode by using a probe for the module and connecting it to ground. I had the car in ACC mode and then took the 10A fuse out.

After that, I put everything back into place and tried to start my car but it was unseccessful. Would the next problem just be that my module is downright malfunctioned and need to replace it?

I am able to start it using the probe but once I have it not connected to ground, it wont start.

Was wondering if this thread can help me out. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

The problem is usually that the locking pin has not retracted far enough to actuate an internal switch*. Link in my sig to more info. If the switch is not the problem then the ESCL may have faulty electronics.

*Edit: It will retract far enough to unlock the wheel but not far enough to hit the switch.

Thanks for the help! I kept trying to start it using a needles and connecting it to ground and I was able to get it working. I then was able to just do the fuse trick and it’s been running so far. I’m not exactly sure what I did thought to make it functional at the moment. I will be looking into your sig!


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I keep reading about cutting the brown wire but can’t seem to find that post or thread. I am the proud owner of a new to me 2010 Z and would like to prevent this happening to me.

Click the link in SouthArk's signature two posts up from yours :twocents:

Got it. Thanks for your help!

I did this today. My lock had not failed but I thought I better get ahead of it.
It’s actually nice not to hear that thing retract when you start the car now!
Thanks For the write up. It made this super easy.

After reading a lot about the dreaded steering wheel lock, I've decided to try the preventative measure of removing the fuse. I've read this thread (as well as others) and I'm glad to say it worked!

So just to summarize:
1. my steering wheel lock always worked fine
2. my car is 2009, all original, with 10k miles, so probably it was just a matter of time when it will seize
3. I put the car in ACC, opened the fuse box and pulled the steering wheel lock fuse out
4. problem solved, wheel lock removed.


....5. I use disklok for added theft security on the car, so I'm really not worried about the steering wheel lock.

Thank you for the free fix!

Mine failed today on my 2011 Nismo with only 16k miles on the odometer. Crazy that this fails so soon. Would have saved me a lot of time if I found this forum before it failed! Still saved me from towing the thing!!

Key light was on the dash and could not advance to ACC. Kept the ground wire jumped until I started the car and then removed the fuse.. Turned the car off and on a few times.. Good to go!!:driving:

Im so confused by this whole thing. My 2011 370z lighted up the key indicator a couple of days ago. Reading through all these suggestions, and as the car still turns on, I went to remove the fuse by the battery. After removing all panels and finally getting to fuse box, I open up and...

Nothing.

There is no fuse where the steering lock fuse is supoosed ro be. I have been the only owner of this car since August of 2011. Is this possible?

If your car still starts and runs fine and the fuse is removed, then you are good to go from that standpoint. Most likely the previous owner removed it. The key indicator can illuminate for reasons other than your steering lock. Could just be your fob battery.

Following up on the question above - are some 370z not equipped with the steering lock system? I find it strange then that Im getting this indicator.

Thanks for the reply! The thing is, Ive been the only owner, straight from the Nissan dealership. But, its nice to know it may just be something else.