Ok, so after digging through this forum, I got the car home without a tow. After tons of tapping and banging on stuff, I climbed down in the floor, pulled the "security" bolts with bent needle nose pliers, pushed the plunger all the way in with a screwdriver, saw the "BRAKE" message on the display come on and noticed the "Key" warning was off. Hit the starter, and it cranked up. I unplugged the lock, tossed it in the passenger floor (after wiping 2 lbs of yellow grease off of everything) and drove it home.

When I got home, I put the mechanism in my vice and used a small bolt and c-clamp to hold the lock plunger all the way down. I drilled holes through the case just across the face of the depressed plunger and put in a roll pin... ok... I screwed in a screw, broke off the heads, filed it flat and epoxied it in place. I also pulled the fuse. Car starts fine. Did I fix it correctly? NO. Does it crank and run until I can get another? YES. Am I actually going to get another??? I dunno. Maybe after all you suckers use up all the old ones and we are on revision Q I might.

That said, before you assume all is lost because it died before you clipped the brown wire, pulled the fuse, etc, push the lock all the way into its housing and see if you can get the car running. I've seen too much damage caused by wrecker drivers to let them pull on one of my cars. Besides... you might be able to get it home quickly and more easily if you have access to the pliers. Man... those bolts aren't really secure.

Thanks to everybody here for all the information. I would post pictures... but my GS3 doesn't seem to like my Linux Ubuntu pc.

Your answer to the second question means your answer to the first question is wrong. ;)

Glad to hear it turned out well. :tup:

Attachment 60767

Well I thought they fixed it in December, looks like i was wrong. Car died on me at the grocery store yesterday.


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This happend to me about 2 months ago! After not driving the car for 2 weeks, decided to take it out, fill her up and when I went to start it...Nothing! Sad day for me, it was the solenoid as well, and luckily under warranty...took about 10 days to get the car back as it happend saturday night, and part on back-order.

Just happened to me. Stuck at the super market right now waiting for a tow. Great Saturday night. I hope this can be fixed easily. Tried disconnecting battery for 2 minutes and pumping the break. No luck. Key Light on. Window down. Steering wheel not locked but can't shift into neutral either. FML.

Looks like needle noise pliers should be standard in the tool kit. You can probably get it running in minutes by pulling the bolts and pushing the plunger all the way in inside the solenoid. It worked for me, at least. No new lock. Car still starts.

So is it better to buy the harness or just pull the fuse? Any issue with pulling the fuse? I assume you must have the car in ACC or ON so the solenoid plunger has pulled back, than just pull it? No CEL afterwords or anything? I want to do one or the other soon, I have an 09 and don't want to take chances.

Yes. :)
The harness is an easier job, but pulling the fuse is free. Cutting the brown wire is easy and free, but much more difficult to restore if that ever becomes necessary.

None have been reported with any of the three methods.

That's all there is to it. No runs, no drips, no error codes.

Godspeed.

Dealer replaced the steering wheel lock with a revision D version and everything seems better... except: Now when the Climate Control is on auto mode it's blow hot air at full blast no matter what i set it to. If i set it to 60 it blows lukewarm air. But always at full fan speed. It never used to do that. Any ideas?

Just happened to me today when I was trying to leave for class. Waited over an hour for the tow truck and ended up missing my god damn exam. Almost didn't make it up on the flat bed.
EDIT: Nissan just called today and told me the steering lock control unit shorted out and its going to cost me $1167 to replace it.

These stories break my heart. :(
TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO PULL THE FUSE !!!!

There has got to be a way to be more proactive about this. Can we post a warning on the homepage of the forum somehow.....

Add my 2010 to the list. Had to get it towed from McDonalds back to the dealership. When I called the dealer, they seemed to be very familiar with this issue.

Update: I reported it to NissanUSA and was contacted within about an hour. They essentially gave me the same story as other folks, they are very sorry that this happened to me and they will see if they can do a "good will" reimbursement, which I think others reported as being around $200.

Now, I'm an attorney here in Knoxville, Tennessee and their corporate headquarters is apparently in Nashville, TN or at least customer service. There are a number of threads dealing with this issue and I am aware of both stickies, one of which has some Vin numbers, but not all of them. I was thinking that if we could get together a list of all the VIN's for cars that we are aware of that have experienced this problem, it could possibly cause some movement towards accepting responsibility and a voluntary recall/service.

Did anything ever come of people sending letters/emails to media about the issue?

Sad to see more pop up, don't forget to report your issue to the NHTSA.

Add me to the list...tonight I walked up to the passenger side of my car (2010 370z convertible) and pressed the key fob to unlock the car, both doors, got in, my husband got in drivers side and started the car...he said, "that's weird, there's a key light on over here...i looked at it and had never seen it before, but the car started and we drove home. I googled "key system light indicators" on the ride home and found this forum...started reading and was soooo thankful the car had started and we had made it home.

Once home and after reading pages of these posts i went back into the garage, opened the drivers side door and noticed the "key light" was still on, so i go in, pressed the brake, and pressed the start button and the car started...I shut it off, the light was still on, I got out and shut the drivers side door and the "key light" went off.

My plan at this point is to try to start the car in the morning and drive it straight to the dealership where i bought it and tell them to replace my IPDM and or lock solenoid before i get stuck out on the road and resort to calling a flatbed!!!

Can't believe I'm having this issue with a 2010 vehicle with less than 40k miles ...Rediculous...NISSAN if YOU ARE LISTENING...THIS Should be a RECALL!!! Thank you forum post'ers for all the information...I'm sure it will save me a lot of getting "the run around" from the dealer when i take it in tomorrow...(if it starts...here's hoping!)

Don't panic yet. It may be a low fob battery. Depends on which "key light" you're seeing.
How to tell if your SLU has failed

I haven't seen many IPDM failures reported. The fuse for the SLU motor is in the IPDM and you have to remove some engine compartment panels to get to it.

Just an Update: Nissan USA is reimbursing me for 1/2 of the cost of my repair. They also told me that if and there is a later recall I will still be eligible for reimbursement. From my conversation, I got the feeling that at least the rep I talked to thought a recall was a good possibility, so take that for what it's worth.

Dealership kept my car and ordered new lock solenoid and put me in a rental...they did not replace the IPDM so I'm wondering it others had the lock solenoid component replaced and then everything worked or did the issue continue until the IPDM was replaced? I think they are just fixing the smallest parts first since it's all warranty work and on their dime!

http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-w...ml#post2188215

I can't guarantee that you don't have an IPDM problem, but it doesn't appear to have any connection with SLU failure (other than that's where the fuse is located).

Here is the complaint I sent to Nissan resulting in a partial reimbursement (just over $500) after my Z had the failure at 48,000 miles. I also did not have to sign any type of release and am still eligible for reimbursement/repair, etc. if there ever is a recall. Note: My letter just included the links as text, aka "http://www.the370z.com. . . " the website puts them in hyperlinks in the post.

Dear sir or madam:

My name is _______________. I am the owner of a 2010 Nissan 370z with approximately 45,000 miles. This weekend I experienced a catastrophic failure with my vehicle. My car refused to start and the key light was illuminated. I had to have the car towed to my local dealer, ____________ Nissan in _____________, Tennessee.

When I called and spoke to a customer service representative from ___________ Nissan service department, I was informed that my vehicle was the second that weekend to be brought in with the same problem, what turned out to be a faulty steering lock mechanism. I was told that their service department was aware of the problem and that while no recall had been initiated “yet,” I should contact Nissan-USA customer support to request coverage for the repair. I though it strange that they said there was “no recall yet” which suggests a recall in the future is at least anticipated by the service department.

Upon doing some research, I discovered that this is a well documented and continuing problem. It is my understanding the problem affects 2009-2010 Nissan 370z as well as some models of the Altima and GTR. I believe that a voluntary recall may have even been issued for the GTR’s. It is my understanding that since late 2011 or early 2012, Nissan no longer put this part into new vehicle. I am also aware that a number of other 370z owners have contacted Nissan and put them on notice of this issue. Some of the stories of 370z owners discussing the issue on the community website “www.The370z.com” are below.

http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-w...ing-light.html

http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...ml#post1463523

http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...-dead-jim.html

http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...k-failure.html

http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...sarcastic.html

I am formally requested that Nissan-USA cover or reimburse me for the costs of the repair of this defective part as well as to provide a rental vehicle or reimburse me for the cost of a rental vehicle during repairs. I am awaiting a call back this afternoon from my local dealer. They will let me know the total cost of the repair as well as the availability of the replacement part. Apparently, the part has been on backorder for some time due to the number of defective and/or failed units exceeding the manufacturer’s ability to produce new units.

I would ask that someone please contact me as soon as possible regarding this problem at ___________. Thank you.

Keep their $500 and pull the fuse


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Yeah, they just gave you $500?!?!?!

Fück'em :iagree: love tap that bitch to make it come free, then pull the fuse out and drive to Nissan's headquarters, flick them off as you drive away laughing hysterically pouring gasoline out of your car and smoking a cigarette. And at the last second chuck the cigarette onto the gasoline trail, and watch the building burn!
On second thought... A cigarette won't ignite gasoline... So do the first bit, then call Nissan and tell them what you did and thank them for paying a monthly payment

I got a case filed with customer relations a few weeks ago since i got the letter from nissan about the steering lock system recall regarding my vin. Im getting 1500 back!! It took a while but I got the call today confirming the check for my reimbursement is in the mail. Im so happpyyy!!

Recalled!!
 

I already posted once on this thread when I had to get my car towed for the solenoid issue about a year and a half ago. I've had many other issues from transmissions to slave master cylinders going bad but this was the most mad I've ever been at my Z... But I just opened a letter I got from Nissan this week and it turns out they FINALLY did something about it. They're issuing a recall for the solenoid. And since I've already had mine replaced and paid out for pocket for it I called the number on the letter (some Nissan service number) and told them about it. Then all I had to do was go over my Nissan dealership and have them fax Nissan my service records and BOOM! $1048.21 check in the mail from Nissan is on its as we speak!! Finally justice is served. Better late than never right

so now I've got the key warning light on my 09 track car... of course my steering lock sensor is long gone, so assuming I must have fried the BCM??? thoughts?

Today was my turn. 49,500 miles on my 2009... Today when I started the car, I pushed the start button and I noticed that for some reason it didn't immediately start, it waited a half second or so and then cranked. When I got to my destination, just before I shut off the car I noticed the key light was illuminated. Having heard of the nightmares, I left my engine running for 30 min while I took care of business. I then drove home and pulled the steering lock fuse out with it still in unlocked position. I hope the key light isn't always on now, guess ill find out when I go out tonight.

I would think you would be covered by the recall. My '09 was.

mine was covered as well

There's a recall now, just go to the dealer and get it fixed. Takes about an hour to replace the unit if it is the problem and they have it in stock.

I will call them or stop by, cause now the key light is stuck on. If they replace it for me should I take the fuse back out again or will it not just happen again?

hey guys, so a few weeks ago i was having the same issue. i'd get in press clutch it wouldn't start, it simply go to lock. i went to nissan for that recall replacement. drop it off, came back and the tech said issue was fixed, i jumped in and tried it out, at first it seemed like nothing had changed, it didnt start right up. then the tech jumped in and sure enough it worked just fine for him, i tried it again and it appeared to be back to normal. past few days, it starts up at the first touch of the button but then theres times when it still goes to lock and i have to try 2-3 times. when i first got the car less than a year ago, the start was so smooth, i'd hit clutch and slight touch of button and car would start right up, i'm want to fix this issue. any suggestions???

So I had my lock module replaced (on my dime) in early '02. Got the recall notice earliy this year, and I just had the work done two weeks ago. Faxed everything in and I'm waiting on the check.

The replaced part was an 'A' or 'B' (don't know which), and a 'C' was put in its place originally. To get the refund, I had to take it back into the dealer to make sure the updated part is in there... no, so they put a 'D' in and I'm on my way again.

I'd love to be reimbursed for the multiple days of trouble, but that's life.

Check received this past weekend... good turnaround time on Nissan Corp's part. Roughly two weeks.

Can you please post the recall notice?

I'd like to take it to them to be reimbursed for the work..

Thanks!

this happened to me today. towed to dealer. :( :shakes head: :mad:

Me too, buddy. Literally yesterday.

This just happened to me right now. Sigh. I remember asking my dealer about this recall and he said he would look at it when he did my oil change awhile ago. I called nissan about this and he said there wasn't any recall that he know of. Stupid steering lock!!

Pull the fuse people!!!! End of discussion.

2010Z
Intelligent Key light flashes: Not the end of discussion for me. I pulled the fuse. Still no start. Engine cranks but wont start. All other accessories seem ok.

Update: Found it to be nothing more than low battery in Key!

I was miles from home (or any store that might have a battery, of course), so I tried everything I could think of as I was stranded out in the middle of nowhere Colorado. The posts and blogs that
I read really led me down the wrong road, making me think I had some module failure or problem. Well, after having the wife come out and rescue me with my truck and a nice long tow rope, we began the long trek back home on the back roads toward home. About halfway home I remembered about the spare key I had the wife bring (along with various tools). So, just for the helluvit, I got the key from wifey and voila! Car started right up like magic. I was both pizzed and relieved at the same time. A low battery in this electronic key was the last thing I suspected, as it was still locking/unlocking the doors from a 100 ft away and allowing the engine to crank. Only that pesky little Intelligent Key red warning light was flashing. All I can imagine is that it requires a little more battery voltage to enable the engine to actually start. Different transmitter circuit in the Key? Heck if I know. I only wish the owner's manual had been a little more helpful and suggested that it could be a low battery condition in the key. What a fiasco!

Also: according to user's manual, there should have been a key low battery indicator warning light which I did not have. So, I have to assume there's some sort of bug in the software or hardware of my Intelligent Key system.

You have to pull the fuse before you have the issue arise, not after the fact. However, if you are saying the engine is cranking, then that's likely a different issue. The intelligent key issue is when you push the start button, and nothing happens.

Anyone know if they will replace it before it fails (still working)?