DIY: Replace dreaded steering-lock on 2009s and early 2010s.

jbenington86

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?

Thechidz

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

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jbenington86

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.

kenchan

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!

jbenington86

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.

kenchan

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.

kevr6

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!

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kenchan

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.

jbenington86

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.

kenchan

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.

wheee!

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....

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jbenington86

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

sucasa

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.

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happytheman

Ummmmmm.

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"?

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--Brantly--

ZCarMan

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!

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Jon