That might work when it's outside of warranty. Who knows what it cost. Then you can write up DIY thread.

+1 for Passport.. Bought my car here this past month and plan to get it serviced here as well.

I had bought extended warranty and with that comes 24/7 roadside assistance and I just used that.

I dont know, I have mixed feelings about them. Some of the guys are cool but others just talk out of their a$$. They wouldnt do my oil change because the guy said only Nissan Ester goes in. I just shook my head and said thats not true and left because i didnt want to waste time arguing with the guy haha :shakes head: .

Yes, same issue happened to me last week. Ignition would not even progress to accessory. Only thing it would do is flash that "Key" warning light. Owners manual states car "may be impossible to start."

It happened to me late at night, not at home. Next day I had to flatbed it to dealership.

Apparently they don't make a habit of stocking the "steering wheel lock unit."

Five days later I got my car back. My dealership does not do loaners. Nissan's rental coverage is limited, I opted against it.

It happened without warning. It could happen to you anytime you stop the car. The unit failed without locking the steering. The dealership could not tell me if the new part was the same or different than the one it replaced. My hope is they know why it failed and fixed the issues with the lock unit.

It was a real pain in the ***. If they are going to replace something that works fine - like a real key - then don't replace it with a flaky system that leaves the car susceptible to a single point of failure like a steering wheel lock unit!

Corvette's have a huge problem with this as well. Chevy has yet to come up with a 100% solution, but the after market created a solution called the steering lock bypass (or CLB). If there was a way to completely disable the steering lock I'd be down for that.

CLB sounds like a great idea. in for group-buy. :D

Subscribed as I'm getting an after market alarm installed soon, and if I run into this issue I'm guessing the warranty will be void because of the alarm install?

How so? Dealerships' add their own aftermarket alarms too. It seems this lock-up is becoming an issue that Nissan needs to address and fix. If the part(s) that fails is Nissan's they would not be able to void your warranty for an aftermarket alarm. I think what owners' need to really worry about is the out-of-warranty costs of fixing this system as this will likely prove quite expensive:

1. towing charges
2. diagnostics charges
3. part(s) charges
4. removal and installation charges

Something to consider as a prospective buyer of both a new or used 370Z.

so how does this steering lock interact with the immobilizer? almost sounds like the lock fails resulting in an open circuit (solenoid burnt out). if there is some resistance while bypassing this lock the immobilizer 'thinks' the lock is operating? bypassing this circuit would be like a SRS trick resistor?

no idea :confused:

This issue really sucks. Fine they replace the steering lock unit but I assume the replacement will eventually fail again too.

I think the 09 owners should check this out before it happens.
My whole day was ruined waiting for the tow company that was 1 hour late. ETA was 50 minutes...

i had no idea that there were so many people with this problem. sucks :shakes head:

This would be great.

With the Viper alarms etc., don't you need an 'immobilizer'... (I'm not too well versed but have the exact model numbers, but I'm sure you guys are familiar), don't these relate to the things that are going bad here?