370 Steering Lock

[Dicky]

My daughters 2010 370 failed to start after filling up at a service station. The RAC guy traced the problem to a steering lock issue. He suggested that when she stopped the lock should have engaged but didn’t since he was able to turn the wheel. After lots a fuse checking, tapping things and other more technical tests he felt that the lock must have tried to engage but didn’t and so the controlling computer wouldn’t have got a signal back saying the steering wheel was locked and therefore through its dummy out the Pram. Car removed to main dealer and now awaiting big bill. “UNLESS SOMEONE KNOWS BETTER” ? 

 

Because I noticed in previous 2013 posts there was a Steering Lock issue which Nissan fixed for free. Anyone know if this is still available?

Hope someone can shed more light on this issue for me!

 

[Ebized]

Info here:

 

If the car is at a Nissan dealer doubt they will do the work arounds that some have done successfully (see later pages) or get to a point where the fuse can be pulled.  More likely they will want to do the Nissan fix and charge silly money and if that is what you decide to do and knowing replacement locks have failed you really ought to consider the fuse removal afterwards to avoid a repeat failure.

 

Chances of getting it done as a goodwill gesture or giving you a contribution seems to be  unlikely nowadays, sadly.

[Dicky]

Thanks for the reply. I did come across the Will370z post and hoped the recall might still be available. I also read about the fuse removal which sounds like a plan but I suppose I’ll have to see what the dealership have to say tomorrow.

The car went in late Friday so I doubt if much has been done yet. 

I was wondering if the fuse removal ould work now but I think it may not until the lock is sorted so that the BCM knows what state everything is in before it will let the car be started.

 

[Dicky]

Just been on to the garage, looks like the lock is the fault and possible the BCM.The want to Fit the lock first then if it still isn’t right then fit a BCM modular. 

Cost for the Lock only £1583.76, if BCM required then total is extra £ 528.80.

 

Hang on a mo I’m feeling a bit faint!!

 

Anyone help with this ? ie cheaper locks or BCM ?

If I have to pay full price then the Fuse pull mod is the first thing I’m going to do, sod any insurance worries

[Ponsonby]

4 minutes ago, Dicky said:

Just been on to the garage, looks like the lock is the fault and possible the BCM.The want to Fit the lock first then if it still isn’t right then fit a BCM modular. 

Cost for the Lock only £1583.76, if BCM required then total is extra £ 528.80.

 

Hang on a mo I’m feeling a bit faint!!

 

Anyone help with this ? ie cheaper locks or BCM ?

If I have to pay full price then the Fuse pull mod is the first thing I’m going to do, sod any insurance worries

So £2K to get it to work - then pull the fuse so it doesn't work. I'd be feeling faint too.

I hope someone has a work around for you, that cost is just insane.

[Wayne370Z]

Was it one of the one`s subject to the recall and, if so, was it done under the recall and, if not, shouldn`t they just do it now?

[Dicky]

No, apparently there haven’t been any recalls nor TSB in the UK or Europe only in the states.

The service manager, whom I trust, checked the car history ref recalls and anything that may have needed doing has been attended to. But steering lock not mentioned.

 

Defo a fuse pull job when it fixed.

 

There doesn’t appear to be any suitable alternative to the garage cost. It would take a fair time to buy second hand items, if available and then you couldn’t be sure they would work separately or together and the labour cost would increase if they had to first install then remove again.

Also the lock and or BCM have to be installed before the cars computers will allow the engine to be started. So pulling the fuse now doesn’t help.

 

I’m just going to have to SUCK IT UP.......Buggar...any body need their lawns or hedges cut...cheap rates..ha ha

 

[Sim]

5 minutes ago, Dicky said:

No, apparently there haven’t been any recalls nor TSB in the UK or Europe only in the states.

The service manager, whom I trust, checked the car history ref recalls and anything that may have needed doing has been attended to. But steering lock not mentioned.

 

Defo a fuse pull job when it fixed.

 

There doesn’t appear to be any suitable alternative to the garage cost. It would take a fair time to buy second hand items, if available and then you couldn’t be sure they would work separately or together and the labour cost would increase if they had to first install then remove again.

Also the lock and or BCM have to be installed before the cars computers will allow the engine to be started. So pulling the fuse now doesn’t help.

 

I’m just going to have to SUCK IT UP.......Buggar...any body need their lawns or hedges cut...cheap rates..ha ha

 

My 370z was subject to a steering lock recall through Nissan UK, it's a 2009.

[Silverthorn]

£2k  Surely there has to be a cheaper way around the problem than that!

[coldel]

I am flabbergasted at how Nissan can release a car with a serious design flaw and then just shrug their shoulders at it. The fact that people have to pull fuses to prevent two thousand pounds worth of repairs, the mind boggles. 

[Wayne370Z]

It seems to have been a garages/Nissan`s first response to lots of  people that have had the problem on here and elsewhere. - deny any knowledge of a recall/steering lock issue with the 370.  Then when people have pushed it and they have been forced to dig deeper magically find that there has been such. You should be able to find lots of info about it on here and the net, also try speaking with Nissan direct. If it`s one of the one`s effected (goes of the VIN if I remember correctly) it shouldn`t cost you a penny.

[Cloudy]

52 minutes ago, Dicky said:

No, apparently there haven’t been any recalls nor TSB in the UK or Europe only in the states.

The service manager, whom I trust, checked the car history ref recalls and anything that may have needed doing has been attended to. But steering lock not mentioned.

 

Defo a fuse pull job when it fixed.

 

There doesn’t appear to be any suitable alternative to the garage cost. It would take a fair time to buy second hand items, if available and then you couldn’t be sure they would work separately or together and the labour cost would increase if they had to first install then remove again.

Also the lock and or BCM have to be installed before the cars computers will allow the engine to be started. So pulling the fuse now doesn’t help.

 

I’m just going to have to SUCK IT UP.......Buggar...any body need their lawns or hedges cut...cheap rates..ha ha

 

Your dealership will not know anything about the recall that was done unless they have been there for a considerable time. You will need to contact Nissan Customer Services so you can raise a case. In the first instance though the person from customer services will check for recalls and confirm there weren't any for the steering lock module. You need to ask to speak to a customer service manager where even they will deny all knowledge and state they will look into.  

 

I had the steering lock fail on my 2011 370z, after two weeks of discussions with a case manager (where I was accused of trying to pull a fast one) my module was replaced for free by Nissan. This was last summer.  

Edited November 26, 2018 by Cloudy

[Wayne370Z]

 

This is one of the documents relating to it that I saved a while ago and I`m pretty sure someone posted a list of VIN numbers of vehicles affected.

370z steeringlock issue.pdf

[Wayne370Z]

Copied from another owners club site;

 

On 4th January 2012 ********* started a dialogue with Nissan UK regarding steering lock failures on early 370Z and GT-R cars.  Since that time there has been a lot of communications going back and forth.  The Committee were delighted when we were informed that Nissan would be replacing all affected locks free of charge, prior to failure.

 

Whilst we wanted to keep you all up to date with progress as it happened, Nissan UK felt that that owners should be officially informed by them before we could release any news.

 

Over the last few weeks a lot of information has already been posted by our Members as things have come to light, but here is all the information in one place with some additional details you will not have heard before.

 

To be precise, Nissan called a Voluntary Service Campaign and not a Recall.  The difference being that a Recall is put in place for safety critical issues, in which case cars would have been urgently recalled into dealers to apply a fix.  As we know, the steering lock fails safe and there is no safety risk - so a VSC was called.  There is no requirement for owners to take their cars into the dealer unless they wish to.

 

On Thursday 28th March 2013 the campaign (ref. P3208) was loaded onto dealer computer systems.  Cars that qualify for the campaign are early 370Z and GT-R models which have steering locks 48700-JF00B and 48700-JF00C.  These would be replaced with the most recent item 48700-JF00D.  From this point, any failed steering locks would be replaced free of charge and any cars going in for a service would automatically have the lock replaced.  

 

In order for Nissan to launch the VSC, a procedure has to be followed.  This includes having more than 40% of the necessary replacement parts in stock and for owners (as identified by the DVLA database) to be informed by letter.  Unfortunately this campaign coincided with industrial action at the DVLA which meant that letters were delayed.

 

Most owners have now received their letter, but not all.  However, you do not need to have the letter in order to have your lock replaced.  Call your dealer and they will check to see if your car is covered by the VSC, then book it in for the work to be done.  You can wait until your next service, but we would advise that you have your lock replaced as soon as is convenient.

 

There is no time limit on the campaign and there is no upper limit on the mileage of the car.  Therefore, if you buy a used 370Z or GT-R you can be reassured that the lock will still be replaced free of charge if it has not already been done.

 

The ************ Committee would like to thank Nissan for launching this campaign which gives current and future 370Z and GT-R owners peace of mind

 

Update: The latest part number for this component is 48700-1NC2A

[Dicky]

5 hours ago, Sim said:

My 370z was subject to a steering lock recall through Nissan UK, it's a 2009.

Hi, can you expand on that a bit more for me please.

i assume you bought your car new in 2009 so how long after did you get the steering lock work done. Was it under warranty at all and do you have any details that might help, typically the garage who did the work. I could call them to get more info on their reason for doin the work

 

[Dicky]

5 hours ago, Wayne370Z said:

 

This is one of the documents relating to it that I saved a while ago and I`m pretty sure someone posted a list of VIN numbers of vehicles affected.

370z steeringlock issue.pdf

Yep I’ve seen that one, but in the top right corner is says North America so I assume it doesn’t count in the UK?

[Sim]

I've attached a copy of my letter (the advantage of having a full service history), this shows the VSC in April 2013 and that the issue was the steering lock.

 

I never had any problem with it but I took it in and had it replaced anyway.

 

Hope this helps anyone in future because £2k is joke for the issue.

 

As per the other post by Wayne370Z, any proper Nissan dealer should be able to see on the system if the steering lock was ever replaced under warranty on your car.

 

Edited November 27, 2018 by Sim

[Davectr]

Good luck getting this resolved Dicky, hope you can get Nissan to sort it for you. 

 

Just a thought, I’ve read on numerous occasions of people who’ve managed to release the lock by gently tapping around the lock area under the steering column, and once it’s released they can then remove the fuse preventing re-occurrence. Obviously there’s no guarantee that this would work, but at approx £2k to fix  it’s got to be worth a bash (no pun intended)

[ZMANALEX]

I had a 370 in the shop yesterday which I recovered from Aberdeen which had the steering lock failure.

 

After a good few minutes gentle tapping with a mallet it would not budge, however after a good few heavy smacks, hey presto the lock disengaged.

 

 Immediately pulled the fuse and all good.

 

 

[Ebized]

1 hour ago, ZMANALEX said:

I had a 370 in the shop yesterday which I recovered from Aberdeen which had the steering lock failure.

 

After a good few minutes gentle tapping with a mallet it would not budge, however after a good few heavy smacks, hey presto the log disengaged.

 

 Immediately pulled the fuse and all good.

 

 

Anyone with the issue should do this first - no brainer!

[Dicky]

On 27/11/2018 at 20:41, ZMANALEX said:

I had a 370 in the shop yesterday which I recovered from Aberdeen which had the steering lock failure.

 

After a good few minutes gentle tapping with a mallet it would not budge, however after a good few heavy smacks, hey presto the lock disengaged.

 

 Immediately pulled the fuse and all good.

 

 

Unfortunately the car was recovered direct to the dealers so didn’t get a chance to try this. I did stumble over a couple of YouTube videos showing this trick but as I said the car was already in the garage.

I can see the benifit of getting the car running again but wouldn’t like to sell the car on with this fault still present, so guess I’ll just take the hit. I will however pull the fuse once the lock is fixed.

 

I can update this thread now that I’ve got more info. 

Through my investigations I discovered that the car had the lock replaced under recall in April 2013 but not sure of its serial number just yet as the garage can’t see it until they remove it.

Oh, and by the way the lock is on back order from Japan an may take 3wks or more to arrive.

 

I suppose most of you recognise the emensity if this Nissan problem. Loads of Nissan cars in the states are experiencing the problem as well as owners are here in the UK and Europe. Even the Qashqai up here in Geordie land. 

I called Nissan Customer Services to lodge my complaint, received a reference number and am now awaiting a call from one of their case handelers.

Not holding out much hope after reading of another 370 owner who had the lock fail and replaced free under recall and for it to fail again 3 yrs later. He contacted Nissan and was told this was fair ware and tear!! Surely a component like this should last the life of the car!

 

If the same happens to me I’m going to insist on a copy of the design statistical data to see what the designers/suppliers believe a fail wear and tear period to be. For Nissan to just pluck  a figure out of the air and call it fair just won’t cut it. They may as well say 1 yr is a fair wear perod.

I did a bit of statistical study many years ago when a maintenance manager for a large company and recall MTTF and MTBF (meant time to fail and mean time between failures) calculations from which the probability of failure and time to failure can be calculated.

If Nissan believe that 3 to 5 yrs is a fair wear tear period then they must be operating at the wrong end (beginning) of the well known “Bath Tub Curve” when you’d expect most failures to occur, before moving into the flat “Useful Life” portion of the curve.

Apologies for the rant. I need a cup of tea now!!

Edited December 1, 2018 by Dicky

[Ebized]

Best info I have found in the past as to the cause is here - see last two lines:

 

On 31/01/2018 at 15:20, Ebized said:

You will find the answers on this thread at posts 37, 127 and 157, as regards those 370 models which were included in the recall and that was for those made up to the end of 2010. See: http://ww2.justanswer.co.uk/uploads/MU/05muranosl/2014-01-30_155727_steeringlock.pdf

 

2013+ 370 models do not have the steering lock fitted, so the 'issue'  should not apply....unless someone knows otherwise.  But it appears some 370's between 2011 and 2013 have also been affected but not covered by the original recall.....Whether a goodwill payments are still being paid, I suspect might be doubtful.

 

For the pre-2013 models the advice to avoid being stuck is remove the appropriate fuse - but make sure you follow the correct procedure. (There is guide somewhere on here)**. I'm sure I recall at least one owner saying their replacement lock had failed!  So doing the fuse trick is the safest way to avoid a very nasty bill and given Nissan decided in 2013 the locks were not necessary and has not affected the Thatcham security (for insurance purposes).

 

EDIT:  Guides here:

 

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IN BLUE IS LIFTED FROM OTHER FORUM POSTS SIMPLY TO HOPEFULLY HELP MEMBERS ON HERE.

 

A picture of the fuse that matters (the fuse box is next to the battery):

 

 

You have to pull the fuse after you get the SLU to let the car go to ON or ACC. If the SLU is not making the microswitches properly, it does no good to pull the fuse.

 

If, like the OP, your lock try wiggle shaking and banging the crap out of it to jar it loose first. Blow a heat gun/hairdryer on it if its cold etc. You only need it to disengage one last time. Some have luck tapping it with a little hard object like a SMALL hammer or screwdriver. My understanding from reading various threads over the pond is that over-lube inside causes failure of some plastic bits and the little gear teeth fail then get hung up. Tapping might get it one last time, then once its unlocked you can pull the fuse and save a lot of money and a wasted day or two.

 

 

[Dicky]

On 01/12/2018 at 14:50, Ebized said:

Best info I have found in the past as to the cause is here - see last two lines:

 

 

Thanks for your input. Ive been thinking over the last two lines and wondered if that doesn’t just apply to 2013 cars. The insurance company may take the view that since the car is a 2010 model, and supplied with the lock it should then be operational at all times?

[nissanman312]

1 hour ago, Dicky said:

Thanks for your input. Ive been thinking over the last two lines and wondered if that doesn’t just apply to 2013 cars. The insurance company may take the view that since the car is a 2010 model, and supplied with the lock it should then be operational at all times?

Drop a disc lock on and replace the fuse with a blown one if you are really worried about it 

 

[Mopedmark]

First mod I have done on mine, remove the fuse, job done