Steering Column Lock

[MKOTZE]

Hello Everybody, I am in the process of collecting ALL the information that you are asking about. I will get back to you in a day or two with the information. Hang in there! :chevy: MKOTZE

[MKOTZE]

Well Okay Everybody, Here we go with the information I have found so far. First of all in 69-96 all corvettes had a mechanical steering wheel lock. A mechanical plunger would engage a slotted wheel when the ignition was turned off and the key removed, this would lock the wheel from turning. Ever since 97 they moved the ignition switch to the dash board. However, they still wanted to be able to lock the steering wheel when the ignition was turned off and the key removed. In order to do this, they use an electrical and mechanical lock mechanism. They still use the mechanical plunger and slotted wheel. The only difference now is that the plunger is controlled by an electrical motor which is commanded by the body control module. The problem that they've been having is that the actual lock mechanism has been intermittently not working. The most common situation is that it stays in the locked position and will not unlock. Although, it would be unusual for it to lock while driving there have been some reports of this happening. It would most likely have to be a fault in the body control module for this to happen. As it needs both power and ground to activate the lock mechanism. GM does have a campaign,#01044A, dealing with this issue. However, it is only in effect through July 1,2003 and only covers the late built 98's, all 99's,and early 2000's. To find out if your vehicle is covered contact a dealer with your VIN # and they will be able to tell you if you are eligible. There is no fee for this correction. There is also a service bulletin,#01-02-35-008,that deals with this same issue and covers all the vehicles,97through 2000, that are not covered by the campaign. However, this bulletin is not cost free. There are two different procedures for addressing the problem,one is for the automatic and the other is for the manual transmissions. I will start with the procedure for the manual trans. The main thing that they do is to replace the mechanical lock mechanism with a more reliable unit. Then they add an additional relay to the circuit to improve the electrical circuit for the computer. With the manual system you still will have a functioning column lock. Now I will do the automatic trans system. Instead of replacing the mechanical lock mechanism you will remove the slotted wheel and replace it with a small wheel that cannot come in contact with the plunger. They will also add a special relay that will give the correct feed back to the computer that it will think that the lock mechanism is working as designed. When in actuality the special relay is giving false info because the lock mechanism is not moving. With the repair for the automatic you will no longer have a locking steering wheel. All automatics from the factory 2001-2003 do not have a locking mechanism. If you have a manual tranmission even with the repair you will still have a locking mechanism, which could still have a problem. Although I have not done this I am fairly confident that you would be able to use the same repair procedure for the automatic trans on your manual trans equipped vehicle, due to the fact that the system does not depend on the type of transmission because they use the same lock assembly. This would then eliminate any problem with the lock mechanism. I feel the reason they only suggest doing the procedure on the automatic is because it still has one extra theft deterrent system that the manual trans does not. It is a shift interlock,which means you would have to have your foot on the brake and the key in the on position to move the shifter out of park. If you choose to buy the kit for the automatic trans it is available under part #88952427 priced at #114.04 list or at GMPARTSDIRECT.COM priced at $65.00. There is an aftermarket kit available which is very similiar to the special relay. However, it does not include a smaller slotted wheel. I have no personal experience with this system. So unfortunately I cannot recommend one way or the other. I hope this was helpfull.:chevy: MKOTZE

[HT99+63]

Thanks Mike for such a thorough explanation. I'll take it into the dealer and have them take care of it. I also talked to some other mechanics and one of my friends told me (I won't mention the site), that some forums try to hype everyone up so they'll buy their sponsors kit. Sounds logical to me. When I first read it, it did alarm me a bit, but it when you think about it, if they were really locking up while driving, the news media would be making a big deal over it.

Thanks again for you time. I can see that a lot of thought went into your answer.:wave: :chevy:

[butler]

Thanks. So are you saying that GM has it's own bypass kit for an automatic? I rather go with GM's then an aftermarket. Thanks again Mike. Great explanation.:wave:

[patrick]

The news media would be making a big deal over it. Your right about that one. HT99+63
:nod:

[Y2KFRC]

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[MKOTZE]

Originally posted by butler
Thanks. So are you saying that GM has it's own bypass kit for an automatic? I rather go with GM's then an aftermarket. Thanks again Mike. Great explanation.:wave: Hello Butler, Yes GM's kit for the automatic is a bypass kit. I did put the GM part #'s for the automatic in the previous answer.Good luck. :chevy: MKOTZE