Hey guys here is a situation I needed some guidance on... I've got a 1998 with 105k miles on it. Just this weekend, I got the dreaded 'service column lock' message. I have only had the car for about 1k miles, and after seeing the message I came on the forum and found this thread. First off, I assumed it was the recall problem. I was shocked as to how the car made it 105k miles and then of course after me having it for three months, it happens. Murphy's law at its best eh... Everything matched up with what the stickey said. I had a weak battery, I had just jumped it, shut it off, got back in and I saw the first message 'pull key and wait 10 seconds' then the service column message. Anyways I called the dealer to ask if the recall had ever been done. Sure enough, it was missed. So, I towed it into the dealership and they were going to take care of it. It was there for a day and the dealership called me and said 'Well, we did the recall, but that wasn't the problem...' They said that the steering column lock mechanism had failed, and it wasn't due to the recall issue. I have been working with this service guy for quite some time, so I don't think he would yank me - but I wanted to run it by you guys first. Is this a legitimate repair? What part would actually malfunction? He said since they were already in there doing the recall, they can cut me a break on labor but I am still looking at about a $375 bill... Thoughts?

 

My thoughts would be &*(%&%$#$%&*()(*&*.

I had my 98 mn6 w/ 85K did a very similar last Friday, however mine did unlock and hasn't given me any problems this week. I will be taking it in to do the recall this Friday. I wonder if they had called before the replacement and you would say just leave the damn thing out what would they be obligated to do. A lot of folks here says get the column lock bypass.

Well you got to look at the bright side. You now have a new ECL that should last another 100K miles.

 

Get the CLB. Even new parts can screw up. I know because it happened to me. Jimmy

 

Based on the service history records, my C5 had the service recall done twice for the column lock issue. Within the first two weeks, I had the service column lock message, and did the remove key, jerk the wheel fix and immediatley ordered and installed a CLB..... from Corvettes of Houston (it is a Mid America Motorsports unit)

 

Until the CLB comes you can always "break it loose" by turning the ignition to on then grab the wheel and violently turn it left and right until the column becomes unlocked.

This has worked on several cars and worked every time. One friend was in line to autocross when it happened, called me at home and broke it free and did not even miss his run.