hey....
i experienced the problem today that i have been reading about regarding the column lock...i got the column to unlock by turning the wheel hard right as i started the car...my 97 is an automatic....while it got me out of the jam today, i am somewhat worried about the future...is this problem something that should be fixed by chevy as a recall or is this something that my warranty should cover...if it is covered by recall, can any chevy dealer perform the service or do i need to go where i bought the car...can someone point me someplace (no pun intended) that i can find out if my vin is one that is covered...on that note, i have read that the 97 is covered and that the 97 is not covered by the recall...anyone know for sure...i also read that you can remove and replace fuse bcm1 and that will also unlock it...is that the case with the 97...to pull the fuse, do you do this while the car is running or while turned off....
also, is this something that is heat sensitive...i had the problem today and my brother in law had the same problem with his 98 this evening when he was trying to leave tonight...i am in the phila area and it has been very hot here lately and neither of us has experienced this problem before today....
sorry for all of the questions but this is really burning me up....
thanx in advance...
sunking

 

If you have an extended warranty, I would assume this is covered. Check with your dealer.

The recall is not applicable to 97 and early 98s.

If the warranty doesn't cover the repair, then you might want to get a Column Lock Bypass. It is available from a few vendors in the forum's mall.

 

just an update for those interested...i was able to get the column lock to unlock the first time it happened by turning the steering wheel very hard to the right as i started the car...drove it to work the next day and the steering column locked up again....this time, i could not unlock it...i tried pulling the fuse and that did not work either...i ended up having it towed to the nearest chevy dealer...it took them 2 days to get my car back in running order and i finally picked it up this afternoon....
because my car was not covered under the recall, but luckly it is covered by a warranty, they did the replaced the steering lock motor, locking parts, rack/sector/lock bolt/actuator rod and steering column...it also states something on the work order about disable and enable the sir system (not sure what this is...any ideas????)...
while my car was there they also resolved saftey campaign 00-034, a seat belt problem and recall 97-040, a reprogram of the engine calibration...not too intrested in the 00-034 but anyone know what the engine calibration recall was....
also, while on the rack, he indicated that he noticed that the front fiberglass spring is begining to splinter...he suggested that i make an appointment with my local dealer and have it replaced...i would assume that this would also be covered under warranty....he said that this splintering of the fiberglass spring is a common problem with the 97 model year...anyone else have a problem like this....
well, thanx for listening to me rant....
sunking

 

The SIR is the airbag. The techs probably didn't want to airbag deploying in their face while they were repairing the column lock.

I'm not sure what you means by the front fiberglass spring. Do you mean the spring loaded black air dam, or something that truly is fiberglass?

 

Recall 97040 is a PCM reflash to prevent a false "reduced power" message caused by the PCM resseting itself...1997 only ;)

 

the tech indicated that the fiberglass spring that he was referring to was in the front of the car and ran from one wheel to the other...he also indicated that the front spring is what keeps the front end of the car up...he pointed out that the nose of my car seemed a bit low (and he was correct)....maybe spring is not the correct term to use....

 

That's the front spring. And if it is splintering it should be replaced ASAP. It will eventually totally delaminate or crack and leave the nose of your car on the ground.