When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Just repaired my mom's Chevy Colorado that was having PASSLOCK issues that led to intermittent no starts. I replaced the ignition switch housing that included a new PASSLOCK sensor and when I was done I found that the steering column and auto trans shifter were not locked with the key removed. The trans, however, does lock with the engine running until you step on the brake.
So, being curious, I went down and checked my C7 with M7 trans. No steering column lock and no trans lock. I know determined thieves can always steal a car but it would be almost trivial to smash a window and roll and steer the car away.
Interesting that a previous 1978 TransAm M4 I had required to be in reverse to remove the key and it had a steering column lock. Then my 1994 Z28 M6 did away with the trans lock but kept the steering column lock. And my 2009 Toyota Tacoma auto trans has both steering and trans lock with key removed. But the C7 and Colorado seem to have neither.
Virtually all manufacturers have done away w/ steering wheel locks over the last few years. They were an anti-theft device, which is now obsolete with the more secure coded key fobs. Even vehicles w/o push-button start have a slot to insert a computer-chipped key fob.
But that leaves you more vulnerable to the low tech thieves. Just break a window and roll it away steering it where you want... makes it easier to load on a truck or whatever. Seems cheap insurance to have those features.
Originally Posted by Foosh
Virtually all manufacturers have done away w/ steering wheel locks over the last few years. They were an anti-theft device, which is now obsolete with the more secure coded key fobs. Even vehicles w/o push-button start have a slot to insert a computer-chipped key fob.
My C5 has a column lock, and I'm sure GM designed that in to the car with just the anti-theft deterrent you are addressing. Over time, that proved to be a nuisance - would not unlock, GM attempted to fix it and arguably made it worse with fuel cutoffs, harnesses etc, and the after-market developed fixes to disable it. Mine still works correctly, but a friend's car has stranded him and he has installed the LMC5 device. The common opinion is that it is just a matter of time before it will fail.
Perhaps it is just a question of the lesser evil - it appears far more cars experienced failure of the mechanism (stranding the driver) vs the number of stolen cars that would have been prevented with an operational column lock. I've always been a believer that locks only keep honest people at bay. A professional will simply use technology to start the car or just physically pick it up on a flatbed and go.
Break a window get in and set off the alarm. With the 2LT and 3LT, there are also interior motion sensors and tilt sensors that will trigger the alarm. How many C6 owners had issues with the steering column lock? (many)
I guess I don't have strong feelings either way. You can never stop the professional thieves but all these features would have some sucess against the more casual or inexperienced.
The biggest thing for me was breaking my assumptions. After completing the work on the Colorado I thought something was wrong since I had assumed all vehicles still had the locks. But the guys on the Colorado forums straightened me out to some extent. But really strange that GM lists ignition switches for Colorados both with and without the steering shaft locks that I suppose may apply to some specific versions or VINs. It was all pretty confusing to say the least.
It is a little ironic that GM is more worried about someone stealing gas than stealing the whole car...
My C7 has (had) a locking fuel door, which people have already reported failures on. One guy literally had to rip the fuel door off at the station. I got tired of hearing the lock mechanism click multiple times everytime I opened the driver door, so I just removed the whole thing...
Last edited by TEXHAWK0; Jul 17, 2016 at 12:00 PM.
My C5 has a column lock, and I'm sure GM designed that in to the car with just the anti-theft deterrent you are addressing. Over time, that proved to be a nuisance - would not unlock, GM attempted to fix it and arguably made it worse with fuel cutoffs, harnesses etc, and the after-market developed fixes to disable it. Mine still works correctly, but a friend's car has stranded him and he has installed the LMC5 device. The common opinion is that it is just a matter of time before it will fail.
Perhaps it is just a question of the lesser evil - it appears far more cars experienced failure of the mechanism (stranding the driver) vs the number of stolen cars that would have been prevented with an operational column lock. I've always been a believer that locks only keep honest people at bay. A professional will simply use technology to start the car or just physically pick it up on a flatbed and go.
My auto C5 had the common column lock failure and had to be towed.
Earlier manual C6's were a disaster with its column lock and DBS. Took 2 years for GM to fix it. And until then a large enough portion of cars were always at risk to strand you at any time. As I recall it happened to me 3 or 4 times. And about 1/3 of forum respondents had DBS at least once in 2005/6.
My auto C5 had the common column lock failure and had to be towed.
Earlier manual C6's were a disaster with its column lock and DBS. Took 2 years for GM to fix it. And until then a large enough portion of cars were always at risk to strand you at any time. As I recall it happened to me 3 or 4 times. And about 1/3 of forum respondents had DBS at least once in 2005/6.
However if they committed to engineer it properly and spend more than a dime on this locking features parts and components im sure it would work just fine.
What's funny is until this episode I thought it was standard and mandatory here, too. Had it on all my previous cars since the 1970s, including my current 2009 Toyota Tacoma. Never had the slightest issue with any of them for the steering lock. I honestly thought I'd f'ed up my repair job on the Colorado.
Originally Posted by C5_LS1
Steering column lock is standard and mandatory on EU cars so it exist on C7 already.
What's funny is until this episode I thought it was standard and mandatory here, too. Had it on all my previous cars since the 1970s, including my current 2009 Toyota Tacoma. Never had the slightest issue with any of them for the steering lock. I honestly thought I'd f'ed up my repair job on the Colorado.
C5 column lock as I recall was a mechanical failure/defect. C6 was initially a software defect, and later also a mechanical failure of the column lock.
What's really telling in that pic is the word "assembled" in China. That is what you used to see here with products and parts "assembled" in the USA, which meant the components came from developing countries like Mexico and China and were combined in the USA. Now it seems that even China is outsourcing some of their sub-assembly parts manufacturing. I guess that is a measure of their progress... BTW, the ignition switch I picked up for the 2008 Colorado from the Chevy dealer was made in Korea. The world is getting pretty darned small, after all.
I have a C5 M6, I never had the column lock fail but disabled it with the LMC5 module just in case. My understanding is the problem is its sensitive to low battery voltage, and is run before the car starts. The battery can be strong enough to start but low enough to cause the lock to malfunction.
Those old cars that never had problems the the lock? The key slot was in the steering column, so the lock was mechanical and directly unlocked with the key. Corvettes have the key slot in the dash, so it needs a fancier (and failure prone) solution.
Ah, the dreaded "Service Column Lock" message....I knew it well. My 1998 C5 had this occur 5 times in 3 years of ownership. My 2001 had it twice in 3.5 years of ownership. Then, I got a 2005 C6 (manual) and thought I had seen the last of THAT message...sadly, I was wrong. Whenever you had a DBS episode (3 times in 18 months), the dreaded "Service Column Lock" message would come up from the remnants of the C5's electrical system that was in (plagued) the C6. And GM blamed us (the customers) for all these dead batteries, saying we weren't shutting the car down correctly (in reverse). After buying back a bunch of cars, they (GM) decided to test one of these cars and see if DBS was actually THEIR fault, and low and behold, IT WAS.
I say, Au revoir Column lock, you're NOT missed (by me)
No steering column lock or trans lock?
I got tired of hearing the lock mechanism click multiple times everytime I opened the driver door, so I just removed the whole thing...
