67red

I am the original owner of a 2000 C5 with 7,000 miles. Back in the early 2000's there was recall on the 2000 C5 for a problem with the anti-theft steering wheel lock. My car actually locked the steering wheel before I could get it to the dealer. It then freed itself and I was able to drive the car tot he dealer. The recall was completed and the car has been fine ever since. I was preparing to take the car out of storage at our northern Michigan home and drive it home this past weekend and the steering wheel locked. I turned the car off, turned it back on, and a message appeared on the dash that said "remove the key, wait ten seconds, and re-start the car". I did that and the wheel is still locked. The car is parked at an angle in a garage that is off our main driveway which is dirt. There is no way I can get the car out of the garage, in the drive, and up on a trailer with a locked steering wheel. The dealer yesterday said his only suggestion was to disconnect the battery cables and touch them together to see if it would reset something. If that does not work, I am not sure I have any other options to get the wheel unlocked. Does anyone have any suggestions or experience with this? Thank you from Michigan. Gary D.

Young69Owner

Hi, I did this 2 days ago in my 2001. There's a whole procedure. You'll need to put in a column lock bypass from your local Corvette specialty shop to go more than 2 MPH. It's a $50 harness. To unlock the steering wheel, you'll need to insert the key and turn the wheel from side to side against the stops. Others can chime in.

-Adam

4 KRUSIN

Sorry to hear. You must not spend too much time on the forum or you would know that the GM recall(s) did not fix the problem. I doubt that the dealer's suggestion will help you, but it won't cost anything to try.

Do a search on the issue. I read a post recently describing how to unlock the steering yourself. Once you get it fixed, invest in a Steering Lock By-Pass to prevent this from happening again.

As for getting it out of the garage, jack the car up on the front and either borrow or buy a set of dollies to put the tires on. That will enable you to move the front end and roll the car out.

Good luck.

67red

Thanks for your reply. I read the part about the car cutting the fuel off at 1.5 mph. Is the by pass for this problem or for unlocking the wheel? Are you saying that I just need to start the car and turn the wheel back and forth until it unlocks?

Thank you.

67red

Your right that I do not spend too much time on the forum. How do I do a search to find the article you are referring to? Should the dealer know about the the Steering Lock by-pass switch? If not do you know where I can find one? I am mechanically inclined but work mostly on 60's muscle cars. I can probably install it if is straight forward, but electronics are not my strong suit.

Thank you for your help.

Gary in Michigan

Mickeyrx70

Go to this site: Complianceparts.com; they are a supporting vendor & sell everything you need to fix your steering lock. I bought 3 items from them myself, the LMC5 Module ($38), the LMC5 unlocker ($6), and the LMC5 tool kit ($3) and carry them in my car in case I experience the same problem as you have. Also, you might try fully charging your battery as a weak battery may contribute to the problem. The unlocker frees the steering wheel and the LMC5 module bypasses the column lock mechanism entirely. Good luck!!

saxtech

Hi Gary in MI
Sorry to hear your problem. The stress must be high right now.

But an easy fix that takes less than an hour.

Here is the CLB - http://corvettesofhouston.com/corvet...ck-bypass.html

To Learn More about this issue - In the "Search" box above in the red tool bar stripe, is a search tab. Click that and go to "Advanced Search" ... then under "Search By Keyword" type CLB as a keyword - wait..... Before you hit search, highlight under "Search In Forums" the C5 General and the C5 Tech ... then hit "Search Now" at the bottom of screen.

You will learn a wealth of information.

I am astonished that you have not spent much time on this forum. You are missing out on most of the fun of C5 ownership by not partaking in the enthusiasm this forum family has to offer. A great way to relax and unwind.

Gary in California

67red

Wow! Thank you for your great reply. My confidence is growing that I might be able to fix the problem on my own. You are right, I need to spend more time on this site and forem. I only drive the 2000 about 600 miles per year. I actually purchased a 2010 GS convertible, LT4, 6-speed, 436 HP. I put 400 miles on it and sold it. I thought it was crazy to let it sit in the garage and depreciate while I had what amounts to a new C5 that had already pretty much depreciated as much as it was going to. Even though the GS was much faster than my C5 I find the C5 more comfortable to drive. I have spent most of my spare time working on my 67 Chevelle SS convertible, and most recently my 66 442 Track Pak tri-power. Both cars are numbers matching. No paperwork on the SS but full documentation on the 442.

I appreciate the time you took to explain how to search the forum. it will be very helpful. Maybe I can help someone out in the future.

Gary in Michigan

DeeGee

Gary, there's a sticky in C5 Tech which goes into the column lock problem at great length. Check it out and you'll find more out about the problem than you ever wanted.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-t...ky-please.html

The problem you have is that you cant fit a CLB to a car which is locked. You need to free the lock mechanism first. If the dealer fitted 4106C which is the latest recall, he should have removed the lock plate which means the steering column can't lock. The trouble is the car doesn't know that. It thinks the locking pin has engaged and GM programmed the fuel to shut off if that occurs. It's a lawyer thing

By moving the wheel hard left and right against the stops it should free up. Once thats done the car is happy and the fuel is re-enabled. At that point you can fit a CLB and have done with the problem. The other thing to check is that your battery is fully charged as that can cause the problem in the first place.

There are many options to fix this issue but that should be the easiest assuming you can free up the column lock.

A CLB really is easy to fit. Here ya go:

http://97vette.com/howto/columnlock/index.html

Tenacfan

...umm what he said. 8vette7 is the recognized expert on this.

breeze01

Everything 8VETTE7 said plus the above. LMC5 module and unlocker should be everything you need if the battery is good. Great products and phenomenal customer service.

Vetteman Jack

You've got lots of good suggestions here - hope you get the car fixed and back on the road.

67red

Just wanted to say thank you to all that responded. I was freaking out on how in the heck I was going to get my car out of the garage and on a trailer to take it to the dealer. After getting all of your great suggestions I really question the level of expertise of the dealer I talked to yesterday. He did not suggest any of these things. Really appreciate all of the suggestions and help. I won't be back up in northern Michigan until the weekend after next, but I will get back on the Forum and post my outcome. Thanks again. Gary in Michigan.

knewblewkorvette

I never had a problem with column lock until after I had the recall done. Column lock problems strike at the worst times.
Good advice from the above posters. Hope ya get her unlocked

67red

Sure appears that way.

ONE BMF

What he said ----Get a COH bypass kit and install and forget about it - had the same problem years ago and got a COH kit and didn't have another problem with the dreaded " pull key and wait 10 seconds " again,And yes this forum is the best place for info and members --Bar None !!!

DeeGee

IMHO this and the original battery failures are probably the biggest issues with the C5.

flyeri

This is the ticket. The installation took all of 20-30 minutes and there has not been another "remove key" message since.

routeman007

I have nothing to add, because of the wealth of excellent information that you've already recieved from other Forum members. You are now on your way to solving the temporary issue that you now face.
I just wanted to extend a gentlemens welcome to you, to this great forum. We all will be looking forward to your future post.

Mike98SilVert

If you do a search you will find hundreds of threads on this most discussed topic.

Get the CLB kit and install it but first you must unlock the steering wheel.

Turn the key to the off position and remove it from the ignition. Next, firmly tug the steering wheel back and forth several times. Then get insde and turn the key to the "on position" without starting the engine and the steering wheel should release.

Once you release the steering column, do not attempt to start the engine until after you install the bypass or it may lock up again.

Follow the installation instructions that come with the CLB kit, it's really not difficult at all. The hardest part is to re-attach the lower dash panel. You can buy a CLB for less than $50 at Corvettes of Houston or Thunder Racing. Many other Forum vendors carry them as well.

Here are some helpful links....

Installing a Column Lock Bypass:

http://97vette.com/howto/columnlock/index.html

http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=24

You can get a CLB from either of these vendors:

http://www.corvettesofhouston.com/pr...e9bf70207aef69

http://www.thunderracing.com/catalog...d=220&pcid=156