Steering Lock on fault - take care or it can be expensive

[victorhora]

I've one for sale complete coloum if you want it

I don't know if you noted, but i'm in Brazil... I don't think it's worth paying for a expensive shipping charge for sending a whole steering column...

But if you do have just a Steering Lock laying around, I could be interested in buying because these things are expensive, but they are small and light and they should fit just fine in a small box to ship it to my country.

If you don't have it with you, I would be happy if you could find a used or (preferably) a NEW one to ship it to me... Maybe it's cheaper than buying here in Brazil?

Thanks!

[AlexB]

Bad luck.
I don't think the bolt can be removed through the same hole after it was broken, because it is broken inside the lock.
I would imagine that the fix will include cutting off the lock from the steering column, a part of it will be still sitting there, then you get access to the broken stub of the bolt, grab it somehow and unscrew... It will be messy, will require a new lock and will take the whole day. Access to the lock is very limited, so one may think about removing the whole steering column first in order to be able to use an angle grinder.

Do you really need this lock? If it is not an MOT (or its equivalent in Brazil) requirement, then one may think of using a cold chisel on it, which will result in damaging its seat in the steering column and destroying the mechanical part of the lock. Then you just connect the electrical part to the wires and the ECU will "think" that the lock is in place. I am not sure if this will work, but it may... This is not applicable to the UK due to our MOT regulations.

Hello friends!

I was having a problem with my Megane that's exactly like this one:

"When removing the keycard you could hear the electronic steering lock click in, but you could still turn the steering wheel. I didn't get any warning messages though."

I saw that cactusbos had gave his opinion on that matter, by saying that it could be a "shear head bolt. i.e. when it's tightened to a certain torque the head comes off to prevent it being removed."

The thing is that I asked for a mechanic (not the Renault dealer) to check that fault from me...

Apparently the guy tried to remove the electric steering column lock without unlocking the steering wheel first, and he says that it appears that the bolt is "broken"...

So I kindly ask for help... do you know if only this bolt can be changed somehow? Or maybe only changing the lock should fix it?

I'm thinking about towing the car to the Renault dealer and ask them to try to fix it or replace the part only the lock... Changing the steering column lock will cost something around £500.00 here in Brazil...

I really don't want to buy a WHOLE new steering column along with the lock, here in Brazil that could end up costing something like £1.500.00!!!!

PLEASE HELP!!!

[MartyW]

I had the same problem, my lock stayed on and would not come off what so ever.

The bolt is actually designed so that it can not be removed from the lock while it is locked which is why the dealers are saying to replace the whole steering column.

The steering locked can not be used on another vehicle as its coded to the car when you first install it.

I had an auto electrician come out to mine and with a bit of but force and manipulation he managed to get the bolt out and fitted a new steering lock and all working again, the locks cost around £300 tho.

[victorhora]

Bad luck.

I had the same problem, my lock stayed on and would not come off what so ever.

First of all: Thanks for the help!!!

Well, my mechanic managed to remove the lock from the steering column and we could see clearly that the bolt is broken inside the lock...
I'm afraid that the column maybe got damaged because of this bolt... I have tried to look and it seems ok but I'm not sure... I'm hoping that's not the case.

"Big" brazilian cities like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro do have some kind of "MOT", but I think they don't check things like steering lock... But I live in a smaller city in northeast of Brazil and we don't have "MOT" at all so I don't really need this lock...

Some "magician" mechanic said he could remove the bolt with some drill or dremel tool, I'm not sure if he can but if he does, it could work, right?

Well, if he doesn't I could buy a new lock on the dealer (around £380.00) and put on my steering column right? I heard that the new lock needs some programming but this could be easily done without a CLIP by following these procedures I found on "mechanics manual" (MR364MEGANE8.pdf section 82A) for the Megane II I found on the Internet:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

REFITTING

❏ Proceed in the reverse order to removal
❏ Tighten to torque the steering column lock secu-
ring bolt (0.8 daNm)

CODING OF THE ELECTRIC STEERING COLUMN LOCK

Note:
The electric lock is supplied uncoded. The electric lock must be programmed with the immobiliser system code when it is fitted to allow the ignition to be switched on.

❏ Insert the card into the reader.
❏ Press the « start » button.
❏ Remove the card from the reader to switch off the ignition.

Note:

- The electric steering column lock locks the steering column after a few seconds. Coding is then complete.
- The red immobiliser indicator light flashes to indicate that the immobiliser function is active.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

But my question is: Before fitting a new lock, I need to somehow unlock the steering column? I mean, by removing the electric locking mechanism I can assume the steering column is now unlocked? Or this mechanism somehow activates a lock inside the column? I'm asking this because my mechanic doesn't have a CLIP and if I need to unlock or do anything before putting the new lock I will need to ask to someone with a CLIP to do that for me…

In the meantime I found a brand new steering column for R$1.300,00 (that's around £430.00). This a very good price as the local Renault dealer asks something like R$4.000,00 (around £1.330,00). I hope I don't need a new one, but if I do I will obviously choose the cheaper one.

As a final note, I found one post that you said: "A second-hand lock can be reset by clearing (to 0xFF) data in the serial EEPROM chip inside."
But how do I do that? By using the CLIP? Could you help me on that? It could be cheaper to found a used one, like that:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RENAULT-8200468 ... 3f1864c883

PS: This one on eBay appears to be used and probably is already reset as the ad says that it does not need coding it's just "connect and start"...

Thank you very much for your help!

[AlexB]

victorhora,

Is the old lock completely destroyed during removal? If its electrical part is intact, then just connect it to the cable and hide it behind the dash. This will keep the ECU happy. There is no electrical connection between the lock and the steering column. It is very unlikely that the column is broken, because the lock sits where the shaft is, away from the motors, sensors, etc.

It is not entirely true that a second-hand lock can't be installed. Inside the lock there is a circuit board with a small and very cheap serial flash memory chip. One can erase (programmer kit plus soldering involved) or just replace it with new (involves soldering). This is how they prepare the second-hand units for sale.