Steering Wheel problems of the 1998 Chevrolet Corvette - part 2

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Steering wheel lock refused to disengage without repeated attempts by shutting off and removing key, reinserting. Has happened twice so far. Concerned that defective lock could engage while driving. Also, could strand car if I can't get it to disengage. Ref. In ea02-031.

Steering column locked up and car died while backing out of parking space on Friday evening. Dealer could not work on it until Monday and car was ready Monday evening. They 'replaced the steering lock solenoid and relay pier tac' (their words and spelling). I am concerned that if this happens while I am pulling out into traffic, I could be involved in a traffic fatality. . Read more...

I have a 1998 c5. Last night I was driving down a driveway when the "service column" lock appeared on the dic display. The message " pull key and wait 10 seconds" appeared as well. The steering column locked up and the car shut down. I was in motion going down the driveway when this happened. Once the car came to a stop, I had to push it back up the drive way to get it out of the way, since the engine would shut off if when I tried to restart the car. I tried multiple times to restart the car, hoping it would unlock the steering column. It did not unlock. I am very upset that a "theft deterrent device" is more of a safety hazard! I don't know what would have happened if I were on the road somewhere and the steering column would have decided to "lock up". What if kids were near the car and the car decided to lock the steering and shut down? when the car shuts down you loose control of the car and power brakes. This 'feature' is not safe if it decides to randomly lock up the steering column. This is totally unacceptable for Chevrolet's american sports car to have a security safety flaw in it. I refuse to own a car by any company if the security feature which was meant to protect the car from being stolen, actually may cause injury or worse to the owner or passenger riding in the vehicle. What is the fix for this issue? I do not want the same parts replaced for this. This is a faulty part on the part of gm and should be resolved as quickly as possible. I have read about other c5 owners and the same experiences they had. This car retailed for over $41,000. A car of this stature, class, and price should be safe to drive at all times. I have made gm aware that I have filed a complaint with the NHTSA to look into this issue. What would gm do for a stranded customer, who is out in the middle of nowhere, and that cells phones are not accessible for communication? this is a dangerous feature ref. In ea02-031.

On two occasions, once while driving at 35mph, the steering column completely locked up and could not control vehicle. Narrowly missed being in an accident. Upon researching this problem, it has been reported by other Corvette owners. The dealers solution was to remove the key for 10 seconds and try again. This is unacceptable and very dangerous. I am now afraid to even drive the car. Will it take a head on collision before gm fixes this very unsafe defect? please send whatever papers necessary to sign so that this is thoroughly investigated. Ref. In ea02-031.

Pe99066; steering column lock module: upon starting vehicle and driving about 50 feet, steering wheel locked up. After letting vehicle sit for 5 hours and removing the battery, problem cleared up. Owner experienced the same problem a couple of weeks ago, but vehicle only sat a few minutes before steering wheel unlocked. Please provide any further information. Ref. In ea02-031.

I was a victim of the Corvette steering-column lock. I read an article just now that a spokesman of the NHTSA said "it is a definite problem, but not a safety issue". This is a ridiculous statement considering the fact that without warning a driver can be stranded anywhere at anytime. In my opinion, and I'll bet somewhere in the judicial system they'll agree with me, gm is blatantly placing Corvette drivers and their passengers in danger of being stranded anywhere at anytime and in my opinion should be held completely and without recourse responsible for any harm< damage<discomfort<fear, even missing a ballgame due to being stranded by this known problem that no attempt has been made to correct by the maker (and I don't mean graciously replacing the defective part after the damage has been done!) there is a known problem with uncomprehensible dangerous ramifications. Gm knows there's a problem, they know there is a correction (the steering column lock bypass). They are at the very least morally responsible to recall and install this part immediately and probably legally "if not but for the non-action of gm to make any reasonable attempt to correct a known reliability problem. . . . Fear,danger,,robbed while walking to phone booth(or raped,murdered,kidnapped)????? (you fill in the blank) would not have occurred" . I suggest a class-action lawsuit. . . Gm needs to pay for the disregard of the safety and very lives of their customers and their families with the only thing they seem to care about. . . The almighty dollar. Ref. In ea02-031.

This complaint regards the steering column locking up. This appears to be a common occurance according to my Corvette sources. Mine locked up last week and required that the vehicle be towed to the dealer. My concern is that should this happen again, I may be in a place where assistance is limited. The vehicle failure occured in my garage as I was leaving the house. The problem I encountered was that the wheel was not straight which required a lot of effort to get the car out of the garage and on to a wrecker.

My steering wheel would not unlock, since this vehicle has a manual transmission I put it in gear and started to back away from the garage when I went to turn so as not to hit a wall the steering wheel was locked. It would not unlock and had to be towed to the dealership for repairs. It's dangerous because the car should not be able to go into a gear if the vehicle cannot be steered. Ref. In ea02-031.

Steer column would not unlock after the vehicle was started. Vehicle had to be towed to dealer for replacement of the steering column lock actuator. Ref. In ea02-031.

The steering column locked while pulling from the parking lot thrice in one month. The dealer replaced some parts on it, but had to tow the car in. A serach on this NHTSA site itself indicates numerous complaints with this car with precisely the same problem. I am amazed that nothing has been done on it so far and what are the authorities actually waiting for. They are probably waiting for someone to die with this defect before they take action. Ref. In ea02-031.

This is the second time this problem has happened 1st may,99 2nd July,00 its a good thing vehicle was not moving when it occurred.

Steering column locked up while parked and would not unlock with the key inserted and engine running. Error message - "service column lock, pull key wait 10 seconds". Pulling the key had no effect. Ref. In ea02-031.

This problem is endemic to 1997-on c5 Corvettes! no safety defect listed in summary.

Steering wheel lock will not disengage!! this is a major problem based on service bulletins and number of postings to various bulletin boards! make them fix this!!. Ref. In ea02-031.

While backing out of a parking space steering column locked up. Problem could potentially cause a crash. Vehicle was towed to dealership and repaired. Ref. In ea02-031.

Steering column locked and I could not turn the wheel to drive it. Ref. In ea02-031.

Vehicle started and drove with steering wheel in locked position due to electric solenoid. Dealer has been notified. Ref. In ea02-031.

Today the column lock failed for the 5th time on my 1998 Corvette. Once the column locked on me after I had begun to leave a parking lot and the car shut down on me. Had I been at an intersection, I might have been seriously injured or killed. Fortunately (or unfortunately as it may be) the other times the column lock failed to release were after I had parked the car and returned. So far, I have only been greatly inconvenienced or had my friends inconvenienced, but I am aware taht this problem is not uncommon among c5 owners. It is time for a recall folks! enough of "under consideration".

Steering column locked up even when operating vehicle, a warning light indicated to pull key and wait 10 seconds, but it had no affect. Ref. In ea02-031.

I have received the following message 4 times on my 98 Corvette - column service lock on. The steering column locks and the car is not driveable. I have been stranded four times. This car is under warranty, yet GMC does not recognize this as a serious problem. This problem results in the car being non-driveable, and the possibility of being stranded at any time in any place makes this a saftey issue. I have researched the column service lock problem extensively on the internet, and have found that this problem is very common in most c5 (97 - 00) Corvettes - this is not an isolated occurrence. Gm should recall all c5s and correct this severe defect. I have even heard that this has happend to individuals while the car is in motion, does someone have to die before GMC takes this seriously??.

When starting up car steering wheel was locked, consumer tried all gears, it still would not unlock . Had to have car towed. Consumer felt that this was a safety issue because it could have locked up while driving. Took to dealer, and it was a bad solenoid switch. Ref. In ea02-031.

The steering wheel locked up while in motion. "steering column lock" appears in the dash board . I was unable to steer the car. The engine turned off. This is while driveing. Two other times it occured while parked in my garage. The dealer repared the "motor" that causes the steering column to lock. Speed at failure wa s20-25 mph. Ref. In ea02-031.

This is the second time the steering column has failed to unlock upon starting the engine. Fortunately, both times were in the garage. The computer detects the failed column lock and prevents the car from being driven by shutting the engine down after moving a couple of feet. My concern is this has been repaired once. Is there a possibility the column could lock while driving ? even if the engine shuts down, I would still be in a very dangerous situation. Ref. In ea02-031.

While pulling into a parking lot, driving about 15 mph the steering wheel locked up and vehicle lost all power. The vehicle was towed to owner's home. The problem was reported to the dealership. The vehicle has not been repaired. Please provide any further information. Ref. In ea02-031 cjs.

Steering column locked up while driving, causing the vehicle to become undriveable. Dealer has replaced the steering lock module and rocker studs. Manufacturer has been notified. Ref. In ea02-031.

Steering wheel lockup got message service steering column ref. In ea02-031.

In may of this year, 1999, I tried to start the car, it started but the steering wheel was locked. I called the toll free number general motors provided for a tow truck . When it came the driver was able to unlock the wheel and it seemed to work properly. I had it towed in to my service dealer anyway to be checked out. Of course it was o. K. About two months later the steering wheel became locked again and I was able to unlock it myself by cleaning off the ignition chip on the key, as I was told by the service manager on the previous trip. The third time it locked up on me again but I was not able to unlock it. All three times I was at home in the carport. The car would always start, as in previous times, but this time it would die when I tried to back up or go forward. Obviously the problem had gotten worse. I called the tow truck again, had the car towed in and luckily it stayed locked so the servicemen could see just what was happening. Their computers found a code b2587 which meant that the lock module for the steering column was failing intermitantly, thus locking up the steering. The module was replaced and so far the car has been running fine. If whoever concerned goes on-line to c5-corvette. Com then ultimate bulletin board, c5 specific technical discussions you will see other instances of this particular problem, one instance of this happening while the car is on the road. I hope this is enough information for you to get a good idea of what has been going on. I love the car but am a little afraid of the steering locking up when I'm on the road even though the service manager said that wouldn't happen. If someone can help me or at least reassure me of this I would be very grateful. Thank you for your time. Ref. In ea02-031.

The steering wheel lock engaged as I was backing out of driveway. Car was towed to dealer as ordered by Chevrolet hot line. . Note> car was in motion, that means moving backwards. . It had gone about 6 feet and I had turned the wheel to change directions when lock engaged. . Ref. In ea02-031.

When pulling out of gas station the car suddenly died halfway into the omcoming traffic lane. The dic (dashboard) dignosis said to pull key and wait 10 seconds. Apparently the steering wheel was locked and the engine shutoff. This put me in dangerous situation with on coming traffic heading at me. After the 10 seconds , the car restarted and all was ok, no accident resulted , but escaped a a narrow bullet. The dealer was more than happy to replace the parts , but intimated that the new parts may do the same thing since they haven't been modified. He said to wait and see if it happens again. In my opinion this could be very serious, and gm needs to address or modify the current parts so that this cannot happen again. Thank you ref. In ea02-031.

While driving steering column locked up, causing steering to become difficult cause unknown. Please give any further details. Ref. In ea02-031.

When the driver attempted to put the vehicle into reverse it stalled. This incident repeated approximately five times at which time the consumer noticed a message on the driver information center stating something about a locked steering wheel. The consumer turned the vehicle off and waited about fifteen minutes, afterwhich the vehicle started and operated as normal ref. In ea02-031.

While backing vehicle up and turning, the steering column locked. The vehicle had to be towed to the dealership which then told him that the failure was due to a steering actuator. Please describe details.

Steering column locks up when starting up. Can't move steering wheel. Dealer contacted. Please add VIN. Ref. In ea02-031.