ELV emulator-Grease Sterring lock or new column?

[Serf27]

The red steering wheel icon appeared on my dash after my battery completely died and I jump started it.
was this only a coincidence or did the dead battery cause the red wheel lock to appear?

after that, I drove the car with no issues for 4 days. (red wheel icon still showing during this time.)

Now, the car will not start and when I click the key in, I do not hear the wheel unlock.
The dash doesn’t even light up, only the airbag and brake light. Only the red wheel icon appears on the dash and the yellow key icon.
All lights besides the headlights work. Radio and windows work.
I put a new battery in it, that didn’t make a difference.

Does it sound like the electric steering lock is bad? Or could it be something else?
To me it sounds like the lock is stuck, but if someone can think of something else to check before I mess with the wheel lock, I would really appreciate it!

thanks In advance.

[White94RX]

It's pretty likely that it's the ELV, but a proper fault code interrogation will go a long way to properly diagnosing it. The CAS ELV counter also needs to be reset, which isn't going to happen without the proper BMW diagnostic software.