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Thread: 99 540i steering column stays locked after starting car.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    Las Vegas
    Posts
    10
    My Cars
    2000 540i M Sport

    99 540i steering column stays locked after starting car.

    Hello everyone. For the last 10 times I have started my 540i, the steering column stays locked after I start it and put the car in gear. If I turn the wheel gently but firmly back and forth for 10-20 seconds, then the column unlocks, and I can drive it fine, until I shut the car off. When I restart the car, the same things happens. I am a little worried the column may lock up on me while driving down the road. Has anyone had this happen? what should I do?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
    Location
    Charlotte, NC
    Posts
    1,534
    My Cars
    '02 540i-6, '97 540i-6
    The wheel on my '97 540 suddenly wouldn't unlock one day, many years ago. I was in a shopping center parking lot, but luckily had some tools and a cordless drill with me. I found a video online that explained how to drill a hole in the bottom of the locking mechanism under the steering column, which released a stuck ball and spring that locked the wheel. (Or something like that -- my memory is a little vague.)

    The process took just 15 minutes after I found the video. That meant that the wheel would never lock anymore, which didn't bother me. (A prospective thief wouldn't know that the wheel was unlocked.) Much better to never lock than to have it randomly lock and not release.
    Last edited by R Shaffner; 10-18-2022 at 06:55 AM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Wayland, MA
    Posts
    56
    My Cars
    1997 528i
    Quote Originally Posted by R Shaffner View Post
    The wheel on my '97 540 suddenly wouldn't unlock one day, many years ago. I was in a shopping center parking lot, but luckily had some tools and a cordless drill with me. I found a video online that explained how to drill a hole in the bottom of the locking mechanism under the steering column, which released a stuck ball and spring that locked the wheel. (Or something like that -- my memory is a little vague.)

    The process took just 15 minutes after I found the video. That meant that the wheel would never lock anymore, which didn't bother me. (A prospective thief wouldn't know that the wheel was unlocked.) Much better to never lock than to have it randomly lock and not release.
    This. The pin that locks the steering wheel would not release on my '97 528i and, like R. Shaffner, I had it removed. Don't miss it at all and, in the unlikely event that someone wants to steal the car, more power to them. Most car thieves want something quickly choppable, like a Honda Accord, so I'm not worried about someone looking to steal a 25 year old car.

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