'95 BMW 318i steel wheel locked up: Yesterday I drove 1/2 block away to get mail & while turning into the driveway my wheel locked up. Naturally I came here and found how to drill the hole (2nd. hole did it) and get the little spring out. Whoa! My steering wheel was no longer locked....but I still couldn't start the car! Key wouldn't turn all the way/the final click. Also I had to turn the black ring around the lock to get the key in. My husband, neighbor & I let it roll back to across the street and got a running start up our steep driveway into the garage.
Though I haven't done a search yet but I am guessing I will have to replace my ignition lock cylinder (?) Any ideas?
HELP PLEASE! Does anyone know what to do after spring is removed and steering wheel moves freely but key won't move to start the car???
Try pushing the locking plate back up with a screwdriver to lock the steering wheel and then while holding the lock up wiggle the steering wheel lock to lock while trying to turn the key(may take a while). I've seen the ignition get locked and need pressure on the steering wheel lock to release it a couple times on these cars.
Last edited by Nerevar; 08-13-2014 at 12:03 AM.
Thank you I will try this in the morning. I have already checked 2 sites to replace the ignition cylinder on the '95 318i. Thank heavens for the X3 or I'd be stuck in the middle of nowhere.
Best thread ever!!! Fix works as described. Had issues with lock not disengaging and not allowing key to turn. Pulled spring and all is well again!
1995 M3...Screwed
The steering locked on my Zed 3, im goung to try this frist thing in the morning. I will post my results
I've got a 2000 318i with this issue, first the key was stuck but you could still start and drive it now I've got the key out and now the ignition and steering lock are stuck,,, I've drilled a number of holes looking for this F'n spring
Any help what do do from now would be great
Ok so I've been doing my head in and this method drilling out the spring you all talk about WILL NOT WORK on a 2000 BMW 318i
Your car is a BMW E46 whereas this thread deals with BMW E36.
You need to check out this thread instead: http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...ng-or-drilling!)
Hey guys, I attempted this yesterday on my '97 M3 and drilled center, high, and low, but found no spring. The lock does seem to be disabled, but the car wouldn't start until I messed with the lock block piece that goes up and down to engage the lock.
So now I can't totally trust that the car will start or that the lock will stay unlocked while driving. What does it take to take this all apart and remove the block for good?
Think I have a spring in there somewhere? I saw a few posts mentioning a sideways spring...Thanks
Last edited by TXBDan; 04-26-2016 at 09:22 AM.
There is most definitely a spring in there, you may have deformed it when you were drilling.
Indeed, i found the spring. it must rest on that nub right in the middle where i first drilled. It was all mangled and smushed up to the side from drilling.
That piece of metal flopping around does not sit well with me so i started trying to take it out.
lock.jpg
I ground the cover off with an angle grinder. Worked great, but i was hoping at this point it would fall out. It's very loose and floppy, but something is holding onto it up there. Maybe the tumbler in how it interfaces to the key. Any ideas?
Ah ha!, THIS is how you disable a steering wheel lock.
Once the cover is ground off, you can drill the middle of the wiggly tilting lock part until you get it in two pieces. Then the two pieces fall out.
lockremove2.jpg
No more aluminum bottom part:
lockremove1.jpg
That steel part is the actual part that interfaces with the column to lock it. It's gotta go. Fortunately you can rotate and slide it out with some force.
Here's the steel part:
lockeremove4.jpg
Here's the where the lock was. Nice and empty.
lockremove3.jpg
No chance of locking now! Minor weight reduction!
Last edited by TXBDan; 04-30-2016 at 07:01 PM.
My steering locked at around 224,000 miles on my 96 m3. This was a very easy fix for me, essentially just drill, remove spring and clean up.
96 M3 - Estoril Blu - h&r coilovers/springs - K&N intake - 214hp/218ftlb
99 540i - Kashmere Biege - SP
Hey so i drilled out the spring but my wheel is still locked what have i done wrong ?
Even with the spring out, its still technically possible for the wheel to lock since the mechanism is still there. It's unlikely and would take just the right bump, but possible. That's why i like my method above. The entire mechanism is removed.
So after drilling the hole and removing the spring, is it necessary to go back in there eventually and remove the steering lock pieces? Recommended for both street and track cars? Thanks.
So when the steering wheel is locked, the spring is busted or lodged in sideways, or otherwise jammed in there? Proper fix is to replace spring or replace whole ignition housing?
Last edited by scooper; 09-19-2017 at 05:23 PM.
Update: I drilled in the center portion of the rectangular area and while using a 21/64" bit, the spring popped out a bit. So I was able to grab it with my fingers. I used successively larger bits and cutting oil. Made drilling easy and accurate. Thanks to all who posted on this site. @218k miles
Has anyone fixed this issue without drilling? Replacing the actual locking mechanism? Part #2 showparts
Drilled mine out today as i had a different but simular problem.my steering lock didnt engage when i removerd my key from ignition, so i put the key back in butwouldnt turn even one notch meaning i stranded and worst of all having to drive an audi to work and back until it is fixed
anyway i drilled out the spring first time,easy peasy but i still cant turn the ignition? Key still wont turn so what do i need to do now? Anyone help?
So, interesting day. Steering locked in my car park at work. The ignition was fine - I could happily drive backwards and forwards, just not left or right. No access to drill etc, so got a recovery guy out and got dropped as close to home as I could, bearing in mind I have no steering!
Drilled out the spring as detailed above. The little steel plate thingy has dropped, but the steering is still locked! I'm assuming that somehow the steel rod must be stuck in the steering column. I'm going to take a hammer to it tomorrow as hope it dislodges, but has anyone else had similar? Or does anyone have any ideas other than hitting it had and hoping it falls out of the steering column?
Bookmarks