2001 C5 Steering Column Lockup

[Gary S.]

The steering column on our 2001 (6 sp) would not unlock last night when the car was started. My son works for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in DC and he said they are investigating this problem with the C5's. There is some information on the web if you search. However, the steering column lockup is less common for 2001 and after as GM eliminated the locking system on automatics beginning in 2001, but not 6 speeds. The NHTSA's engineer handling the investigation called me today to question my experiencce. They only have eight complaints registered for the 2001 model year and nearly 300 for prior year C5's. Of the 8 complaints for 2001, six were for failure to unlock and one was a lockup while driving. If you have experienced lockup, I urge you to go on the NHTSA's web and fill out their complaint form. GM has a fix for this problem, but not sure who pays. NHTSA can force a recall possibly if enough people complain.

One web site for Corvette chat offered this solution: Remove the key, violently shake the steering wheel left and right, insert key and the column should unlock. The writer saw a Chevy technician do this to a car that was on a rollback that was towed in for column lockup. That did not work for me! Any advice before I have this thing towed off to produce a big bill at a Chevy garage? Thanks...Gary

[Clem Z.]

Re: 2001 C5 Steering Column Lockup

i would insert the key, then pull the wheel one way then the other. inserting the key pushes on a plunger in the lock to cause the system to unlock. some people have had luck jacking up the front end and shaking the wheeels back and forth. go to www.ls1howto.com for a lock bypass. i think the problem is cause by the driver when geting out of the seat pulls himself out by pulling on one side of the wheel and binding up the lock pin.

[Harmon C.]

Re: 2001 C5 Steering Column Lockup

Gary You must have high mileage or a very early car to be out of warranty.I would try to get it fixed under the warranty and not talk about other options unless they flat say no as the dealer has options with the warranty. I traded my 2001 auto to get the new warranty and the new 2004 color last week and it was VIN758. Lyle

[Gary S.]

Re: 2001 C5 Steering Column Lockup

Clem...thanks for this info. That is a great web site. I failed to say our car has 45K miles on it. I think I am going to go for this bypass kit, but still interested in anything else people have to offer or suggest. Thanks much, Gary

[Clem Z.]

Re: 2001 C5 Steering Column Lockup

i believe that site also tell how to unlock it using the 12 volts from the cigarette lighter adapter.

[Ken Robb]

Re: 2001 C5 Steering Column Lockup

Since you have a 6-speed, the GM fix is to still lock the column on it. There are 2 bypass kits sold by fellows. One is $100, there other $ 35 (JMX bypass). Both do the same thing. there are many posts about your very problem on corvetteforum.com ; C5 general discusion http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=649262 I installed the $100 bypass when it was only $60 on my 99 auto trans. car. But I took it off when GM came out with their "offical" fix. On an Auto trans car they install a new locking ring with NO holes for the pin to fit into. So the steering wheel is not ever locked. They also install an additional relay to take care of the computer if the column thinks it locks up. I would go back to the dealer and ask for new fix on your car if it is under warr or not. Then you might investigate the bypass after GM does its fix. With the bypass, your steering wheel will not lock. The 12v mentioned above is to make sure the locking pin is retracted before you install the bypass. The pass cuts the power to the latching pin motor so it nevers can operate then. e-mail me if more questions. Ken

[Gary S.]

Re: 2001 C5 Steering Column Lockup

To all who have replied, I thank you. I tried all the "tricks" people told me to do including a call to GM's help line. This included shaking the hell out of the steering column with the key in the ignition, key on and key out of the ignition, plus using the key to unlock the door vs the remote locker and unhooking the battery. It won't unlock. So, I had it towed to a Chevy dealer who worked on it today and was surprised he could not unlock it with his GM tool for that purpose. He seemed confident he could get it unlocked come Monday. He did mention that his 2003 Z06 locked up on him in his dealership parking lot. Thus, GM has not been able to correct this defect since it surfaced in the 1997 C5.

I will let you know what turns out here and I do what to put the bypass system on the car due to the reports of some lockups occuring while driving.

[Clem Z.]

Re: 2001 C5 Steering Column Lockup

if you are in "tight" with the dealer have him do the A-4 fix which was posted above by using the lock plate with no holes and it will never lock again. the early 2000 impalas had the same system but it was removed from the later 2000 impalas. mrs clems 2000 impala had the lock when we first got it but it quit locking the steering wheel after a few months but i never had it repaired.