Service Steering Column Lock

[AndY1]

I've had my Opel Ampera for nearly 3 weeks now and this is the 2nd time it happened.

When I unlock the car, open the door and sit down, this message appears:



After I start the car, the message goes away, but what could be the problem?

[Steverino]

You are the first to report this I believe. I don't recall anyone having this issue before. May want to take it (and your photo) to the dealer to check out.

[DonC]

Here we'd just call OnStar but my understanding is that you don't have that option. Next would be an Ampera Advisor but you may not have that option either. So the dealer would be your option. What's odd about the message is that AFAIK there is no steering lock on the Volt. I wouldn't mess with it though since you don't want a steering issue.

[flmark]

Now I'm really annoyed. As I discussed in my thread on towing my Volt on a dolly, I learned (and my Volt advisor verified) that there is NO STEERING COLUMN LOCK on Volts. Further, she defended GM's position and went on to complain that I should berate the dolly company. Now I find out they make a lock...but not for us.

Sorry AndY1, but the majority of members here will not even have the component which is giving you troubles. This will be an export only issue.

[WopOnTour]

I've had my Opel Ampera for nearly 3 weeks now and this is the 2nd time it happened.

When I unlock the car, open the door and sit down, this message appears:


After I start the car, the message goes away, but what could be the problem?

This means that the steering column locking system is detecting some fault and has DTCs set (therefore bringing up the message to inform you of issues) Sorry, not a lot of info on these forums as the steering locking system is used only in certain markets/countries where it is a requirement. You will unfortunately will have to make a dealer visit to have the DTC read and the fault diagnosed.
Please refer to your owners manual for more information on this warning message.

WopOnTour

[RScott]

It looks like this is an issue that can occur with the Ampera, but not the Volt.

If you like the idea of hunting for information, you can enter:

"steering column" site:http://www.autocats.net/manual/chevr...nts_2012/Volt/

into Google. If you don't have a desire to do that (most people don't, but lots of Volt/Ampera owners do), just call your dealer.

[Aeterno]

What a coincidence! My almost two months old Ampera gave the same fault message just today when I was starting it. The steering column lock engaged successfully when I exited the car. When I entered the car later, the fault message did not appear again. It must have been a temporary glitch in my case.

Otherwise my Ampera has been problem free and I love the car.

[AndY1]

It must had been a temporary glitch in my casetoo , since it happened only twice so far and at both times it happened at the same parking space where I pick my daughter up from daycare.
It's not an asphalt parking space but a hard sand - like an Macadam road.

I will contact my dealer so he can contact GM adviser.

[Derekmathers]

Had the "Service steering lock" problem three times so far, first twice, switchingthe car off and on cleared it, but the third time was a real problem.
I was in the highlands of Scotland at a place called Gairloch, some 800 miles from the nearest Volt dealer, there are only two in the UK, both in the South of England.
The car would not turn off even though I kept the button pressed, but the lever would not come out of park.
Disconnected the battery in the boot to switch it off and reset, did it several times without any success.
Fours hours later a breakdown service vehicle arrived, with luckily a Mercedes mechanic who had experienced the steering lock problem with Mercedes cars, he found the lock on the lower column and "massaged" it whilst I locked and unlocked the car, eventually we heard the motor buzz and the message cleared - I have not locked the car since!
Have a few strange electical gremlins, sometimes the headlights come on when I plug the charge lead in and then the interior lights will not go off until I open and close all the doors, the turn indicators sometimes have an irregular beat, but keep working.
Done 17,000 miles in 7 months so far and this was my first actual breakdown - no On-Star in the UK.

[jmX]

This was an extremely common issue with 1997-2004 model year Corvettes, and "massaging" the lock by jerking the steering wheel back and forth is about your only option for a quick fix - other than simply relying on luck.

Many companies sell a lock simulator which plugs in where the actual lock plugs in. You disconnect the factory lock plug so the wheel can never lock again, plug in the simulator in its place, and you're good to go.