Oo-er! 'Steering Wheel Lock Service Required' message!

[froggyted]

Mild panic! I went to start the car (08 S40 2.0D) today to make the return journey home, needed to briefly get back out of the car again, and thought i felt a bit of unusual resistance returning the key back to the '0' position (possibly my imagination). When i put the key back in the ignition to start the vehicle, i had the amber warning symbol and a message: 'Steering Wheel Lock Service Required'. When i tried to start the car there was no power. This was resolved when i took the key out of the ignition and had another go - back to normal. I didn't dare tempt fate, so drove back home without further ado. On the drive at home i repeated this procedure several times and all seemed fine. Maybe it was just a glitch, maybe i accidentally did something unusual, but i'm just a bit worried i might get stranded in the middle of nowhere and be unable to start the car. Has anybody on here had any experience of this issue, or in a position to make any suggestions?

[froggyted]

I contacted a main dealer today and they have persuaded me to book the car in to have the fault codes read. Apparently, if this fails it will not be possible to start the car, and we're off on holiday soon! Fortunately, the car is still within the 3 year manufacturer's warranty, and i have breakdown cover as part of the Select Used Car deal. If anybody has any experiences with this issue i would be interested to hear, since i remember reading on here recently that there have been a few issues with the electronic steering lock system.

[tayandre]

I've had this happen to me once but never did anything about it. Maybe I should get it checked next time I need a service or warranty work.

I have keyless drive, do you?

[froggyted]

Hi tayandre, no i don't have keyless drive. Presumably your problem manifested itself some while back and didn't recur, and if so this is somewhat reassuring. I'll report back next week with the results of the diagnostic checks.

[v.florin1]

Hi froggyted, what the dealer said after the diagnostic ckeck? I got the same message on my car and I made a visit to the local dealer who was unable to tell me if a have problem or not. On the diagnostic paper it appeared a temporary error regarding steering but they were not sure what it meant.

[jasonb]

It's a common problem and most of the Volvo dealers know about this!
One of two components are likely to be the cause of the problem.
The key module (not sure of the technical name for it) is most likely at fault.
Or there is a steering motor which could be responsible.

Happened to me and there was an amazing technical solution from The AA.
Place the key half in to the module on the dash as normal.
The give it a little whack home.

Of course Volvo will tell you to order a replacement part as soon as....take it as a warning I was told.

12+ months later, no repeat and all is well!

[fenton_jd]

This happened twice in 2 years on my 2.0d.

I just took the key out, wiggled the wheel then tried again. Worked fine.

[froggyted]

Hi guys, sorry for not getting back on this at the time as promised, i think it got overlooked due to the proximity of the holiday.

The dealer said that no fault codes had been reported (it's not impossible that there was a temporary fault code indicated as v.florin1 was told, and they didn't want to do work on the basis of this under the guarantee scheme, although my dealer is generally trustworthy). Anyway, i have had no recurrence of the issue. We went on holiday and had a great time, and of course the car has been driven many times since without any recurrence. I'm still really pleased with the car.

Unfortunately, however, my AM waveband has recently mysteriously died on the infotainment centre (see separate thread). Although the 3 year warranty has now expired i still have one and a half months left on the Select Used Car warranty and am hoping it's covered on this. Any help will be appreciated on the relevant thread.

[Ninja59]

both our C30's have done this mine a 2.0D and my dads D2 but both times the cars have only ever done it once...never again tbh i am not getting worked up about it best advice in IT support turn it off and turn it on again lol

[froggyted]

Originally Posted by Ninja59

both our C30's have done this mine a 2.0D and my dads D2 but both times the cars have only ever done it once...never again tbh i am not getting worked up about it best advice in IT support turn it off and turn it on again lol

It's weird that it just happens once on so many though. Like you say, not worth worrying about, especially if you have breakdown cover. There's probably nothing wrong at all but the Drivers Information Module sometimes gets fooled into thinking there is.