Locking the steering wheel

TheCROW163 · Mar 24th, 2008, 05:17 PM

Hi guys, would like your opinion on something:
Everytime I park my 98 pathy I lock the steering wheel cos I'm afraid of it being stolen!!!
Is that ok or will it damage something?
Thanks All.

pat94XE-V6 · Mar 24th, 2008, 07:05 PM

if someone wants it bad enough, they'll get it. Well if he "hotwires" it and tries to drive the wheel will lock on it's own, unless he(the thief) takes apart the whole ignition to disengage the lock without a key.

To test this theory go out side and get in your truck and unlock the wheel. now remove your key and pretend you just crossed some wires and started you truck, turn the wheel.. boom locked. now put in the key but don't turn it. put some pressure on the steering wheel (left or right doesn't matter) and turn the key but DONT force it. if it wont turn easily until you let go of the wheel your safe. but like i said "if someone wants it bad enough, they'll get it."

and no i dont have anything better to do with my time on a monday night.

b67 · Mar 24th, 2008, 09:39 PM

I think you have chip in your key that makes the car harder to steal. I've left mine in the ghetto plenty of times and it never got jacked up.

TheCROW163 · Mar 25th, 2008, 12:25 PM

Thanks a lot for your replies guys....
When it's locked and I want to turn o the engine, I have to put a little pressure on the wheel and at the same time turn the key. It turns easily so I guess it's normal.

Theft aside, if I lock the wheel everytime I park and unlock it when I turn on, will it damage something on the long run?
Thanks again.

laxman0324 · Mar 25th, 2008, 01:15 PM

My 97 has no chip...the club or w/e it is will deter a lot of rookie thieves, but if they are determined enough they will still get it...my 96 Accord was stolen a couple months ago, all they did was cut the steering wheel rim and pull the club off where they cut it...Just don't do too much stuff to your car unless you garage it and don't park it in risky places (even though mine was stolen out of my driveway while i was sleeping)

pat94XE-V6 · Mar 25th, 2008, 06:22 PM

yea i dont think there is a de-mobilizer chip in your pathfinder. BUT my point was you DONT have to lock the wheel.. there is no reason to. i guess it could wear out the locking mechanism if you think about it..

b67 · Mar 25th, 2008, 07:13 PM

interesting, my 99 (built 11/98) has it - I always thought all 96+ pathfinders had it

pat94XE-V6 · Mar 25th, 2008, 07:19 PM

well look into it. i dont know i was just assuming that because i haven't seen any in a car older the 2002 (based on the remote starters i've installed)

NPath · Mar 25th, 2008, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheCROW163

Hi guys, would like your opinion on something:
Everytime I park my 98 pathy I lock the steering wheel cos I'm afraid of it being stolen!!!
Is that ok or will it damage something?
Thanks All.

Another thing you can also do is pull the fuse for the fuel pump. That'll slow him/her down a bit or just give it up as it's taking too much time to get it started.

As for locking the wheel, I don't know if it'll do damage in the long run, but I'll assume it's there for a reason.

pat94XE-V6 · Mar 25th, 2008, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NPath

Another thing you can also do is pull the fuse for the fuel pump. That'll slow him/her down a bit or just give it up as it's taking too much time to get it started.

wow, yea.. good one! and if you wanted to go over the edge you could carry a blown fuse to put in place of the good one. lol

laxman0324 · Mar 25th, 2008, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b67

interesting, my 99 (built 11/98) has it - I always thought all 96+ pathfinders had it

No my 97 def. doesn't have the chip as the key I was given when I bought it is an unmarked cut key...maybe when they did the mid 99 facelift they updated that system

MattyDK23 · Mar 26th, 2008, 12:14 PM

The lockplate is a pretty simple mechanism. It's just a plate inside the steering wheel column with several divots around the perimeter (like this). When the key is off/out, a spring-loaded bolt presses up.

If that bolt didn't happen to slip into a divot when the key was turned off, it will when the wheel is turned slightly. Bam. Locked. The bolt retracts when you turn the key on.

Since it's fairly simple, I don't think any excessive wear would occur if you always "lock" it. But as said before, manually locking it isn't necessary; turn the wheel a few degrees and it'll lock by itself anyways. Either way, it's a well-known mechanism and anyone who's willing to steal a car will have to eventually bypass it, regardless of whether it's in a locked state or not.

On a side note, the reason you have to turn the wheel while turning the key sometimes is because there happens to be rotational pressure in the steering column (say, from your tires pressing against the curb) which translates to friction between the lockplate and retracting bolt. Turning the wheel slighly relieves that pressure, letting the bolt retract (and key turn). Again, no cause for alarm, as long as you don't put a lot of torque on the wheel while doing so.

TheCROW163 · Mar 26th, 2008, 06:57 PM

Thanks for yor reply guys,

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattyDK23

manually locking it isn't necessary; turn the wheel a few degrees and it'll lock by itself anyways.

Matty, what do you mean "manually locking it"? The only way I know how to is by turning the wheel after turning off the engine and removing the key, it locks. Is there any other way of doing it?
Thanks again.

MattyDK23 · Mar 27th, 2008, 01:50 AM

Hmm... sorry, guess that was a bit confusing. But yeah, I meant manual locking = you doing it, automatic locking = someone else doing it.