[florodebat]

yakev724 All the images included in the steering wheel DIY appears to be unavailable. This is a great DIY so I am wondering if you could re-upload the images?
Thanks

[alpina320d]

I got the same steering lock problem in My E90.

[alpina320d]

All the images included in the steering wheel DIY appears to be unavailable!!!

[osianbw]

So I've developed this same issue with my e91 '06, my quote from the stealership was GBP 972. They say that only replacing the steering column will fix the problem. I'm going to take in to an indy and see if they can update the cars software and solve the issue that way otherwise they'll be doing the column too. I'm disgusted that BMW wouldn't offer any goodwill toward the repair, especially as this is a fault with their component!

I was interested to read this walk through but without the pictures it makes it difficult. I found yakev724's photobucket page and the images show up in it, but unfortunately you can't see all of them full size. Here's the link, even as thumbnails they should help you get the gist.

http://s293.photobucket.com/user/yak...?sort=3&page=1

[berne]

Originally Posted by Fredrik_Sweden

I am glad I found this thread, I have had trouble with the ELV on my E91 -06 for about 1,5 years. I took it apart and lubricated all parts + tacking the electric motor apart and cleaned it for about 1 year ago.

2 weeks ago it started to show yellow light again after working perfectly for 1 year

So I decided to try the emulator after reading this thread. It works perfectly!

So I thought I could share some info about how I did it:

1. I have soldered the connection pins on the circuteboard.





2. No plastic casing for the curcitboard was included, so I made on in my CAD program and printed in my company’s 3D-printer






3. Connecting it to the car was super easy, about 20min job.

- Remove the kick panel, only 3 T20 screws.
- Put key into car and check that the ELV unlocks the steering wheel.


- Disconnect the battery in the trunk


- Disconnect the ELV-cable you can access it easy from the underside where you have removed the kick panel.


- Note that the ELV-cable connection-pins are marked 1 2 3 4. Number 1 pin must be connected to the number 1 pin on the curcitboard (it is marked).




- Connect the Emulator.

- Reconnect the car battery. And insert key. You will see a small LED on the curcitboard flash when the Emulator is working.

Best regards
Fredrik /Sweden

Visa har det bra☺️ Har samma problem, men kan inte få låstet att släppa så vet inte vad jag ska göra,

[Romosanul]

Originally Posted by sorin_nsk

Hello,

I have a BMW e90 320d from 2005 with Comfort Access (keyless go) and I have experienced the same problem. After a week in the parking lot, my car got the yellow lock error and would not start for 3 days. I should mention as i think it is very important that the battery went weak and this most probably triggered the problem. I changed the car's battery and still yellow lock error. But this morning I went to have another try and the error was gone and the car started with no problem....and no error.

I I have read in this forum the problem might come back as this is a ELV locking system common issue.

I will be back with updates

Regards !
Sorin
ROMANIA

Hello my friends, my name is Mihai. I'm from Romania and I own a BMW E90 from 2006. I'm using it from 6years now. One night this summer my dear 👿 devil lock the steering wheel and a had to tow it at home. Just getting it down my crazy car starts without any errors stored in ecu. After Christmas happened one more time but this time a had to let it rest for three days. One error was stored: A0BD output wake-up line for pt can. After three days it was possible to use it til the end of January. From then was practically impossible to start it. After reading this post, thank you for the good and precise instructions, I've fallow all the instructions, clean the lock and did a visual inspection of it. Everything was like new. Then I have read the post of sorin_nsk and indeed was the door handle. I have keyless entry. After disconnect the Handel the car started without problems. I've done some more testing inserting the cable in the handle/no start locking steering pictogram, disconnect the cable start like new. In conclusion thanks to all for helping me. Good luck to all!

[rathersmart]

my ELV was actually toast. my solution required an ELV emulator

Step 1 - Tools Used
Step 2 - Set up good lighting to the steering column area
Step 7 - Remove lower steering column shroud
Step 8 - Unscrew the lower kick panel
Step 9 - Remove the lower kick panel
Step 10 - Remove the rubber steering column shaft boot I actually couldn't remove it so i just undid it from the bulkhead and moved it up the shaft
Step 12 - Remove pinch bolt
Step 13 - Remove clock spring connectors
Step 14 - Remove steering column bolts
Step 15 - Remove steering column lock connector
Step 16 - Remove 2 wire harness clips along column
Step 17 - Remove steering column
Step 18 - Remove 3 "Torx Plus Security" Bolts I used the 5 point security bits
Step 19 - Remove plastic cover and mechanism

New Steps
new step 1 - drill a hole on the opposite side of the housing to punch the pin out. there is a hole on one side to install the pin and you will see it clearly. on the opposite side of the housing there is no hole. drill there to punch it out. the pin is what allows the lock to pivot. one red circle is the pin and the second red circle is the approximate location to drill

new step 2 - plug ELV emulator into the ELV connector

installation is reversal of removal

[wreckman]

My 2012 E93 broke its ELV some weeks ago, in an opened position. I think the E90 models changed though over the years, it's still called E9x but these models got the dreaded ELV in the steering column designed back in, with the same issues as the older that was referenced in the start of this thread.

So, it's currently at the BMW dealer who says its out of warranty, and their "fix" is to replace the whole steering column (as before...) and they want more than $2000 for this.

Aside from the obvious annoyance that BMW keeps doing these shitty designs with the expensive fixes, does anyone know in what way these newer E90 models are different from the one in the OP in this thread?

I'm considering getting one of those 4-pin ELV emulators just to get it working so I can drive it from the BMW dealer to an indie who could just swap the steering column to a used one or actually fix the lock.

I'm also trying to get BMW to handle it out of goodwill as this issue seems like a super-common thing and is simply based on low quality / bad design from their part, but I don't have any high hopes.

[jtaliene92]

I have a 2007 bmw 328xi, Ive had the red steering wheel lock for awhile now, Im having my CAS be reprogrammed to act as if its a 2009, and then I am going to replace the steering column with a used one also from 2009 without the steering wheel lock mechanism. Would this work?

[jtaliene92]

Originally Posted by wreckman

My 2012 E93 broke its ELV some weeks ago, in an opened position. I think the E90 models changed though over the years, it's still called E9x but these models got the dreaded ELV in the steering column designed back in, with the same issues as the older that was referenced in the start of this thread.

So, it's currently at the BMW dealer who says its out of warranty, and their "fix" is to replace the whole steering column (as before...) and they want more than $2000 for this.

Aside from the obvious annoyance that BMW keeps doing these shitty designs with the expensive fixes, does anyone know in what way these newer E90 models are different from the one in the OP in this thread?

I'm considering getting one of those 4-pin ELV emulators just to get it working so I can drive it from the BMW dealer to an indie who could just swap the steering column to a used one or actually fix the lock.

I'm also trying to get BMW to handle it out of goodwill as this issue seems like a super-common thing and is simply based on low quality / bad design from their part, but I don't have any high hopes.

Good luck trying to get BMW to pay for it, I tried that and they wont even recognize that its a bad design.

[wreckman]

Originally Posted by jtaliene92

Good luck trying to get BMW to pay for it, I tried that and they wont even recognize that its a bad design.

Actually BMW Sweden told me they would cover it on goodwill if the local BMW representative agreed. They were the ones who suggested I should call them. But then they screwed it up somehow, so now they won't pay for it..

Anyway, they also want an exorbitant amount of money for the steering column part, around $2100 (even without labour), which is crazy in itself as the OEM part costs $600 or so and the job of switching it is like 1 hour max. I think BMW does this to scam the insurance companies as normally the end customer won't pay for it.

I too found the columns used in good condition (from cars the same milage as mine) for around $300, including the ELV, so one option for me is to just get a used one as you suggest and let an indie swap it out. But yes I heard the CAS on the pre-2009 E90's is part of the problem so in your case, you might just end up in the same situation again if you do it I guess. Swap it and then sell the car

[Sherj]

Thank you so much, I was installing my a msport wheel the other day and used an impact to zip out the 16mm holding the wheel. It wasn't until I was done installing the wheel that I got the ELV warning. It was a lot of fun to remove the module . The silicon grease I used was super lube, you can get it from Ace Hardware or Harbor Freight. I was unable to move my steering wheel at all, but if you have the steering wheel at top dead center you can get away with a short 8mm wrench. For the Torx Plus Security bits I just used a flat head screw driver from my I fit it kit, the bolts arent torques down very much so it was easy to take out. Also make sure not to turn the wheel when you have the steering column removed, otherwise you risk ripping the clock spring cable which I did.

[usi227]

Some tips for anyone attempting this difficult DIY. Big thanks to the creator for this otherwise I would be 1.5k down at the BMW dealership.

The pinch bolt was on so incredibly tight there was no way I could access it via the inside of the driver's footwell as mentioned in the steps. I removed the pollen filter and scuttle panel and went in via the engine bay (the bolt is located on the drivers side just to the left of the engine cover as you look at it. This is much easier, especially if your wheels are locked straight and won't turn when jacked up. I used a 1/2 inch drive socket with a long extension and E10 socket. The bolt is just about visible on the 6 cylinder E9x.

With the locking mechanism, I removed it entirely. For the stress of getting the column out, to me its not worth cleaning and regreasing as I really don't want to be removing this ever again if it decides to fail once more. I drilled out the locking mechanism as someone else said above, you need to drill a small hole above where the mechanism pin sits and then tap it out with a screwdriver and hammer, I just removed the whole mechanism and didn't bother putting the cover back on as there weren't any electrics/mechanism left!

I bought an emulator online (just type BMW ELV emulator into google and take your pick) and plugged it into the steering column ELV connector that was previously attached to the column.

When you put the column back in, align it properly and have a friend help guide it in by looking at the engine bay side, you can reach into the engine bay (its tight) and adjust the female end. There is one thick spine and it only goes in one way so take your time and be patient. The thick spine should be just left (as you look at the engine bay) of center so make sure the thick end of the spindle is slightly off center to match. You really need 2 people for this bit. The spindle doesn't go all the way into the female end but has a semi circular cut out where the pinch bolt sits, once aligned you can screw the bolt back in - I used some PTFE tape to stop the bolt from falling out of my socket and being lost in the engine bay.


I did the job in December in the freezing cold and it was tough but I had no choice as the car wouldn't start due to the lock and I refused to spend 1.5k or pay a mechanic to fix this stupid problem.

Hopefully the description helps someone attempting this. Give yourself a day to be safe. It's no fun lying on your back in the driver's footwell in the freezing cold with poor visibility. Get a good light to help you.

Thanks BMW for allowing the lock to fail closed as opposed to open rendering the car inoperable.

[535gtxenon]

Thanks to @yakev724 for this detailed DIY. Helped me to unlock mine and it went very smoothly. I wanted to share my experience as I skipped few steps and saved significant amount of time and effort.
What I DID NOT removed are:
1). You do not have to remove the steering wheel. Just keep it on. It is not in the way of unlock it.
2). DO NOT remove the steering column shaft pinch bolt. This saves lots of time and makes the whole process much much easier. After you remove the 4 bolts which secure the steering column to the dash deck, you will lower the entire steering column as much as you can and pull it towards you as far as you can. It gives you enough room to reach to the screws that secure the black plastic box covering the lock. Buy a proper 5 points torx bits from Amazon and you will be able to remove these 3 screw fairly easily even you can not see the one behind the box. Once the black cover is removed, the entire lock slides out. Just reset the lock there.
3). I had my Car Access Box coded. So it will no longer lock the steering wheel. I remove the locking pin entirely to make sure this will never lock again. The coding also clear the red steering sign.

Whole process take less than an hour. And if I need to do it again, it should only take 30 mins knowing exactly where everything is. It is a simpler job than changing the brake pads.
Thanks yakev724 again which made it much much easier.