I have an 05
boxster
that's displaying a "steering locked" warning when I insert the key. I was driving, pulled over to sit for a bit and turned the car off, sat for maybe 5 or 10 minutes, then tried to start the car and the warning came up.
There's no audible click of the steering lock disengaging when the key is inserted, but I still have full range for the steering wheel, so I know the steering lock itself isnt activated. I've tried turning the wheel to various degrees and then attempting to turn it over all with no luck.
The car wont go into accessory mode either, the warning comes up as soon as the key is inserted.
Any idea what could be the issue/potential issue? Any help is appreciated
You can take the key in and out of the steering column, can turn the wheel all over, yet there starter doesn't engage ?
Yes. The key lock engages when I the I insert the key. But if I try to turn the over the above warning shows up. And the car wont do anything beyond that. It isnt in auxiliary mode, its locked out and refuses to attempt to turn over or go to accessory mode.
Do you have another key for the vehicle? Sounds like either the key is defective or the
ECU
has lost it's mind.
Another possibility would be the steering wheel lock is not fully retracting, or it is and the switch that senses the retraction is defective.
Tried using both keys. Same result.
Did you ever figure it out? I have a
911
(2017) and it says similar (Steering wheel lock fault). Car wont start and the rear wing is stuck (extended) and I can't raise the top or put up the wind deflector. Even when the car was running. Wont start after turning it off. BUT wait 5 minutes and it will start, but it will also display a "engine malfunction" warning and says "Driving permitted" but want's me to go to the dealer. The check engine light stays on for maybe 2-3 more cycles (stop/start) then goes off and everything is OK (or all errors go away). Eventually I'll have to go to the dealer but was wondering if you found out what it was.
yes good question.
It’s a year old and actually DIED three days ago.
I fully charged it (according to the
CTEK charger
) 2 days ago.
When it died it gave me the same engine error but not the steering wheel lock error.
Again those errors went away the
next
day.
It was at the shop (dealer) two weeks and I had them check it. Was ok then.
I did drop the top remotely right before it died while washing it. That’s what caused it to die as well as the trunk light being on.
It starts ok now.
Just a guess but it may be battery related. Keep it charged up and see if the problem "goes away". If I'm not going to drive mine for a couple of days, I throw the
CTEK
on it.
It would be helpful to know how this was resolved if anyone could share.
@coyotepittsburg, I just went through the exact same situation, my 987C just started giving me the 'steering locked' dashboard warning despite having the front wheels straight without any apparent cause of mechanical locking, which prevented me from starting up the engine, windows wouldn't roll up either. I went to the extent of raising the front axle on car jack stands and attempt to manually steer the front wheels with the hopes of releasing tension affecting the steering column by doing so. In the process I noticed the steering fluid was kind of low so I topped it off, I also replaced the battery (it was due already after all)... but the error message wouldn't go away. Long story short, whacking and shaking the hell out of the steering wheel appears to do the job, do consider unlocking the steering column as if you were going to adjust the steering wheel height and depth, then shake it off real hard, up-down, left-right, in-out, finally lock it back in position before attempting to start up the car again. I got inspiration from this fine gentleman here:
I have a 08
Cayman
and this error came up when I parked my car negligently, just leaving the wheel turned much to the left. For the records, just to save money for others, the following methods didn't work for me: changing the battery in the key, changing the battery in the car, leaving the negative cable off from the battery for 20 minutes (yes, that was also recommended by someone), pushing the car back and forth a bit, and shaking the wheel and the key in the lock left and right.
What did work though was unlocking the wheel at the bottom, and pushing-pulling it in and out like crazy (people walking by must have thought "this dude must have a terrible day"). At one point I've heard a click, and I could turn the wheel to straight position, when it got locked again. So I repeated the in-and-out work with the wheel, there came the click again, and I could simply start the engine. It happened this morning, so this is a quite fresh experience.
I hope this will help others.
