our motoring tip of the week concerns
locking steering columns this is one of
the very few remedies that I can
actually give over the phone and I
actually did that the other day with a
customer she suggested that I use this
as the motoring tip of the week here's
the deal if you've got a locking
steering column and the key goes into
the column itself in some cases if
you've got it turned extreme left or
right the steering can bind up against
the key mechanism there's a dead bolt in
the steering column and a rack and
pinion gear that actually causes that
dead bolt to engage and disengage to
lock the steering if there's pressure on
it and there is pressure when it's a
turned extreme left or right it can bind
up the key here's the trick
just take the steering wheel move it
gently and turn the key gently wiggle it
and turn the steering wheel gently and
it will free up don't force the issue if
you force the key you can actually break
the key in some cases if you use enough
force but just wiggle it around wiggle
the key and the steering wheel together
and it'll free up it's only a problem at
extreme left or right if you're parked
close to center with the steering wheel
close to center not an issue but if
you've just wounded yourself into a
tight parking space you can run into
this problem with the locking steering
column just play around with it a bit
it'll unlock if you're gentle
that's your motoring tip of the week