st0

Given the widespread occurrence among W204 vehicles, I find myself needing to use a hammer to tap my steering wheel in order to engage the lock every time I park my car.

Elemento Tuning

You should change it while you are still able to leave it in an open state. Otherwise you are setting yourself up for more trouble.

Moto_Guzzi

Good questtion, where I live this nonsense can get me killed.

cvx5832

I was in the same boat, although I used those last legs to get it unlocked, parked in a safe spot (my garage) and battery disconnected until the Amazon replacement motor came in. As pointed out, replace it now when it's actually giving you a warning. Most do not get that courtesy.

JettaRed

iTrader: (1)

So, what symptoms to look for? Intermittent problems starting or steering wheel failing to unlock?

cvx5832

And the no-start scenario. But yes.

st0

I've had to resort to using a hammer to tap the steering wheel until I hear a click sound every time before I leave the car, or it won't start the next day. It's been quite a hassle for me, and this has been the routine for the past two years. There are a few times when I have to continuously tap the wheel for a few minutes until I hear the click sound. It adds to the frustration of this ongoing issue.

Because I have to hitting with hammer for the past two years, my steering wheel is not perfectly align forward now.

cvx5832

That’s because you’re not fixing it. Put the hammer down and replace the (literally) $12 motor.

https://a.co/d/4koSSlh

antboii

You can purchase a replacement steering wheel on eBay if you want. They aren't hard to swap. Not sure if it has to come off for the steering lock. But seeing as it's bent from you repeatedly hitting it for two years It should probably be swapped out.

like others have already suggested replace the part before the hammer stops working.

Best of luck
Ant

cvx5832

When I did mine the wheel had to come off to get the clock spring assembly off to get proper access to the bolts. It's not hard, lots of guides, just needs patience and a present mind. Like don't do it if you have kids running around and you have to pick up the misus in an hour. That's not the headspace you want to be working under. Same when you disassemble the ESL. You'll need to understand how it works because you'll be removing the internal mechanism and PCB to gain access to the motor.

The lower joint just pulls out from the spline, nothing to disassemble there. Only tool you might not have is a decent impact gun, as the dealership superstar that put my wheel back on after replacing the clock spring 7 years prior during warranty work for sure used a gun. Took nothing less than 1000lb impact hammering for 10sec straight did it start to come loose. The bolt also appears to have had threadlocker from the factory.