M35 Issue(s)- Won't Start, Missing Key, Steering Lock

[infiniti650]

Thought I would pass along 2 (free) tricks that solved an issue (or issues) with my 2007 M35 No Start situation. Sorry for length of this, but hopefully it helps someone in the community.

There are a few other threads that talk about similar problems in this area, but not sure if my situation is one of I have a unique problem, or I found a unique solution.

Problem(s):
- Try to start car, car turns "on" (everything works but...), engine doesn't start.
- Sometimes "Key Missing" warning is lit, sometimes not. Yet, key fob was just used to remote lock or unlock successfully, suggesting car does see and recognize key fob
- Sometimes steering wheel remains locked when car "on" and sometimes remains unlocked when car "off". There seems to be a correlation with "locked" wheel and no "Key Missing" light, and "Unlocked" steering wheel and visible "key missing" light.

Research:
- Lots of videos, threads suggesting issue with Electronic Steering Column Lock (ESCL) with a replacement solution for Nissans and g35, but no replacement solution for M35/45. Also suggestions on how to "bang" steering column to get it to unlock.
- or pointers towards failed security module/receiver, with needed replacement

My Solution(s)

1) If No Start with "locked" steering wheel and No "Key Missing" light then:
- if you try to turn the locked steering wheel, you will usually find that the wheel won't turn in one direction at all, but will with effort move in the other direction a small amount (inch or so).
- basically you are feeling the ESCL piston against the steering wheel for the direction that won't move, and you are feeling the "tension" of your wheels and steering for the direction that will move a bit with effort.
- so to start car, Turn Steering Wheel in direction that will move a bit as much as possible, you'll feel steering wanting to pull back, Start Car normally, and I then hear steering lock piston retract and car starts.
- My diagnosis, the ESCL is failing and the motor doesn't have enough power to retract lock piston by overcoming friction of the piston against steering wheel. By turning steering wheel in direction of some movement of wheels, you are relieving tension and friction against piston lock by better aligning piston with lock cylinder position on steering column, so it can retract. Car uses some weird logic of, if steering wheel can't unlock then there must not be a valid key, so don't start engine.
- fyi, as a precaution, I now try to make sure my steering wheel is "loose", i.e. my wheels are not pressed up against a curb, or the wheels are turned hard to the side, etc., when I turn off the car. By not having any tension on the steering wheel, the piston lock seems to line up more easily and there is minimal friction on piston, thereby avoiding this situation altogether.

2) If "Key Missing" light is on, and usually steering wheel is unlocked (but not always), but car won't start but is On then:
- You've just tried to start car, so your foot is still on the brake, the ignition is showing "On"
- KEEP your foot depressing brake pedal
- SHIFT your gear selector out of Park into R,N,orD slowly while keeping brake pedal depressed and ignition in "on" position. Car engine Starts! Key Missing light might stay on for a while, but everything works.
- Usually, car starts as soon as (well, a second delay) I depress gear selector button to allow shifting.
- My diagnosis, the ESCL and/or security module believes the key is missing even though the key can be used to lock/unlock car, lower windows, etc. But the transmission knows the key is there which is why it lets you depress gear selector button to shift. Somehow the car in some messed up, reverse logic now assumes the key must be there since the transmission is unlocked and the gear selector can be moved, and Starts the engine even though some other system is saying the key is missing and displaying the warning light.

Anyway, I hope these two tricks help you avoid getting stranded somewhere with a car that won't Start. Fyi, I've been living with this issue for about 3 years now.

The won't start problem pops up about once a month or so (mostly the "key missing" version), although it was nearly every time before I figured out the "loose" steering wheel trick. My suspicion is that it is all related to the ESCL, and what is happening, is that the piston doesn't align cleanly with a lock position on the steering wheel, so when I turn off car, it tries to lock, piston fails to seat itself into steering column, so doesn't "lock" hence "unlocked" steering wheel even though car and engine is "off", and therefore car believes Key is Missing since ESCL was not able to lock steering column. Again, backwards logic of using ESCL lock piston position sensor to make assumption about Key presence instead of using the security module that can actually talk to key fob and execute remote key functions.

Several other articles point out that the ESCL is integrated into the steering rack for our M's so can't be replaced separately, i.e. full steering rack needs to be replaced. So therefore I willing to live with this problem as long as the solution above works consistently.

[LIBRILZ]

Ive honestly just started encountering this as well. Great thread. Let me add to this by saying, I have no idea if this is true, or could be a culprit. But Usually when I take the key out my pocket it gets recognized. Maybe since I put my key next to my wallet in my pocket, the RFID blocking stuff in the wallet is messing with reception of the key. Maybe, maybe not. I do know it generally gets recognized once I remove it from my pocket though.

[infiniti650]

Good point!

Of course when hitting such issues, try troubleshooting the key fob first:
- key out of pocket
- trying other key fob functions: lock, unlock, trunk, window opening, etc
- trying your second key fob
- changing battery in the fob
- putting fob into the fob receptical on dash (which should enable car start even with dead fob battery)
- etc

Often, changing the fob battery is easiest and fastest solution to most such issues.

Should have said try all that first. I went down the rabbit hole after all the key fob troubleshooting indicated fob was fine in my case, and the car started acting "goofier", like car starts fine, then doesn't, then does again, which led me to try to figure out what the pattern was.

As I said, I might have a unique set of issues, but if your troubleshooting leads you to suspecting ESCL, steering column lock, problem then try out those tricks and hopefully they'll help you out.

[EdBwoy]

Thanks for sharing. I hope this solves your issues for good.
I've dealt with a decent number of Ms, and all I remember were 2 instances of odd behavior:

1. The car refused to start because the steering wheel was jammed.
Exactly as you described it. This is reminiscent of the older cars with traditional key blades. When the ignition refuses to turn, try moving your steering wheel a little.

***
2. The second instant was rather unique, and came about as a result of a repair I made and overlooked the integration of a mechanical unit into the security software.

I replaced the steering column with the lock module, and the car started once but wouldn't start again after I turned it off.
I turns out there is a decent amount of KAM (keep alive memory) that remembers that I unlocked the security system properly before disconnecting the battery.
This is what allowed me to start the car with an "unauthorized" steering lock module.
When I turned the car off then on again, it allowed the car to reset it's security checks and notice that the steering had locked (default state when ignition is turned off) but it had not satisfied all the handshakes to unlock.

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