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Hey, if your Honda's push start button
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just blinks and the steering wheel locks
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up like it's glued in place, that sucks.
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I've seen it strand folks in parking
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lots. Good news, it's often a quick swap
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of the electronic steering lock module
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right behind your dash, and it'll have
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you rolling again in under an hour. All
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right, then. Grab a basic socket set,
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torque wrench, and a new steering lock
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assembly from your Honda dealer. Part
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numbers model specific, so check that
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first. Oh, and an OBD scanner helps pull
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any immobilizer codes from the car's
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computer. You know, nothing fancy, just
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tools you probably got in your garage
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already. First off, before tearing into
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anything, try this no tools trick on
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your Honda. Press the brake pedal hard.
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Jiggle the steering wheel left and right
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a bit, maybe 10° each way, while mashing
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that push start button. Sometimes the
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pin in the steering column just gets
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stuck from uneven pressure when you
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parked. If it clicks free, you're
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golden. That's fixed it for half the
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Civics and Accords I see. But if it's
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still stubborn, and honestly in push
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start Hond's from 2010 on, it's usually
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the module failing. Time to dig in. Pop
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the hood and disconnect your car's
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battery negative terminal first.
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Safety's no joke with the ECU talking to
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That kills power to the steering lock
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system so nothing shorts out while
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you're working. Okay, so slide under the
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dash on the driver's side. Your knees
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might complain, but it's a tight spot.
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Remove the lower panel with a few
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screws. It's that plastic cover hiding
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the steering column in your Honda.
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Unplug the wiring harness from the old
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steering lock module. It's a small black
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box bolted right to the column shaft.
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Two 10 mm bolts hold it. Torque them
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loose and it'll pop right off. Swap in
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the new one. Plug everything back and
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reconnect the battery. Now, here's the
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key part. Your Honda's immobilizer needs
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reprogramming so it recognizes the fresh
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module. Fire up that OBD scanner, plug
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it into the port under the dash. Yeah,
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the one near your fuse box. And follow
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the prompts to sync the new part with
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the car's brain. Takes about 5 minutes
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if the tools got the Honda software
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loaded. Double check by hopping in,
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pressing the brake, and hitting start.
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The wheel should unlock smooth as
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butter. What year Honda are you
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wrestling with right now? Drop it in the
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comments. I bet it's a 2013 Accord like
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my buddies was last week. Speaking of,
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that guy pulled up towing his on a
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flatbed, swearing the wheel seized mid
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turn on the highway. Turns out his
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12volt battery was dipping low, which
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glitches the steering lock electronics
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in these push start setups. We jumped at
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first, boom, started right up, but the
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module was toast anyway, replaced it on
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the spot, and he drove home laughing
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about how he thought his power steering
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quit for good. Moral: Always test
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voltage before assuming the worst. One
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quick tip, if you're diying this, grab
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dialectric grease for those connectors.
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It keeps moisture out and saves
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headaches down the road. Common mistake,
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forgetting to cycle the key fob near the
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start button after the swap. The car
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won't prime without it learning the
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signal. So to wrap it, jiggle and
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restart first, then swap that steering
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lock module if needed. Reprogram and
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test. Easy win for your Honda's push
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start wos. If this got your wheels
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turning again, hit like and subscribe to
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Car Justify. We've got more garage chats
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like this. Share your steering lock war
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stories below. What's the craziest spot
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it's happened to you?
