Car Clinic: Should I worry about a steering wheel lock warning on my BMW 3-series?

Q. The warning light for the electronic steering wheel lock on my 2007 BMW 3-series is illuminated, though the lock works fine. Should I worry?

DR, Edinburgh

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A. A malfunctioning steering wheel lock warning light (where one is fitted) is a reason for an MoT failure, so you need to get this fixed. If the light itself is faulty, you won’t know if a genuine steering fault occurs. If the mechanism fails while locked, you have to have the car towed as well as repaired.

Your car is well out of warranty, so we advise going to owners’ club websites such as bmwcarclubgb.uk and forums such as bmwenthusiasts.co.uk. We’ve looked at some of the internet chatter and it suggests this problem may be remedied by a software update.

INSPECTOR GADGET
Dave Pollard has written several Haynes manuals and has tested just about every car-related accessory — read more from Dave here.

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