The 2010 Chevrolet Malibu had been sitting in my driveway for three weeks after the ignition switch gave out. The ignition column lock engaged when the switch failed, and nothing I tried would release it. The steering wheel was completely frozen. You could not turn it a single degree in either direction.
I had figured out the car was worth about $680 in junk condition and I had a confirmed offer from a buyer. What I had not figured out was that a car with a locked steering column presents a specific towing problem that I had no idea about, and that ignorance cost me $85 and two hours of my afternoon.
Why a Locked Steering Column Is a Towing Problem
Here is something most people never think about until a driver shows up at their house: loading a car onto a rollback or flatbed requires steering. When the driver winches or drives your car up the ramp, he needs to position the front wheels so the car tracks straight down the center of the deck. A car with a locked steering column cannot be steered at all. The front wheels point wherever they were pointing when the lock engaged and they stay there.
On my Malibu, the front wheels were canted slightly to the left. Not dramatically. Maybe three or four degrees. But on a 16-foot flatbed deck, three degrees of front-wheel toe means the car loads crooked. A crooked load either risks sliding off the deck edge or requires the driver to compensate by angling the car during the winch pull, which puts side load on the winch cable and the tow hooks.
The first driver who showed up assessed this in about 30 seconds, told me he did not have the right equipment on the rollback for a locked-steering load, and left. He was polite about it. He said he would report back to dispatch and they would send the right truck. He was gone in under five minutes.
Image placeholder: photo from behind the 2010 Malibu showing front wheels visibly canted left by several degrees, flatbed truck parked in driveway with ramp extended, driver visible walking back to the cab, morning light
Try These Before the Driver Arrives (I Should Have Done This)
A locked steering column on a junk car is frustrating because in many cases it is fixable with 10 minutes of effort, and fixing it before the driver arrives eliminates the problem entirely. Here are every method worth trying, in order of how likely they are to work:
The Battery Disconnect and Wait
Disconnect the negative terminal of the battery, wait 60 seconds, and reconnect. On many vehicles with electronic steering column locks (common on GM, Ford, and Chrysler products from 2004 onward), the lock is controlled by a motor-driven actuator, not a purely mechanical pin. Resetting the system by cutting and restoring power sometimes releases the actuator from a stuck position. I did not try this because my battery was dead from three weeks of sitting. If your battery still has charge, this is the first thing to attempt.
The Key Jiggle Method
This applies to mechanically locked columns, not electronic ones. Insert the key in the ignition, apply moderate turning force to the key toward the start position, and simultaneously push and pull the steering wheel hard left and right in rapid alternation. The lock pin sometimes releases under pressure when the key is engaged. This is the first thing every YouTube video recommends and it works frequently on stuck locks that are just binding rather than mechanically failed.
Second Key or Spare Key
A worn key sometimes fails to engage the wafer tumblers correctly, causing the column lock to engage partially and stick. A spare key cut from the original code (not a duplicate of the worn key) sometimes releases a stuck column when the primary key cannot. If you have a spare, try it. If you do not, a locksmith can cut a new key to code from the door lock cylinder without needing the ignition at all.
Call a Locksmith Before the Tow Company
A locksmith who works on automotive ignitions can often release a stuck column lock in under 30 minutes. Cost: $65 to $150 depending on your area and the complexity. This sounds expensive but compare it to the $75 to $175 towing surcharge you will pay if the driver arrives and has to use specialized equipment. A locksmith releasing the lock means the car loads normally and the tow is standard. No surcharge. The math often favors the locksmith.
Spare Tire and Wheel Trick
If the front wheels are angled only slightly, some drivers will physically push the front of the car sideways on flat pavement to center the wheels before winching. This works on flat, smooth driveways if you have two or three people helping and the distance to push is small. It does not work on gravel, grass, or any incline.
The Fuse Pull
Some modern vehicles with electronic steering locks have a dedicated fuse for the steering lock actuator. Pulling that fuse and reinstalling it can trigger a reset sequence when the ignition is cycled. Consult your owner’s manual or an online fuse diagram for your specific car. On some GM vehicles from 2008 to 2014, the steering lock actuator fuse is in the underhood fuse block labeled SLC or ESCL. This works on a small subset of vehicles but costs nothing to try.
What Happened When the Second Driver Showed Up
Dispatch sent a different truck two hours later. This one was a flatbed with steering skates, also called wheel dollies, in the equipment bay behind the cab. Steering skates are small platforms on wheels that sit under each front tire and allow the car to pivot freely during a winch pull even when the steering column is locked. The driver slid one under each front tire, attached the winch cable to the front tow hook, and pulled the car straight up the deck without needing to steer at all.
It added about 14 minutes to the pickup compared to a standard load. He charged $85 for the skate setup as a locked-steering surcharge. I had not expected this fee. It was not mentioned when I booked the pickup. I asked whether the fee was negotiable, he said it was not, and I signed the acknowledgment form.
The Fee Landscape for Locked-Steering Pickups
After that experience I started asking about this specifically when booking junk pickups on cars with compromised steering. Here is what I found across the different approaches drivers and companies use:
Towing Solution for Locked Steering | How It Works | Extra Fee Range ($) | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
Steering skates (wheel dollies) | Platforms under front tires allow pivot-free winching, driver centers car by adjusting cable angle | $50-100 | Most sedans and crossovers, works on any flat driveway |
Rear wheel-lift (boom truck) | Lifts rear axle off the ground, front wheels dragged or rolled on the ground, steering irrelevant | $0-75, some companies send this at no extra charge | Works well, front tires contact pavement but steering column angle does not matter |
Lowboy or trailer (full wheel-off transport) | All four wheels on trailer, zero steering required | $100-200 above standard tow | Best for cars with both steering lock and other complications |
Manual repositioning (push method) | Driver and helpers physically push front of car to center wheels before winching | $0 if driver agrees | Only on flat smooth pavement with minor wheel angle, needs 2-3 people |
Standard rollback (driver attempts without equipment) | Angles approach, loads crooked, risks misalignment on deck | $0 but higher damage risk | Not recommended, driver may refuse mid-load or damage the car |
How to Avoid the Surprise Surcharge
The entire $85 fee was avoidable with one sentence during the booking call. The sentence is: “The steering column is locked and the wheels cannot be turned. What truck will you send and is there an additional charge for a locked-steering pickup?”
That question does three things. It informs dispatch so they send the right equipment. It gives you the fee upfront so it is not a driveway surprise. And it lets you compare the total cost (offer minus surcharge) across multiple buyers before you commit.
On the Malibu, I had five quotes ranging from $620 to $720. If I had asked about the surcharge upfront, the effective offers would have looked like this:
Buyer | Flat Quote ($) | Locked-Steering Surcharge ($) | Net Effective Offer ($) | Equipment They Would Send |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Buyer A | $680 | $85 (steering skates) | $595 | Rollback with skates, confirmed |
Buyer B | $720 | $0 (sends rear wheel-lift at no extra charge) | $720 | Boom truck, no surcharge |
Buyer C | $650 | $75 (steering skates) | $575 | Rollback with skates |
Buyer D | $620 | $0 (handles at their cost) | $620 | Sends lowboy at their expense for locked-steering cars |
Buyer E | $640 | $100 (specialty equipment) | $540 | Flatbed with full dolly kit |
Buyer B at $720 with zero surcharge was the clear winner. But I had already committed to Buyer A before I knew to ask, and I paid $85 on top of a $680 offer for an effective $595 outcome. Buyer D at $620 with zero surcharge would have been better than what I got.
A locked steering column is one of the more unusual junk car complications but it is not rare. Any car with an ignition failure, a seized lock actuator, or a dead battery that triggered the electronic lock can present this problem. The fix is sometimes five minutes with a battery jump. When it is not, the solution is a single disclosure sentence at booking and a question about the surcharge before you agree to anything.