Nemoralis

First off...I'm a Jeep girl, so the only thing I know about a Ford is that I'd like a good Ford 8.8 to do an axle swap for my Wrangler.

Anyway, I was moving my great grandmother's 06 Freestar SE today and when I parked it, she told me that I had to "lock" the steering wheel in place or else it wouldn't start up again without a lot of hassle. I thought this was odd, so I killed it without locking it anyway and it started up again just fine. Even so, she insisted that the dealership she bought the vehicle from told her to always lock the steering wheel just right before turning the van off. She said that she had had problems before if she didn't do as the dealership said, but she couldn't get it to happen just now.

Long story short, I've never heard of this before. Anyone have any idea? It's not that important, I'm just curious.

Johnny Mullet

You mean "Lock" the tilt wheel? Either way, if it is giving her problems without "Locking" whatever, then there is a problem that needs fixed before the warranty expires.

I never heard of this either, but sounds like a wiring issue in the column that needs immediate attention.

Nemoralis

Yes that's what I mean by "locking" - just tilting the wheel until it clicks. I will see about taking it to the dealer. She actually took it back when she started having problems and that's when they told her to lock the wheel. I guess I'll have to go myself.

For reference, what exactly is the purpose of locking the steering wheel on any model car?