Originally Posted by
Mark
You seem to feel steering wheel lock is extremely important. I like that Mirage doesn't have it.
I have never driven one, but I've heard the Toyota Prius may not have steering wheel locks. Since the vehicle can't be shifted out of park without a fob, a locked steering wheel is deemed not necessary. Maybe someone who owns a Prius can confirm the lack of steering wheel lock?
I've also read where steering wheel locks aren't necessary because of electric power steering. The claim is the system locks up when the car is turned off. That, however, is not the case with the Mirage. I can turn turn the steering back & forth all the way in both directions with car off & key removed. It just turns a bit harder with the car turned off (electric power steering also off). Once again I am thrilled about that. If the electric power system fails, you can still steer the car!
I don't think my driver's education car (2015 Impala) will shift out of park until the car is started (chipped key ignition) and foot is applied to the brake. Can Mirage CVT be shifted without a key or FAST-key? I ask, because I don't know?
I like my 5-speed manual without steering wheel lock. There are times when I drop the car in neutral, steer, & push it out of the way for something else in my driveway. I have always hated locked steering columns! I don't miss it on my Mirage!
You have to push the brake to take a cvt Mirage out of park. A 1990 Taurus was the same way.
But unlike a crappy 90's column shift ford you can also shift the Mirage out of park by removing a plastic cover on the shifter bezel and pushing down on a shifter bypass lever. The ignition key works well for this.
The gm recall was just another case of idiot proof idiots. The fix was to take the key and stick a plastic insert in the oval hole so you could only hook one key ring to it. There was a one in a million chance that stupid people with heavy key chains could have the ignition turned off when driving. Then they wouldn't have power steering or brakes and because they were stupid they'd crash. I
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE wussie cvt edition. 1.2 automatic: 37.7 mpg (US) ... 16.0 km/L ... 6.2 L/100 km ... 45.3 mpg (Imp)