Yellow Steering Wheel (ELV lock) no ignition or crank. SOLVED!
 

My 06 e90 325i has a yellow steering wheel on dash (with NO lock icon). Won’t even go into accessories. been stuck in the driveway for the past 4 weeks now.
Here are my attempts to fix it with no luck.

Ordered ELV emulator. Installed ELV emulator then still wouldn’t work. realised I need to reset counter using tool32 as Tool32 is the only software that can reset the timer without ignition on. Ordered a k-dcan cable and once arrived reset the counters. Hopped in car and still nothing… and reset did work because car made the usual weird whirring sounds after resetting.
Also replaced 30g fuse behind glovebox

Anyways 8 hours of trying everything and researching I’m now at a point where I need to update my CAS module

So I need to know how to properly do that and where I can find the right DATEN file. For 3 hours I was trying to find a clear answer and nothing anywhere.

Also which update is the one which disabled the ELV altogether, because my car has its cas updated in 2011 #ZB 9147224

SOLVED!!
CAS module was faulty. Required a new one so decided to get a brand new one from Germany and my local specialists coded it to my car.
Good as new.

Does your car have comfort access? If you don't know, can you post your full vin number and I'll check for you.

A faulty comfort access system can also cause this issue.

Thank you for your reply, no I don’t have Comfort Access on my model. Although I have seen that if you do, a faulty door handle can cause this problem..

And yes i am lead to believe that it may be my CAS, but what about the CAS is causing this issue and how can I go about fixing it? Software flash, or module replacement?

Sorry, no help here. If you ever figure out the solution to the steering lock problem, please let us know. Scared for my 06 e90.

I just got it fixed 20 mins ago by a Locksmith! Yes that’s right, a locksmith. He used a Autil MaxiCheck OBD scanner and he reseted the EVL fault counter, CAS Faults, and reseted every fault that he could. After that you lock the car and unlock it then turn it on! The dealership or Mechanic would charge you up to $2000 to replace the whole steering column. I paid $100 to reset the codes. Just call around some locksmiths not everyone has a scanner for European cars. Hope it helps you!

Seems like Ista D or Inpa would have detected the additional faults and
allowed then to be reset.

Protool will reset it. Just did it. I was getting the clicking sound after shutting the vehicle off.

Solved! Fix in original post

yeah reseting the counter gets you going again but if the lock is starting
to mechanically fail it will be back . You need to install a lock spoofer before
it happens again.

Yeah I have the ELV spoofer already installed so I doubt I’ll ever encounter this problem again. Thankyou.

So your steering lock didn't fail? From what I've read, people generally either replace the whole column or delete the lock and run the ELV emulator.