This was an issue for the 2009 to early 2010 G37s, where the steering lock wouldn't unlock, and as a result the car wouldn't start resulting in a tow to the dealer.
In the past, many have either pulled a fuse or cut a wire when the steering lock is UNLOCKED.

Has anyone with a 2011 and up G37 had this problem?
I'm just trying to understand if Nissan/Infiniti got the unlocking problem fixed, or if it is time to disable it in the unlocked position.

 

i didn't want to chance it and find out stuck in the middle of no where so i ripped out the fuse in my 2011. basically the steering lock stop engaging when the vehicle was shut off as i never heard that ratcheting engagement sound and the steering wheel can be moved with the engine turned off. i can't see nissan/infinti trying to fix this problem half way into production of the vehicle since it is not a safety issue nor would it cause any catastrophic failure of any mechanical component. its cheaper not to design the fix or provide the update to a fix in later model years. of course i'm speaking from a cost analysis prospective.

 

The original issue with the ESCL was that "too much grease" was used in the manufacturing process. Over a short time, this grease leaked onto the printed circuit board which ultimately "fried" the module.

Nissan's answer, for those affected vehicles, was to replace the ESCL (Lock) with a ESCB (Box) module (p/n: 48708-9N00A). This module handled all the NATS/IVIS functions that the ESCL did but did NOT mechanically lock the steering wheel. At the time the module was ≈$60 vs. the $500 ESCL.

While this issue technically only affected 2009/2010 models, it stands to reason that some of those faulty parts were still in the bin and ended up in some 2011's- depends on the cars build date, perhaps. IIRC, there are a couple of posts on the forum from members with 2011 ESCL failures.

Pulling the STEER LOCK fuse, while the engine is running is the best preventive measure to avoid this potential nightmare. If in doubt, pull it out.