Column Lock Resolved
It wasn’t easy, but I convinced the dealer that my car should be fixed for free. I went back and forth with the service tech, and eventually got his manager involved. Ultimately I found out that – at least at this dealer – the service manager has some leeway as to bending the rules for warranty coverage as long as the car is not older than six years. My column locked at six years and one month. 
At one point the service tech called me back and asked me the standard sales question, “What do we need to do to make this work? Would you pay half?” Now their quote was for over $700 for labor and parts. I told the guy, “I’ll be very honest, I don’t think I should have to pay anything for a known issue like this.”
A day later his manager came back and told me that the service would be covered.
Now it took another week for them to get around to actually fixing my car, but I got it back, fixed, and without any charges.