It's really wide open. We have one person reporting something vague.

I'm just trying hard to keep an open mind about it. OP is sticking hard to the story but...

I'm normally a sceptic. I hear and read people exaggerating or misrepresenting the actual event quite frequently. And some would say I do those things too, now and then.

But this:

This is simply Tomking telling us clearly and precisely what happened. And I agree with him, it is a serious issue.
Furthermore; this may be the first report on this issue, but that does not mean it'll turn out to be an isolated incident.
So, I'd be very grateful if someone with the necessary knowledge would consider investigating two questions:
- What could have caused the incident?
- How likely is it that this will happen in another car?
Unfortunately, this is far beyond my skillset. I have tried anyway, I came up empty.

The only people that could answer these questions will be the Toyota Techs and Engineers that pull it apart and check it out. Odds are that they will not tell (unless we see a recall).
Any and every other answer you may get is pure speculation and theory as nobody has access to the actual parts involved.

Well, we all have access... The power steering assembly is reported to be behind the firewall, inside the dash. I'm not pulling mine out though, probably wouldn't get it back in... And I hate working inside dashboards.
I have not found any schematics that can be used to theorize about it, either.
So I guess we'll just wait and see, who's next?

Probably nobody "next" it could simply have been the perfect storm of circumstances. No need to get all jittery from one know report.

Allright, no need to park the car and wait for a recall, got it :-)

But it's the precise and responsive steering of the 86 that keeps me between the rock and the drink on these roads:
http://gfx.nrk.no//AEHtYrIbUIZEFkxJr...AAQZGcQpXFZpqg

Having access to a perfectly fine working example is not going to tell us how or why his failed.


Now mind you if yours failed on that road we will still not be likely to have a failed example to study!

I'd love to have one to tinker with and find our how it works, and see if there is any type of electrical fault that can cause the steering to freeze up.

Precisely. And I would be likely to stop worrying about it.

Disagree with calling it clear and precise. I'm converted as far as believing this was more than P/S loss but I still have specific questions for OP.

1. When the failure occurred, did the servo try to pull hard in either direction?

2. If no, did it resist attempts to steer by pulling back to center?

In either of these cases it would indicate a failure of the control system.

I asked earlier for you to try finding a safe place to coast with the engine off. Now that I think about it. I have no idea how one would do that with the pushbutton system. Is it possible?

3. If it can be done, again, how does it compare to the failure you experienced?

4. Sitting in your driveway with the engine off, how does the resistance to turn the wheels compare to when you pulled over?

Press and hold the button for about 5 seconds with the clutch in and it will turn off while moving. I've had to do this to test something else completely unrelated to the matter at hand.

1: When the problem occurred, the steering just stiff but not pulling either left or right.

2. No, it does not resist to pull it back to the center. It was just extremely hard to turn and only went inch by inch when I tried to steer it. It feels as hard and resisting as if you have your car park in the garage with the engine off.

3. It happened twice in that one drive but after I rest it overnight, it does not happen again.

This is the sequence of the event:

I accelerated hard pulling from 60 KM/H to 80 and up to possibly 120 KM/H to over take few cars. During this time I noticed the steering became stiff. I have been driving like this through this freeway on a daily basis and did not noticed any issue previously so I thought it was normal...

Immediately after the acceleration, I came into a sharp bend. Unsuspected of the problem I tried to steer the car as normal but was shocked when found that the steering was not turning (or resist turning). I was breaking and turning the vehicle but ended up on the opposite lane luckily there was no incoming car. At this point I could see the Power Steering malfunction light has came on on the Odometer.

I was able to steer the car inch by inch back into my lane then stop the car. I then waited for 5 sec and turn on the car again but the malfunction power steering light was still on and the steering was still heavy.

I then stop the car again and waited for 10 sec, this time the malfunction light disappeared. I was able to drive for another 10 mins then the problem and the malfunction light came on again.

I repeated the previous procedure and was able to reached home (under 10 mins) and park the car until the morning.

The next morning I started the car but the problem seem to have gone away. I took it to Toyota and they too could not reproduce the problem. They wanted to give me the car back as it was but I refused to accept it and complained to Toyota Australia. It took them a full day to get back to me and the decision was to replace the electric Power steering unit and the ECU controlling the steering.

Now, for though who has missed the important part of this thread is that the Power Steering faulty light did come on ...twice... followed a beep sound so this is a real problem and not my imagination. It may have been a single incident but this could happen again to anyone of you out there.

Just to make it clear that I do not seek any attention or defame the 86 because I still love it to death despite what has happened ....

If I had to wager, I would guess you had a faulty unit, and replacement was the correct path, and you were fortunate that Toyota Australia took your side. Faulty pieces happen, and I am willing to bet this is an isolated incident, as this is the first time I have heard something like this happening.

... so basically your power steering ASSIST went out. You can still turn but it's harder to turn.

Again, if it's not a lock issue then it's not a true safety issue.

-alex