http://i62.tinypic.com/wjg9jl.gif

Had me until this part.

Toyota said they could not fault it...
 

The Power steering icon came on with the exclamation mark next to it when this happen. it wasn't totally locked but was extremely hard to turn like when you turn off the car and try to turn the steering.Just try that and see how hard it feel for you.

It was a hot day and I did have the aircond on at the time. Toyota wanted to send the car back to me because they cannot fault it and I am so scare to drive it again. What do you guy think I should do?

Yes it is hard to turn...
 

turn your car off then try to turn the steering wheel and see it for yourself...

Hey, is your car a Toyota 86 GT or a GTS? Your profile says "FT 86" which is a bit strange.
Also, would you please post a photo?

If that warning light has been on it should turn up when Toyota scanned for error codes. Did they say they did not find any error codes, or that they could not reproduce the error?

If it happens again: Pull over and stop the car. Engage emergency lights. Call for help.

I don't think there's a fault code stored for that. It's just a servo high-temp indicator. It cut out as designed to protect itself.

The aircon is separate and actually would have helped by keeping the cabin temp low.

If it were me, I would continue driving with a little extra vigilance while looking to see if a pattern emerges. Maybe the thermal overload circuit is faulty and is triggering too early, or intermittently.

That's how I would design it - as a failsafe instead of allowing a cascade failure. Like when circuit breakers eventually fail, they don't stick on. They flop open.

What do you guy think I should do?

A) More push ups

OR

B) Sell it to me for a dollar.

I think there would be fault codes stored for something like this. When a warning light is lit the reason will be logged.

Hmmm... Owner's manual just says ease up until it cools off and go about your business. :iono:

I don't know, I just remember when I bought the OBD scanner I found two fault codes. Got me worried until I looked them up:
U1201 - Invalid or Missing Data for Seat Motion / Control
B14A1 - Open in Solar Sensor Circuit for AC unit
So I would expect something as serious as a power steering problem to be logged, too.

It's obvious you've never driven a car with a manual steering rack.

As difficult as it is to turn, it's not impossible and definitely not a safety issue.

-alex

This, especially if the car is moving.

I should clarify: if your power steering fails at any speed and you can't control the car, you're either 1) driving too fast, or 2) need to know how a manual rack feels like to compensate accordingly.

Steering lock is a serious safety issue. Power steering loss is not a serious safety issue.

-alex

Next question is........what were you doing just prior to the steering becoming hard?

Do some searches for posts from Element Tuning. Phil has an FRS that is a pure track car and he has run into this problem several times while on track. If memory serves me, the power steering is an electro assist and the unit is on the lower part of the steering column under the dash (I believe).

There may even be some info in the owners manual about it.

It is a GT model, Toyota could not see if there is any problem so it is hard for them too.

if I still alive next time it happen then I will stop for help.