Power steering died when I was on the Freeway

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by themadscientist

Can the assist be removed to convert to full manual steering?

There were a couple of threads on this and it appears the answer is no. Or at least not without substantial changes to the whole rack system.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Tomking

The power steering unit should be working normally under that temperature (was about 38-40C) because that is the normal temperature in Australia's summer.

I think we all agree that the Power steering is faulty and should be replacing under new car warranty which it did...

Thank you all for participating, this case can now be closed,

I think you may have misunderstood me when I said that it went into overload. I was not implying that this was a normal or expected condition and agree totally that it was faulty. I just feel the high temperatures escalated the condition to the point of failure. Every one of our cars could be subject to the same fault if they reached the exact same operating conditions. I am hopeful though that it takes a very specific set of circumstances that must occur for the failure to appear and it is hopefully a one off event!
Thank you for sharing and I hope all is well after your repairs!

[Tomking]

Originally Posted by Sarlacc

I disagree. And I'm not very diplomatic :-)
OP says he's in his 50's and have driven lots of cars w/o PS, just like you and me. Granted, a car designed for PS will feel a lot harder than old cars with big wheels and higher gear ratio on the steering, but he should be able to steer with no problem at speed.
Toyota doesn't replace the PS unit and PS ECU just to please a customer, there was obviously something wrong. And this fault caused the steering to almost freeze up, to a degree where OP (a sensible guy in his 50's with lots of driving experience) were not in control of where his car was pointed.
This all suggests there is a possible error condition where the power steering does more than stop working, it actively resists steering.

But I will agree that further debate on the subject is futile. I just hope this is not the way the PS unit fails by design, but rather an isolated issue.

Thanks for sharing your experience, @Tomking.

Cheers mate, I do so hope this is a an isolated issue but agree with you that Toyota would not replace a unit just to shut up one person.

[Tomking]

Originally Posted by Tomking

I was driving on the freeway and the power steering died on me, the steering became extremely heavy and I could not turn it. I ended up on the opposite lane and luckily there were not coming traffic on the opposite direction or else I would be death.

Exact same recall is documented here for the Yarris http://www.autonews.com/article/2013...-steering-flaw

The steering is heavy as when you turn off the car, not sure if anyone here experienced this problem but it was a frighten experience for me so guys be extremely careful not to drive too fast around the bends.

Taking the car to Toyota tomorrow.

For all in doubt here is the official recall of the steering faulty-> http://www.news.com.au/finance/busin...da0f6c034f5478

[Ultramaroon]

Interesting. I wonder why just Australia. RHD? But then all the RHD markets would be affected.

[Sarlacc]

Originally Posted by Tomking

For all in doubt here is the official recall of the steering faulty-> http://www.news.com.au/finance/busin...da0f6c034f5478

“A warning light would then illuminate on the dashboard along with a short audible warning while manual steering would be maintained.”
Toyota and Subaru say the cars are driveable without power steering but owners of affected vehicles should contact their nearest dealer for repairs.

So, did you see the warning light, hear the warning sound and were you able to steer your car?
From your early posts it seems the answers are no, no and no.
So not the same problem at all, then.

Interesting information, though.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Interesting. I wonder why just Australia. RHD? But then all the RHD markets would be affected.

You may have already seen this but the failure mode requires a very specific sequence of events.

"During normal driving operation, the EPS rotation angle sensor terminals may wear over time. This wear of the connector terminal plating accumulates in debris which may oxidise and become non-conductive.
Under this condition if the driver’s knee contacts the knee airbag lower cover, the EPS wire harness routed behind the cover also moves significantly which allows the terminal to contact the debris resulting in electrical contact failure.
In this condition, the EPS ECU turns on the warning light and the steering assist is interrupted whilst manual steering is maintained.
The loss of power steering assist will increase the steering effort at low speeds which may increase the risk of an accident."


Odds are the contacts will wear on all of them but the debris doesn't have a place to collect, oxidize and get pushed into the contacts.

[guybo]

"During normal driving operation, the EPS rotation angle sensor terminals may wear over time. This wear of the connector terminal plating accumulates in debris which may oxidise and become non-conductive.
Under this condition if the driver’s knee contacts the knee airbag lower cover, the EPS wire harness routed behind the cover also moves significantly which allows the terminal to contact the debris resulting in electrical contact failure.
In this condition, the EPS ECU turns on the warning light and the steering assist is interrupted whilst manual steering is maintained.
The loss of power steering assist will increase the steering effort at low speeds which may increase the risk of an accident."

You know, I read about some recalls and I think "you dumshits should have seen this one coming from a mile away- well no duh" and I can only blame the company for a crappy design. Then there's this. I find it hard to blame Toyobaru for this because that is a pretty specific set of circumstances and a strange problem that I don't know if it could be engineered around since there's no way they could have seen it coming. I'm glad that it's being covered and recalled and they aren't playing games.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

You may have already seen this but the failure mode requires a very specific sequence of events.

Yeah, saw that. The unique factor here is that knee airbag which I assume is stuffed under the steering column.

[Joshuarers]

I have a new 2015 LS and I was actually thinks nag about taking it in because this motor reminded me of a hamster wheel
So this is normal?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Joshuarers

I have a new 2015 LS and I was actually thinks nag about taking it in because this motor reminded me of a hamster wheel
So this is normal?

You may want to ask that question on a Lexus forum. They are not the same unit.