Intermittent power steering loss

[nextcar]

So I was driving out to Willow Springs Raceway for some fun/instruction, and on the drive there, while at speed on the freeway, essentially driving straight I notice the steering feels heavy and the dash lights indicate power steering failure...

This was about 3 hours in to a 4 hour drive. When I pulled off and turned off the car, upon restarting the light went off and power assist returned.

The car is a US FRS, model year 2013...

Any clues? It has now been "fine" for three more trips of 20+ miles without incident. I won't have a chance to have any codes pulled for several days, and I do have a 4 hour trip home in a few days. Just don't know if this is a known problem - google only shows a recall for Australian cars...

P.S. I am not using this car at the track currently.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by nextcar

So I was driving out to Willow Springs Raceway for some fun/instruction, and on the drive there, while at speed on the freeway, essentially driving straight I notice the steering feels heavy and the dash lights indicate power steering failure...

This was about 3 hours in to a 4 hour drive. When I pulled off and turned off the car, upon restarting the light went off and power assist returned.

The car is a US FRS, model year 2013...

Any clues? It has now been "fine" for three more trips of 20+ miles without incident. I won't have a chance to have any codes pulled for several days, and I do have a 4 hour trip home in a few days. Just don't know if this is a known problem - google only shows a recall for Australian cars...

P.S. I am not using this car at the track currently.

That's spooky -

I suggest you stop in at an auto supply store and invest in an inexpensive code reader (to keep in your trunk) and read any codes.

While you're there, I'd suggest you check the power steering fuse to make sure it isn't looking faulty or it's not lose in the socket. If it looks iffy, buy and install a new one. That fuse is an 80 amp fuse in position #46 (under the hood).

I sure hope you get it fixed soon! Keep us posted.

[nextcar]

It has been over a week and the problem has not re-occurred.

There were no error codes present in the system.

I had the car on a lift and inspected the entire steering system (with a trained technician too). No signs of any damage.

Possibilities include overheating, computer glitch (cosmic rays?), and voodoo magic at this point.