Steering wheel won't turn

[ryanc111]

Here's the scenario with my Lariat Powerboost FX4.

-22 this morning, engine block heater all night, remote started the truck fine and engine and cab was warm when I was ready to leave (as a bonus the door didn't freeze so was able to actually get in without climbing over the console for a change). Put truck in gear and started to reverse but the steering wheel won't turn in either direction. Doh.

- I had backed up a bit so wheels weren't frozen to ground or blocked by snow​

- Parking brake wasn't on and doesn't feel like when steering wheel locks (slight turn and then feel hard stop)​

- Won't turn at all so it is not like driving without power steering​

- Was -15 yesterday and steering worked fine (door was frozen shut but that's an entirely different issue)​

Just feels like the steering mechanism is frozen in place. Any ideas?

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[MTNMN]

Maybe something happened when you hit your 2-3 foot snow drift??

 

[ryanc111]

Maybe something happened when you hit your 2-3 foot snow drift??

Entirely possible although I was going pretty low speed (less than 10mph) and didn't notice anything out of whack last night.

 

[hardlymoving]

Hope it isn't but the same thing happens to me with the Ford Fusion, turned out to be caused by mice chewing off the wires to the electric power steering. The Ford Tech that fixed it said it was difficult getting access to the wiring and that he did a lot of splicing.

 

[psambrose]

Hope it isn't but the same thing happens to me with the Ford Fusion, turned out to be caused by mice chewing off the wires to the electric power steering. The Ford Tech that fixed it said it was difficult getting access to the wiring and that he did a lot of splicing.

What you are implying is that if electrical power is lost to the steering unit the steering completely locks ups. If that is the case, it is a ridiculously dangerous design. I had assumed that in that scenario steering would still be possible, only more difficult.

 

[trojandawg3]

What you are implying is that if electrical power is lost to the steering unit the steering completely locks ups. If that is the case, it is a ridiculously dangerous design. I had assumed that in that scenario steering would still be possible, only more difficult.

Agreed. Would really suck if a connector came loose at 80 mph on I-85 and the steering completely locked up. Surely this is not the case...?

 

[ryanc111]

Update: No f’n idea.

Took the wife’s Jeep to work since she was working from home and it was parked in the heated garage. Just got home from work and while it didn’t warm up in to positive temps the sun was out but when I checked the truck everything worked as normal. No visible damage to the air dam nor steering components. Steering wheel worked as normal on the test drive (at -7 right now).

I’m assuming something froze somewhere but with no codes or error lights I’m at a loss.

Fingers crossed everything is fine tomorrow morning.

 

[Oxford_Powerboost]

What you are implying is that if electrical power is lost to the steering unit the steering completely locks ups. If that is the case, it is a ridiculously dangerous design. I had assumed that in that scenario steering would still be possible, only more difficult.

Agreed. Would really suck if a connector came loose at 80 mph on I-85 and the steering completely locked up. Surely this is not the case...?

Not the case. It is an electrically assisted rack, nothing more. If you lose assist, it is a normal steering rack (adaptive steering on platti’s and up changes that a bit, but still a mechanical connection)

 

[psambrose]

Not the case. It is an electrically assisted rack, nothing more. If you lose assist, it is a normal steering rack (adaptive steering on platti’s and up changes that a bit, but still a mechanical connection)

That is what I assumed. But is it possible for the mechanics that are used to provide auto park and lane centering to interfere with the normal mechanical functionality of the rack in the event of an electrical anomaly?

 

[UNIKRN150]

I was just talking to a mechanic today about this very problem.

Disclaimer: he was referencing a GM product but…

He said that the new “fly by wire” technology for steering relies on a belt driven sensor that senses your steering wheel commands and drives your steering through an electronically driven belt.

In the case he was referencing, the belt broke.

Maybe yours is just frozen…

 

[Oxford_Powerboost]

That is what I assumed. But is it possible for the mechanics that are used to provide auto park and lane centering to interfere with the normal mechanical functionality of the rack in the event of an electrical anomaly?

I can’t say with certainty, but I’d say no, and here is why; engineers and software developers are happily smart enough to understand that glitches or errors can happen. For that reason, they program things such as torque limits into these auto steer/lane assist systems that hard code a limit in the amount of torque they can provide so that if something did go wrong, the driver could easily overpower the max torque of the assist system, along with plentiful failsafes that will disable the system should there be a communication error or similar issue

I was just talking to a mechanic today about this very problem.

Disclaimer: he was referencing a GM product but…

He said that the new “fly by wire” technology for steering relies on a belt driven sensor that senses your steering wheel commands and drives your steering through an electronically driven belt.

In the case he was referencing, the belt broke.

Maybe yours is just frozen…

F150s are not steer by wire. That’s still a very new and rare technology. Sensors do read input and react for power assist, but it’s still directly connected to the rack

 

[hardlymoving]

What you are implying is that if electrical power is lost to the steering unit the steering completely locks ups. If that is the case, it is a ridiculously dangerous design. I had assumed that in that scenario steering would still be possible, only more difficult.

In the case of my Ford Fusion I still had steering but with no power assist and with the car being stationery the steering was very stiff, almost impossible to turn the steering wheel. On that particular winter day I am guessing it was cold so that may have contributed to the stiffness in the steering system.

 

[mnstang]

Here's the scenario with my Lariat Powerboost FX4.

-22 this morning, engine block heater all night, remote started the truck fine and engine and cab was warm when I was ready to leave (as a bonus the door didn't freeze so was able to actually get in without climbing over the console for a change). Put truck in gear and started to reverse but the steering wheel won't turn in either direction. Doh.

- I had backed up a bit so wheels weren't frozen to ground or blocked by snow​

- Parking brake wasn't on and doesn't feel like when steering wheel locks (slight turn and then feel hard stop)​

- Won't turn at all so it is not like driving without power steering​

- Was -15 yesterday and steering worked fine (door was frozen shut but that's an entirely different issue)​

Just feels like the steering mechanism is frozen in place. Any ideas?

Same thing happened to me about a month ago when temps were -30. Started the truck, let it warm up, hit reverse and couldn't move the wheel. I put it back in park, restarted, then it was fine. Dunno why/what/how but thank god it has only happened once.

 

[ryanc111]

Same thing happened to me about a month ago when temps were -30. Started the truck, let it warm up, hit reverse and couldn't move the wheel. I put it back in park, restarted, then it was fine. Dunno why/what/how but thank god it has only happened once.

A restart was one thing I didn't try. I did try different drive modes and 2WD vs 4A vs 4H but no luck.

No issues this morning but it was significantly warmer (0) but if it happens again I'll give the restart trick a try. Thanks.

 

[KartRacer25]

FYI: I fried my alternator in the snow and frozen mud puddles 12 miles in the back country. (5.0 alternator is down low.) So I/we did alot of driving without the electric power assist as the last systems shut down. Also kinetic rope tow in reverse with no power in neutral. ugh. Like older cars, you can drive it, but you have to really man handle the steering. Just like my old 67 mustang when I ruptured steering pump hydraulic hose. Also brakes work too just gotta stand on em a bit. And use M button while powered to keep it in neutral for tow. Fyi: Solution was to charge it off another vehicle (Nissan) for 20 min, turn off AC, radio, screen, etc then drive for 15 min, repeat a few times till we got to a shop. (It was fixed yesterday, and picking her up tomorrow. yay !)

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