Power Steering Problems

[smiley12345]

Hi,

So the check power steering light came on and there was a loss of power steering. Roadside assistance checked fuses and Battery and left. After driving round the car park contemplating whether I should drive home like this (hour away) and numerous times switching engine on and off the fault disappeared. I need to get this fixed before it comes back again.

I have read through every other post related to this and it seems like people either went to Toyota main dealership to have EPS ECU replaced OR it was just caused by faulty wiring. I'm not going to spend £600+ at main dealer for an 08 auris. I know there are companies which repair the ECU for you if you send it to them but I'm not confident enough to rip the dash open. There are no independent toyota specialists near by me, and I get the impression my local garage thinks I don't know what I am talking about.

My reason for this post is to ask are there any mechanics here who could help? I am literally willing to drive anywhere and of course we will agree labour prices etc

Thanks in advance

[furtula]

On 10/16/2020 at 12:42 PM, smiley12345 said:

Hi,

So the check power steering light came on and there was a loss of power steering. Roadside assistance checked fuses and battery and left. After driving round the car park contemplating whether I should drive home like this (hour away) and numerous times switching engine on and off the fault disappeared. I need to get this fixed before it comes back again.

I have read through every other post related to this and it seems like people either went to Toyota main dealership to have EPS ECU replaced OR it was just caused by faulty wiring. I'm not going to spend £600+ at main dealer for an 08 auris. I know there are companies which repair the ECU for you if you send it to them but I'm not confident enough to rip the dash open. There are no independent toyota specialists near by me, and I get the impression my local garage thinks I don't know what I am talking about.

My reason for this post is to ask are there any mechanics here who could help? I am literally willing to drive anywhere and of course we will agree labour prices etc

Thanks in advance

I had the same issue, ended up replacing with 2nd hand unit i got for 40 GBP, and worked without an issues, and still does.

Before you start doing anything, have someone check the car with diagnostic, as there are 2 errors that you might have, one is for the module, other is for the motor that runs the EPS.

In my case, took the original unit apart, and tested the solenoids, which were supposed to be the cause, and they worked fine, so it's quite possible that just disconnecting the unit for 10 minutes, then reconnecting would work just fine as mentioned by some people on the channel.

Took me 1.5 hours to take it all apart, replace the unit and go for a test drive. You just need nedle nose pliers for A pillar plastic, the rest is just regular tools.

Check my topic below, it should have all the info, along with pdf with instructions.

 

[smiley12345]

thanks furtula I will have a look. To be honest it has been about 4/5 days now since it happened and it hasn't happened again

[furtula]

I presume it happened on a car parking, since you mention in the topic you drove around it deciding to drive home like that or not.

Usually if you use the EPS too much, when parking, trying to park in a tight spot, so there's a lot of maneuvering around, it can trigger this.

To me it also happened after i parked, and from the topics i read, it was cause in 80% of the cases. I guess something gets a bit overheated, engine or the solenoids, and it needs a reset to resume normal function.

My advice is, try not to use EPS too much when parking, and if you do, give the car 30 seconds in idle, before you turn it off. 

 

 

[smiley12345]

I was quoted £350 from an independent toyota specialist but it has actually never happened again and its been about a month now. hopefully was a one off. thanks for the help and advice furtula