Ryspoon

hey Ive hadmy bourduex black SR for just about a year. I have a second daily driver so I never take it out in any rain or snow but the other day, a week ago to be exact I was driving on the highway going 65 mph in the rain and my steering wheel locked. I was unable to move the wheel and almost crashed into a guard rail and other traffic. No warnings before but during the incident my power steering light came on in the dash.

after having it towed to my house because it was late at night the next day I started it when a tow truck came and the steering wheel was working fine. It's been at a dealership for the past week and they can't figure out what the problem is.

Has as this happened to anyone else? I'm truly concerned there may be a recall or I may just have gotten a lemon.

any replies help I have 11066 miles at the time of the incident. No accidents and always garage kept.

Mason Hatcher

How long was it "locked"?

Ryspoon

It stayed locked the entire time and I had to stop on the side of the highway. I'd say it took about a few minutes for me to get toward the side of the road. I was able to hold the steering wheel towards the right a little but it locked as if I had turned the car off so it also took about 2 miles for me to get to the side and for traffic behind me realize I had a problem with my car.
Everything else was working though (gas brakes blinkers locks)

Once the tow truck driver arrived and it stopped raining as hard I turned on the car and the steering wheel was back to normal function. I still had the car towed. Really scared to drive it until the dealer finds a solution. Bought my maxima because of how safe it was :/

warrusty

Was there some debris stuck in the suspension that kept the wheel from moving? Maybe the debris dislodged when it was towed?

I can remember about 10 years ago running over a tire left in the middle of my lane on I-4 in Orlando. I couldn't avoid it because of cars on both sides of my car. Luckily for me it cleared my car, but the car behind me wasn't so fortunate. That car lost its steering.

Have your dealer check under the car. Maybe the debris is still there, but shifted out of the way?

CNTRT

This is one of the reasons I despise electric steering. Not only does it not feel natural like hydraulic steering, but electronics can fail/glitch and cause issues that wouldn't occur if more traditional methods were used. More technology isn't always good

dochidalgo

Agree..

It must have a Diagnostic Trouble Code stored in the car´s ECM memory...
If not...
The mechanic issue (like CNTRT mentioned) would be the culprit....

Ryspoon

So as of today they still are not sure of the problem.

This happened one other time at the dealership last July at around 300 miles. I drove it in normally and they pulled it into the wash and the service guy pulled it out and when I got in to drive off the steering wheel wasn't really moving / was hard to move
they brought it in the back put it up unplugged the power steering plugged it back in and turned it on and said it was fine. They said it may have unplugged a little from a pot hole but I didn't think much of it.
(My local dealer does car washes for life and is on the same street as my house)

The only two things in common are the car being wet and on. I've contacted Nissan North America last week but they haven't called me back yet. I think I got a lemon :/

CNTRT

You can unplug the power steering? **** I might try that so that I get a manual steering kind of heavy feel. Mine feels too light...

In theory, let's say you lose power steering, or unplug the power steering..... All that should mean is that your steering will get harder to turn, but it should by no means lock up on you. That sounds like an electric signal/glitch that wasn't supposed to happen, happened

CNTRT

When you called Nissan did you select "consumer affairs"? That's who you need to talk to. In your message tell them that you "want to start a case because the dealership cannot find the problem and this car is dangerous and potentially life threatening".

I started a case for my steering issue (feels too light and pulls to the left, and is not precise and hefty anymore.... Did 3 alignments already within the first 1600 miles). Have an appointment with Nissan corporate tech this Friday.

RickSmith

Report this problem to NHTSA:

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

jgilbs

What is it with people like you who always bash electronics because you don't understand them? Fact of the matter is, the system can at least give you a warning before they fail (that is why all of your dash lights flash then go off when the car starts - they are performing self-diagnosis every time they start up). There is nothing to say traditional hydraulic only systems are "more reliable", in fact I would wager its the total opposite - car breakdowns used to be a common occurrence, nowadays its very rare you will be left stranded on a car made in the past 15-20 years. Just because YOU don't understand how something works doesn't mean it doesn't work well. We have no idea what actually happened here until OP finds a resolution - like someone else said, for all we know there is debris in the undercarriage.

CNTRT

Lmao.... Take a breath chief.... Why'd you take that so personally? Did you have a hand in the development of electric assist power steering technology ? "People like me"? I "don't understand them"?

I'll have you know I went to school for automotive technology... And I've been deep in car culture since I was a child, and working on my own cars for over 12 years... So people "like you" shouldn't assume.

I do know exactly what I'm talking about. Hydraulic steering systems feel more naturally weighted and precise in most mainstream applications.

And can you back up your opinion with evidence that electronic steering systems are "more reliable" than hydraulic ones? So you're saying that hydraulic steering systems "left people stranded on the side of the road"?

Also, if you took the time to read the OP's first post, you'd see that the steering LOCKED on him while on the highway... "Debris in the undercarriage" wouldn't have caused the steering to LOCK. You know what causes the wheel to LOCK in place? Electronics. He would have to go mudding in his Maxima to accumulate enough "debris" to bind up the suspension components that bad... And if there was that much "debris" he would have never made it on the highway in the first place.

Not to mention the little piece of damning evidence that pretty much proves that this was not mechanical in nature.... Once he got to the side of the road and turned his car off... When the tow truck arrived, and he restarted his engine, the steering was fine= Electrical/computer

So take it easy bud... It's ok to let other people have an opinion without attacking them for it

Ryspoon

Update: The dealer was able to replicate the problem during a hard right turn. The steering wheel locked on the mechanic and he was able to pull a code before he turned it off and back on again. When it turned it on again the code was gone and the car was back to normal but it's the reason why there was no code stored in the computer after I turned off my car they said.

They replaced the power steering pump and switch at no cost under warranty which should hopefully have taken care of the issue.

Mason Hatcher

That is scary.

dochidalgo

I am glad that you solved this dangerous issue....and thank you to share the solution to all of us.

CNTRT

Things like that definitely shouldn't happen. I'm glad they seem to have found the culprit. Hopefully they didn't just guess and throw parts at it. But they replaced the electric steering pump and switch, so they pretty much covered the main 2 components that would probably have been to blame anyway.

Be careful out there while driving!

TheBFA

If a hydraulic power steering system fails, you still have steering. It would be a million to one shot that debris would lock steering in both directions and firm enough to resist even a slight input to the point it takes two miles to move over 10 feet. And do it silently enough not to be noticed. I think it's you that doesn't understand how simple mechanics work. Please enlighten us on exactly where in the suspension/drivetrain/steering knuckles debris would have to wedge itself to have this effect.

BlakMaxiJoey

ps pump.. that just provides hydraulics on the steering rack, right?

if the steering wheel locked, could it not be that mechanical latch on the steering column?
controlled by another electronic system, of whether the engine is turned on or off?

just throwing an idea out there... please, correct me if i am wrong.

jgilbs

It's really easy to break a tie rod and lose steering in that wheel. You make it seem like its impossible to have mechanical issues, which is totally insane. Again, just because you do not understand how electronics work does not make them inherently unsafe.

CNTRT

Indeed!
Who tf is this guy? Lol...

It's "really easy" to just be driving down the road normally and "break a tie rod"?

You're just typing a bunch of words that make no sense. We get it, you're a rebel... You want to go against the grain... Bravo... But have a substantial argument. Don't just argue to argue...

You are really the one who doesn't have an understanding of what you're talking about buddy.

TheBFA

Breaking a tie rod is not even close to the same thing. NOT. EVEN. CLOSE. Breaking a tie rod doesn't even cause you to lose steering. It decreases steering control. There is a difference. I was a flight engineer, aircraft mechanic, and work on my own cars. I am literally a professional troubleshooter. Aircraft have redundant systems, dual at a minimum, and sometimes up to 4 or 5. Because electronics. Its you that doesn't seem to understand electronics enough to have such blind faith in them.

I said nothing about the impossibility of mechanical issues. I said that debris will not cause his symptoms. You're blindly spouting off causes and issues that have nothing to do with this problem.