legacy_diesel Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I bought a 2010 Legacy 2.0 Diesel two weeks ago. As I was maneuvering on full lock to park into this tiny spot, the steering wheel suddenly become exceedingly heavy, almost with complete locking of the wheel. I restarted the car several times with no luck, I couldnt turn the wheel either direction. No noise coming from the car whatsoever. Funny thing is, as soon as I hit the gas (its a manual) the wheel started responding, so it was locked only at idle. I managed to drive home like that, but i felt that the wheel was becoming very heavy every now and then during this ride home. Even more funnier, the steering was just fine this morning, everything looked and felt normal! Any ideas what the problem could be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Where are you? Where did you buy the car? Could be a power steering problem--if you bought from a dealer have them check it over ASAP. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacy_diesel Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 Where are you? Where did you buy the car? Could be a power steering problem--if you bought from a dealer have them check it over ASAP. Good luck. i am bought the car from a german dealer, its still under warranty. I took it to the dealer, they took one day and couldnt find anything and sent me home. They said they checked the whole system. But I reproduced the same problem again today: When the car is warm and is idling, I turn the steering wheel right and left a few times and it starts becoming very heavy. After a few more turns, it becomes completely stuck. The problem goes away after the car is turned off and cools down in half an hour or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legacy_diesel Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 UPDATE 2: the dealer says everything is normal, the ECU is trying to prevent damage to the electric power steering system under excessive load. My trouble is, that I can give this "excessive load" during parking into a tight space. Isn't this faulty design? Any suggestions for improvement (other than my driving skills)? Apparently, some driving schools who own Subaru's also complained about this problem, and maybe Subaru fixed it in later models (2010 and up). My car is the first version of the new, 5th gen, Legacy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWDfreak Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 UPDATE 2: the dealer says everything is normal, the ECU is trying to prevent damage to the electric power steering system under excessive load. My trouble is, that I can give this "excessive load" during parking into a tight space. Isn't this faulty design? Any suggestions for improvement (other than my driving skills)? Apparently, some driving schools who own Subaru's also complained about this problem, and maybe Subaru fixed it in later models (2010 and up). My car is the first version of the new, 5th gen, Legacy. Oh wow, electric power steering huh? That's why the 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT I drove had such unusual-feeling steering.. Have you contacted your regional Subaru branch? Over here in the USA, we have Subaru of America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 UPDATE 2: the dealer says everything is normal, the ECU is trying to prevent damage to the electric power steering system under excessive load. That's just not right! If what they say is true, it is simply not acceptable. I would consider it a design flaw and possibly not safe to be on public roads. Do you have any kind of "Consumer Protector" or "Ombudsman" in your government? I'd complain to them. Or go up the chain of command at the dealership and demand your money back. Or contact Subaru's regional office and complain. Be a bulldog! Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMattyD Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Here is a related article I found online regarding electric steering in GM vehicles: "GM issues Recall on Vehicles with Electric Power Steering General Motors is recalling 1.3 million 2005 to 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts, 2007 to 2010 Pontiac G5s, 2005 to 2006 Pontiac Pursuits sold in Canada, and 2005 to 2006 Pontiac G4s sold in Mexico to fix power steering motors that might fail. GM says these cars are still safe to drive, but warns that a power steering motor failure can increase steering effort significantly, especially at speeds under 15 mph. If the electric power steering motor fails, you may see a warning light come on and hear a chime, or you may not. Eitehr way, brace yourself because the steering will suddenly feel much stiffer require much mor effort to turn the car. GM says it will replace the electric motors on all 1.3 million vehicles, but that it will take some time to get the new power steering motors from their supplier, JTEKT Corp.. GM says it will notify car owners when the parts are available for installation. The recall is in response to an investigation launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in response to over 1,100 complaints it has received about cars losing their power steering assist. The complaints included 14 crashes and one injury. GM says it will fix the older models first because it typically takes about 20,000 to 30,000 miles of driving for the condition to develop. If the power steering assist fails, it usually comes back for a time after the car is shut off and restarted. But the problem won't go away. Fixing it requires replacing the electric motor that provides the power assist." Maybe you have a similar problem. Perhaps Your motor is faulty or overheating. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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