98 accord : steering wheel gets stuck

[car_forum_user]

hello,

I have a 1998 Honda Accord EX, 130K miles.
yesterday while driving, the steering suddenly got completely stuck (luckily I was in a parking lot, so driving very slowly). I can't quite remember whether the engine was shut down automatically or not. I restarted the car and it was fine afterwards.

The same problem happened again today (again luckily in a parking lot).
I restarted and it worked ok after that.

Any ideas what could be wrong.

Appreciate the help !

[jeffcoslacker]

It seems your problem is the engine is stalling, resulting in a loss of power assist, if I'm understanding your description.

Is this correct, or am I not understanding? Are you shutting the car off, or is it dying when the steering binds up?

If the engine is stalling on low speed steering cuts, does this happen only with the A/C on?

[car_forum_user]

Thanks for the reply.

No, I do not shut the car off myself. But yeah, now that I try to remember, I do think that the engine does shut off (by itself) when this happens.

However, if it is a problem with the engine only, then why does the steering wheel get jammed. I guess if it was just the engine shutting off suddenly while driving, I should still be able to move the steering, or not ?

And no, the a/c was not on at any of the two times it has happened so far.

[somick]

What are the conditions of the belt? How tight is it?

How much fluid do you have it the reservoir?


Sam

[jeffcoslacker]

Well, some people perceive the loss of power assist (provided by the running engine) as a completely jammed steering wheel, because they are not able to easily move it when the engine shuts off unexpectedly. Unless the car is carrying some speed, it will take both arms and a considerable amount of effort to steer it when this happens.

Not to sound sexist, but you see this perception a lot more in women, they often lack the necessary upper body and arm strength to steer a car when the power assist has failed...just a fact.

If the steering was actually undoubtedly locked when this occurs, and the engine shut down simultaneously, I'd suspect a major and dangerous fault with the ignition switch's steering park lock interface...but I've never seen that actually happen, I suspect that your engine is simply dying under the increased load of supplying full power assist during idling, low speed parking maneuvers or something...that's not uncommon.

There can be a number of reasons for it. If you determine this is what's happening, we can go through some of the common causes.

Just remember that most likely you CAN steer it, it's just gonna take some effort. Be careful until this is resolved. I watched a customer cut a swath through a parking lot when her LTD's engine stalled as she turned in off the road, and she hit four parked cars with it.

As is usually the case, she perceived the steering to be locked and immovable. It was not, she simply lacked the ability to fight it, being 80 years old and a large heavy car...rebuilt her carburetor to solve the stalling problem, and it was fine...

Your car is fuel injected, so there are some other things that could be causing this...

[car_forum_user]

I checked the belt and the fluid, and they seem fine.

I also took it to the mechanic. He drove it for a minute, and said it seems fine (I guess he did not have much time to open the hood and have a closer look). His main point was that since the check engine light is not on, the engine is fine.

Anyway, are you sure the steering will be maneuvrable even if the engine shuts off while I'm driving. I did try this myself : I was driving slow, and suddenly turned the key to shut the engine (while it was in the driving gear). The steering did suddenly become "very" stiff. I did not try to steer it fearing it may break or something. But this was before reading your above post, which suggests that it should still be steerable if I try hard enough. So I guess I will try that once.

[jeffcoslacker]

Yes, as long as the key is not turned back to the locked position (which should not be possible unless the shifter is in park, if automatic trans model) the steering can still be turned.

It's not going to hurt anything, but may make your arms sore if you do enough of it.

When I was 20 years old, I owned a 1972 Caddy Sedan de Ville with inoperative power steering assist. And I lived where I had to parallel park on the street.

I developed tremendous biceps during that period...

[car_forum_user]

Well the check engine light has come on now. I had taken it to the freeway for a couple of miles, and also filled some gas.

I checked the manual and it says the light may come on after you have refueled the vehicle (due to loose cap etc), but since that has not happened before, and given the problems I had last 2 days, there must be something wrong.

So will take it to the mechanic now and see what needs to be done.

If there are any suggestions regarding this (check engine light and it's consequences etc), pls do let me know.

Thanks for all the help till now.

And yes, I did try to see if the steering can be maneuvered once the turn the engine off. I figured out that the extent to which it can be depends on the speed of the vehicles. Immediately after I turned it off, I could steer it well, and it kept getting "stiffer" as the car slowed down. When it came to a halt, the steering was really jammed, and I do think I will break it if I try to steer it at that point

[jeffcoslacker]

Yeah you've got some issue with the idle speed control or something related that the car's computer has finally picked up on...sometimes a fault has to occur a few times before the comp will record it and light the Check Engine warning.

The shop will probably be able to assess it pretty easily now that the computer sees it.

[somick]

Like jeff mentioned it before - you can steer with your engine off. It will be just much harder. Something could be broken inside the gear box but I doubt it will cause your engine stalling.

You should concentrate on engine stalling. Check engine light will most likely tell you why it happens. The code can be checked by a mechanic, but most of them do charge for that, or you can read the code yourself. Take it to Autozone. They read it for free.

Good luck,

Sam

[CL8]

One of the emergency maneuvers we do at our driving school is have the students turn down a quiet road or in a parking lot, while we (instructor) turns off the engine. we tell them to keep steering until almost straight, push it in neutral, restart, then put it in drive. It does let them know how hard steering can get in a stall.

We also warn NOT to "dry steer", that is turning the wheel without the tires moving. It's bad on the tires and steering column.

[car_forum_user]

Originally Posted by somick

Like jeff mentioned it before - you can steer with your engine off. It will be just much harder. Something could be broken inside the gear box but I doubt it will cause your engine stalling.

You should concentrate on engine stalling. Check engine light will most likely tell you why it happens. The code can be checked by a mechanic, but most of them do charge for that, or you can read the code yourself. Take it to Autozone. They read it for free.

Good luck,

Sam

I called the local autozone office. Unfortunately, they say they no longer check the codes (even for a fee); atleast in California.

The normal mechanic asks for 88 bucks just to read the code.

I will try to follow the steps recommended here in the FAQ to do this myself.

[somick]

Originally Posted by car_forum_user

I called the local autozone office. Unfortunately, they say they no longer check the codes (even for a fee); atleast in California.

The normal mechanic asks for 88 bucks just to read the code.

I will try to follow the steps recommended here in the FAQ to do this myself.

I am surprised with this information!!!

Try to stop by any store. I am sure they still have code readers and they will do it for you.
If worst comes the worst buy a code reader yourself. It is only 39 dollars at Harbor Freight.

Good luck,

Sam

[car_forum_user]

I haven't had a chance to take it to the mechanic yet, as I was out of country. Before I do that, just wished to point out another issue have noticed. The RPM meter (tachometer) is making some sharp fluctuations. It mostly seems to happen when the gears are shifted. (The car is automatic, but I can make out the gear shift anyway).

Given the earlier problem of engine shutting off at very low speeds (it has not happened again after that), and now this behavior of the RPM meter, is there any correlation between them, and do they point to any potential problems ?

Thanks for the suggestions.

PS: I did take it to autozone, but they don't read the codes anymore here in CA.

[jeffcoslacker]

Some v6 models had problems with ignition coils that caused problems with tach readings and spontaneous misfire/stall...that's the most direct line I can draw between the two problems...you got a v6?

That's interesting about Cali Auto Zones...probably because of CA's Draconian emissions/environmental laws...