Steering locked while driving

[Jt-wrx]

Not after 2 years. Like mine - over 2 years and about 23,000 miles (whatever that is in kilometers?)

This is all I can find that's even related and I can almost say "duh" to their suggestions of things to check ->


STAR ONLINE PUBLICATION
Case Number: S2019000005 Rev A
Release Date: 02/05/2021
Symptom/Vehicle Issue: U0131 Lost Communication With Power Steering
Control Module A DTC Active. EPS Light On.
Discussion: DTC U0131 Lost Communication With Power Steering Control Module
"A"- DTC set active AND is the only DTC. Returned parts show no failures when
analyzed and tested. Follow standard diagnostics provided in Service Library, inspect
and test all power and ground circuits.

thank you Sir, excellent to keep this altogether in this thread, we will get an answer one day I'm sure, I'll hunt for this thread if and when, this is what happens...it's the why, it's not the equipment, it's the connection I'm thinking, extreme cold is exposing that on my rig

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[jh2021]

Just got my 2021 jeep gladiator on dec 23 have 435 km on
My steering locked up for about 30 seconds today dec 30
Wondering if they have a fix for this problem yet?
Any info

 

[ShadowsPapa]

That's a dangerous situation - don't waste time trying to find a simple fix - take it to a dealer.
There is a TSB related to "losing communication with steering" but it talks of a MIL light coming on, not the symptoms we normally see.
Most likely it's electrical since it's an EHPS system and the standard stand-alone pump of old.
It's not drive-by-wire so it's almost certainly a pump issue where there's a loss of pumping and pressure.
Keep notes in detail and get with a dealer.

 

[Jt-wrx]

Good to know, twice more in the cold it’s happened to me now. If happened when my kid was driving that would be bad.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

May or may not apply -

 

[Jt-wrx]

I’m booking this and I’ll report if it worked. Currently though I’m in the middle of nowhere where it’s -30 overnight for work so has to wait till I’m back but I’ll be on the phone setting it up tomorrow for next week. I’ll reference this info so thanks! So I have purposely been gentle on the clutch and shifts (think grandpa squared here) as the sudden race car speeds I’m capable of seem to trigger it when it’s this cold.?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I’m booking this and I’ll report if it worked. Currently though I’m in the middle of nowhere where it’s -30 overnight for work so has to wait till I’m back but I’ll be on the phone setting it up tomorrow for next week. I’ll reference this info so thanks! So I have purposely been gentle on the clutch and shifts (think grandpa squared here) as the sudden race car speeds I’m capable of seem to trigger it when it’s this cold.?

Good luck, be careful! I've seen the map of the Canadian air we're getting here. Any way your border patrol can deny its entry into the US?

 

[Jt-wrx]

Haha, it’s easy peasy as long as you drink maple syrup in your coffee and wear your toque. It was a windy skating rink all day and I did likely 600 miles(1000km), one of our remote camps got burglered so documentation trip and hit another one tomorrow on way back. Currently in a motel. You know it’s ugly when the cows are down in the hollows lee side of wind and you see a magpie nestled in having a nap on the back of one of them. Kidding aside I was 11.5 hours of white knuckle experiences today will be a little less tomorrow and I should be back home in time to pass out long before the new year haha and the magpie thing was real and had there been an opportunity go back for a picture I would have, that was one smart bird!

 

[JeepNut]

I’m experiencing the same issue and mine is currently sitting at my dealership waiting for a power steering pump. They stated that they checked all of the grounds. Very frustrating as it’s been sitting there since Dec. 17.

Has there been a definite cause identified as to what ‘s causing the issue? I experienced the failure 5 times now. The last time it occurred I drove to my dealer and they were able to verify my concern as it remained faulted with the service power steering light illuminated. These are tough to drive without the assist being functional.

 

[Jt-wrx]

I’m experiencing the same issue and mine is currently sitting at my dealership waiting for a power steering pump. They stated that they checked all of the grounds. Very frustrating as it’s been sitting there since Dec. 17.

Has there been a definite cause identified as to what ‘s causing the issue? I experienced the failure 5 times now. The last time it occurred I drove to my dealer and they were able to verify my concern as it remained faulted with the service power steering light illuminated. These are tough to drive without the assist being functional.

yes mine is now booked in for the 12th of January, they have the star bulletin number that shadow provided, mine has done this about 5 times also but has always come back around 30-40 km/h...and yes, on 37" tires it's a handful, it just wants to go straight, quite unsafe

 

[ShadowsPapa]

yes mine is now booked in for the 12th of January, they have the star bulletin number that shadow provided, mine has done this about 5 times also but has always come back around 30-40 km/h...and yes, on 37" tires it's a handful, it just wants to go straight, quite unsafe

These and some other vehicles can be real beaners to steer when there's no assist. It's like it's actually locked. And I can imagine with larger tires - it's going to follow the laws of physics a lot more than your wishes.

I hope the actually FIND and fix the issue and can say "we absolutely found it and it's now fixed" and not one of those "I think we may have found a problem, let us know" sort of thing.

 

[Jt-wrx]

yes sir, I'll know as soon as it dips below -20 again, I'll test it really good, it's not hard to make it happen at -25 and a really quick shift at higher rpm

it's also in for lost communication to the head unit which it does far more frequently but also it's cold related so the colder it is the more frequently that happens on shifts as well, seems to need an unusually quick snap shift and shock at higher rpm to trigger the loss to the power steering unit

if they fix the stereo one hopefully they get the power steering one as well, harness related? near transmission linkage or clutch perhaps? anyway, stay tuned

 

[dcmdon]

Lets be clear here. Though losing power steering is dangerous, its nowhere near as bad as having the steering actually LOCK while driving.

Those of us who are old enough to have driven carbureted cars know that cars used to stall. And when they stalled you lost power steering and when you lost power steering you recognized the situation quickly and just put some more muscle into it.

Younger drivers won't have this experience and when they are used to steering with 2 fingers and you lose the power assist, they don't know what to do next. This is (surprisingly) not a criticism of millennial and GenZers. They haven't been conditioned to muscle it around when the power assist fails. Though as I'm writing this I realize that with wider tires and faster steering ratios it would probably take substantially more effort to "Armstrong" steer it than on an older car.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

When mine was replaced in late summer, they checked my tire size to see if I had “upsized”. I did by 1 size. (285/75/17). Any bigger, they would have billed me for a new pump.

 

[dcmdon]

When mine was replaced in late summer, they checked my tire size to see if I had “upsized”. I did by 1 size. (285/75/17). Any bigger, they would have billed me for a new pump.

That's crazy. I wonder if the extreme recon versions use a different power steering pump. I'm guessing they don't.

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