Lost all steering

[Cowboy36]

Hey guys! I was recently pulling into a parking garage and my steering wheel went limp. Completely spins in both directions with nothing but some chattering to slow it down. Tires don’t move. I ended up hopping the curb and smashing my front corner. The body shop ran a quick diagnostic on it and he said it’s throwing up a ton of electrical steering codes.

Any idea what caused this? Can a cheap throttle response module affect it? Or a hood light powered by a 15amp fuse? Praying my limited bumper to bumper covers the mechanical/electrical issues.

 

[mikeru82]

Holy crap that's scary. I hope no one was hurt when that happened. This is the first time I've heard of this happening. Please keep us updated with what you find out.

 

[Cowboy36]

Holy crap that's scary. I hope no one was hurt when that happened. This is the first time I've heard of this happening. Please keep us updated with what you find out.

It was shocking. I was barely moving but once my tire jumped the curb it threw my front end to the left and right into a column. I was confused for a bit. I just bought this 2020 Rebel in March. Cleanest, nicest vehicle I’ve owned. Glad this didn’t happen at 80mph.

 

[Kiwiaudio]

Wait, something mechanical must have broken. Steering is power assisted, either hydraulically or electrically, but its all mechanically connected !

 

[Cowboy36]

Wait, something mechanical must have broken. Steering is power assisted, either hydraulically or electrically, but its all mechanically connected !

I would hope so. But now I’m not sure. My buddy knows vehicles much better than me said something about steer by wire systems. That just sounds dangerous.

 

[Nsleone]

I would hope so. But now I’m not sure. My buddy knows vehicles much better than me said something about steer by wire systems. That just sounds dangerous.

Glad you’re ok. Sounds like the steering shaft may have separated somewhere between the steering wheel and the rack.

These trucks have electric power steering but are not steer by wire. The Cybertruck is the first production truck to have that feature.

 

[CHeYeNNe71]

Any idea what caused this? Can a cheap throttle response module affect it? Or a hood light powered by a 15amp fuse? Praying my limited bumper to bumper covers the mechanical/electrical issues.

I would remove if you can before dealership.

 

[Cowboy36]

I would remove if you can before dealership.

I’ve never had to deal with anything like this. The body shop already scanned it, but they were going to send it to the service shop to do a deeper dive. Do you think the body shop would care if I asked to go get in my truck and then ripped the light and throttle response controller off? Or are they bound to some legal thing?

 

[CHeYeNNe71]

I’ve never had to deal with anything like this. The body shop already scanned it, but they were going to send it to the service shop to do a deeper dive. Do you think the body shop would care if I asked to go get in my truck and then ripped the light and throttle response controller off? Or are they bound to some legal thing?

I wouldn't ask, I would just tell them you need to get something out of the vehicle. I'm not sure the light would be issue, but wouldn't take chance with them trying to blame throttle controller somehow. Steering is electric, don't give them a chance to use any excuse.

 

[ZombieSlayer]

You can probably leave the light, but the throttle response controller will most likely be used to void any warranty

 

[Cowboy36]

Thanks for the kind words and advice everyone. Craziest thing I’ve ever experienced.

 

[vincentw56]

I would hope so. But now I’m not sure. My buddy knows vehicles much better than me said something about steer by wire systems. That just sounds dangerous.

I can tell you for sure it isn't steer by wire and is a mechanical connection.