Steering wheel suddenly will not turn???

rnelson1020 · Post by **rnelson1020** » 16 Dec 2019, 09:18

1998 Volvo S70 GLT, 266,000 miles and well cared for. Car has been running great. Steering rack replaced last year by owner. Ignition switch replaced several years ago. Yesterday while heading out of driveway and beginning to turn onto paved road, steering wheel suddenly could not be turned left or right. A few hours later, was able to back car into yard and began to turn around when steering wheel suddenly locked again. This morning, steering worked normally for a short distance as I drove it up to house when steering locked up again but only if attempting to turn to right; steering wheel moved to left normally! I am at a loss as to where to begin.

Post by **E Showell** » 16 Dec 2019, 10:07

If the prior owner replaced the rack with a rebuilt Cardone rack, you may have a defective one. I had the same thing happen in traffic and it could have gone very badly. If it is a Cardone replacement rack, I'd get it out of the car as soon as you possibly can, and needless to say, the car should be parked until then. It happened to a few folks and was written up on the forum. FCP pulled their Cardone rack stock immediately after the reports, much to their credit.

rnelson1020 · Post by **rnelson1020** » 16 Dec 2019, 12:50

Thanks for your comment. I replaced the rack with a new unit from IPD; not a Cardone. Just got off phone with IPD and they assured me it was not a steering rack issue but recommended checking out the steering wheel lock mechanism and the steering wheel shaft itself. We'll see. It's a really strange issue!

Post by **volvolugnut** » 17 Dec 2019, 06:42

Could this be the anti theft steering lock failure? Broken parts in the steering column lock jamming and preventing turn on the wheel?
See this thread
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22911

And better post
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22911&start=10

This anti theft lock removal is not fun (grinding metal while standing on your head), but it works great.
volvolugnut