2014 Hyundai Accent steering locked

I have Hyundai xcent SX (D) for last 4 years. I drove it approx 70000KM and being regularly serviced at routine interval at authorized service center. Few days back Steering was locked and brake pedal hardened at ghat section. Problem was repeated once again on ghat section. Car was given to work shop they have checked through computer and taken trail and saying that Car is fine. There is no problem at all. I am not confident to drive this vehicle at all as problem is not yet identified. Kindly help.

An unusual effort required to turn the steering wheel could be a problem with the steering system’s electric motor or the computer that controls it. Could just be a loose/intermittent electrical connector too. Hard brake pedal, check for fluid leaks, air intrusion, faulty disc pads, rear shoes out of adjustment, oil or glazing on disc or pads, scored disc, faulty brake booster.

One interesting clue is according to you post this only occurs on a certain segment of road. If I had that symptom I’d go there, park the car, get out and look around for any big rf antennas in that area. Cell phone transmitting antennas, radio/tv station antennas, etc. If you see a big antenna or array of antennas nearby, weird symptoms can be caused by rf interference affecting the electrical system and computers. RF wouldn’t affect the basic brake hydraulic system, but could affect the ABS or traction control systems. Ask your shop if there’s a electronic brake control module installed on this car. If so, some of the sensor’s it uses might also be used by the electric steering, which could by why these symptoms seem to show up at the same time. Sensor/switch faults to consider include: lateral accelerometer, steering angle sensor, traction control switch, wheel speed sensor, yaw rate sensor.

Did your shop do a test drive on that segment of road? If not, suggest they do so, and take you along.

Thanks for quick response.

Since it was hilly area so there were no signals. This problem was repeated after approx 600 KM. Service center did road test for approx 70 KM and tested through computer as well and have declared vehicle is fine.

When you say “steering was locked”, do you mean it was impossible to turn the steering wheel? If so, how long did that last? What did you do to get the steering wheel working again?

It happened on hilly area while taking turn. Steering was too hard to turn. Vehicle went straight, jumped to extreme right side and rammed into oncoming bus (All this happened in 2-3 seconds). Then only it became stationery. Fortunately we could save ourselves. After checking surroundings, I switched on Engine, it started and was quite normal. No abnormalities found before and after this incidence.

There was a similar issue reported at carcomplaints.com. Please read on

I bought my car in Feb 2014, since that the electronic stability control (ESC) indicator has come on several times while driving. When the ESC is on, the other indicators air bag warning light, ABS, parking brake & brake fluid warning light, low tire pressure telltale and electronic power steering (eps) indicator will also take turns to come on for a while and then off for a few seconds then back on again. After I restart, ESC light will stay on and the other lights take turns to on and off. This will last several days and then back to normal. The worst thing happened on June, 2015, after the lights have been on and off the day before, the electronic power steering was lost when I started my car. Air bag warning light, ABS, parking brake & brake fluid warning light and eps were all on. I was totally in shock by what had happened since I basically could not back out from the parking lot with the stiff steering. I restarted several times and could not work out. When I finally got to dealer, the technician turned on the car, everything was normal. They tried to get a code for me but no code showed any malfunction. Since then, I was driving in afraid that this may happen again at any time and I may lose control and cause an accident.

  • Morgantown, WV, USA

If I had a car that did that, and the dealership was of no help, I’d junk it. Sorry, but I think that’s the best option in this situation. Keeping that car on the road is a danger to you and everybody else. Your life is more important than a car.