I have a 2005 toyota Highlander with 88,000 miles. Every now and then my steering wheel locks up when I am turning left under 10 mph in the rain. What would be causing this and is it going to cost an arm and a leg to fix the problem? Need your help.
first things first check the p/s fluid then if ok check over the front end and the steering make sure everthing is ok and safe.
The belt may be loose.
+1
The “rain factor” is a clue that this problem could be due to just a loose serpentine belt.
That sounds a lot like what I had on my Sebring for a while. I was finding that as long as I had been driving for a while and was going a decent speed, I didn’t have any trouble. But taking tight turns, most often at low speed and when pulling in or out of a parking space, was bad. I found that the wheel wouldn’t exactly lock, but it required a lot of effort to move.
By the time I took it to a mechanic, they said that one of the belts had frayed or something, and that it had been slipping. They replaced the belt. It was maybe 3 and a half years ago, so I forget what it cost, but it was pretty minor. Maybe 200 bucks I think.