# The Steering wheel Locks When I am Turning

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-steering-wheel-locks-when-i-am-turning/73225>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [June 26, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-steering-wheel-locks-when-i-am-turning/73225 "2012-06-26T16:28:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Goliyia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Goliyia](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Goliyia)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-steering-wheel-locks-when-i-am-turning/73225/1 "2012-06-26T16:28:15Z")

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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.

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**Author:** ![Big\_Marc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@Big\_Marc](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Big_Marc)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-steering-wheel-locks-when-i-am-turning/73225/2 "2012-06-26T16:33:55Z")

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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.

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**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-steering-wheel-locks-when-i-am-turning/73225/3 "2012-06-26T16:42:41Z")

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The belt may be loose.

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**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-steering-wheel-locks-when-i-am-turning/73225/4 "2012-06-26T16:44:19Z")

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+1  
The “rain factor” is a clue that this problem could be due to just a loose serpentine belt.

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**Author:** ![Thrifty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aca169/32.png) [@Thrifty](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Thrifty)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/the-steering-wheel-locks-when-i-am-turning/73225/5 "2012-06-26T16:44:43Z")

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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.