NHTSA Complaint #11372560 — 2014 TOYOTA VENZA

I WAS STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT AND COULD FEEL THE STEERING WHEEL TIGHTEN LIKE IT WAS LOCKING UP. WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED TO GREEN I MADE A LEFT HAND TURN AND HAD NO POWER IN THE STEERING WHEEL. I MANUALLY TURNED WHEEL AS HARD AS I COULD AND DRIFTED ACROSS ROAD WITH VERY LITTLE CONTROL BECAUSE IT WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN STEERING WHEEL. I PULLED/ DRIFTED THE CAR OFF THE ROAD IN A DIAGONAL DIRECTION BECAUSE IT WAS TOO DIFFICULT TO TRULY MAKE A DIRECT TURN OR PULLOVER. THE POWER STEERING INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON. I TURNED VEHICLE OFF AFTER I DRIFTED TO A SAFE SPOT AND WHEN TURNED IT BACK ON THE STEERING WORKED. I DROVE TO A REPAIR SHOP BUT NO DIAGNOSIS HAS BEEN MADE YET. THIS HAPPENED ON A MAJOR ROAD BUT NOT HIGHWAY. I SUSPECT THIS MAY BE RELATED TO THE TOYOTA SAFETY RECALL F0J (F1J) ELECTRIC POWER STEERING (EPS) ELECTRIC CONTROL UNIT (ECU) CERTAIN TOYOTA VEHICLES 2014-2015. MY VENZA WAS NOT ON THE RECALL LIST BUT MAYBE IT SHOULD BE BECAUSE THE STEERING PROBLEM WAS EXACTLY AS DESCRIBED IN RECALL. Consumer stated power steering assist loss was again on June 2, 2021.