Bare with me, there is more than just one question.

Recently purchased an '08 IS350 that included an extended warranty from Mercury Insurance. I noticed that when turning off freeway on ramps or even switching lanes the steering wheel has a sticky/locking feeling to it half way through turning the wheel to the desired direction. When it gets into the sticky/locking state you can actually take your hands on the steering wheel and it will stay in place in that direction. So when I took the car in for some recall work at Lexus I mentioned this to me and they came back and told me that my rack and pinion is broken and it will cost $1,400 for the part.

Here's where things get complicated: I called my extended warranty company and they said that the rack and pinion is covered but that $1,400 for that part is out of the limits of liability so they asked Lexus if they could send them the part which they said they can get from their own supplier, Meridian, for $700 (which is the limit). Lexus refused saying that they cannot put anything on that's not OEM. The warranty company said either I pay for the difference or I go another licensed shop and ask if they install aftermarket parts on customer cars. I called another shop locally who specializes in Lexus and mentioned what was going on and he said he's never heard of a warranty company doing such a thing but understands where they're coming from. He said the best thing to do is take it to his shop to get a look and confirm if it is the steering rack or something else that could be minor.

By the way, steering feels fine other than the symptom I mentioned. No whining, no leaks that I can see.

1) Anyone ever had the feeling I describe? Was it indeed a broken steering rack?
2) Anyone had experience with an extended warranty company doing such a thing?
3) Anyone install re-manufactured steering rack on their Lexus? Any issues?
4) What would you do in my case?

 

Steering is nothing to be messed with. Either go with the OEM rack with money out of your pocket or an aftermarket unit installed by any shop. I've read about vehicles completely locking out their steering while driving and crashing; so it is a issue issue that can happen...but is RARE.

 

Does it only do this when driving, or will it do it sitting still? I've changed a LOT of steering shafts due to seized u-joints here where we get a lot of snow and salt, I'm pretty sure the IS doesn't have any exposed joints though, so its not likely. It could also be a bad tie rod end or ball joint, not likely though on an '08.
I'd have no problem installing a reman or even a used rack into your car, we do it often, as long as the shop doing the job flushes the steering system is should be fine. The system needs to be flushed though, any of the fluid in there could contain steel or aluminum from the failed rack (if indeed that's the problem).

 

This has happened to me once a couple months ago. It might happened another time before, but I can't clearly recall.

What happens is the road is about a 35 degrees constant curve not on freeway, and I hold the steering in that direction for about 5 seconds; when the road straighten out, I tried to lightly guide the steering wheel to the new straight road, but the steering wheel seems to be locked in the previous position. I have to use quite a bit more force than normal to force it straight.

I can't reproduce this, so I didn't get it check at the dealer. I have a 2008 IS350 as well.

 

^Scary!

 

I know, I do realize that. I'm a bit annoyed that the warranty company refuses to pay for an OEM rack because it exceeds their limited liability. I guess my only option is going with the aftermarket steering rack.

This is a warning for those who end up purchasing extended warranties. The warranty company "...may use replacement components of a like kind and quality that may be rebuilt, remanufactured, or used. Parts pricing will be determined by the lesser of your vehicle manufacturers suggested retail price or the suggested retail price of a like kind and quality part, whichever is authorized by Us."

It does it while driving.

Hmmm, that sounds close to what I'm experiencing except it happens to me all the time when I'm going on a curve: steering wheel gets stuck in position while turning it (gets stuck at a set degree, haven't figured it out what it is). It doesn't take much effort to get it out of position though. Just really annoying.

 

WD-40 on the Universal Joint (steering shaft) fixed my problem of stiff / intermitting steering. It wouldn't take much effort to return the wheel to the straight position, but it was just annoying. I applied WD-40 and it is back to behaving like what I imagine is brand new.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...sal-joint.html

 

 

You know WD won't last on a bathroom door hinge let alone a precision steering joint coupling you to your vehicle!

It is more of a solvent than a lubricant. One designed to displace water and act as a dielectric insulator. It is a VERY temporary fix at best.

What this did for you is isolate the real problem! I would highly recommend you replace the defective shaft and joints before it really gets you or someone else into trouble.

Now if you really wanted to cheap out I suppose one could warm the joint, wrap it in foil and fill it with thick oil for 24 hours so it can soak in and some of the oil might stay for a period of time.

I did it to Farm Tractor that plowed the fields. Tractor never hit the road at 100 plus MPH so there wasn't much risk less you till up a row of carrots on accident!

Use this memory/idea at your own risk!

 

I've had this exact problem/issue with my car for years now. I can't even remember when it exactly started happening. I guess only a handful of people have had this problem, since there's absolutely no mention of such issues in Lexus repair manuals.