I have a 2005 RX 330, and have noticed that the steering wheel becomes very hard when turning either left or right. Also it makes some noise as well. The car has about 55k miles, and didn't expect this kind of problem, anyone else has had this problem?

 

a power steering rack leakage is common. and thus if yours is leaking, and low on fluid, you could have those problems.

start with checking your power steering fluid. its under the plastic piece on the passenger side under the hood. if you are low, dont add power steering fluid, these cars use transmission fluid instead.

if it is low, check either side of the car (under the engine area and look for leaks / the power steering boots moist / leaking.

hope that helps.

 

There was a problem with the steering column binding on some of the early 2 gen RX with symptoms that sound exactly like what you describe. Run a search on this forum for more info.

 

Thanks all for the information, I will investigate further.
hg