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31K views 24 replies 13 participants last post by  tlac 
#1 ·
So last night I turn on the car drive off for about .25miles and my steering wheel becomes tight and the Service Steering System light comes on. I go home make sure the fliuds are up to date and checking for leaks but everything is normal. I drive it alittle more and also waited till the next day but still no clue. I check past post and found on peice of info. one member claims to have the same problem and the dealer told him that a sensor had some water in it????? I dont know what that mean and thought maybe some one else mayhave??? any help or insite?? Thanks
 
#6 ·
Well I took it in to the dealer and they came up with this """"sorry Mr.Affara your STS will need a new power steering gear box referb $900 new $1200 including labor"""" so i told them ill take care of this on my own. I left the dealer called a LKQ parts got a gear box off a 06 STS with 13miles for $150 and tomarrow my local mechanic friend will fix it for $100 labor...
 
#14 ·
the original part number for the steering gear that came with the car is 15787021 and that goes for $250 while the new and update steering gear has part number 25811090 and thats going for $950..I found a new gear for $300 but i dont want to risk buying another gear and that dosnt fix the problem. But the dealer says its for sure going to work.
 
#15 ·
Had the same problem. 1997 Eldo, service steering system message on computer. Put in rebuilt steering gear, new hoses but no pump, still the error message. Next I will try the pump since I think low fluid may have damaged it, but could it just be a bad sensor? I notiice ther is one on the pressure and one on the gear (magnesteer speed sensor I think). Any suggestions? Oh yeah, the steering still feels "heavy". I bled the system and put new fluid in.
 
#17 ·
The new steering gear had the same sensor. Could it be the valve in the Power Steering pump is sticking. This would be the first Power Steering pump of all the cars I've had that has failed. Maybe debris from old hoses clogging it? Anyway, I will pull the pump and check it out, post the results.
 
#18 ·
Piper 909,

I have the same problem on my 1997 Eldorado...Service Steering System. Were you able to resolve it? If so, what was the fix? This can't be cleared until the problem is repaired, right??? Thanks for any advice you can send, mine just came on about a week ago. Thanks

Bob Elliott
 
#19 ·
I'm thinking it's has to be a bad wire to the magnasteer, my pump wasn't bad. Another member stated he thought the magnasteer wires were melted on the exhaust. I 'm going to check it more thoroughly. It's not that you can't drive it, just harder to steer at low RPM and a hassle to reset the info everytime you get in and drive.
 
#20 ·
Was it the wires to the magnasteer?

2 days ago the same exact thing happend to my 2006 STS. Steering went a bit tight and the Service steering sys light came on.

I tried pulling codes and couldnt get any. Took it to the dealer (out of warranty) and they didnt see any codes either. They said they would have to start trouble shooting the problem.

Thanks
Ralph
 
#21 ·
I don't think it's the wires to the steering rack. Read somewhere that radiator fluid could damage the connections in the brake control module, which the magnasteer wires feed into to. What I did notice is when we had a cold snap, the steering came back for a while. Intermittent problems can indeed be a "short", so I am going to finally pull the module apart, try cleaning it, and see what happens.
 
#22 ·
just had similar problem. 3 days ago i was turning right, i thought my car was dying, steering go tight but then was normal. then last night i was sitting in traffic light (straight) and light came on, i moved steering wheel all was normal. steering has been fine for going on 24 hours now, no codes showing up, no tight steer, yet. i will heck back this week to see if there is a definitive answer before i start pulling things apart. hope i get some go news later.
 
#23 ·
hey guys , i got a 97 deville , my mechanic (on the side) replaced idle pully and serpentine belt (bearings were bad) and a day later the service steering system light came on and steering wheel got a little tighter . Checked under the hood everything seems to be running smooth . Any ideas , any help would be appreciated . Thx
 
#24 ·
Had the same problem with the service steering msg. I found one of the two wires that come from the soleniod going to the abs box shorted out at the terminal inside the large abs connecter.they are the first two wires closest to the inside that makes a very sharp turn coming out of the connecter.fixed the short, and never seen msg again. take an ohm meter and do a continiuty test on both wires from steering rack soleniod to connector pin at abs plug. Good luck!
 
#25 ·
There's a steering wheel position sensor inside the steering column... Mine went bad, but it only activated my traction control when turning in a parking lot. It also made the service traction control light come on, but it didn't make my steering feel any different otherwise. I don't think that's it, but I don't know what else this sensor is supposed to do...
 
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