[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by driverace

...steering wheel just locked up...

Most likely problem: The steering lock is damaged, and needs to be replaced. It is fixed to the steering column with shear-off bolts, which need to be drilled & cut out. A new unit needs to be installed.

Most likely reason: Someone tried to forcefully turn the steering with the lock engaged, sometime in the past.

[Mpower]

@SS, Every car is different, but I'm pretty sure the lock cylinder can be replaced without removing the column.

and why would it be needed to drilled out?

[im_srini]

Originally Posted by Mpower

... and why would it be needed to drilled out ?

I'm guessing it's because of this...

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

...it is fixed to the steering column with shear-off bolts...

[Jeroen]

Im not familiar with this car in detail, but what sort of steering box does it have. Some older Mercedes models had problems with the steering box. Over time some play starts occurring that can be adjusted. If you over adjust that could lead to the steering box locking up. However, that typically happens when you put the steering wheel over to the very end left or right. Its unlikely to happen when driving straight. From what I read so far the steering lock appears to be the main suspect. But if not, you would really need to start inspecting the other mechanical parts, steering box, ball joints, struts etc.

[NiInJa]

Wanted to understand one thing. When you say you turn off the engine and restart, do you twist the key completely to OFF or to ACC, then back to Ignition mode ? Also, is the key worn off at edges ?

Not related to your problem but we had a old maruti 800 whose original key had worn off badly and to unlock the steering wheel it required inserting in the keyhole firmly, moving it a little up and down in the cylinder before the steering un-locked. But once it was unlocked, there were no problems while the car was moving. Changing the key solved this issue. The locking mechanism might be a problem as other bhp-ians mentioned.

[driverace]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Im not familiar with this car in detail, but what sort of steering box does it have. ..
Over time some play starts occurring that can be adjusted. If you over adjust that could lead to the steering box locking up.
... From what I read so far the steering lock appears to be the main suspect. .

I will try to find more about type of steering assembly our car has.
But, like you mentioned, there has not been any 'play adjustment' or any corrections done to the steering assembly.
In the last service ( a week before), steering assembly was greased & checked - it was found okay (by SA).

Originally Posted by NiInJa

Wanted to understand one thing. When you say you turn off the engine and restart, do you twist the key completely to OFF or to ACC, then back to Ignition mode ? Also, is the key worn off at edges ?
.

The key isn't worn off, it's pretty new.
The key has been twisted to OFF position while restarting the car (upon steering lock up problem).

But, also note, that the last time the problem occurred, my brother gave a couple of jerks to the steering, & it just unlocked.. (without the shut off-restart routine).

The car is going to Hyundai today, since yesterday they had their queue full.

Will update this thread accordingly.

Thanks a lot folks,

Ace.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

what sort of steering box does it have.

It's regular Rack & Pinion steering gear with Electric motor assisted steering column.
EPS or MDPS

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by driverace

All,

There is this serious issue that we are facing with our Hyundai i10 (Magna 2011).

This problem has occurred thrice (randomly):

1. 2 years before, while me & my brother were returning from a visit to a nearby village, I was driving. While negotiating a right hand turn, the car steering wheel just locked up! IT JAMMED.
I couldn't move it at all, (i.e. it was not loss of "power assist", it was a total lock).

Fortunately, I could slow down & stop before going off-road, thanks to sane speeds & habit of keeping good margin while taking the turn!

I stopped the car. Shut it off & started it again. Car behaved like nothing was wrong. (spooky).

This is quite scary. Since restarting the car fixed the issue once , could it be a problem with the ECU ? Or any loose sensor wires ?

When the steering got locked up, what was the position of the steering wheel,was it fully turned ?

Did you try re creating the probelm when the car was stationary ? Start the engine , keep turning the steering wheel till the end,let us know if the steering gets jammed .

[SRKHYD]

Not sure whether this helps but still wanted to post, just in case.
I recently got my speed sensor replaced in my Figo. Suddenly while driving, my speedometer comes to 'zero' and if I stop the car and ignite again everything is normal. Even with this sensor failing, I could see all electricals are working fine except a small jerk in engine, which I assume is due to the reduced fuel supply.

When I went to service center to get it replaced, my service advisor asked me immediately change the sensor, as failing sensor could mean 'lot' many other things - steering could get locked, doors unlock, fuel supply censure etc.

Not sure, if any other sensor is actually playing a spoil sport here.

[aniketi]

Originally Posted by driverace

Some more info about our i10:
It's a very lightly used car. 7000kms in 7 years!
So, it's diligently (but only) serviced once a year (at Hyundai dealership). It is taken for 'light service' just before monsoons every year.
No other troubles with the car yet. Runs fine, decent in terms of efficiency too.

Help/inputs would be really appreciated.

Concerned,

Ace.

For me biggest concern is this. When cars are not used much over years, they tend to behave weird. I have experienced this before in 2-3 cars. Cars which are hardly used always gets some or other issue which is difficult to find & rectify. 7K in 7 years is way to low running for a car. I drive less still i do 7K in a year, but 7K in 7 years is too low for me. Start using your car more often, may be it will sort out your problem without doing anything.

Just to give you example, my Aunt purchased old Maruti 800 few years back as a second car at home. It was 12-13 year old when purchased and has done hardly 20K kms. It was also very well maintained car. It used to stall in between the road for no reason. Mechanics never found reason for the same. Once that car was used for few thousands kms within few days with some highway runs, the problem went away without doing anything. Your case is different i know, but it may happen due to similar reason. I may be wrong as well.

[Avenger_123]

I had the exact same problem in my 2010 i20, it is now in showroom for changing Electric motor, EPS module and torque sensor - total INR 38K quote, insurance won't cover and the car is out of warranty.

I have put it in the below thread -

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-1-2-a-58.html

So my suggestion, get it checked fast to avoid any further damages, and stay away from Hyundai !!

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by Avenger_123

I had the exact same problem in my 2010 i20

I doubt the issue here is something else. You case is EPS failure which will make the steering heavier (heavier than a manual steering, since the ratio were different for Manual & Power assisted gears) But the issue here is complete steering lock-up

[Avenger_123]

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

I doubt the issue here is something else. You case is EPS failure which will make the steering heavier (heavier than a manual steering, since the ratio were different for Manual & Power assisted gears) But the issue here is complete steering lock-up

Well it was hard when EPS fails, but at extreme ends of turn, the steering started getting locked and I also had to switch off the engine and restart to get it working again.

Even-though issue might not be exactly same, what I understand from Hyundai is to better get it attended fast, they also mentioned about 2 more I20's they did the same thing earlier. This should have been a recall long back, not sure what we can do now. In my case as car couldn't be driven or sold, I was left with no option but to go for the costly repair.

[Ravindra M]

Originally Posted by driverace

...
This problem has occurred thrice (randomly)...
.

Ace.

I think you should stop taking any more risks and don't drive the car unless the problem is 100% resolved. This is safety critical issue and you need to escalate it to the HMC higher management. You must use all the available options to bring it to the notice of media. Try to search for the contacts in other threads, google it. I know the Autocar India magazine sometimes help owners to resolve the issues with OEM - don't know if it available only for their subscribers.

[i74js]

The lock set should resolve the problem in nearly 80% of such cases. I am assuming that when the car runs normal, you have not witnessed any kind of noise or funny behavior from the steering column.

The only other culprit could be the EPS motor, which if stalls might give an impression of jammed steering as switching off and restarting the car brings back everything to normal.

With whatever understanding I have
- Lockset (steering, both front doors and trunk will change - if you get it done from Hyundai ASS, else you can survive with just the steering one, provided you are okay with using 2 keys - should not be a problem in case you have remote-central locking)

- EPS motor could be the second culprit here, which can be tested after taking out for any gear-wear out or possible other causes (not sure if it is bushless or not).

Also, I am not sure if I missed out anything but when the steering is Jam, do you get any indication on the dashboard ? an EPS fail / check light etc?