JKU power Steering suddenly went out then returned?

tharb5111

New member
2014 JKU with 28k miles. 35 BFG KM2s on stock 17s. 26PSI. Tire pressure monitor turned off.

After class tonight went out to Jeep to head home.

When turning left out of parking lot I noticed something felt odd in steering. Almost like one tire was aired way down or like I had 4wd engaged or my diff action was not working right.

As I slowly came up to turn right at the light my traction control lights came on and it felt as if my power steering cut out briefly then returned again, making it hard to turn right. Almost like trying to turn with 4 wheel drive engaged.

The Jeep began braking on its own making it harder to complete the turn, almost as if it was entering limp mode (maybe that's what it did), or creating a wheel skip sensation as if the diffs were locked up.

Drove straight down the road for another 2 miles and noticed steering returned to normal but still felt odd.

Turning left same thing happened, limp mode type feeling, then back to normal once turn completed.

Turning right half mile later same thing, limp mode sensation with complete loss of power steering to where I had to fight the wheel to complete the turn.

Once I completed the turn to home all seemed fine again.

I continued to drive the jeep around block of my house, making many left and right turns with no further symptoms.

The Jeep seemed to completely return to normal after those brief incidents.

Any ideas what this could be? Only change made was aired down to 26psi several months ago. Temp tonight dropped into 50s. I turned off tire pressure monitor several months ago so they read zero.

Current tire pressure was at 25psi after driving when I checked it once I got home. I assume it was around 24psi after the cold start.

Would this set off traction control and send my Jeep into limp mode with no power steering on turns briefly? Is my power steering going out?

Anyone experienced this before? Any thoughts would be helpful before I contact shop.
 

Skid_Kid

New member
Have you centered your steering wheel and if you did is the turnbuckle contacting anything when turning?
 

tharb5111

New member
Yes I have esp. I disengaged it by pressing it after the first turn that went wacko. I still had problems after I disengaged esp. I should have mentioned it.
 

tharb5111

New member
Have you centered your steering wheel and if you did is the turnbuckle contacting anything when turning?

Yes I recentered wheel a few months ago and its still centered. I am certain it isn't hitting anything at full turn all of a sudden but I will check again tomorrow just to be sure nothing has changed.
 

WJCO

Meme King
Sounds like a traction control issue, but I would check to ensure your power steering fluid is full, your ps hoses aren't catching/pinching on anything, and lastly, check your belt tensioner and tensioner itself just to make you have proper tension to turn the pump pulley.
 

tharb5111

New member
Have you centered your steering wheel and if you did is the turnbuckle contacting anything when turning?

Went out abs had wife turn wheel to full lockleft and right. No odd sounds. No contact or interference in any parts in the steering linkages at all. Turns smooth in garage. Took it for another spin. No problems whatsoever.

Really spooky.
 

tharb5111

New member
Power steering fluid at full level. Although the fluid is a yellow brown color. What color should it be? Does it matter? Lol
 

jeeeep

Hooked
2014 JKU with 28k miles. 35 BFG KM2s on stock 17s. 26PSI. Tire pressure monitor turned off.

After class tonight went out to Jeep to head home.

When turning left out of parking lot I noticed something felt odd in steering. Almost like one tire was aired way down or like I had 4wd engaged or my diff action was not working right.

As I slowly came up to turn right at the light my traction control lights came on and it felt as if my power steering cut out briefly then returned again, making it hard to turn right. Almost like trying to turn with 4 wheel drive engaged.

The Jeep began braking on its own making it harder to complete the turn, almost as if it was entering limp mode (maybe that's what it did), or creating a wheel skip sensation as if the diffs were locked up.

Drove straight down the road for another 2 miles and noticed steering returned to normal but still felt odd.

Turning left same thing happened, limp mode type feeling, then back to normal once turn completed.

Turning right half mile later same thing, limp mode sensation with complete loss of power steering to where I had to fight the wheel to complete the turn.

Once I completed the turn to home all seemed fine again.

I continued to drive the jeep around block of my house, making many left and right turns with no further symptoms.

The Jeep seemed to completely return to normal after those brief incidents.

Any ideas what this could be? Only change made was aired down to 26psi several months ago. Temp tonight dropped into 50s. I turned off tire pressure monitor several months ago so they read zero.

Current tire pressure was at 25psi after driving when I checked it once I got home. I assume it was around 24psi after the cold start.

Would this set off traction control and send my Jeep into limp mode with no power steering on turns briefly? Is my power steering going out?

Anyone experienced this before? Any thoughts would be helpful before I contact shop.

if you're driving with the tires at 25 psi and not in 4WD, it's more than likely kicking your ABS on. I've found part of the ABS system is still active even if you turn off the system and a weird turn or hitting a bump too fast will activate the ABS.

With your tire pressure that low it would make sense it would kick on after you made a turn where the difference between the inside and outer turning radius would be exaggerated by the low tire pressure and continue as it tries to compensate for the difference.

if it happens again come to a stop and shut it off as if parking it. turn it back on and it should be back to normal - add some air to your tires lol
 

tharb5111

New member
if you're driving with the tires at 25 psi and not in 4WD, it's more than likely kicking your ABS on. I've found part of the ABS system is still active even if you turn off the system and a weird turn or hitting a bump too fast will activate the ABS.

With your tire pressure that low it would make sense it would kick on after you made a turn where the difference between the inside and outer turning radius would be exaggerated by the low tire pressure and continue as it tries to compensate for the difference.

if it happens again come to a stop and shut it off as if parking it. turn it back on and it should be back to normal - add some air to your tires lol

Thanks for your thoughts on this. I will try it. Make sense to me. I wondered if the drop in tire pressure with it turning cold here was messing it up. But would the abs system make it hard to turn? Maybe so?

I'm all for trying simple solutions first. Will air up to 32 psi and see what if any difference it makes. Thought I read on here that 35 tired need 26 to 28 psi on jkus. At this point I hope this is all it is.

Thanks again.
 

jeeeep

Hooked
Thanks for your thoughts on this. I will try it. Make sense to me. I wondered if the drop in tire pressure with it turning cold here was messing it up. But would the abs system make it hard to turn? Maybe so?

I'm all for trying simple solutions first. Will air up to 32 psi and see what if any difference it makes. Thought I read on here that 35 tired need 26 to 28 psi on jkus. At this point I hope this is all it is.

Thanks again.

oh yeah, the abs will make it hard to turn as it's trying to apply the breaks as if you were in a skid
 
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