Steering wheel and brakes lock up same time

Tiny
BGGLEGHORN
  • MEMBER
  • 2008 HONDA ACCORD
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 116,725 MILES
Twice within a month my car's steering wheel and brakes lock up same time. First time I was in a parking lot went to stop my brakes would not compress and the steering wheel would not turn right or left, wouldn't turn at all the engine was still running. No panel lights came on after a few seconds everything was normal again. This didn't happen again until three weeks ago same thing.
Tuesday, March 12th, 2019 AT 10:53 AM

5 Replies

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,176 POSTS
Welcome to 2CarPros.

This is an interesting one because the power assist to the brakes is vacuum operated, and the power steering is run by a pump and not associated with the power brakes. For you to lose power assist to the brakes, there has to be a drop in engine vacuum or a faulty brake booster. For the power assist to stop, the pump has to be running extremely slow or the serpentine belt stopped turning the pump.

The only correlation I can think of without being there is the engine nearly stalls or the idle is extremely low. Can you tell me if idle speed is low when this happens? Also, is the check engine light staying on when the engine runs, which could indicate a vacuum leak?

Let me know. Also, let me know if there is anything you can think of that may help me better diagnose the problem.

Take care and I will watch for your reply.

Joe
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Tuesday, March 12th, 2019 AT 6:11 PM
Tiny
BGGLEGHORN
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  • 3 POSTS
No check engine light comes on or any other light comes on at all. I'm not really sure if the idle speed was low at the time. At both times I was going about ten to fifteen miles, once in the parking lot second coming to a stop at a stop sign. This happen for a minute than car was fine no other issues both times. I know this is strange, but scary to happen.
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Wednesday, March 13th, 2019 AT 6:44 AM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,176 POSTS
Welcome back:

I totally understand. It would be a bit scary. What I need you to do is if it happens again, pay attention if the engine is nearly stalling. Also, even if the engine does stall, you will lose power assist for the brakes and steering, but both will still work under a manual mode. Not easy to stop or turn, but it can be done.

Let me know if it happens again and the results. However, please understand I am not there. If you truly are afraid, maybe it should be checked by someone in person.

Please feel free to ask any questions or let me know if you think of anything that correlates with the times this happened. I did note that both times you wouldn't have been touching the throttle (at least that is my perception of the scenarios you listed). This is a tough one to diagnose.

Take care,
Joe
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Wednesday, March 13th, 2019 AT 4:02 PM
Tiny
BGGLEGHORN
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Joe thank you for all your advise. I did take it to the Honda dealership they had my car four days still puzzled about the situation. They said it has to happen with them to tell what is wrong, which I wish it would but probably unlikely.
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Thursday, March 14th, 2019 AT 6:00 AM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,176 POSTS
I understand. Not being there and experiencing it makes it hard for me. However, for both of those items to be affected, I feel it has to be related somehow to the engine nearly stalling. If it happens, pay attention to the RPM to see if it is ready to stall.

Keep in touch. Let me know how things work out for you.

Joe
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Thursday, March 14th, 2019 AT 5:25 PM

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