Steering wheel upside down (1 Viewer)

[4WD]

2006 LX 470 My steering wheel is upside down while driving straight. It will autocorrect right side up and then turn upside down. My mechanic cant figure it out. I called the dealer and they say they haven’t heard of this. Lexus help line said the only recall on the steering column has been fixed. Horn doesn’t work and airbag light on.

Has anyone experienced this or have advice?

 

[staggrlee]

Well to start with, you're going to need an old priest and a young priest...

 

[lonecruiser]

Did you get one of those Australian steering wheels?

 

[PADDO]

You’ve got VGRS issues - might just need a simple reset and recalibration which is a 30 second job with Techstream or it could be a bigger problem that should throw DTCs. Is the VGRS light illuminated? No horn and SRS light on strongly suggests your spiral cable aka clock spring has broken. If the problem occurred straight after the steering shaft recall repair then the dealer likely screwed up the fix, there’s a case documented here, and corporate had to get involved. If you do a key word search of “VGRS” and “spiral cable” limited to this section of the forum you’ll get plenty of hits that’ll fill in any info gaps.

 

[dwh13]

You’ve got VGRS issues - might just need a simple reset and recalibration which is a 30 second job with Techstream or it could be a bigger problem that should throw DTCs. Is the VGRS light illuminated? No horn and SRS light on strongly suggests your spiral cable aka clock spring has broken. If the problem occurred straight after the steering shaft recall repair then the dealer likely screwed up the fix, there’s a case documented here, and corporate had to get involved. If you do a key word search of “VGRS” and “spiral cable” limited to this section of the forum you’ll get plenty of hits that’ll fill in any info gaps.

This is the correct answer. I had the steering recall done and a week later my truck wouldn't turn left - the dealer botched the repair and my VGRS ECU went out. But if the airbag light and horn both stopped working, that's 100% your spiral cable aka clock spring. Avoid the cheap Amazon ones, it lasted me a month. Get a used OEM unit.

 

[4WD]

You’ve got VGRS issues - might just need a simple reset and recalibration which is a 30 second job with Techstream or it could be a bigger problem that should throw DTCs. Is the VGRS light illuminated? No horn and SRS light on strongly suggests your spiral cable aka clock spring has broken. If the problem occurred straight after the steering shaft recall repair then the dealer likely screwed up the fix, there’s a case documented here, and corporate had to get involved. If you do a key word search of “VGRS” and “spiral cable” limited to this section of the forum you’ll get plenty of hits that’ll fill in any info gaps.

You’ve got VGRS issues - might just need a simple reset and recalibration which is a 30 second job with Techstream or it could be a bigger problem that should throw DTCs. Is the VGRS light illuminated? No horn and SRS light on strongly suggests your spiral cable aka clock spring has broken. If the problem occurred straight after the steering shaft recall repair then the dealer likely screwed up the fix, there’s a case documented here, and corporate had to get involved. If you do a key word search of “VGRS” and “spiral cable” limited to this section of the forum you’ll get plenty of hits that’ll fill in any info gaps.

You’ve got VGRS issues - might just need a simple reset and recalibration which is a 30 second job with Techstream or it could be a bigger problem that should throw DTCs. Is the VGRS light illuminated? No horn and SRS light on strongly suggests your spiral cable aka clock spring has broken. If the problem occurred straight after the steering shaft recall repair then the dealer likely screwed up the fix, there’s a case documented here, and corporate had to get involved. If you do a key word search of “VGRS” and “spiral cable” limited to this section of the forum you’ll get plenty of hits that’ll fill in any info gaps.

Thanks guy! I'm ordering a spiral cable and starting there. REally appreciate the responses. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[4WD]

PADDO & dwh13 were spot on. Had the dealer check it out and they confirmed the spiral cable is broken. Easy fix and relatively inexpensive. However, they claim the cause is due to the VGRS actuator. It's gone bad and needs replacing. They said they could replace the spiral cable but they cant guarantee it will not break again due to the VGRS actuator.

Should I have the spiral cable replaced by the dealer for a quick fix or is the dealer correct and it will break soon after due to the VGRS actuator? Here is the feedback and quote from the dealer:

1: Spiral Cable / VGRS actuator: $4413.83 - when driving down the road, the VGRS determines how much wheels actually turn based on the speed of the vehicle and the degree of turning your steering wheel - ie: going down highway, your wheels won't turn as much when changing lanes as they would when turning into a parking spot in the parking lot.
2: Front brakes w/ turning rotors: $537.76
3: Both Front boots: $560.98
4. Valve Cover Gaskets & Cam Seals: $1520.00 (with timing belt/water pump job total including parts and labor $2286.50)

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

 

[Ayune]

Whoa $4400. Another option is to remove your VGRS completely. According to @Grego: “I have replaced my VGRS on my 05 with non-VGRS components. I used the upper and lower intermediate shafts from an 02 land cruiser. Direct swap. Disconnected the VGRS computer and disabled the warning light. Much cheaper and simpler than the original system. Probably more durable, too.”

Lower steering shaft replacement is simple, it’s in the engine bay between your steering rack and firewall. Four screws.

Upper steering shaft is slightly more involved, but maybe a 3-hour job with simple tools. I did it a few months ago and wrote up a how-to here: How To: Replace your own Upper Steering Column Shaft