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loss of power steering along with dash lights

98K views 46 replies 17 participants last post by  trendzxman52 
#1 ·
Recently on my 2007 Rav4, my wife started up the car and drove to an intersection and stopped. When she stepped on the accelerator, she lost power steering and all the dash lights came on. The car was still running. After pulling over to the side of the road, she turned off the car and was able to restart the car and it ran 'normal.' Only the cel, VSC, and skid lights stayed on. At a local repair shop, they plugged in the code reader and it came up 'speed sensor.'


A few days later the same thing happened to me after the car had been sitting all night.


A local repair shop replaced the speed sensor, which looked worn.


It didn't fix the problem and it recurred again in the same way. Repair shop thinks it may be a transmission problem.


Weather for all three instances were in the 50s for temps and the car was sitting overnight.


Any ideas what to check next?
 
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#3 ·
Sounds like it could be a battery/alternator problem. The power steering not functioning could be a result of insufficient current being supplied to the system due to a faulty alternator/weak battery. That also explains why all the dashboard lights turned on at one point, as that happens to a lot of rav's when there is insufficient power.

As you specifically stated, this happens after a "cold start". This is usually when the battery is at it's weakest before the alternator charges it back up after engine start. I'd get the alternator and battery checked if it were my rav.
 
#41 ·
Sounds like it could be a battery/alternator problem. The power steering not functioning could be a result of insufficient current being supplied to the system due to a faulty alternator/weak battery. That also explains why all the dashboard lights turned on at one point, as that happens to a lot of rav's when there is insufficient power.

As you specifically stated, this happens after a "cold start". This is usually when the battery is at it's weakest before the alternator charges it back up after engine start. I'd get the alternator and battery checked if it were my rav.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Thanks for the suggestion. Btw, I have a four cylinder Rav.


After reading the thread, I do remember one morning very recent, that I noticed the battery light flicker a few times and then stayed off. I don't usually drive the Rav, so I didn't think much of it at the time and the few times I drove it since, I didn't notice it again.


The alternator was replaced last year and the battery was replaced about four or five years ago.


One more thing: the warning lights have gone out I think.
 
#7 ·
#8 ·
narrowing the field

I get this bad feeling when I hear 'car' and 'electrical problems' used in the same sentence.


Are there any helpful checks I can request from my local shop to help narrow the possibilities, or should I just trust they will check the 'easy' things first, like alternator output, battery health, etc.?
 
#9 · (Edited)
I get this bad feeling when I hear 'car' and 'electrical problems' used in the same sentence.

Are there any helpful checks I can request from my local shop to help narrow the possibilities, or should I just trust they will check the 'easy' things first, like alternator output, battery health, etc.?
It's not that big a deal if simply replacing the old battery fixes it. And from the many somewhat similar issues I've seen on the forum over the years I strongly suspect that's what is needed. (See post 10.)

Assuming they've checked for loose or corroded battery cables, the shop needs to do the two simple tests you mentioned.

1. Alternator output: Test the voltage at the battery with the engine running at high idle. Should be 13.8V minimum if the charging system is working properly.
2. Battery health: Load test the battery after fully charging it. Some shops have new sophisticated testers but a simple "toaster tester" will do too.

If either are failed you can expect any number of codes and symptoms.
 
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#12 ·
This morning the battery light began flashing. Too much rain here to have it checked at the auto store.

Took it in to the local shop. They did a charging system check and they said the alternator was ok, but the battery was giving very weird readings as it was giving the right amps but not the right voltage or something like that. The shop took the Rav for a drive and somehow were able to reproduce the power loss.

Replaced the battery (four year old Interstate).

Except for the battery light today, haven't had another power loss since the last time a week or so ago.

Will keep an eye out for any other issues.
 
#13 ·
Took it in to the local shop. ... but the battery was giving very weird readings as it was giving the right amps but not the right voltage.

Replaced the battery (four year old Interstate).

Except for the battery light today, haven't had another power loss since the last time a week or so ago.
It's not that big a deal if simply replacing the old battery fixes it.
So maybe our members know what they're talking about?:surprise :doh:
Go to any auto parts place and ask them to perform a LOAD TEST on your battery. .... In this case my battery had a shorted cell, which would present the symptoms you described:
Battery. battery, did I mention battery ? My rav acted the same way.... All this was because of a shorted battery. Some really weird stuff !
 
#14 ·
After the posts about the battery/electrical issues, I did call the local shop and discuss having the alternator/battery checked and was told to stop by anytime. They also checked the dates when the battery was last replaced and the alternator was replaced.

As things would work out, I was planning to go to the auto parts store to have it checked there as well, but I figured with all the rain and bad weather due to the hurricane, I would not ask the employees to venture out to do the tests and get soaked. Thanks to those who gave that input.


Hopefully the problem has been solved.
 
#18 ·
As things would work out, I was planning to go to the auto parts store to have it checked there as well, but I figured with all the rain and bad weather due to the hurricane, I would not ask the employees to venture out to do the tests and get soaked.
Agreed. I didn't look up where you're from but it wouldn't have been fun here in CT those several days. Those chain auto parts store guys/gals have to work outside since it's probably not legal for them to have a shop. And what job do you see them doing in downpours? Changing wiper blades!

Anyway, glad we could help and likely save you from some dealer potentially chasing codes and replacing good parts.
 
#15 ·
I am having some issues. I'm not sure how to make my own post but any help would be appreciated!

For the last year or so when I drive long distances in cooler weather over 2 hrs under 70 degrees i get a flickering battery light. I have replaced battery and alternator within the last year. This weekend took a 4 hr trip to dallas and 3 hrs in battery light starts flickering. Made it and no other issues with flicker. Took off 3 days later after normal driving and romped the gas. I immediately lost power steering and all my dash errors came on. Shut car off and back on got my steering back. I had the codes read and only vsc came out. Took battery cable off to reset and braved a 4 hr drive back to Houston.

The light didn't start until a few miles from my destination so just kept going. Next day it was warm so I started it up and got the flicker from the start which isn't normal. Had the battery and alt tested while light was flickering and both passed? Drove about 5 mile @ 30mph and lost power steering and all lights came on again. I drove to oriellys and again only the vsc abs codes came back. I'm not finding any consistency on when it starts acting up besides the battery light flickering.

Got in it today before the sun and it was cool, no battery light flickering. Got in it a few hours later and it was flickering! I got out and pushed on the ecu wires (I initally was suspecting ecu issue) and pushed on alt wires. Light went out and drove fine there and back. I'm lost and dealer said they can't diagnose intermittent issues. I have a voltmeter and battery is as it should be.
 
#17 ·
I had them read at the auto store. I didn't do the load test, I'll do that after going through the wires and checking grounds. Thank you! It is just hard to pinpoint with it happening so randomly. If the battery is bad could that be intermittent? Also worsened by long trips? I thought the alternator might have been bad because it was a reman. However with it only bad on long trips or cold I had forgotten about it over the summer. You would think if it was bad it would have worsened over the months. I can't find any shops around this area either who deal with auto electronics specifically, and dealers are my last option. I've paid for a diagnosis before and they were so far from the issue I lost trust, and money!
 
#19 ·
I had them read at the auto store. I didn't do the load test, I'll do that after going through the wires and checking grounds. Thank you! It is just hard to pinpoint with it happening so randomly. If the battery is bad could that be intermittent? ...
What you need to do is monitor the voltage while driving and during the intermittent issue. I'd use one that plugs into the 12V outlet.
 
#20 ·
Looks like this post is timely.


I had the battery replaced a few days ago and alternator checked out ok, but this morning the battery light was flashing again. Weather here was just below 60F and very damp.


I'm thinking some sort of loose connection somewhere? Where can I find a voltage monitor that plugs into the outlet?
 
#21 ·
#22 ·
I have the exact same problem :( it started 2 days ago with shifter getting stuck in park. After a few minutes of trying to start the engine, it worked fine for a couple of days. Last night I got stranded in the parking lot of a store. All lights come up (ABSm VSC, break, tire pressure, oil and everything ) and cannot move the shifter. Read on internet to press the small lever on the shifter console to move the shifter. IT worked but the steering wheel lost pwoer. Some how managed to get home last night with all lights on and no power steering. IT was very hard to drive but it was just 2 miles , so I managed. This morning I had to tow it to a mechanic. When it landed there everything was perfect, but showed speed indicator problem. Mechanic did not find anything wrong, so he reset all lights, cleaned the battery and when I was about take it back home , BAM, it happened again. After that, they spent hours investigating but couldn't find anyting. I have left my car there and they still dont have a clue. Mechanics seem to testing all possible things. Now they are saying they have to remove the steering wheel and check what is wrong.
I am at a loss here! just dont know what to do. They dont even know how many more days its going to take to figure out and fix what is necessary.

Any thoughts or suggestions please? I am totally stranded!!!
 
#23 ·
I have the exact same problem :( it started 2 days ago with shifter getting stuck in park. After a few minutes of trying to start the engine, it worked fine for a couple of days... Now they are saying they have to remove the steering wheel and check what is wrong.
I am at a loss here! just dont know what to do. They dont even know how many more days its going to take to figure out and fix what is necessary.

Any thoughts or suggestions please? I am totally stranded!!!
REPLACE THE BATTERY! It's as simple as that! Your mechanic doesn't know what he's doing!
 
#24 ·
Thanks for your reply Junebug. Mechanic did the load test on battery, cleaned it thouroughly since it was a little corrdoed, tested terminals and confirmed that everything looks perfect. Do you still suggest that I change the battery and see? Perhaps I will call him tomorrow morning and ask him to put a new battery and test.
Thanks
 
#25 ·
What your mechanic may not realize is your RAV4 has electric power steering which places a HUGE load on the battery. I have heard of batteries that had intermittent shorted cells that would be fine one minute and fail the next. Read this thread:

Sticky: Weak battery causes slow starting and other problems
 
#27 ·
A while back I had some problems that were associated with the electrical bundle that is wrapped around the steering wheel bundle, but the problems were much different than the battery light flashing and loss of power. My local shop replaced the bundle and that cleared things up.


Any other ideas what may be causing a flashing battery warning light with a brand new battery and functioning alternator?
 
#28 ·
Got a plug in reader and it's all as it should be. I cannot get the dang battery light to flicker and driving 2+ hrs with my son isn't safe when I've lost steering twice. I'm white knuckled every time I go anywhere now.

On another note, I did the parasitic draw test and it's showing a short somewhere. I pulled all the fuses but none affected the volts. I'm not sure where to go from here. I have looked and cleaned all the grounds and any wires that looked dirty.

Will the cold and long drives make a battery act up? I'm going to just replace it with a good battery. Any suggestions?

Should a shop be able to diagnose, or should I take their advice and not go in until it's a constant issue. They said they can't diagnose intermittent issues. ?
 
#29 ·
On another note, I did the parasitic draw test and it's showing a short somewhere. I pulled all the fuses but none affected the volts. I'm not sure where to go from here. I have looked and cleaned all the grounds and any wires that looked dirty.
Find and fix what you know is wrong. Anything beyond that is wild guesses. You may need a friend who has a little more electrical savvy. Taking it to a shop is asking for a big buck bill.
 
#30 ·
To JuneBug - My mechanic put a new battery and it still did not work :( Now he is investigating further and says that it could be some thing to do with relay switich. he checked ignition switch seems to be ok. he is going to check relay switch which may not be communicating to the computer. huh! exhausted. vehicle is not in a driving condition :(
 
#33 ·
Took the Rav back to the shop for more checks on the electrical system and left it overnight so they could see the blinking battery light when the engine was cold. It turns out that they found the alternator was sporadically spiking, especially when the engine was first started. The alternator was replaced under warranty (about a year old).


So we'll see if the problem is now fixed.
 
#34 ·
Please let us know if it fixes it! I found something at harbor freight that measures voltage on battery and alternator. Seems my alternator is the issue too. It spikes and cuts out randomly for a few seconds here and there. Really weird! Glad they were able to catch it messing up.
 
#35 ·
Blinking battery light and warning lights

I have a 2006 I4 and I have experienced both these problems with these results:


1. Blinking battery light when engine cold - battery guy told me that it is probably a loose serpentine belt that slips when cold and not when it warms up. Have put belt spray on it and that stops it for a while. Could also be a weak tensioner causing the problem.


2. On another occasion after driving a few blocks when cold all the dash lights came on and I lost power steering. The dealer is a few blocks away so I limp in there (wrong thing to do). He tells me later that the I should replace the ABS Actuator, there is an internal failure in the ABS Actuator. $1609 later I got my Rav4 back.
Yeaaa.
 
#36 ·
I have a 2006 I4 and I have experienced both these problems with these results:

1. Blinking battery light when engine cold - battery guy told me that it is probably a loose serpentine belt that slips when cold and not when it warms up. Have put belt spray on it and that stops it for a while. Could also be a weak tensioner causing the problem.

2. On another occasion after driving a few blocks when cold all the dash lights came on and I lost power steering. The dealer is a few blocks away so I limp in there (wrong thing to do). He tells me later that the I should replace the ABS Actuator, there is an internal failure in the ABS Actuator. $1609 later I got my Rav4 back.
Yeaaa.
Well, I hope it's fixed but I really do doubt it. Unless the actuator is putting a severe load on the battery, it's a battery/charging system problem.
My approach: Fix what you know is wrong and maybe other "problems" go away. If the belt was slipping why didn't you get that fixed first. I bet tensioners are less expensive than actuators.
 
#43 ·
Most likely a failing battery as mentioned in several posts above.
 
#44 ·
Recently on my 2007 Rav4, my wife started up the car and drove to an intersection and stopped. When she stepped on the accelerator, she lost power steering and all the dash lights came on. The car was still running. After pulling over to the side of the road, she turned off the car and was able to restart the car and it ran 'normal.' Only the cel, VSC, and skid lights stayed on. At a local repair shop, they plugged in the code reader and it came up 'speed sensor.'


A few days later the same thing happened to me after the car had been sitting all night.


A local repair shop replaced the speed sensor, which looked worn.


It didn't fix the problem and it recurred again in the same way. Repair shop thinks it may be a transmission problem.


Weather for all three instances were in the 50s for temps and the car was sitting overnight.


Any ideas what to check next?
2011 RAV4 base with 4 cylinder. 100% it’s the alternator! Same thing happened to me. 3 months prior my alternator went out, replaced it with an aftermarket one. Move ahead 3 months and the exact situation happened to me. Took it in to the place that installed the alternator and the trouble code was for a speed sensor. Replaced the sensor and everything seemed good but it didn’t make it 10 minutes until the same incident happened again. I was able to drive it back, the engine runs fine but the power steering would fade in an out. Next they replaced my 1 year old battery. Once again all seemed fine, but I drove it around for 20 minutes or so near the shop. Good thing I did, same issue was back. Looked up the problem on this forum and one other suggestion was alternator. Took it back and they checked the alternator again and it was going bad. Rather than putting in an aftermarket alternator, which would have been free since it was under warranty, I insisted on a rebuilt alternator from Toyota. It was actually cheaper than the aftermarket. It’s the same ones that a Toyota shop will install on your car. I picked it up from the dealership and brought it to the shop that was doing the repair. They credited me for the alternator they had originally installed and installed the Toyota one. Problem solved, haven’t had an issue since.
In my early years I used to work for an auto parts place and the only thing I can tell you is that no matter which rebuilt brand or warranty level an alternator or starter came with, they never lasted as long as an original OEM. I’ll trust a rebuilt OEM from the dealership over one from an auto parts store any day. If it ever comes down to it I will spend the extra for a new OEM alternator or starter too. Mine lasted 10 years and 116000 miles before it went out. I don’t have the time nor inclination to replace my alternator every few months or years.
 
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