acegt1

Hi All,

My 04 TL is having a bit of a problem. Within the last year or so a handful of times while backing out of my driveway I noticed that the steering seemed stiff all of the sudden. I looked down and noticed the battery light was on. Car still accelerated normally as far as I could tell - battery light went off and steering returned to normal after a few seconds. A couple of times the engine cut off and I had to put it back into park and restart it. All normal for the drive beyond that. I told myself I'd mention it next time I was at the dealership but forgot to do so.

Last night and today it rained like crazy in Atlanta. This morning I started it up and the same thing happened except this time (for the first time), it continued for the first 4-5 miles I drove the car. Battery light came up solid for 30-40 seconds during which the steering got very stiff (power steering shutting off I imagine). Car still accelerated and braked normally. It was also sometimes accompanied by a squeeking sound, almost sounded like a belt slipping. Then the battery went off and everything was fine for a minute or so. Then it'd happen again.

After 4-5 miles it stopped altogether. Took it directly to the dealer and they've been looking at it today but can't get it to happen again. I might be imagining things, but I think this seems to happen when it has been raining but I can't swear to that. Even today when I would drive through a big puddle it seemed to cause the issue to reoccur, but that could have been coincidence. The advisor's first guess was the alternator or a belt, but when I talked to him just now he didn't mention that so I guess that's not it. Battery was replaced a year ago.

Anybody experience anything like this before?

Thanks in advance!

shftl

Sounds like your drive belt is slipping. The same belt drives the alternator and the power steering pump, so if they drop out at the same time that would be something obvious that they have in common. The belt might be loose, might be glazed. Water splashing up onto the crank pulley could momentarily lubricate the belt and pulley and cause the belt to slip. After the engine warms up dimensions change, could be just enough to tighten the belt. Your most recent experience suggests that it's getting worse, which would be expected. Might be time to think about a new belt.

Majofo

Get your belts and tensioners checked out..

ricardo_antonio

Acegt1, I am having the same problem with my 04 TL. Can you tell me what fixed the problem?

tlmailman

I have the same problem. I posted the same question a weeks ago under this heading. It only happens when its raining and I went through some puddles.(some BIG puddles). I posted on 7/7. No responses. I was thinking electrical ? I also have a 04 TL auto. I figured asking the dealer wouldnt produce any answers b/c, like you, they cant reproduce the situation.

tufino1128

Hi i just had the same problem last sunday it was raining a lot and i was turning and i felt that the steering weel eas really hard and like the car loses power then i look and the battery light was on that happend just for a few seconds and then the light turn off and all was normal again this is the first time that happends i been reading older posts and this always happend when rain could be a factory problem? this is the first time that happend to me since i have my car 1 year already. I read the manual and it said if the battery light come on while driving it means that the bathery its not charging and you have to turn off all the accesrories you have on i remember when it happend to me i had my fog light on , radio, ac, and wipper blades and of course the headlighs.

Majofo

Check the drivebelt and drive pulleys. For the guy who drives in rain, don't drive through big puddles.

csmeance

:Agree: the battery light and power steering are connected by the serpentine belt that you can see if you take the left cover off the engine bay! If the belt is slipping that causes the alternator not to spin (hence the battery light since it isn't being charged) and no power steering since the power steering pump isn't running.

Have them check the belt for excessive wear, the belt tensioner and as well the alternator and power steering for any excess resistance!

acegt1

Guys, sorry for not updating you.

The dealer agreed that this was a safety issue after I pressed a little, and they agreed to replace the idler and tensioner pulley assembly. Despite the fact that my serpentine belt was in good condition, I agreed to purchase a new serpentine belt from them to rule out everything; especially since they agreed to not charge any labor (you have to take off the belt to replace the pulley assembly anyway).

This was over a year ago, and I've driven in torrential downpours since then and have NEVER seen this happen again.