poller

2011 CTT w/ 109K miles w/ smart key

About 50% of the time when I open the door and/or go to start the car, I get chimes and a message that says "relieve steering", and the car won't start. When this happens, half the time the message disappears in about 5 seconds and I can start the car. If the message stays on, I have to turn off the car, open and close the door to shut the system off, and then try again, and it usually works.

Anyone have a hint as to what is going on?

9000RPM

https://www.planet-9.com/threads/rel...teering.15393/

mikegally

In the handbook under Warning messages it appears to relate to the steering lock ?

Relieve steering - 'relieve the steering lock by turning the steering wheel to the left or the right'

Not much use to you but gives you somewhere to start the diagnosis.

poller

Thanks...

21 posts of either "me too", "funny" or off-topic. Not one hint as to why or a long-term fix.

poller

Thanks. It's not so easy to turn the steering wheel on a 5,000 pound vehicle with 19" wheels without power assistance.

This started late in life - probably after 95k miles, so indicative of a worn or failing component. I was hoping someone with more Porsche knowledge than me could point the way to what I should look to repair/replace

deilenberger

If the lock on the steering assembly isn't directly in line with a lock position when you turn the car off, there will be side force on the locking cam (or pin) that will prevent it from sliding out of the lock assembly when you go to start the car. The car knows this - and wants you to relieve the pressure on that part by rocking the steering back and forth a tiny bit. The message is is giving you is a very accurate description of what is happening, actually unusual for a Porsche.

poller

So how do I prevent this from happening?

kvec

I have this happen relatively often, particularly if I don't lock the car. 2011 CTT w/ 109k. I hit the "lock" on the fob and unlock it again and it turns on normally. I believe I have a leak in my front suspension and had chalked it up to a droopy front end throwing the steering out of line while the car was sitting unused.

poller

I got in the habit of locking my car all the time due to living in the San Francisco bay area where people break into your car if you leave a nickel in the coin tray.
I have the keyless entry so I never thought of trying this. Will see if this helps
I can check on this as well. No problem to have a tape measure and take note of the heights

4ocious

Interesting, my 11 CTT with 82K miles has been doing this for quite a while. It's frustrating. Since the front end air suspension was rebuilt I haven't noticed it. But I didn't correlate the two until this post.

wkearney99

That's an interesting angle (pun intended).

To check if it's repeatable I wonder if taking a measurement of the wheel arch height would be an indicator? As in, the left/right side drops by "a certain amount" and that tweaks the steering angle just enough to trip the error.

nashrek

Just a thought. Are you moving the steering wheel while entering or exiting the vehicle? On cars with a steering wheel lock, this can often engage the ignition lock and the key cannot turn until you relieve pressure on the key by moving the wheel back and forth. This may be Porsche's way of using a traditional steering column lock, especially if you have entry and drive.

DAVfoto

This right here. Most likely you are moving the steering wheel after car is turned off. Just make sure you have the wheel straight, turn car off and exit and you shouldn't lock the wheel again.

skiahh

This. Every try to start a conventional keyed car with the pressure on the unlock? you have to move the wheel a bit to relieve the pressure, then it's smooth as normal.

You don't have to have the wheel straight. You should still turn into the curb parking downhill and away from the curb parking uphill. And the car may get jostled and put pressure on the lock, so you just have to move it a tiny bit, which should require little to no actual strength.

Eskimo1

Try this..
set the parking brake.
shift to neutral.
release foot brake.
shift to park.
then shut the car off.
don't use the steering wheel as a handle when getting in or out.

My bet is you're pulling on the wheel to get in and out, and/or the car is rolling a little after you turn the key off.