Hello all! This is my first time posting, but thanks to some of you guys my old man and I were able to diagnose and correct my clutch issues. We identified and replaced a failing master and slave cylinder, replacing the old hose with stainless steel for good measure. Now my clutch pedal doesn't occasionally droop lifelessly to the floor and refuse to engage. Instead it is firmer than ever before, and engages nice and hard.

Unfortunately, my S2000 has a new ailment...

For some time now (3 mo.) I have been having off and on EPS issues. Literally: it goes off and on. The steering was perfectly fine while driving, but occasionally when leaving for work in the morning I'd start the car to the EPS light on, and the power steering off. Turning the car off and starting it multiple times does not get the EPS working. It's not much trouble to drive without EPS, so I'd drive it to work without issue. No strange steering with the EPS off either. Resetting the ECU didn't affect the issue.

So when I'm leaving for work and the EPS isn't working, it's sunny & warm, about 75°F. Upon leaving the 60°F parking garage at my work: EPS usually working fine. Sometimes it worked heading to work and sometimes not on the way back, but there was a very strong trend toward EPS sleeping in every day. The only consistent variable I could think of was relative temperature.

The frequency of no EPS increased--until the weather cooled off. Then all of a sudden I have EPS all the time. Throughout all of this it was either working or not working; I never experienced any issue at all driving while the EPS was functioning. It stayed working consistently for a few weeks, until we got our first freeze...

Now it's back, and it brought a friend. I went out the other morning to start it, probably 25°F or so, and once started I notice the EPS light on. Great, here we go again. Nothing for it but to head to work I think, so I give it some gas and start to navigate the driveway. Although everything else seems to function fine, the steering wheel won't turn. At all. It will give a little in both directions, a few centimeters maybe, but then you come up against very strong resistance. It's not a hard stop, but forcing it just gives the feel that something is flexing that shouldn't be, and no way it's turning.

At first I suspected the steering wheel lock, but the key is in the run position and the car is started. If I turn the car off and lock the wheel on purpose, then run the wheel up against the lock I feel a hard stop, unlike the earlier feel. To verify it is not the steering lock, I turn the key to run with the wheel pushed against the lock, and I feel and hear it disengage. The wheel will flex past the point where it was held by lock, but be pushed back to position when released. Still just a few centimeters.

I drove the girlfriend's car to work (just helped her pick out a Mazda 3 to replace her PT Cruiser, so not as bad as it could have been) and when I got back home the car started fine, ran fine, EPS fine. The next couple of days were above freezing, everything fine. This morning it was 17°F, steering wheel stuck solid again, EPS light on. Left it alone and drove Mazda to work.

Now this time when I got home and started it, the EPS light was off, so I figured I was good. I went to turn the wheel, and it was still stuck in place. I put some force into turning it, and I felt the EPS helping me turn it. It came free with the distinct feeling of unscrewing something. I actually felt sure I was unscrewing the steering wheel. It had that feeling of applying a lot of force, then feeling something give, then effort became easier as it unbound.

I drove it to see how it would act and overall no issues. It may have produced some resistance during one left turn of a 15 minute drive, but I couldn't be sure it wasn't the wheels tracking on uneven road. It is parked outside and I'm confused. Is the EPS issue related to the steering lock issue? Maybe the EPS gear that contacts the rack is getting frozen up? Any of this ring a bell for you guys?

 

2003 S2000, 38k miles FYI