2025 Toyota Corolla Cross

I turned on the car after it had been sitting in the hot sun for about 4 hours (after a 180 mile trip). When I turned on the vehicle, about a minute into driving (on a gravel driveway), the car started blaring multiple lights and the steering wheel locked. Notifications were “System Failure" & "Electric Power Steering Malfunction - please contact dealer.” The steering wheel completely locked/uncontrollable - 3 others tried to help me. I was going ~5 mph when it happened. I was able to put the car into park & turned it off for 10min. On restart, the car acted normal again. If this happened while driving at a high speed I believe it would result in serious injury or death. This is the second episode. The first time it happened (XXX), Toyota did a full inspection/scan of the car but couldn't reproduce the issue despite confirming it was documented in the car's system log. This time, I emailed toyota same day. The car has now been at dealer for 4 days. They haven’t been able to reproduce the issue despite acknowledging both times that the events are documented in the car's log. The dealer recommended replacing the ECU. Unfortunately, toyota corporate claims they "cannot replace it without reproducing the issue" which is ridiculous given that the issue is inherently unpredictable (which is what makes it terrifying) yet irrefutably present. I am concerned I will die due to a malfunctioning steering wheel before toyota corporate will take it seriously. I do not feel safe driving the car now that this has inexplicably happened 2x. Multiple people online reported a similar issue [XXX]; the sounds occurring during the linked video are similar to my event. The main difference is that my car never once said low battery; no engine problems, never have had a dead battery. I was even able to drive 180 miles home that night (praying the whole time cause I had no other choice in a rural area). INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

At around 4:20 pm I was turning left at a stop sign (did not put on turning signal) and then about 30 feet later, turning right at a light. This is the same location I have driven for the past month. The car had been on for about 3 minutes after sitting in a hot parking lot all day (104 degrees). All of a sudden (after turning left) but before/during was turning right, the car’s steering wheel locked and transmission just started beeping. I could not turn the steering wheel more than about 5 degrees in either direction, so instead of turning right I had to go straight. No matter what I did the steering wheel would not turn. - I simultaneously got a notification on my dashboard that said “System failure” “system malfunction” [something along those lines]. Multiple lights on my dashboard illuminated in yellow [auto steering symbol, can’t remember what else] and lots of extremely loud beeping. - I to confirm I was not in neutral (I was not, I was still in drive) but I could not do anything besides brake. - I panicked, slammed brakes. Turned car off/stopped. The location was where 2 roads diverged and I had part of the car sticking out into a lane because there was nowhere else to go. - I sat for about a minute and then turned the car back on and it drove but I was scared to go on the highway. - I have called Toyota for repair (it happened prior to a holiday weekend so they were closed) but to date have not yet contacted insurance/etc. - I believe there are video cameras at this intersection so there may be footage of it.

The contact owns a 2025 Toyota Corolla Cross. The contact stated that while in a parking lot, a parking spot opened, and the contact planned to take the spot. While the vehicle was in reverse(R), the vehicle crashed into the front end of another vehicle. The contact stated that the back over prevention camera failed to alert the contact of an object or another vehicle nearby. The contact did not file a Police report. There were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 6,500.

The corolla cross 4WD steering is in question. At 40mph it suddenly went from power steering to manual steering. It lasted only 1-2 secounds and then returned to normal P.S. Toyota dealer ship doesn't know because it wasn't doing it for them. I am searching u-tube for similar experiences now. It was startling and am watching. no accident but could cause one if it is a symptom of anything further.

Engine turned off at stop light while stopped for about 30 seconds, then started a long beep. The engine light and the power steering light came on. The screen also said put in park and restart engine. I did and it started back up and the dashboard warnings went away. It was unsafe because when the light changed to green I couldn't immediately accelerate and the cars behind me could not either. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer, they cannot find anything wrong.

The pre-collision system acted as if it sensed a car or object in the road. It had loud warnings and slammed my brakes very hard to stop the car. There were no objects or cars around. If a car was behind me, it would have been a guaranteed crash. Very dangerous especially if it happened on the highway. Dealership said it could have been from a loss of communication. A loss of communication should have the pre collision system disabled not force brake. This is a potentially life threatening issue with this car.