After starting up the car (but during ignition, the key slipped in my fingers causing a missed start, i therefore had to turn the key again to get engine to turn over.) and driving from my driveway, there was a complete failure of the steering assist which caused extremely difficult steering/cornering. i pulled over, thinking it had to do with the missed start, turned off the engine and restarted it; still no power assist. took it to the dealer, they were able to do a computer reset which restored power assist, but told me they could not say if or when it would happen again. i could opt for complete steering column replacement at a cost of $3500! i've owned the car for 5 months and maybe put 400 miles on it? this is too dangerous a thing to let go, i don't think this is safe. this should be recalled. *tr
While turning on a constant radius clover-leaf on-ramp (right or left), a sudden change in steering angle was required to avoid an obstacle. as the electrically-assisted steering was quickly adjusted, a flat spot (or a heavy spot or a delay in boost) in the steering wheel/feel was encountered. in other words, more force was required than expected to quickly change the steering angle. if this is normal, it could interfere with emergency maneuvers to avoid obstacles. personally, i find it to be unsafe as the steering feel is unpredictable. this unpredictable steering feel occurs anytime i need to make an abrupt change in steering angle. *tr