brianrx806

so i my 06 rx8 is having some power steering problems i tryed to clean the connectors but it didn’t work i read that the rack could be bad but how would i test it? if not then what would the problem be ?

Red line envy

PSM under the ecu. It's worth checking the connections there. Make sure they are clean and pushed in all the way.

abarth500

Have you got your power steering fixed?

My 2004 RX8 were also having the issue. The recommended vendors from this group in SF Bay Area, one (Sake) couldn't locate what went wrong, the other (Mr. Mazda) refused to take the car since they don't do electric power steering. Now the dealer recommended the torque sensor harness repair (? including cleaning the connector), labor $249.88, and replace clock spring $321.55 (steering angle sensor module dead?) + Labor $399.88, Total$971.31.

Look forward to hearing how you got yours fixed.

MincVinyl

For 250$ I'd recommend just buying the 10mm and a screwdriver to take a look at that connection yourself before hand. If I remember correctly you cant replace the torque sensor, so they are just going to look at the wires by the sound of it and probably tell you to buy a new power steering+labor.

The power steering system is fairly finnicky on the Rx8. The Module under the ECU can fail and be replaced(pretty sure there used to be a guy in CA that fixed them). Otherwise the 2 wire connection in between the fan shroud tends to fail, but could be easily cut out and crimped together. Even if the connector looks right, I had intermittent loss and decided to get rid of the plug and hard wire the connection together. My issue went away. Its also fairly easy to check the fuse on the positive terminal of the battery wire harness.

Again with common tools like a 10mm and screw drivers you could replace the clockspring(if its even broken) within an hour. Pretty sure if this had gone your steering wheel buttons wouldn't work.

abarth500

Thank you for the reply! Hope I'm as handy as everyone here. Knowing it shouldn't be so difficult to locate the issue, that's why it makes me even more frustrated when I sent in the car for Sake but they couldn't find out or do anything about it and charged me half an hour of labor. So I have to get the baby back to the dealer. Now it was kept at dealer one more day, not sure if the dealer will find out more and charge more on top of the $971.31 quote. :-(

Maybe I should get a 10mm first, as a start..... :-)

As bad as it can go, update two days later
(1) After getting the car back for just two traffic lights away from dealer on 7/6, the power steering is back, but the traction control light was on while the DSC light is off. Back to dealer after getting gas, the dealer said they "didn't or forgot" to change the power steering torque sensor, needs one more day to get it done.
(2) Another day went by, got the call this morning, dealer said the Electric Power Steering Control Module needs to be replaced. Parts is $1600, plus labor around $400.
(3) Checked/Searched forum, some did diy replace the EPS Control Module, but some failed ............ I don't think I can do it myself.Update on 7/13 Finally! Got my baby back home!

$1445.57 + Labor $200 + Tax (Total:$1781.09)

Service Report: Checked and found vehicle have a trouble in control network (IDS can't or hard to link with PCM), there are multiple communication codes stored, EPS dtc B2278 Torque sensor circuit stored also, DSC & EPS light turn on, power steering not working again, per service manual inspected steering torque sensor resistance as specified, checked sensor harness & connectors are in good condition. Performed system network test fail, checked CAN (Control area network) voltage lower than specified, CAN voltage will turn back as specified when EPS module disconnected, possible EPS module internal failure, EPS module should be replaced. Per requested, replaced EPS control module (F151-67-880D), performed steering neutral reset (to balance steering torque), cleared stored trouble codes, test drove 16 miles & rechecked ok. Vehicle's system working mortal without MIL or DTC turns back.

FE04-66-1B1 Body, steering combination switch was replaced at no change. (SAM built in)