U0435: Invalid Data Received From Power Steering Control Module — Rear
What to do
Expect a much bigger turning circle. Your car steers its rear wheels to help it turn, and without that it will not go where you are used to putting it — which is a real surprise in a car park or a narrow street. Allow for it before you commit to a manoeuvre.
At speed the car may feel a little less settled changing lanes, though it remains stable.
The one thing to take seriously: if the car pulls to one side, feels like it is crabbing, or seems to be steering from the back, stop. These systems are designed to centre the rear wheels and hold them there when they fail, but a rear axle stuck at an angle is a serious matter and not something to drive on.
If a steering angle or ABS warning is also on, that is likely the real fault — this system runs on steering angle and road speed from elsewhere, so a bad sensor upstream upsets it as a knock-on effect.
What this code means
The rear power steering control module is broadcasting data that cannot be accepted as true. See U0400 for the family's framing.
This is four-wheel steering — a system that steers the rear wheels through a small angle, and understanding what it does explains why an untrustworthy report matters more than it might sound.
It steers the rear wheels in two opposite ways depending on speed. At low speed the rear wheels turn opposite to the fronts, which sharply reduces the turning circle and is why these vehicles park far better than their size suggests. At high speed they turn with the fronts, which stabilises lane changes.
So the consequences of losing it are different at each end of the speed range, and both are worth predicting.
At low speed the turning circle becomes much larger. A driver used to placing a long vehicle in tight spaces will find it will no longer go where it used to — which is a genuine surprise in a multi-storey or a narrow street, and worth knowing before attempting a manoeuvre rather than during one.
At speed the vehicle feels less settled in lane changes than its driver expects, though it remains entirely stable.
The important safety question is what the rear wheels actually do when the system stops. These systems are designed to return the rear wheels to centre and hold them there — and the corpus should say plainly that a rear axle stuck at an angle would be a serious matter. So if the vehicle pulls to one side, crabs, or feels like it is steering from the back, that is a reason to stop rather than to continue.
As throughout the family, the inputs are the usual origin: steering angle and road speed, so faults at U0428 or in the wheel speed sensors propagate here directly.
Likely causes
Start here
- Corroded or loose connector · easy
- Water ingress into the module connector · moderate
- Damaged wiring harness · moderate
Less common
- Failed power steering control module · specialist
- Faulty wheel speed sensor · moderate
- Radar sensor not calibrated after front-end work · specialist
Symptoms
Components involved
Information, not instruction
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