Patent ID: 7628245

Claim:
A vehicle steering apparatus of which a steering wheel and steered wheels can be separated mechanically comprising: a steering shaft connected to the steering wheel operable by a driver; a reaction actuator connected to the steering shaft for adding a reaction force; a rack that steers the steered wheels; a steering actuator provided on the rack, the steering actuator steering the steered wheels according to a control signal; a backup mechanism for connecting and disconnecting the steering shaft and the rack via a clutch; first detection means for detecting the condition of the steering shaft; second detection means for detecting the condition of the rack; and backup operation monitoring means for testing the backup mechanism, wherein the backup operation monitoring means determines whether the backup mechanism is functioning properly based on a value detected by at least one of the first detection means or the second detection means while the clutch is connecting and torque is applied to the backup mechanism by at least one of the steering actuator or the reaction actuator.