Patent ID: 8082079

Claim:
A vehicle control apparatus comprising: a first control unit that controls an engine of a vehicle and starts the engine by performing cranking based on an electric power supplied from a power source; and a second control unit that controls an operation of an electric power steering device that applies an assist force to a steering system by using a motor as a drive source, and that controls an operation of the motor by generating a drive power to be supplied to the motor on the basis of a power source voltage of the power source, the second control unit generating the drive power so as to cause an actual current value to follow a current command value that corresponds to a target value of the assist power, and the second control unit limiting the current command value to a predetermined range, wherein the first control unit outputs a signal that notifies the second control unit that cranking is to be performed before performing the cranking, and the second control unit gradually decreases a first limit value of the current command signal to a second limit value by the time when the cranking is started, when the signal is received.