Protection Function

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2015 Nissan Murano. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

When the steering wheel is operated repeatedly or turned all the way for a long period during parking or low-speed driving, the function of the hydraulic pump electric power steering system becomes limited to prevent the system from overheating. If the steering wheel is operated furthermore, the hydraulic pump electric power steering system stops and the hydraulic pump electric power steering system warning lamp may be turned ON. In this case, the steering wheel operation temporarily becomes hard. This is not a malfunction. When the engine is turned OFF (ignition switch OFF) and steering operation is stopped for a while, the temperature of the hydraulic pump electric power steering system decreases and the steering operation returns to normal after restarting the engine.
Then, the hydraulic pump electric power steering system warning lamp turns OFF. If the system is OFF under the protection state, the hydraulic pump electric power steering system warning lamp turns ON to warn that the system is in the manual steering state. (This is not a system malfunction.) In addition, the following DTC remains to distinguish from a malfunction:

DTC	Vehicle condition
C160A	The system temporarily enters the manual steering state. (This is not a hydraulic pump electric power steering system malfunction.)