Techniques are described for transitioning control of a steering system from an autonomous mode in a vehicle (105) to a driver-controlled mode where the driver can control the steering wheel (202)of the steering system. A method includes receiving values that describe an amount of torque and a direction of torque in response to a torque applied to a steering wheel (202) of a steering system operated in an autonomous mode, determining that the values are either greater than or equal to a threshold value or are less than or equal to a negative of the threshold value, determining that the values are measured over a period of time greater than or equal to a predetermined amount of time, and transitioning the steering system from being operated in the autonomous mode to being operated in a driver-controlled mode in which the steering system is under manual control.