In Steer-by-Wire (SbW), the mechanical connection between the Steering Wheel and Road Wheel is not present; therefore, the driver feedback from the road wheels is no longer mechanically transferred up to the Steering Wheel. Instead, the Hand Wheel Actuator (HWA) mimics the steering feel by providing feedback torque to the Steering Wheel representative of the steering return forces from the road wheels. Without the vehicle response directly feeding back to the Steering Wheel, the behavior under the presence of a HWA self-steer fault is different compared to conventional electrically power assisted steering systems (EPAS). An additional factor to consider for the steering behavior after faults is whether the driver’s hands are on the steering wheel or not. Current driver assistance features like lane centering assist (LCA) and lane keeping aid (LKA) support the driver in keeping the vehicle on the desired path. Those features are usually intended to be hands-on features where the driver cooperatively steers jointly with the steering assistance feature. However, foreseeable misuse of these features increases the probability of hands-off driving. Electrical faults leading to self-steering behavior on the HWA have been investigated in different driving situations, both hands-on and hands-off. In case of an unintended HWA torque impulse, the effect at vehicle level might be more severe with SbW-systems compared to today’s EPAS systems. Without physical characteristics from the vehicle chassis like friction, inertia and return forces, an excessive steering wheel acceleration occurs due to unintended HWA torque impulse leading to larger steering angle errors. Hands-off driving is identified as a worst-case situation for driver response to an unintended torque in the HWA. The driver is slower to counteract the undesired system behavior compared to hands-on driving, resulting in a significantly increased time for the required path correction. The following investigation shows the effectiveness of different HWA mitigation measures in response to an unintended HWA torque impulse whilst hands-off driving. The results of that study can be used as a baseline for a robust mitigation concept for the HWA to ensure a controllable vehicle behavior for the consumer in the event of a self-steering fault.