Steering wheel with mind of its own!
Discussion
Bert I've only had the car 2 weeks, pretty much been like that since I got it but getting gradually worse.
The sterling goes from being light, which means behaving like a power steering on a normal car to heavy where it's like operating a more manual steering and putting effort in.
What's the bigger worry is when it veers to either side when slowing down and coming to a halt, I have to be careful to counteract it and avoid hitting a car in another lane.
Also if I'm trying to turn on a full lock, just before I get to full lock the car takes itself to full lock rather than let me take it there. Hope that makes sense.
Any advice appreciated. I will of course take it back to where I bought it from and get a warranty repair but want to know if anyone else has had similar problems.
The sterling goes from being light, which means behaving like a power steering on a normal car to heavy where it's like operating a more manual steering and putting effort in.
What's the bigger worry is when it veers to either side when slowing down and coming to a halt, I have to be careful to counteract it and avoid hitting a car in another lane.
Also if I'm trying to turn on a full lock, just before I get to full lock the car takes itself to full lock rather than let me take it there. Hope that makes sense.
Any advice appreciated. I will of course take it back to where I bought it from and get a warranty repair but want to know if anyone else has had similar problems.
DeeKay17 said:
Bert I've only had the car 2 weeks, pretty much been like that since I got it but getting gradually worse.
The sterling goes from being light, which means behaving like a power steering on a normal car to heavy where it's like operating a more manual steering and putting effort in.
What's the bigger worry is when it veers to either side when slowing down and coming to a halt, I have to be careful to counteract it and avoid hitting a car in another lane.
Also if I'm trying to turn on a full lock, just before I get to full lock the car takes itself to full lock rather than let me take it there. Hope that makes sense.
Any advice appreciated. I will of course take it back to where I bought it from and get a warranty repair but want to know if anyone else has had similar problems.
Do not recall what steering symptoms I had now with a '96 Ford Mustang GT but someone (might have been the service manager at the dealer) told me to do this test:The sterling goes from being light, which means behaving like a power steering on a normal car to heavy where it's like operating a more manual steering and putting effort in.
What's the bigger worry is when it veers to either side when slowing down and coming to a halt, I have to be careful to counteract it and avoid hitting a car in another lane.
Also if I'm trying to turn on a full lock, just before I get to full lock the car takes itself to full lock rather than let me take it there. Hope that makes sense.
Any advice appreciated. I will of course take it back to where I bought it from and get a warranty repair but want to know if anyone else has had similar problems.
Someplace with room and no traffic at slow speed make a sharp u-turn as the turn completes release the steering wheel and let it find its center. Note the wheel's position.
Do this several times in both directions. If the wheel does not return to the *same* position each time the steering system (rack) is suspect. I did this and the wheel did not come back to the same position. The difference was *not* startling but real. I took the car back and the rack was replaced under warranty.
However, based on what you report I think you are past having to do the above "test".
There are obvious signs the steering's not right in your car. I think you need to get your car into the shop pronto. The behavior you describe is not normal, to state the obvious. I would be reluctant to drive the car in this condition. Steering that has a mind of its own is not something to ignore and risk something going wrong.
Really, do not delay. I can report coming across a post by an owner who reported similar behavior from his new car's steering, light/easy then hard then light/easy again, a few times and in under two weeks the steering then failed outright.
Edited by Rockster on Saturday 22 June 22:12
When you are checking tyres for wear ( jack and rotate so you see all of the tread) note how the wheels feel when turning them. Does one side seem freer than the other?
I do wonder if the veering under braking is more to do with the brakes than the steering.
The bit where you describe the steering wanting to take itself to full lock just before you get to full lock seems ok - as long as the car is moving. Thats geometry related. My car exhibits the same thing.
Do you have adequate power steering fluid in the reservoir?
Please carefully take it to a Porsche person straightaway.
I do wonder if the veering under braking is more to do with the brakes than the steering.
The bit where you describe the steering wanting to take itself to full lock just before you get to full lock seems ok - as long as the car is moving. Thats geometry related. My car exhibits the same thing.
Do you have adequate power steering fluid in the reservoir?
Please carefully take it to a Porsche person straightaway.
Yeah. Do it when it is cold - but can be done warm if necessary.
In engine bay - top and right of centre.
Remove dipstick and clean. Replace fully (screw cap on tight). Then remove and check level against marking on dipstick. One side is for warm and the other is for cold. Warm side has a higher mark to cater for expansion.
In engine bay - top and right of centre.
Remove dipstick and clean. Replace fully (screw cap on tight). Then remove and check level against marking on dipstick. One side is for warm and the other is for cold. Warm side has a higher mark to cater for expansion.
My girlfriend had a very similar issue with a nearly-new 987 Boxster she bought a year ago. One minute the car would appear to be working normally, the next it would literally try to pull you off the road - usually towards the kerb - and it would pull crazily from side-to-side under braking, especially if the road was worn/rutted in the braking area (as many roads are approaching traffic lights and junctions).
The issue felt like the power steering was operating part time in normal driving and then it would feel like the steering was trying to 'power' the rack to the left and you were fighting the 'assistance' (if you could call it that)!
The good news for the OP - assuming his car's symptoms have a similar cause - is that his car's power steering system (pump, rack etc.) is likely to be in good order (the ones on the Boxster were) and the car is going to be everything he hopes. The 'bad' news is it will take some time and money to get it there.
The cause of the Boxster's woes were twofold and required a twofold solution.
First port of call looking for a solution was Chris Franklin at Center Gravity. (To the OP - a trip to Chris is worth every minute and every £, your car will be sensational to drive afterwards. Many others on here will also recommend him). Some clown had obviously 'had the geo done' on the cheap, prior to my g/f buying it and the results were a comedy of errors. The thrust angle at the rear of the car was about a degree out causing the car to change direction under power/braking (but being steered by the rear) whist at the front, one side had 1 degree of camber, whilst the other side had a camber setting of zero. This caused the front to react differently on each side to steering, braking, acceleration and to road cambers.
Whilst the geo was easy for Chris to correct - the car was almost new (4500 miles) so there was no wear and tear on any of the suspension components - it was only half the problem. The car was much improved, but still had some odd behaviour. Time for round 2.
During his inspection of the tyres, Chris discovered some VERY odd wear patterns on all 4 tyres. When inflated to the correct pressures, the centre portion of the tread on all four was concave!!! To describe it accurately, it looked as though the tyres had been inflated to 50 PSI and run like that for the first 4000 miles of the car's life causing massive wear in the centre of the tread. Had this been the case, once the pressures were reduced, the tyres would have exhibited the concave profile in the centre. This, however, WASN'T the explanation. Despite the concave profile, the tread depths were consistent across the tyre. Weird. Maybe this is just a new 'style' feature on Italian tyres?
This bizarre tyre 'wear' (more likely a faulty batch of tyres) was resulting in the tyres running on both outside edges, rather than the car's weight being distributed evenly across the contact patch. As a result the tyres were picking-up on every rut and camber on the road and were the main source of the car pulling unexpectedly and uncontrollably to one side or the other.
A brand new set of Michelin PS2s all round finished the car's transformation (sorry to sound like Mike Brewer there) and it now steers and handles with all the precision and delicacy you'd expect from a well-sorted Boxster.
Best of luck to the OP getting his car sorted - I hope this recounting of our similar experiences with my g/f's car will be of some help.
The issue felt like the power steering was operating part time in normal driving and then it would feel like the steering was trying to 'power' the rack to the left and you were fighting the 'assistance' (if you could call it that)!
The good news for the OP - assuming his car's symptoms have a similar cause - is that his car's power steering system (pump, rack etc.) is likely to be in good order (the ones on the Boxster were) and the car is going to be everything he hopes. The 'bad' news is it will take some time and money to get it there.
The cause of the Boxster's woes were twofold and required a twofold solution.
First port of call looking for a solution was Chris Franklin at Center Gravity. (To the OP - a trip to Chris is worth every minute and every £, your car will be sensational to drive afterwards. Many others on here will also recommend him). Some clown had obviously 'had the geo done' on the cheap, prior to my g/f buying it and the results were a comedy of errors. The thrust angle at the rear of the car was about a degree out causing the car to change direction under power/braking (but being steered by the rear) whist at the front, one side had 1 degree of camber, whilst the other side had a camber setting of zero. This caused the front to react differently on each side to steering, braking, acceleration and to road cambers.
Whilst the geo was easy for Chris to correct - the car was almost new (4500 miles) so there was no wear and tear on any of the suspension components - it was only half the problem. The car was much improved, but still had some odd behaviour. Time for round 2.
During his inspection of the tyres, Chris discovered some VERY odd wear patterns on all 4 tyres. When inflated to the correct pressures, the centre portion of the tread on all four was concave!!! To describe it accurately, it looked as though the tyres had been inflated to 50 PSI and run like that for the first 4000 miles of the car's life causing massive wear in the centre of the tread. Had this been the case, once the pressures were reduced, the tyres would have exhibited the concave profile in the centre. This, however, WASN'T the explanation. Despite the concave profile, the tread depths were consistent across the tyre. Weird. Maybe this is just a new 'style' feature on Italian tyres?
This bizarre tyre 'wear' (more likely a faulty batch of tyres) was resulting in the tyres running on both outside edges, rather than the car's weight being distributed evenly across the contact patch. As a result the tyres were picking-up on every rut and camber on the road and were the main source of the car pulling unexpectedly and uncontrollably to one side or the other.A brand new set of Michelin PS2s all round finished the car's transformation (sorry to sound like Mike Brewer there) and it now steers and handles with all the precision and delicacy you'd expect from a well-sorted Boxster.
Best of luck to the OP getting his car sorted - I hope this recounting of our similar experiences with my g/f's car will be of some help.
Edited by Ian_UK1 on Monday 24th June 08:26
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff