Purchased a Prius C II last weekend. I noticed that when not accelerating hard the steering wheel needs to be nudged back to center after making a turn. Or, put another way, if I move the wheel 5 degrees to the left or the right from dead center, it stays that way, and the car veers off in that direction instead of straightening out on its own.
View 8 RepliesOk try this. On your 2011-13 Elantra if your driving below 60 on backroads and the road slightly turns to the left or right when you get back to a straightaway does the wheel automatically center itself or will it stay turned in the direction you just slightly turned? My wheel stays turned in the direction of the turn and I have to manually move it back to go straight. I have a 2013 Elantra GLS Auto.
View 8 RepliesMy friend has a 06 Prius with about 85,000 miles.
Ever since he purchased the car (used) at about 67,000 miles, I've noticed that the steering wheel is slow to return to center and the steering lacks the "springy feel" of the low-mileage Priuses that I have driven. I noticed abnormal tire wear on the car so I suggested 4 new tires and an alignment-- which was done without any improvement. The front toe was set to 0, and the rear toe is minimal (0.05 and 0.1 on the LR and RR, respectively). However, I did not have a zero-point calibration performed at the time of the alignment.
There is no obvious damage or wear to the suspension, as far as I know. Recently though, the steering wheel has decided to clock itself to the right so I know it needs another alignment. It has only been 17k since the last one. Are there any parts that I should consider replacing before doing this alignment?
We just took in a 2001 Grand Marq with just shy of 170,000 on the clock. Super clean old man's car, runs great. I took it for a test drive with it today, and I noticed the steering does not return to center after a turn. It seems to stop at about the 1/8-1/4 turn mark, and you have to manually have to turn it back the rest of the way. It makes for some odd feeling driving. Now the car has already been through our shop, but they did not see any problems. The tires are like new, and otherwise, it runs great?
View 7 RepliesI'm stuck failing a vehicle inspection for the steering wheel not returning to center after a turn. It turns most of the way back but you definitely have to finish the job yourself. I've jacked it up and turn the wheel lock to lock with no bind at all, one finger, nice and smooth. I've replaced almost everything up front (ball joints, u-joints, bearings, drag link both ends, etc.).
Mechanic that did the inspection seems to think the steering gearbox and/or the power steering pump could be the source. I have only seen threads for loose/wandering steering (which is why I replaced everything up front already) pointing to the gearbox. I brought the state trooper in to verify it and he said while he wouldn't necessarily fail it, he can't override the mech's call because it does require assistance to straighten out.
My 'new to me' 01 Ex has 129k miles on it and the one problem is the steering. I read (all 34 pages of) the wander cure thread and I played with my steering box extensively over the last 3 weeks. The initial tightening really worked with the slack in the steering, as did adding air to the passenger front tire to even it out with the driver's side. But it did not cure everything. In fact, the tightening of the box revealed something else - the steering now exhibits what feels like binding. And now I must make minute corrections every second or two all the way down the road, even perfectly straight, flat roads. It's sorta driving me crazy(er) and my wife won't even consider driving it until it's fixed.
I was so caught up in diagnosing this problem that I completely missed that the steering wheel would not re-center itself after turns. My father noticed when he visited last weekend and tried to drive it but parked it after going around the block. If making a 90 degree turn, the wheel will maybe make it back to 45 degrees and stops. So you must manually turn the wheel back to center if you want to go straight.
So I've gone back and tried to loosen up the steering gears to start again, but now the gears seem tight regardless of how I adjust it.
I have already planned to replace the ball joints and get the alignment adjusted when I do the shocks and rear sway next week. Should i wait to see if the ball joints fix the problem or should i plan to replace the steering box at the same time? What say you all?
I have a late 2010 R 2.2 (the new motor)and have had a problem with the trafficators (indicators) not returning after making a right turn. They do return if the turn is shallow and if the turn is sharp but not in between. I've raised it with the dealer and workshop foreman 5 times but just get told it is normal with these and it's because of the airbag placement.
View 2 RepliesThe steering on my truck has become a little heavy after making a turn and bringing the steering wheel back to center. The steering feels heavy like I had a front tire half way down. There's a lot of drag then once on center it's gone. Could it be the beginning of the end for my ball joints?
View 10 RepliesI've got a 2005 F350 that i recently did balljoints, tierods and shocks/stabilizer on. Just stating that because i don't believe anything could be binding up to cause this.
If i am to take a left turn, more than 45 degrees, the truck will seem to lose power assist on the return to center and be very stiff when i return it by force until i jerk the wheel past center and let it come back the other direction and it seems to regain power assist.
Also, the steering is just generally bump. I have not driven a better condition 2005 to tell the difference but i'm sure this isn't the way it's supposed to be
I am not having any issue with braking force, as of yet. The first winter i got the truck i blew a power steering line that goes from the gear to the cooler, in which direction i don't know. It's been a year and a half since then so not sure that caused any failure.
Before this symptom the pump would whine when on left turns only, no problem turning right if i feel like doing right turns the rest of my days. I guess what i'm getting at is, does this sound like a bad pump? Bad gear? Both?
Today, I just picked up my 2014 prius. Basically, when I do a right/left turn on the car, when accelerating out of the turn, the steering wheel does not fully return to the center position (its approximately in the one/eleven o'clock position). Also, if I leave the wheel straight, and drive straight, the car will drive straight and not pull towards the side so I don't think its an alignment issue. I'm not sure if this is normal, or if its happening just because they car is new or just because I'm not accelerating hard enough out of the turn (I always stayed in the eco range with the HSI. )
View 5 RepliesI got new struts installed and seems the steering does not center after left/right turns but will stop about 5 deg to the center.
I have taken it back to the shop and they say since it is new it must be broken in and would take about a week.
Does this make sense or is there something else wrong/not installed properly?
it also makes creaking sounds on right turns too. i heard this is normal as well.
I don't want to go back and tell them they are wrong and look like an idiot but it doesn't feel right to me and i don't want to go on a long trip if it is dangerous.
While driving to work I did a quick U-turn to avoid a congested left turn lane and when I completed the turn and straightened out, the steering wheel was about 30 degrees off center when driving straight ahead. A few seconds later it slowly centered itself, I'm assuming this was a Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS) fault.
View 5 RepliesI have a 1987 ford ranger 4x4 with automatic hubs. My automatic hubs completely destroyed themselves and are being replaced with manuals as soon as this new problem is solved. Initially the truck seemed to go in and out of 4 wheel on the hubs and jumped, snapped and ultimately destroyed the retaining clips in the hub itself so that those gears fell out when wheel was removed. I removed both sides and that stopped, but now when I turn the vehicle, this worse at lower speeds, it doesn't want to return to center and will stay in the turn without much effort to turn back to straight.
The pump seems fine on the power steering system. A mechanic friend of mine told me that my universal and upper and lower ball joints where shot on the front axle, but I feel that this might have more to do with the steering rods etc. The originals have been replaced and I am able to grease them, after doing this it seemed really loose for a bit, then by second day of driving it was back to the usual. I just am looking for some verification before replacing tie rods etc and then eventually the hubs, but winter over so there is less concern right now for that.
I took my truck to work and needed a pitman arm. So took it home put a new one on and the steering wheel was crooked which didn't bother me. but after in cranking the torsion bars I noticed how Badly I needed an alignment. So took it back in for an alignment and I cant turn the steering wheel back to center because the tie rods are maxed out. I tried to take the pitman arm back off center the wheel and everything but the key ways just line up the same way. Any chance the after market pitman arm is off or any clues?
View 11 RepliesI have a 2009 screw with ~60k miles. It is used for DD and tows our small camper or my flat deck w/jeep.
The other day I noticed an issue when turning right. The wheel gets hard to turn and does not want to return to center. There is also a low speed clunk you can feel in the steering wheel/column itself.
The truck is at the dealer now and they said the rack needs to be replaced and there is something in the column they need to replace too. I have the extended warranty, so this is all but covered 100%. I just have a deductible to pay.
I have not hit anything with the truck, so I am not sure what caused these issues.
My 01 f-250 4x4 diesel has some steering wander Ive been fighting for a while. It feels like the front end is stiff and not returning right. All four spindle ball joints were replaced in the last year and a half. The tie rod ends seem to spin easily enough with a wrench but are not loose. MY question is how hard should it be to rotate the spindles with no tires or tie rods on them, wondering if my newer ball joints are too stiff and causing the wander or if everything checks out it my alignment being a little off would cause poor return?
View 14 RepliesJust bought this '08 F250 CCSB 4X4 5.4 Problem is the steering seems heavy, it tends to wander at higher speeds and won't return to center after a turn. I've searched on here and found a few possibilities (axle u joints, ball joints, steering gear, etc). I have an appointment with the dealer on Friday to fix it under warranty but he is convinced it's the u joints in the steering shaft seizing. When my F150 steering shaft began to seize, it would be hard to turn then break free then be hard then break free and this is not what is happening on the SD. I haven't had a chance to check the front end myself but not sure how you would check the axle u joints if there was no play in them. How would you check to see if they were seizing up.
View 3 Repliesits possible to repair? or only a new one it's the solution? cause my gti 1.8t it's making a sound like tssshhh when i turn the steering wheel. I change the power steering rack.
View 2 RepliesMy car started making a kinda rubbing noise when I'm driving and turning all the way to the left or right, do I damaged the power steering? I know there was a thread about this but I can't find it,
View 4 RepliesHow to fix or solve front turn signals that are not working? I just realized that both the front signals on my Prius doesn't light or flash when making a turn, the rear are working fine. Is this an easy fix or should I bring it to the dealer?
View 4 RepliesFor the last few months, I have been chasing down steering problems. Alignment, end links, ball joints... and now, humming. Every time I take a turn that requires more than 1/4 turn of the steering wheel, the car hums. It wasn't very noticeable at first, but over the last week it has gotten much louder.
I have topped off my PS fluid and replaced my belts, but this has not solved the issue. Before I start replacing a pump and/or a steering rack.