Cadillac - Cts :: 2009 - Hard To Steer At Low Speeds Like Parking
Dec 16, 2012
My 2009 CTS Caddy with a 3.6L, 156,612K miles, AWD has been steering hard for a few weeks. Its very difficult to to steer at low speeds, like parking. At highway speeds its ok. Its not making any noise and the fluid level is where it should be. It is hard to steer at low speeds if the cars is hot and when its cold after just starting car. My question is, how to I determine if its the pump or rack or something connected with the speed sensative steering without going to the dealer.
I was at the dealer for routine maintenance Friday and he didn't have time to look at it but said a rack and a pump, he didn't even mention if there could be something wrong with the speed sensitive doohickey. Which leads to my second question, can my normal mechanic, who I believe to be quite capable, be trusted to replace the pump or rack or is this a job that the dealer would be more suited doing. If can bring it to my mechanic I can always buy the parts myself and he can install it. Thats why I would like to figure out exactly which part is bad before I go to him.
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My 2009, 6 cylinder, 3.6, AWD Caddy CTS with 175K miles as started to have steering problems. No squealing or funny noises, just very hard to steer, at low speeds and high speeds. Ocassionally it is fine but most of the time very hard, esspecially at low speeds, trying to park and things like that. My question is : how can I tell if its the power steering pump or the steering rack or maybe, and hopefully just a relay or fuse before I bring it to get repaired. If I know its the pump I can just get a peplacement from rock auto and bring it to my local mechanic and save a ton of money. If its the rack I'm stuck taking it to the dealer and losing my house to pay for it.
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'01 A6 with 95k....I have noticed intermittent hard turning to the right at low speeds.. Only to the right though, turning left is fine. It feels like there is no power steering, then all the sudden it will start working. It does NOT seem to be temperature related. Usually it clears up after a few minutes of driving, but it has gotten worse. Does this mean the whole rack needs to be replaced? Would flushing the fluid support at all?
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At 100k I took my 2004 CR-V in for belated 90k maintenance. Besides the routine stuff, they had to replace the ball joints. They also rotated and balanced the tires, which are about 15k miles old.
Took the car home, and immediately noticed a loud clicking in the right wheel when I turned it hard at slow speeds, parallel parking, etc. Took it back to the shop and was informed that it was a spindle problem. Mechanics said this was merely a coincidence, not a result of their recent work, but nicely charged me only for parts not labor. They had to replace the ABS sensor in the course of this work.
Next day, had to take a long weekend trip, about 500 miles there and back. Half-way through, noticed two things: groaning/clicking noise in brakes at slow speeds, and a slight but detectable vibration through the gas pedal when traveling 30-50MPH. Also a faint "wobble" sound at this speed as though coming from front right tire.
Took it back to the shop: was told that brake rotors were rusted and this was responsible for groaning/clicking--something to do with warping due to the rust + car getting warm from long drive. They lubed up the rotors real good and there is no more sound, though I've not driven it a long distance yet.
BUT, faint vibration in gas pedal and wobble noise at 30-50 persists. Mechanic said that when they rotated the tires, they noted that they had gone "out of round," but thought balancing might bring them back in round. Is it possible that the sound & vibration are just from the tires trying to find their level? Is this the kind of thing where I'm all of a sudden looking at 4 new tires (seems premature)? Any other front-end possibilities? Should I take it to a tire shop? I have found my mechanics pretty good over the past couple of years, but this recent series of visits has made me slightly leery...
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2011 F-150, 5.0L, SuperCab. I usually only report odd things about my vehicles only after my wife says something. Didn't think about it really until she complained, keep in mind she drives a Subaru with a "CVT" transmission that doesn't shift.
What I noticed is that when driving at low speeds, say parking lot speeds my F-150 seems to slams into 2nd gear. when it does this it feels like you slightly got shoved in the back. Is this normal, I know it's a truck and there is a lot of rotating mass and torque going on here. My previous truck a 2008 Chevrolet 2500 HD, 6.0L felt similar at low, parking lot speeds, it also had a 6-speed trans like this Ford. Just wondering if this is normal for this beast.
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My 2012 Prius V Wagon has developed a "cracking" sound when turning the steer at standstill or low speeds.
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I bought a 1997 Saturn SL2 and it's very hard to streer. Are these cars made this way or do I have a problem that needs to be fixed? I know some cars don't have power steering, but this cars steering is harder to steer than others I have drove without power steering. Are these cars just real hard to steer or should I check it out some way? If so what should I do?
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Two weeks ago I noticed it was hard to steer my truck left or right. There are no codes and the power steering fluid is at the proper level. I called a ford dealership giving them the codes for the truck seeing there were recalls for power steering problems with Fords but was told my 08 Ford Taurus X was not covered. The other problem I have is I can't find any manuals for this truck.
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My wife's 2009 Tiguan SEL has quit on her several times over the last several weeks. Each time it has happened as she was leaving a store parking lot--moderately warm, no hard acceleration. She says battery light is lit on the instrument panel when this happens. Nothing else. She says it will not turn over, but that might be because she doesn't put it back in park before trying to restart. She waits a few minutes and it starts with no problem.
I've had into the dealer and another shop I use periodically. Computer had codes for misfire, faulty ignition switch, flap stuck open in intake, and fuel pressure. Ignition switch, intake, plugs, and air filter were replaced. Cleaned carbon from the valves. Have run one tank of fuel system cleaner through.
I see a few other posts on fuel pressure or pump issues. Has this resolved with a new fuel pump? From what I understand, it's a pretty expensive repair since there are two and they sit in the tanks.
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I have a 2011 Super Crew, 5.0, 4x2. I've been told this hard shift at low RPM and speed like idling through a parking lot is normal? We bought the truck used a few months ago and I've been told this is normal.
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Any solutions for the tranny/rear end hard shift from 1st to 2nd at low speeds on a 2011 f150xlt / off RD package with the 3.73 rear end/ elec lock. Had FORD do an update earlier and seems to be worse !!!!!. I will get a bang out of rear end when going over a speed bump and tranny shifts to 2nd. I am bringing back for warranty service and would like a some information to be educated before going.
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Rebuilt the front end last year on this truck. I now own it. Front end is really tight, not as in hard to steer. It doesn't straighten up when you go around a corner completely. Going straight it drifts, 0 slack in the steering wheel. Constantly correcting it. Now my 95, I can turn it slightly going down the highway and it will turn back straight.
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I own a 2011 f-250 superduty, and have been having a problem with the steering, it goes from normal to lost of assist. Real hard to steer and dangerous. Then it will go away for a month, then start again. Some one on this site told me to flush the system which I did and it was fine for a month. A friend at a local ford dealer told me they had contamination in the system and I had to replace pump, reservoir, and flush system again....
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I have a 2014 screw 4x4 v8 that has been in the shop 5 times now for something that the dealership can't duplicate, and that is intermittent enough for me that I can't determine what the conditions need to be in order to duplicate it myself.
My transmission will shift hard under two different situations:
1) when rolling through a stop, or a momentary stop at a stop sign, the transmission holds up between 3 and 1, and when I bring the rpms up, the transmission shifts down into 1, making a hard clunk;
2) at highway speeds, more so when using cruise, if I accelerate and the truck shifts down from 6 to 4, there will be a hard shift as well. In fact, when I'm on a long stretch of flat, open road using cruise at 70-75, I can feel a slight bump through the steering wheel and floorboard, as if the cruise is trying to engage the throttle a bit more, but only for a split second. But that will happen quite a few times within a couple miles until I come up on a grade and the throttle has to engage for a bit longer to keep speed. Sometimes, the hard shift will do occur going to 5 as well, but 90% of the time it will be a 6-4 shift. If the truck decides to shift from 6-3, there's no issue and it shifts and accelerates like it should.
Again, this is so intermittent, but when it happens, it happens several times. I've had the service tech ride in the truck with me, all the while not being able to duplicate the issue. I understand that these are learning transmissions, so the only thing I can think of is when I try to duplicate it by accelerating over and over, that the transmission adjusts the shift pattern or fluid pressure to compensate.
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I've been experiencing a low rumble/chatter type noise only at extemely low speeds in conjunction with turning the vehicle (as you would in a parking lot). You can also 'feel' this noise to a slight degree on the steering wheel. This event happens going forward or in reverse. Additionally, it seems to be coming predominantly from the rear of the car. This has been going on for several months. My mechanic has ruled out any recall notices, tires, and brakes. He suspects it may be the drive train?
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I have a 1985 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. I bought it from someone who had it sitting for a couple years and the fuel pump needed replaced, no problem. It ran fine for about 2 weeks after getting it fixed, then it started giving me problems. The transmission seemed to be having issues shifting gears at lower speeds, but acted fine once I got up to 55+. The mileage dropped from 16 mpg to 4 mpg. It started stalling out whenever my foot wasn't on the gas, and then finally it quit running altogether.
I had a mechanically inclined family member take a look and he said it seemed to be starving for gas but other than that he had no idea, it tries to start but can't turn over. In the past year I have had the fuel pump, fuel filter, air filter, and fuel injectors replaced but I'm not sure what else to look at. I'm hoping it isn't the transmission, we all know how expensive those are.
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I have a 1999 cadillac Deville that my mechanic says needs a new front strut mount. My symptoms are mostly in cold weather a very slight groan when parking the vehicle or turning into my driveway. It seems like it happens when the steering wheel is on its return back to center and it can be felt slightly in the wheel and heard as the sound a zip tie makes when pulled together with a slight groan. The car has been recently aligned and rides pretty good but sometimes can be a little noisy over bumps.
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Ok so we all know it's usually warped rotors or possibly a caliber problem. But let's say u have new of both. And still I'm getting a wobble, not only when I brake at higher speeds, but when I'm on certain roads. Only certain roads. Say about 20% of other roads while driving I get a slight wobble. Not too bad, but a very annoying wobble. I bought this CTS at 35k and now has 45k on it. And again I bought this car for my long commute and a smooth drive. Which I'm not getting. I can't take it anymore! I've got to figure this out. Getting a wobble in the steering while on super smooth roads. And I know it's the car because I have a Chevy Cavalier and a Dodge truck in the family that don't wobble on the same roads.
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I've got an E99 powerstroke. Recently it's been getting hard to steer, if not impossible. When I'm parked i can't turn the wheel and it gets better if i Rev the engine up, driving is usually ok and going around corners. It's just low speed, low rpm that it won't.
Also every once in a while when braking it feels like i lose all power brakes. The pedal goes to the floor and the brakes let go, then i can feel the pedal pump back up and i get a good feeling brake pedal again that actually stops well. All this happens within about a seconds time. But the steering is by far the worst.
I just did the power steering flush with atf and it didn't work. I'm thinking i need a new power steering pump, but want to ask here first to make sure. The truck has 290,000 on it, and it never has been replaced to my knowledge. I bought the truck with 147,000 however so it may have been done before that.
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I own a 2009 Cadillac Escalade (no I don't write rap tunes) and for the past 5 years it has been an excellent vehicle to drive. It still is, but under certain conditions I am experiencing a shudder which lowers the confidence that I usually have in my vehicle. Specifically, when I am climbing a hill and the transmission is in a higher gear, say 4th and the RPMs are relatively low, say 1800, I feel a shudder as the car goes up the hill. When I let my foot off the gas the shudder stops. If I manually shift into a lower gear and raise the RPMs, the engine responds with power galore and I climb the hill without any effort and without any shudder (most of the time). The engine is smooth and is not sputtering when this shudder happens. I do not hear any unusual sounds under the car when this happens.
I took it to the GM dealer and they did all they could (analyzed the car for codes, monitored fuel flow rates, searched for GM bulletins, etc) but their response was "we experienced the shudder but cannot find the issue - bring it back when it gets worse". I read that BG44K will do a good job of cleaning the fuel system in the engine so I tried that but nothing changed. I have about 50K miles on the car and did my 50K maintenance just before a cross-country trip; on the way back from this long trip is when this issue started. The 50K maintenance included changing the transmission fluid and cleaning the filter (not replacing it), changing the differential oil, the transfer case oil, engine oil and filter, inspecting the vehicle, etc. I will continue to drive the vehicle and will bring it back to the dealer if it gets worse, but I'm wondering what I'm supposed to do if it never does and I continually experience this shudder. Or what happens if it gets worse all of a sudden and I'm unable to drive the car up a hill at all?
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is there any real difference between EV and ECO mode at parking lot speeds, ie <10mph ? both seem to use just the battery at those speeds, so I'm putting my money down on "no difference"
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