I remember the garage saying, when I had mine repaired, that they had seen it on the Punto. Not very often, but it was the same stearing system.
Is it worth an ask over in Punto-land?
I believe it is rare. Mine is a 54 reg. Maybe it has been rectified.There are a lot of Pandas out there and even more puntos with electric steering.
Sometimes you get a false scale of the problem on a forum like this. Most car owners won't bother with a site like this unless they had a problem, so you end up with a false percentage of a specific problem along with a high percentage of enthuiasts I guess.
The long and short of it is, I don't drive around thinking it's going to happen again. (I drive my kids and others feeling quite safe). I don't believe it will happen again.
I wouldn't 'not' buy the car again because of it. It's a wonderful wee thing.
I wasn't wishing to scare monger. Just add my sympathy to a couple of people that are having this problem.
I hope you get sorted soon.
P.S. The bill for mine (although i didn't pay) was £400 odd. Not £900!
Regards
Tim

lanchester01 said:

I remember the garage saying, when I had mine repaired, that they had seen it on the Punto. Not very often, but it was the same stearing system.

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different system, not interchangeable in anyway.

We have just had our Panda Multijet repaired under warranty.

3 months of warranty left and 50,000 miles.

The fault was that the power assisted steering (both in 'normal' and 'city' mode) was only working when the steering was turned left - when turned right there was no power assistance at all - it was harder to turn the steering wheel to the right than to the left - not much but it was noticable.

Our dealer was very good - took car in and they supplied a GP petrol as a courtesy car (wouldnt pull the skin off a custard !) and we got our Panda back three days later all fixed. When I asked about the fault the dealer said that there was a problem with the electric steering motor, they had spoken to Fiat Technical and they agreed to do the job under warranty - cost to Fiat UK was £300 - I think this is a 'trade' price as I am sure if the car was out of warranty we would of been charged much more.

Now I'm scared of driving my 06 Dynamic. It is having a new steering column fitted tomorrow (under warranty) But what if it happens again ? It was quite scary the first time and I was going slowly. Please reassure an ancient Brit !

I have to admit, this is the main thing putting me off of buying a mk3 'Mamy'.

Just out of interest, why do people go on about it as though it's the end of the world when it happens? The car still steers dosen't it? Just without power assistance?

Jon.

Most Easterly Panda's said:

Just out of interest, why do people go on about it as though it's the end of the world when it happens? The car still steers dosen't it? Just without power assistance?

Jon.

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Because it doesn't go completely its actually quite dangerous. As you could take a corner and the power steering go and not turn the corner fully increasing the risk of taking the corner wide and going into someone.

In my case as it went light when turning left I was oversteering and running the risk of bouncing off the kerb and losing control. With mine and a lot of people's it would come and go so would be unexpected and no warning until it does it.

A final thing it is scary to have it happen randomly and it has to be repaired as if you have an accident surely it would void your insurance as your car is in a defective condition. I couldn't drive around with this problem I couldn't have it on my conscience if I oversteered or understeered and seriously injured someone!

Sorry if it sounds as if i'm ranting but fair enough if you aint got power steering anyway then you aint going to have this problem.



Lanchester mine would have cost £900 to repair as I needed a new steering column assembly unit and steering electric motor including three hours labour.

3 hours! only takes one.

EmmaM88 said:

Sorry if it sounds as if i'm ranting but fair enough if you aint got power steering anyway then you aint going to have this problem.

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Not at all Thanks for the detailed reply, which is basicaly what I wanted

Most Easterly Panda's said:

Just out of interest, why do people go on about it as though it's the end of the world when it happens? The car still steers dosen't it? Just without power assistance?

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As Emma says, if you suddenly lose power steering, it'll take you by surprise, and not in a good way.

When my Coupe's aux belt went, I had to get the car towed home, with no power steering. It was a 10 mile journey, with roundabouts. I don't know how the Panda compares, but steering on the roundabouts had me sweating (literally), as the steering was so heavy. That was being towed at about 30 mph. Now imagine you're coming into a bend at 60...

T14086 said:

3 hours! only takes one.

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I think I didn't explain myself properly, they took into account the fact that they had it in the first time when they dropped the bombshell on me what was wrong and how much it would cost! So included the labour costs for then as well

EmmaM88 said:

I think I didn't explain myself properly, they took into account the fact that they had it in the first time when they dropped the bombshell on me what was wrong and how much it would cost! So included the labour costs for then as well

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2 hours then, one hour diag(if dealer is lucky!) & one hour fit.

I had it all set out in writing can't remember exact details to be quite honest so I wont draw myself into an arguement on this one

My PAS motor started making grinding noises when turning right at about 29,000 miles - out of warranty by this state, dealer told me I probably had 5,000 miles before the PAS failed.

By 31,000 the noises had stopped and haven't recurred, I'm on 41,000 now. Very early 04 model. I'm not sure if this counts as a failure or not!

EmmaM88 said:

I had it all set out in writing can't remember exact details to be quite honest so I wont draw myself into an arguement on this one

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not arguing,just hate garages that overcharge when labour times are clearly shown for all jobs/tasks.

Dear All,

Having returned from holidays (for anyone that is interested) I think (?!) i can report that i have reached a fair and reasonable conclusion with FIAT.

I say i think because i have been advised that a cheque for the difference should be with me within the next 21 days.

In short, i have solely "negotiated" and "arrived" at an agreement with FIAT that they will pay for ALL Parts costs and I will have to pay for the installation costs i.e. 2 Hours Labour at £164.50.

My Learns:

1) Know your Legal Rights.
2) If you have SPECIFIC evidence of others with the same problem and their ultimate resolution then USE IT! As i may have mentioned previously ALL customers should receive the SAME level of service.
3) When speaking to anyone, ask for their full name i.e. including their surname, ask for their extension number, address of where they are based and keep a note of all times and dates of calls with a simple summary of what was discussed.
4) Do not exagerate, keep it factual.
5) Make it clear and concise as to what you want to resolve and close the complaint and your rationale as to why. Nobody wants to listen to a War Story - even though my posts resemble one.
6) An Assertive but Positive attitude beats an Aggressive and Threatening one every time.
7) Ask where you appear on their list of Actions. Are you 3rd or 30th?
8) Always politely ask for a timescale of action i.e. Urgently or as soon as possible does not mean anything in real terms! Where as "...i will let you know by 5.00pm" does.
9) Do not be palmed off with "if it were a major problem we would have had a recall". What the heck is Major? One death is major! Does the fact that it has not yet happened mean that it is significant rather than Major.
10) Search the Internet for a dependable, trustworthy forum such as this one.

Having shared my experiences with other FIAT Group Owners (typically) they have responded with:

1) Why have you paid for 2 Hours Labour instead of 1?
2) Why have you paid for the labour costs at all?

In response i would answer there two questions with my two questions:

1) Why did you pay close to a £1,000 to replace your steering?
2) Would you rather not pay a professional to install parts correctly than "save" yourself £50 by having installed by a DIY-er?

Conclusion.

Not a particularly simple and/or enjoyable experience (was it meant to be?) but got there in the end - i repeat... i think?

A big thank-you to all contributors to this post. Not sure i would have "negotiated" a deal without the benefit of this site.

Frustrated Fiat Fool.

p.s. whilst picking up my vehicle post repairs, i was advised that another two Panda's had arrived with the same issue i.e. an 05 Plate and another 54 plate - Not a Major problem... My Arse!

even the big players get it wrong:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/7534100.stm

Having shared my experiences with other FIAT Group Owners (typically) they have responded with:

1) Why have you paid for 2 Hours Labour instead of 1?
2) Why have you paid for the labour costs at all?

In response i would answer there two questions with my two questions:

1) Why did you pay close to a £1,000 to replace your steering?
2) Would you rather not pay a professional to install parts correctly than "save" yourself £50 by having installed by a DIY-er?

Exactly my point with mine. I'd rather pay for labour as 1) I know nothing about cars 2) I havent a clue how to fit the parts and 3) I don't want to die by getting someone else who isn't a fiat mechanic to do it.

Glad you've sorted it now. :slayer:

I have been told that the 3rd years warranty covers the power steering on the panda ..got to be honest here I was very concerned about this on my panda..but nice to see that fiat are prepared to do the job on older panda's as well..

Result..

Jai said:

even the big players get it wrong:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/7534100.stm

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OMG that woman was perthetic. O I didn't want to drive it in to the dealership. If she hadn't recieved the letter then she would have known no other.

When mum's Yaris was called in for a recall on the rear brakes we didn't start going, 'o the brakes will fail, we can't drive the car no matter what'

And the Lord said let there be light....

The cheque for £198.35 arrived this morning, was banked this afternoon and will be cleared next week.

File closed.

Can now look forward to my 2 weeks in Italy with a hire car...

Regards,

Fatigued Frustrated Fiat Fool