Hiya everyone

My power steering has been playing up for the last couple of months and I've now realised that for the MOT to pass, this needs to be fixed [emoji31]

I have been quoted between £625 and £778.50 for it to all be replaced... is this too expensive??? Or is this standard for this type of work?

Also, does the Fiat Panda 100hp have this issue??? [emoji17].

Honestly having no luck with cars lol

Thanks [emoji5]

Not sure where you are in the country, but I can recommend Power Steering Services in Bristol. I had mine reconditioned on my 100hp while I waited (about 3 hours) for I think roughly half your lowest quote. Lifetime guarantee as well.

Scotty100hp said:

Not sure where you are in the country, but I can recommend Power Steering Services in Bristol. I had mine reconditioned on my 100hp while I waited (about 3 hours) for I think roughly half your lowest quote. Lifetime guarantee as well.

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Oh right! Did they give you any warranty? And how long did they say it should last for? Mileage wise?

Lifetime guarantee. Fit it and forget about it.

Just realised I got the name wrong. It's Western Power Steering.

When you say playing up, what is it doing exactly?

Yes more details than playing up.

Mine would click off when reversing out of a parking space and putting my foot on the brake.

And occacionly slowing down after going down the motorway

And occationly putting the red warning light on but still working fine


All fixed with a new auxiliary belt.

Are you sure it's actually the steering column? The power steering is quite power hungry. Various faults can be thrown up if the battery is not in good condition or on its way out. How old is your battery? It could also be caused by a loose auxiliary not charging it. Check the belt and if the battery is old, try changing it. Best to try cheaper options first!

Right, so the power steering comes and goes, at various speeds, whether that be slow town driving or fast m25 driving (really scary) I've never experienced it go in reverse, however I have had the light go on but still have power steering! The city button is like Satan in my car, I've used it twice out of curiosity and it makes it come on almost instantaneously!! I've had it diagnosed as a torque sensor by a Fiat garage so I know that it's actually nothing to do with a battery (sadly otherwise I would've bought a few batteries at the same time and keep them in the boot [emoji23])

In general, I don't even know if my poor little Frankie the Fiat is worth keeping, she needs so much work doing on her, which is sad because I really do like the car. Ah well!

Torque sensor failure usually affects steering in one direction only to begin with. But not always. Both directions usually means battery or alternator. But not always.

They have been known to flag up a Torque Position Sensor error because of low voltage too.

It is possible to do a DIY repair for under £100, not involving rocket science or advanced yoga.

Alternatively there are good places which will do a full recondition for much less than £600.

Rarely worth buying a secondhand unit, as they could be as worn as the one they are replacing.

The 100HP uses the same system.

george2596 said:

Right, so the power steering comes and goes, at various speeds, whether that be slow town driving or fast m25 driving (really scary) I've never experienced it go in reverse, however I have had the light go on but still have power steering! The city button is like Satan in my car, I've used it twice out of curiosity and it makes it come on almost instantaneously!! I've had it diagnosed as a torque sensor by a Fiat garage so I know that it's actually nothing to do with a battery (sadly otherwise I would've bought a few batteries at the same time and keep them in the boot [emoji23])

In general, I don't even know if my poor little Frankie the Fiat is worth keeping, she needs so much work doing on her, which is sad because I really do like the car. Ah well!

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Nope Fiat will just plug in to the diagnostic software in read the code.

A flagged error of torque sensor is also known to caused by a power issue.


The fact it worse in city mode when the power drain is greater would point me away from the torque sensor.


Do you have a volt metre?


In what way was it scary on the M25 at 50 mph and above its hardly noticeable if it clicks off. At low speed its fairly hard to steer but still driveable.

koalar said:

Nope Fiat will just plug in to the diagnostic software in read the code.



A flagged error of torque sensor is also known to caused by a power issue.





The fact it worse in city mode when the power drain is greater would point me away from the torque sensor.





Do you have a volt metre?





In what way was it scary on the M25 at 50 mph and above its hardly noticeable if it clicks off. At low speed its fairly hard to steer but still driveable.

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No, I don't have a volt metre lol

So what are you saying about the power, and how do I go about sorting this out?

Additionally, it has come on more times without the city button!

george2596 said:

Also, does the Fiat Panda 100hp have this issue?

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Sadly yes it does.

Not exactly common, but not exactly unusual either.

You can replace just the torque sensor at reasonable cost, but AIUI you may need to recalibrate the steering. I understand multiecuscan can do this - you may need the licenced copy.

There are cheap fixes for this problem that do not involve removing the whole steering column - only the top part - and hence recalibration is not always needed when replacing the steering sensor.

The other advantage is cost. Fiat would like to take you for many £100's for this work, but if you're able and mechanically savvy, you can fix it yourself for way under £100.

A guy on here who hasn't posted for some time now has gone this route. Check out this:

https://www.fiatforum.com/newbie-central/429433-newbie-power-steering-fix.html

It needs repeating that there are other causes for your steering problem, most notably the battery. Even if a battery seems fine, it can still be near the end of its useful life and can throw a red light, affecting the steering - especially if you do a lot of short journeys, or use twisty lanes a lot. The steering is very power-hungry!

Check all connections and the battery condition before taking more complicated or expensive steps.

Home and Bargains has a plug in cigarette/USB charger with built in voltage check for about £3.

Battery normally has a bit of bounce back. Turn the headlights on for 2 minutes switch off then read the value.

Battery Voltage and State of Charge:

12.66v . . . . . . . . . . 100%
12.45v . . . . . . . . . . 75%
12.24v . . . . . . . . . . 50%
12.06v . . . . . . . . . . 25%
11.89v . . . . . . . . . . 0%


With the car running it should be over 14. Mine is only just over 14 and is very marginal. 14.2-14.7 would be Better



Most batteries are designed to last about 5 years but a lot fail before this.

Corroded battery terminals and/or earth leads are very common as is a faulty earth strap to the gearbox.

So I've booked my car in for repair on 15th June with Western Power Steering! However I've just looked at the above comment and my battery health is on 12.06v as I have a black box *sigh* which can tell me what my battery health is... is 12.06 bad or good when the car is not running??? I'm really unsure about cars lol

george2596 said:

So I've booked my car in for repair on 15th June with Western Power Steering! However I've just looked at the above comment and my battery health is on 12.06v as I have a black box *sigh* which can tell me what my battery health is... is 12.06 bad or good when the car is not running??? I'm really unsure about cars lol

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Bad

Full charged is 12.6v


It will be the only fault. Unless its not charging correctly.


Battery bounce back a bit. A better test is to switch the ignition on, turn the headlights on for two minutes. Switch everything off and measure. I would expect around 12.5v


And over 14V with the engine running. Mines 14.0? And is very marginal. 14.2 would be better

So in that case, could that be the fault regarding my steering column, even though Fiat done a diagnostics check on it and was the Torque position sensor...?

To be sure of the reading I would measure it at the battery using a voltmeter and Koalar's method.
No telling how accurate the black box reading is, where it's taking the measurement from, how many (possibly bad) connections it goes through etc.
The little plug-in voltmeters give a good indication of what is going on, but I have seen them read noticeably different from a direct reading.
Once the battery voltage is known, re-check using battery positive and engine block to eliminate voltage drop in the earth cable.

george2596 said:

So in that case, could that be the fault regarding my steering column, even though Fiat done a diagnostics check on it and was the Torque position sensor...?

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you need this addressing then as its obviously out of parameter