hummm... this afternoon I pulled the power connection to the ePAS apart and cleaned it. I don't think I'm the first person to remove that heat shield.

Is this a refurbished unit? In my experience factory original parts don't normally have tamper paint on all the screws...


Put it all back together and manouvered the car around a bit, not a peep out of the ePAS, everything was smooth and quiet, tried city mode, worked fine too (never tried before).

Old thread resurrected (found while researching another issue).

The steering symptoms described sound like the torque sensors. You can now buy new sensor rings which can be fitted to the column. Check the numbers are correct but here's an example https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/torque-sensor-Angle-steering-sleeve-verde-Fiat-Panda-169-Lancia-Ypsilon-843/153219567327?fits=Car+Make%3AFiat&epid=16024821204&hash=item23ac990edf:g:nQkAAOSw7btatQP~


The musty smell after rain is a water leak (obviously). Always open the bonnet (hood) and check the scuttle drains under the windscreen. They are noted for clogging with dirt causing water to run into the heater intake.

The car can be driven without power steering but it is very heavy at low speeds. If the system is juddering badly or pulling hard on one direction, pulling the 60A fuse will get you home. There is no assistance above 30mph (50K) so it only heavy in town.

Finally fixed this!!

The steering has been problematic for years. Mostly working fine, but it always felt 'notchy' or 'gritty' when driving, for want of a better description. With the occasional unexplained failure.


A few weeks ago, I replaced the suspension wishbones, they were well past their best.

And, like magic, the steering is now smooth

Steve145 said:

A few weeks ago, I replaced the suspension wishbones, they were well past their best.

And, like magic, the steering is now smooth

Click to expand...

That makes sense. If the bottom swivels don't turn smoothly, there could well be a notchy feel to the steering.

In the UK, this is (or should be) checked during an MOT, with the weight of the car on its wheels and the front wheels on turn plates.

Bottom swivels are a very common failure item on many marques; they do take quite a pounding in service.

Bottom ball joints tend to get loose and fall apart rather than seize-up. I recently replaced the front struts on my wife's Panda - they were leaking oil. Both top bearings were bone dry and rusty but the steering feels no different with the new struts and bearings.

It had rapidly scrubbed out both front tyres which were replaced. I suspected the bottom arms bushes were worn, but viewed from under the wheel arch (wheels removed) they looked ok and I could not lever any excess movement. There was no tram-lining like my 100HP had done with worn bottom arms.

But sure enough, it failed MoT on the bottom arms rear bushes. Once they were removed I could see that the rear rubber bushes had started to break up. Both outer ball joints were good.

All that work (though the tyres are now not being ripped to shreds) and the car feels much the same to drive. There's no dramatic improvement in steering or handling.

suspension arms are common

I can normally tell they are on the way out before its a MOT failure

when moving forwards at very slow speed and putting a lot of lock on as in a car park. the steering goes lighter as you put more lock on

On worn roads it get stuck in the grooves and they wonder a bit.

I Think a lot of the torque sensors that are replaced never needed replacing. Twice now I have come across the steering wheel shacking both times a reseat of the connector has fix the problem. Although one needed to be recalibration as well. Both cars have been fine since for over a year with no parts fitted.

If you replace the steering column or torque sensor you are technically putting a clean connector.

koalar said:

When moving forwards at very slow speed and putting a lot of lock on as in a car park. the steering goes lighter as you put more lock on.

Click to expand...

This is handy to know as I had not noticed any change in the steering behaviour on the 1200. Something to watch out for.

koalar said:

On worn roads it get stuck in the grooves and they wonder a bit.

Click to expand...

The 100HP was doing this badly so bottom arm bush wear was the clear source. Yet the rear bushes did not "look" bad and even jacked up I could not feel the slack with a pry bar. If course, when removed from the car, the fault was obvious (as it was with the 1200).

The 1200 now has all new parts (and I'm sure the tyres will be happier) yet it feels only slightly better to drive.