Technical grande punto steering column fault

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Technical grande punto steering column fault

My steering wheel sits to the left and drags in this direction. It causes the inside edge of the left tyre to wear quicker than any other part (it's not the tracking, it's been checked).similar? lol

My car had/has this problem. Has had this problem since new. The steering rack was replaced. Still did it. Been back to the dealer twice more since then.. The last being 2 days ago. :mad:

Still slightly pulling to the left and the steering wheel is now slightly off-centre towards the right. I'm taking it back tomorrow and the foreman is supposed to be going on a 'test drive' with me to assess the problem..

Surely Fiat must know that this is a 'known problem' and must have a fix for it by now??
 
Well took my car in early this morning, as one of the workers went to get the courtesy car keys(fiat 500...lol), they left the work sheet right in front of me. To my surprise, highlighted in yellow, in bold writing was "NEW STEERING COLUMN". Its seems from this, fiat already know that this is a problem,as soon as customer comes in with a power steering fault. Will be picking it up 2moro.:)
 
Well took my car in early this morning, as one of the workers went to get the courtesy car keys(fiat 500...lol), they left the work sheet right in front of me. To my surprise, highlighted in yellow, in bold writing was "NEW STEERING COLUMN". Its seems from this, fiat already know that this is a problem,as soon as customer comes in with a power steering fault. Will be picking it up 2moro.:)


Well after 2/3 weeks of happiness, its happens again.....its booked in for mon 27th.lol.
 
Power Steering Fault

Just had my car MOT'd and it failed due to the "power steering not working correctly".

Has anyone else had this problem?

The guy at the MOT station said:

"When you turn the steering wheel anti-clockwise the steerings loose, but when you turn it clockwise the steering toughens up."

I've phoned Fiat over in warwick and they suggested i booked it in for a sensor test, which would tell them if the power steering sensor needed lineing back up? Is this correct information?

A friend that i know at another garage said it might be due to the city steering screwing up?

Also another thing that crossed my mind is:has it anything to do with the tracking? Or even worse the camber alignment?

Anyone had any problems like this, or any suggestions as fiat want to charge me £49 plus anything else if there is a problem with it?!?!

All info is welcomed!
 
Re: Power Steering Fault

Doubt it will be anything to do with tracking etc. Will be a fault with the column/motor and they are expensive to replace =/

Matt,

I'm hoping it is going to be the sensor then. The guy at autocentre agreed with warwick fiat and said it is more or likely to be the sensor.

Another thing i forgot to mention is that i have never had any warning lights or anything, nor have i felt anything through the steering. It is only when it came to the mot that they found the fault? So i'm guessing it can't be that bad?
 
Re: Power Steering Fault

When mine did this, the shock absorber physically wasnt mounted securely to the car. THe handling went ****, and the car would often veer at high speed.

Fiat dealer sorted it under warranty, then the handling was better that it ever was in the time I'd owned it. Powersteering light still came on though.
 
Steering motor failure

Last week I put my GP in for his 1st MOT and she came back failing with steering motor failure - she was pulling to the left ( I didnt really notice the extent of this as my tyres were badly needing replaced), luckily I was organised enough to put her in 2 weeks before the warranty run out!! Thank god or it would have cost over £600 :eek: They did say they have had a few GP's back with this fault! Anyone else heard of the steering motor failing??
 
Re: Steering motor failure

It happens, as it does with any car with electric power steering, these units are less energy sapping and have Miles per Gallon benefits so make the car greener.
 
Well after 2/3 weeks of happiness, its happens again.....its booked in for mon 27th.lol.


Got it back yesterday, feels much better (but for how long :confused:), ive also noticed that sometimes when i indicate right & full lock right, after the steering wheel is coming back into position, the left indicator light on the dash flashes once. Its not too much of a problem to me personallly, but should i get it looked into??? (on a brighter note, ordered some wing deflectors, got 15% off from the very nice staff there..lol. i said i had i 15% voucher at home but forgot it, but he said keep it...i'll give you 15% off anyway.)
 
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sim- do you get a rattle when going over bumps? My car has a rattle when going over bumps but the steering and the tracking of the car seem good to me.
 
sim- do you get a rattle when going over bumps? My car has a rattle when going over bumps but the steering and the tracking of the car seem good to me.

yea, i hear an odd rattle now and again....not sure if its my steering tho (then again...i could be wrong).

Just a quick question to anyone.....Is there any genuine solution that fiat uses, if replacing the column doesnt solve the problem.( as this is my 2nd column, i am keeping a close eye on its behavour) :)
 
Re: grande punto steering column fault **update**

After its third investegation at the garage, they can now find no fault with the steering. So i had to bite my tougue and leave. I few days later, fiats head office called me to se how my experience was when my car was at the garage, so i told them the whole story (obviously not bad mouthing the garage, cause it not really their fault). So they put me thru to customer relations later on in the day. They advised me to re-booked my car in and notify them when i have done so, so that head office will be in direct contact with my fiat garage, when my car is back in.
Perfect timing for fiat (h/o) to call me, i hope this situation gets resolved.
 
My column failed this year, it was a long time failing (play, weird torque effects, shutting off power steering at ignition). Didn't want to take it in as it was going to be expensive off warranty, finally the steering light and the airbag light came on.

Took it in, they ate the parts cost for the clockspring (some kind of electrical connection to the airbag and the steering wheel electrics) and for the new steering column. The labor was about US $300, too lazy to look that up in pounds for you guys, but it wasn't cheap. Supposedly the parts cost about US $2000, so it's a good thing that they were willing to deal with that.

Since about march I haven't had any problems, keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way.
 
can you describe the rattle? mine is very stable but when i get over bumps i here a ''low volume'' rattle like plastics bumping on metal. is yours a rattle like 2 pieces of metal rubbing against each other? is it loud?

I had what sounds similar - low hum/vibration (when idling) and it was the air intake rubber separating from its mount. I cable tied it and the noise has gone :)
 
Re: Power Steering Fault

Hi

Just thought I would give all of you GP owners with questions about the power steering system the benefit of my experience.
I run a power steering remanufacturing company, we have been repairing the EPS system on old style mk2/3 puntos for many years, as they have a long history of power steering failure.
Up to about 12 months ago we had only a few GP's with EPS failure , but in the last 12 months we have been doing more and more, currently 10-15 a week.

The system used on the GP is a Delphi system, it is a modular system that is very similar to the one used on 500's , Panda's ,Vauxhall Meriva, to name but a few.

90% of the failures are due to the torque position sensor ,usually leading to a groan or vibration when steering and also the steering going light on one lock and heavy on the other and even if the unit is re-calibrated it does not cure the fault.It looks as though the sensors have about a 5 year life span although this is dependant on the type of use the vehicle gets.

The sensor is inbuilt into the centre of the EPS unit and can only be changed when the column is stripped down and is one of the components that we have to renew when we rebuild the column, the torque position sensor then has to be calibrated to the steering ECU so that you get equal assistance on both left and right lock and also knows where the centre point of the steering is.

The motor and ecu are all part of the EPS unit on GP's rather than the individual components that were used on mk2/3 punto's and do not fail very often on GP's, although we have seen a few.

We do supply reconditioned columns for the GP and also fit them in the workshop and if you need any advice on EPS problems we are always happy to help.

Gary
www.westernpowersteering.co.uk
0117-9602906
 
hi. i have a 2006 grande punto. it seems like i have the same problem as others and need a recall for the steering. however, i rang fiat and they said my car was recalled in june 2008 and when i told her its the same problem again she mumbled and gave an unclear answer that i have to pay to fix it. but the problem shouldnt be back should it?
anyways, how it started was......
a few months ago i was driving ( cant remember how fast ) the engine rev went very high probably to around 60-70 mph without any other defects , just the gage went up and thats all. then after a few weeks i was reversing out the carpark then the wheel went funny ( grinding ) and then it locked and the lights came on. so i turned it off and on a a few times till it went. but it only happens whenever i turn the wheel, not in straight forward driving or in speed. it only happens when i turn the wheel when stood still or when in very low speed like 1st gear. so i drove home. it went away for over a month then it came back. now i was quoted around £1000 to fix it!
what do you think? could it be the same fault? i read somewhere it could be the speed tourq sensor that could cause the steering lock and go hard.
oh and this morning i realised the digital dash was reset??? the battery is new, its a good quality bosch i bought a few months ago.
the garage said the battery was a little low and they regarged it?


can anyone help please?

thanks.
 
hi. i have a 2006 grande punto. it seems like i have the same problem as others and need a recall for the steering. however, i rang fiat and they said my car was recalled in june 2008 and when i told her its the same problem again she mumbled and gave an unclear answer that i have to pay to fix it. but the problem shouldnt be back should it?.

NO, there was NEVER a recall for steering column or motor or ECU, the only recall was for tightness of the top bolt of the lower shaft. She's right i'm afraid, you need to pay or go to ebay.

Please read the thread people!
 
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