I have just bought a 2005 Panda Active. It is the first Panda I have owned; my previous car was a 2004 Hyundai Getz. I just cannot get on with driving this Panda car; if it is doing up to 25-30 mph on town roads, it feels okay and is quite a nippy little car for turning corners etc. But once I am on a dual carriageway, I hate it. If I go up to 50mph it feels weird - it is hard to describe. On the way home tonight I was going down a very slight curved hill - although the steering wheel stays in place, the car feels as though it is going to slide over. So, basically, when it is going above 45-50mph and also if it is going along a curve on a dual carriageway, I get this sensation of sliding or as if I am getting a dizzy spell or the car will sort of keel over. Can anybody help with this as I am not enjoying driving the car and am seriously thinking of getting a completely different make of car.


Thanks.

Did you have a good test drive before you decided to purchase it?

Not down a dual carriageway at 50mph, no.....

Hammergirl86 said:

I have just bought a 2005 Panda Active. It is the first Panda I have owned; my previous car was a 2004 Hyundai Getz. I just cannot get on with driving this Panda car; if it is doing up to 25-30 mph on town roads, it feels okay and is quite a nippy little car for turning corners etc. But once I am on a dual carriageway, I hate it. If I go up to 50mph it feels weird - it is hard to describe. On the way home tonight I was going down a very slight curved hill - although the steering wheel stays in place, the car feels as though it is going to slide over. So, basically, when it is going above 45-50mph and also if it is going along a curve on a dual carriageway, I get this sensation of sliding or as if I am getting a dizzy spell or the car will sort of keel over. Can anybody help with this as I am not enjoying driving the car and am seriously thinking of getting a completely different make of car.


Thanks.

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The panda is normally pretty well regarded in the handling department which would suggest there is something drastically wrong with yours.

I would start with checking tyre condition, type and tread depth.

Something's wrong with the tyres and/or suspension. First, check the tyre pressures and the general state of tyres. If they're on their last legs (or well past that point...) get some new ones and make sure they're inflated to the correct pressures.

If the tyres are fine, jack the car up (at the front) and try to wobble the front wheels whilst they're in the air. If they moves about and make clonking noises, something's broken/worn out in the suspension. You might be able to see if this is likely to be the case by checking the previous MOT for advisories, though this is by no means certain.

Irrespective of what you find when you inspect the tyres and suspension, take the car to a decent wheel alignment place and get the tracking sorted (take the car to the alignment place after you get the tyres/suspension sorted). It's very easy to knock out of line on Pandas (a pothole can do it) and it'll be cheap (£20-30ish) to get put right. I highly doubt the tracking is perfect on a ten year old car, especially considering it's just not the kind of thing "normal" people would think to get checked.

If none of that solves the problem, there's always the possibility that the car's been in a crash and had poor repair work done on it. That said, one of the less serious things which I've mentioned above is almost certainly the case.

MJG said:

The panda is normally pretty well regarded in the handling department which would suggest there is something drastically wrong with yours.

I would start with checking tyre condition, type and tread depth.

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:yeahthat:

Definitely sounds like there's something wrong - tyres, then tracking, then check for accident damage.

Presumably it's running straight and true with your hands off the wheel is it, not veering to one side?

You didn't mention vibration, so probably not wheel balance, but go a bit faster to see if it gets better. It should be pretty rock solid at 70-80 (also if you're only happy doing 50 you might be better not clogging up the dual carriageway & take to the A/B roads - it's also far safer if you need to stop!).

Let us know how you get on.

Thanks Martin; I will check the tyres. I had read that the Panda is reliable, which is why I bought it. My dad thought it might be something to do with the power steering and that maybe I am not used to it.

Thanks everyone. I will check the tyres and then if it turns out to be something with the suspension, it can go back to the used car dealer for it to be checked under the warranty.


In my Hyundai Getz I regularly did 70-80mph (shameful, I know), but in this Panda, I haven't felt comfortable going too high because of how it feels.


Thanks again- I appreciate it. I will let you know how I get on with it.

Hammergirl, my first thought reading your post was cheapo tyres. I had a Seicento Sporting a few years back (quite a few ha ha) and it was horrid, a bit like you described - understeering everywhere. It had Nankang tyres on. Once I'd swapped them for Pirellis it transformed the car.

Fingers crossed your's get sorted.

Hammergirl86 said:

Thanks everyone. I will check the tyres and then if it turns out to be something with the suspension, it can go back to the used car dealer for it to be checked under the warranty.


In my Hyundai Getz I regularly did 70-80mph (shameful, I know), but in this Panda, I haven't felt comfortable going too high because of how it feels.


Thanks again- I appreciate it. I will let you know how I get on with it.

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Hi,
tyres are the obvious thing,
and relatively cheap + simple, as are MOST panda things ( apart from accident damage)

how many miles on the car..??,
some wear + tear is to be expected if approaching 100K miles.

my 2004 1.1 is starting to show the signs of tired suspension,
now i'm using more bumpy roads..,

charlie - Oxford

Tracking?
Easy to check and costs zilch.
Why not eliminate tracking first, then head for the other areas mentioned?

Hammergirl86 said:

I get this sensation of sliding or as if I am getting a dizzy spell or the car will sort of keel over.

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This is the exact same sensation I get in my grande punto if I have a low back tire (one has a slow puncture) one tire being low on pressure is able to wobble about while the other three are fine.

It's already been suggested it's probably the tires so I won't parrot everyone else, just sticking my oar In really

But the Getz is a really well put together little car and easily on a par with a panda, it just sounds like you've gotten off on the wrong foot.

Compared to the Getz the panda is a bit more slab sided so also tends to get caught by gusts of wind more so than the Getz would have done, so that won't help either

As you have only just bought it, then take it back to where you bought it and complain!

If you start getting the problems repaired yourself then you are taking responsibility and likely undermining your chances of making use of the supplied warranty (or the dealer's obligation under UK car sales legislation).

Never let a car dealer off the hook!!!

Honda Owner said:

As you have only just bought it, then take it back to where you bought it and complain!

If you start getting the problems repaired yourself then you are taking responsibility and likely undermining your chances of making use of the supplied warranty (or the dealer's obligation under UK car sales legislation).

Never let a car dealer off the hook!!!

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Fair point - IF it turns out not to be a slow puncture or crappy tyres (provided of course they were legal when you bought the car)