Just had the AA tell her indoors the power steering has failed on a Y plate 1.2elx

What sort of price is she looking at to have this fixed?

Main dealer has just quoted her £663 all in

Got mine back from the garage yesterday with the same problem
I have a Yreg Mia n the garage owner said its when the car is cold and full lock is applied to the steering wheel. Its an electrical fault in the steering column he said but is not mechanical and the steering is not just going to cut out. Fiat will fix it for around £600, most garages will charge around £450 or you can leave it and each time it goes turn the ignition off and on again. He advised that i drive with city on as you rarely need full lock on.
Hopes this helps

City makes no difference to the ammount the wheel moves, it just makes the steering lighter to turn.

Its advisable NOT to drive with it on as it will wear out the motor quicker

I had this same problem too. Finally the power steering didn't work at all. I did some reseach on the internet and found a Italian website with a possible solution. The problem is that some soldered contacts on the power steering electromotor get loose and won't make contact anymore (or not enough).

What you can do is: Disassemble the electromotor from the car (how is described here: home.student.utwente.nl/j.jansen-1/stuurbekrachtiging.pdf (dutch)) and remove the board from the motor. First you have to remove some cables (soldered to the board). On the backside of this board you may see some loose contacts. Figures: home.student.utwente.nl/j.jansen-1/

Resolder these contacts to the board and you will have a working power steering unit. It worked just fine for me!

radio_car_racer said:

Just had the AA tell her indoors the power steering has failed on a Y plate 1.2elx

What sort of price is she looking at to have this fixed?

Main dealer has just quoted her £663 all in

Click to expand...

Get a second opinion from dealership;

https://www.fiatforum.com/punto-guides/70703-punto-steering-column.html

hjansen84 said:

I had this same problem too. Finally the power steering didn't work at all. I did some reseach on the internet and found a Italian website with a possible solution. The problem is that some soldered contacts on the power steering electromotor get loose and won't make contact anymore (or not enough).

What you can do is: Disassemble the electromotor from the car (how is described here: home.student.utwente.nl/j.jansen-1/stuurbekrachtiging.pdf) and remove the board from the motor. First you have to remove some cables (soldered to the board). On the backside of this board you may see some loose contacts (see below).

Resolder these contacts to the board and you will have a working power steering unit. It worked just fine for me!

Click to expand...

Depends what the fault is...in reality the motor isn't that common a fault.

T14086 said:

Depends what the fault is...in reality the motor isn't that common a fault.

Click to expand...

What do you consider a common fault with these problems? When I got to the garage they said it was a fault with some sensor (computer) and suggested to replace the entire system (motor, controlunit etc.) á 650 euro's. So that's why I suggested this solution, it may be worth a try, instead of just replace the whole unit.

torque sensors are most common fault (i'd say 8 out of every 10?)

OK, just got it back @ midday today and done less than 15 miles and the same thing has happened. Looks like a new one has been fitted.

Could this not have been an issuse with the power steering but an intemittent electrical fault?

Steering is resetting if switched on & off.

Thinking of challenging the AA over their diagnosis if it was an intemittent electrical fault to get some redress for shelling out £420 on their advice.

radio_car_racer said:

OK, just got it back @ midday today and done less than 15 miles and the same thing has happened. Looks like a new one has been fitted.

Could this not have been an issuse with the power steering but an intemittent electrical fault?

Steering is resetting if switched on & off.

Thinking of challenging the AA over their diagnosis if it was an intemittent electrical fault to get some redress for shelling out £420 on their advice.

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What did the garage say they had done for £420? Didn't you say before that they quote £600+, or did you haggle them down?

pooroldcodger said:

What did the garage say they had done for £420? Didn't you say before that they quote £600+, or did you haggle them down?

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£600 = main dealer

£420 = Fiat independant who's been @ it for years

new power steering unit fitted

Checking connections etc & completely eliminating any other possible cause other than the one you suspect is basic diagnosis.

Fairly sure a new unit costs more than that on its own, possibly its not had a complete unit put on it or perhaps a used one.

Update

Part used is a repaired item that carry’s a 2 year warranty. If you use a new Fiat item it only carries a 6 month warranty.

Power steering units are repaired in the UK down south somewere.

Garage has agreed to replace faulty item and we get a loan car to boot, only have to fuel it. Not bad for an independent.

Footnote
power steeering unit from the Punto also fits the Corsa

radio_car_racer said:

Update

Part used is a repaired item that carry’s a 2 year warranty. If you use a new Fiat item it only carries a 6 month warranty.

Power steering units are repaired in the UK down south somewere.

Garage has agreed to replace faulty item and we get a loan car to boot, only have to fuel it. Not bad for an independent.

Footnote
power steeering unit from the Punto also fits the Corsa

Click to expand...

A friend of mine bought a recon unit from a company in Nottingham. It came with a 2 year warranty and he paid about £220-ish, but fitted it himself.

pooroldcodger said:

A friend of mine bought a recon unit from a company in Nottingham. It came with a 2 year warranty and he paid about £220-ish, but fitted it himself.

Click to expand...

quick search on the bay and you find these Fiat Punto Electric Power Steering - All Types by BBA-reman, there are others also

radio_car_racer said:

Footnote
power steeering unit from the Punto also fits the Corsa

Click to expand...

Fiat use vauxhall EPS systems, surprising when vauxhall techs tell me how many they change but I assume its cheaper to use someone elses than design a new system?

radio_car_racer said:

quick search on the bay and you find these Fiat Punto Electric Power Steering - All Types by BBA-reman, there are others also

Click to expand...

Yes, I think this was the place. It seems a good solution if you can get it fitted.

had the same prblem with my steering on ma punto. after being hooked up to diagnostics etc and 280 quid later...... still happened. im guessin your only happens in the bitterly cold and maybe going over bumps etc. making sense yet?.... lol, battery connections are loose. common problem with fiat! dont do em up tight enough! the RAC guy spotted it in seconds! x