Just spent about a grand on my 54 plate panda, power steering was buzzing noisily when you gently moved the wheel from side to side, took it in and ended up with a new power steering motor and electronic box and bill for almost £1000!!! and the car's only done 50k miles............ anyone else come across this?
Fiat Panda Power Steering and electronic replacement
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Fiat Panda Power Steering and electronic replacement
imported_abyss113
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if its anything like the centos should have done it yourself 
was an easy enough job apart from the dash removal
but yeah seems a common thing on the fiats is the power steering mine lost the bushes so worked one direction and didnt the other
was an easy enough job apart from the dash removal but yeah seems a common thing on the fiats is the power steering mine lost the bushes so worked one direction and didnt the other
Its a common fualt on the panda now and seems to start when the mileage is around 11k onwards which is why I sold my yellow one at 13k..fiat will give you some assistance to repair if you kick up one hell of a fuss with them but its to late for you now..also the power steering unit can be bought cheaper from here.. http://www.bba-reman.com/uk/index.aspx and then fixed by any competant garage and not just fiat..what you paid is absolutly extorsion and I think it might warrant a very nasty letter to fiat uk customer services..:stunned:
I always felt and still do its to do with over use of the wussy button or city button and others have the same gut feeling as well on this issue..
I always felt and still do its to do with over use of the wussy button or city button and others have the same gut feeling as well on this issue..
imported_abyss113
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my city steering is always on
I hate these eletric PS .....
If it were me i would of thrown in the bin ......
Ming
If it were me i would of thrown in the bin ......
Ming
Hmmm can't say I rember having that problem when I had the Panda.
As for the Girly Switch (City Switch) NEVER used it, steering's light enough without using it.
So I guess Ming, that's why you prefer Cinq's to Sei's, heavy steering in the Cinq's and Lighter steering in the Sei's.
As for the Girly Switch (City Switch) NEVER used it, steering's light enough without using it.
So I guess Ming, that's why you prefer Cinq's to Sei's, heavy steering in the Cinq's and Lighter steering in the Sei's.
Andi_F said:
If i have a sei i would remove the PAS
Ming
I would go as far as to say I would never buy another car that has it..my car has hydraulic power steering on it and apart from checking the fluid and belt from time to time it will rarely go wrong and I feel is the better system ..:yes4:
imported_abyss113
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its all down to preference really what happens if you forget to check the belt or fluid as i can probably say 99% of people never check it anyway and with the electric steering its more of a maintanence free system when it works
abyss113 said:
Hydralic system wins all the time ........ Less strain on the alternator and battery.
IF Hydralic system fail you can still drive the car just heavy steering.
Problem with the PAS, it could drain your battery, reck alternator, then you can;t drive home.
Ming
the steering is the one thing i dislike on seis, they have absolutley zero feeling, massivley overassisted IMO
more than once with mine i turned into a corner in the wet and had monumental understeer simply because i was going slightly faster than the car was/tyres were capable of. not that i was going fast, it was simply because i had absolutley no information through the steering as to how much grip there was in the conditions, even in the dry there was zero information
in the cinq it's simply just a lot of metal you turn with your own muscles, tells you exactly what is going on at the front wheels and you can feel where the grip is perfectly, i've yet to find a power steering setup that gives that level of feedback
i used to own a focus, which is widely regarded as having one of the best steering setups of the modern power assisted era, not as good as the cinqs non asisted for communication.
my current daily runner, the bmw has decent steering for a power setup IMO, fraction too light at high speed though and little communication at low speed.
i had the punto hgt with the more complex dual drive (aka city steering button) setup, i didnt like it, crap feedback and it weighted up at the wrong times, just felt so false.
i dont find the cinq hard to drive at parking speeds either, on standard wheels it is only slightly heavier than a proper hydraulic setup IMO. i run much fatter wheels and have zero bother turning the steering wheel even at a stop (bad driving technique, i know). and i am hardly what you would call strong.
more than once with mine i turned into a corner in the wet and had monumental understeer simply because i was going slightly faster than the car was/tyres were capable of. not that i was going fast, it was simply because i had absolutley no information through the steering as to how much grip there was in the conditions, even in the dry there was zero information
in the cinq it's simply just a lot of metal you turn with your own muscles, tells you exactly what is going on at the front wheels and you can feel where the grip is perfectly, i've yet to find a power steering setup that gives that level of feedback
i used to own a focus, which is widely regarded as having one of the best steering setups of the modern power assisted era, not as good as the cinqs non asisted for communication.
my current daily runner, the bmw has decent steering for a power setup IMO, fraction too light at high speed though and little communication at low speed.
i had the punto hgt with the more complex dual drive (aka city steering button) setup, i didnt like it, crap feedback and it weighted up at the wrong times, just felt so false.
i dont find the cinq hard to drive at parking speeds either, on standard wheels it is only slightly heavier than a proper hydraulic setup IMO. i run much fatter wheels and have zero bother turning the steering wheel even at a stop (bad driving technique, i know). and i am hardly what you would call strong.
I just use the handbrake to park, don't really notice heavy steering lol
abyss113 said:
I never forget its a weekly rutine just like checking oil/water/battery if yours isnt maintanance free..so I always have a check of brake/clutch fluids and belts as well..I also have a wipe around under the bonnet to clean up road dirt from bulk head suspension turret tops etc etc etc..keeps the car looking clean and fresh..
Mark, I know what you mean about the Sei's understeer in the wet, I get that all the time on 1 roundabout, have to crawl round it in the wet, & yet in the dry I can hammer the Sei round it.
After owning a Panda & now having a Sei, I prefer the Sei's steering to the Panda's, I found the Panda's steering very light & that's without using the stupid girly button (City Switch), in the Sei the steering's a wee bit heavier but still light.
After owning a Panda & now having a Sei, I prefer the Sei's steering to the Panda's, I found the Panda's steering very light & that's without using the stupid girly button (City Switch), in the Sei the steering's a wee bit heavier but still light.
I personally have much more confident in a car that doesn't have any assistance.
MR PANDY
Member
Have the city button on all the time or should nt i
MR PANDY said:Have the city button on all the time or should nt i
No you shouldnt..its for parking usually but really isnt needed on the panda which has very light steering without the wussy button..I always felt that switching it back and forth has had some kind of affect on it and from what I have seen on other forums its the people who use it end up having some problems with the electric power steering motor ..some owners have had sucessfull claims against fiat who have refunded moneies or supplied the motor free while labour charges have been charged..but TBO it really shouldnt be happening on a car with as few miles that some of them have recorded..