Technical Steering feeling weird

[Bellisimo]

Hello all. My wife's 2009 500c which has only done 38k has recently developed an odd feeling to the steering and some wisdom on how to proceed would be welcomed.
With engine running and car stationary the wheel feels normal when turned back and forth and has the usual tendency to want to return to the central position, however as soon as the car is moving you can 'feel' the power assistance almost 'over assisting' when any effort is made turning the wheel with a definite 'stop in assistance' as soon as driver input is relaxed yet if you removed your hands from the wheel there is no further movement on the wheel trying to return to a central position at all. This is regardless.of how much the wheel has been turned from the straight ahead position.
I have had it checked by my local garage who say they think it is the power steering motor/column at fault but the car is displaying no error code or warning light so are somewhat confused. City mode does not really affect it.
Anyone got any ideas?
Thank you.

 

[John202020]

Apologies for hijacking the thread, but my daughters Fiat 500 2015 lounges 1.2 has exactly the same issue. I have no fault codes, earth lead and suspension components are fine. Track rods disconnected and the shock assemblies move freely. Wheels have been swapped front to rear and it made no difference. I’m thinking the fault lies with the torque sensor. But I’m not convinced enough to bite the bullet.

Was there any work on the car just before it started?

 

[FiatMatt94]

I'd be inclined to check the condition off the battery itself, if it is still on it's original battery I would recommend changing it for a decent reputable brand such as Bosch, Varta etc, cheap poor quality batteries are no good for the dual drive system, the dual drive systems on all the Fiat's now use quite a lot of juice from the battery for the system to work efficiently so the slightest drop in battery voltage will effect it's performance. I had a similar issue with my Panda at just over 3 years old, I noticed a change in the way the power steering felt as it kept going light then heavy so I changed the original battery for a Varta one from Battery Megastore which solved the problem & has been fine ever since. The dual drive has been around since the introduction of the MK2 Punto in 1999 which in its early days wasn't the most reliable system as the relays & torque sensors were often problematic as the torque sensors were sealed inside the steering column so when the sensor went the entire column had to be changed which are quite expensive so a combination of that & tin worm has sent a majority of mk2 Puntos to an early grave, Fiat improved the system with the arrival of the 2nd generation Panda in 2003 as the said relays were done away with & on the later systems the torque sensors can be undone & changed without having to renewing the column, while you might still get the odd one in the newer cars from 03 on, you'll find a lot of it is to do with the condition & the quality of the battery as it is that feeds the system.

 

[Barney Rubble]

Was there any work on the car just before it started?

No, other than a service and cam belt done a few months before we bought it. We bought it like that. Didn’t really notice it on the test drive as it was on side roads didn’t get above 30 mph. Ive also fitted a new battery.

 

[koalar]

I think we need to concentrate on the OP car otherwise these threads get messy

Nearly every part of the suspension, wheels, hubs, bearings, brakes, tyres and steering can cause weird steering.

This car is unusual
It went to a garage okay
Had two new tyres
Came out feeling wrong

I’d be concentrating my time on the tyres and the tracking if adjusted

Before moving to anything else

Surly it’s up to the garage to put it back to how it was, and don’t call me Shirley.

 

[John202020]

Is it possible it's just the new tyres? Especially if different type or budget?

 

[koalar]

Is it possible it's just the new tyres? Especially if different type or budget?

Is it possible …… yes
Especially if going from soft rubber worn to slicks to hard rubber full tread

Same with tyre pressures, I just had a slow puncture recently on a panda. When the rear got low straight line steering stability was effected

And here

Steering no self centering after Abarth upgrade | FIAT 500 (2007+)

So I have upgraded my wife's 1.2 pop with Abarth rims and tyres. Now it no longer self centres and is annoying to drive. Is there and upgrade through the Multiecuscan to tells the electronic steering system what size tyres are installed? If so please let me know so i can solve this issue many...

www.fiatforum.com

 

[RalphM]

Not got CITY mode pressed active ?

 

[Bellisimo]

RESOLUTION: Ok so this turned out to be the steering rack. The main agent diagnosed it straight away but strangely said they could not do anything as the part was no longer listed by Fiat or Euro Car Parts (who are the only places they are allowed to get their parts from) - needless to say I couldn't believe parts were not available for a current model (even if it was a 2009 model).
Anyway I managed to source one off E...y brand new for £95 (it seems there was an issue with part numbers changing which may have been whst tripped up the main agent). My local chaps fitted it, the only issue being the threads in the new rack were different from the original so new mounting bolts reqd.