Technical Total loss of power steering

[Deckchair5]

That all sounds very scary. What Stilo do you have Big Black Stilo?

Do Stilos have energy absorbing collapsible steering columns? I thought not

Were you pushing down hard on the steering wheel when braking? I would have thought you'd be pulling the thing out the dashboard not pushing.

Curious as to how it can happen that the steering wheel moves just when you need it most.

 

[Stu DemonD]

That all sounds very scary. What Stilo do you have Big Black Stilo?

A big black one, of course

 

[Deckchair5]

Right! That's it! No more Smarties for you today

 

[Stu DemonD]

Aw, I want Smarties

 

[santa]

Aw, I want Smarties

Here Stuart you can have these, but remember to brush your teeth

 

[leehndrsn]

A big black one, of course

Stilo....i hope :nerner:

 

[JTD Monkey]

That's almost got the hallmarks of some form of device pulling the steering wheel into the dash as it would in the event of an impact, to pull the wheel away from any potential chest/face impact.

I didn't think the Stilo had that kind of thing though, to be honest.

The set-up you describe is Audi's 'Procon-Ten' system that it used before airbags became common-place. It would pull the wheel away from the driver in a frontal impact, and for this reason would not work with an airbag (which needs the steering wheel to remain fixed).

What I suspect happened is the steering wheel was not 100% locked, for whatever reason, when it was last positioned. The force of the braking means the mass (through your arms) of your upper body put enough pressure on the poorly-locked wheel to send it forward at such a pace (and 'bang') that something in the electrics got confused. I wouldn't worry if everything works fine now, just make sure the wheel is 100% located

 

[StiloBoy]

I know the precon 10 thing pulled the wheel into the dash, which is why Audi dropped it, even though it was actually better than an air bag (afterall, i'd rather get hit in the face with nothing than a red hot bag of air which may or may not still be expanding).

But don't cars still have colapsable steering columns? Afterall if you have a massive front impact the steering rack could be pushed back, even if your far enough way from the wheel before the crash it could be right up against you afterwards.... and if an airbag killed you they'd get pulled from the markety pretty quickly.

 

[Deckchair5]

There's been a few fatalities caused by airbags which is what all the rear facing child seats and being able to swich off passenger air bag has been all about. Smaller persons who have to sit closer to the wheel have been killed to say nothing of the ones which go off prematurely. I think early Stilos had premature side air bag deployments

http://www.carsfromitaly.com/fiat/fiat_stilo.mpeg
Watch the steering column on this Stilo crash test.

 

[ian stilo 1.6]

burn ur face then stick ur head into the wheel mmmmmm
one solution dont crash

 

[JTD Monkey]

I know the precon 10 thing pulled the wheel into the dash, which is why Audi dropped it, even though it was actually better than an air bag (afterall, i'd rather get hit in the face with nothing than a red hot bag of air which may or may not still be expanding).

Airbags are also designed to slow the deceleration of the head by deflating when the head impacts it, Procon Ten does not offer this option, although it was a brilliant idea

But don't cars still have colapsable steering columns? Afterall if you have a massive front impact the steering rack could be pushed back, even if your far enough way from the wheel before the crash it could be right up against you afterwards.... and if an airbag killed you they'd get pulled from the markety pretty quickly.

The steering columns do collapse, but the upper section remains 'fixed'. The idea being that if parts in the engine bay move the base of the column back, the top of the column is unaffected.

Other than people putting rear-facing child seats in front of airbags that are still active, pretty much all of the deaths by airbags are caused by people hitting them prematurely (i.e. when they 'explode') which snaps the neck. This happens for 3 reasons.

1) The impact is so massive the steering column moves too much. In such instances the person would have died with or without an airbag

2) People who sit too close to the steering wheel are too close to the airbag. Invarioubly, this is short people who need to reach the pedals. They fail to understand they need to move the seat upwards and then recline the backrest so their body is as far as possible away. My wife is 5' 3" and in order to sit with her arms reasonably stretched she reclines the backrest quite far. When I get in I can barely reach the wheel!!

3) People who don't wear seatbelts. I am amazed in this day and age that idiots don't wear them. In America many people are killed in this manner because in certain parts they refuse to wear seatbelts

Early airbags could kill because they did not deflate, so people would pass-out and then suffocate. This has been resolved by the airbag deflating, which also helps the strain on the neck and back

 

[moogs]

Sounds scary that, dude.
Blimey.
My Stilo used to do something weird where there was no accleration - being drive by wire sometimes when pulling away from junctions suddenly nothing, until you lifted off then tried again.
Sadly the Fiat dealer didn't seem to understand my complete aversion to driving it and wouldn't see it straight away.
Like your fault, went away, and so far never returned.

 

[GreySquirrel]

I read somewhere (can't remember where exactly) that for every four people an airbag saves it is the cause of one death.

 

[Deckchair5]

Fact 1:Almost all driver deaths caused by airbags (and there are hundreds) were caused because the driver didn't have their seat belt on.

Not enough is done to make drivers aware that the seat belt is THE primary safety feature and the air bag is there to prevent facial/upper body injuries on the steering wheel and windscreen. Without a seat belt on the driver is thrown onto the steering wheel which is inflating at 200mph! Besides breaking your neck it causes burns and can easily blind you but not,we hope, provided you have your seat belt on. Wear your seat belt guys!

Also there are plonkers who drive along with their hands holding just the centre steering wheel segment and they recieve broken wrists when the air bag goes off. Hold the steering wheel properly

Fact 2 Small people also don't seem to know that they need to sit at least 12ins away from the steering wheel or they may recieve facial injuries and broken neck from the air bag deploying

Fact 3: Most air bag systems only go off on a severe frontal impact eg being rear ended will receive no benefit from air bags deployment

Fact 4 More injuries are caused to front seat passengers as their bag has to be bigger and deploy fast. What do passengers instinctively do when seeing imminient collision? Of course, put their hands up. BANG! Broken arms,fingers and wrists. Crash dummies don't prepare for imminent collision like real people

Fact 5 The highest numbers of incidents and the worst of all injuries are to children. Unsuitably restrained, placed in the wrong type seats, wrong child seat put in front seat, front air bag deploys........... :bang:

Fact 6 The air bag has got to be deflating BEFORE the occupants head touches it