Jump to content

Twitchy steering


Recommended Posts

Hello all

I have a 2010 (60 plate) diesel 

the steering feels a bit twitchy driving around town and on uneven surfaces (all tarmac)

Half the time the steering feels ‘normal’ the rest of the time it’s like I’ve gone over a patch of ice and the steering goes very light.

if I drive over a bump or pot hole the car wants to turn in that direction 

one garage checked all the bushings etc and said it all looked good

another garage said it might be the diff winding up as there were different tyres being used (all the same size). As I was getting new tyres anyway I got 4 of the same put on but that has made very little difference

has anyone had a similar problem and found a solution?

thanks very much

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Got the car back yesterday and the mechanic said.......

he he could find nothing wrong

he checked (and I stood next to him in the inspection pit) everything suggested on this forum (and the other 2 I posted on).

there might be a very small amount of play on the rear bushes (one of them) but I’m yet to find out how much this would cost to replace.

he said it didn’t feel too bad to him

either I’m too sensitive(which would be a first) or this is how these foresters drive. Either way I don’t think this is the right car for me.

anyone want a Forester?

thanks for all of your help

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So the latest

a local garage could only find one fault 

one of the bushes on the drivers side rear trailing arm had a small amount of play and he said that while it might not be the cause of the problem it would certainly not be helping. He said he would have to get the part from Subaru and would call with a price

after a couple of days and no word from the garage I called my local Subaru garage and inquired about the bushing. As he sounded like he knew what he was talking about I explained the situation so far. He offered to fit the bushes and then try to diagnose the fault.

i took the car over the next and had the work done while I waited. When he returned he told me that he had found the cause of my problem. It was...........

the steering rack

when they plugged the car into their SSM fault code reader is came back with 

“found fault code 42 which is referring to can error. Most likely cause is the steering rack but possible for the controller to be faulty”

all in it it will cost £1278.75

now I have only owned the car for less than 2 months so I’m back to the car lot where it came from. They ‘should’ repair the car at their expense but they are already being awkward.

I'm taking it back on Monday 20th so fingers crossed

if anything else happens I’ll post it

thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Siluro

the Subaru man told me that generic code readers can’t see this fault

im glad a fault has been found at least now I know that I’m not going mad

the ‘car lot’ are legally responsible to repair the car or refund the money

on a positive, the AA did a car inspection and the lot is affiliated with the AA. When I called them they said that the lot should fix the car and if there is a problem they would get involved and act as mediators. 

So hopefully I’ve got some ‘back up’ when dealing with these shady guys

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ahh yes generic reader fair enough. At least you are not going mad as you say. Sounds like you will be ok and you can enjoy Subaru life (except the bad start).

Shady, do you think they knew, did you buy it like that then?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Siluro 

when I test drove the car it would crunch when I put it into 3rd but not if I was shifting slowly and deliberately. The salesman said he had driven it and it was fine, so I thought it may just be my style of driving?

At the same time the front left wheel was out of balance (possibly due to a new tyre being fitted on that corner) and the steering felt ‘odd’. The salesman said the steering might feel different to normal because it was a 4x4!

As it came with a months warranty I thought I would take it home, pay for the wheels to be balanced and get on with life.

i didn’t mention the shifting issue to my wife. She took the car out and when she came back, said it was tricky to get into 3rd so I knew that had to be fixed.

long story short, the car lot either refurbished or replaced the gear box and it’s spot on

The rest of the saga is above 

when I called them yesterday they were telling me that I should have taken out the extended warranty and that things wear out on old cars. They said I would need to take it back to them to take to one of their mechanics, it could be a couple of weeks and they don’t have a curtesy car available 

They tried to put me off and made it awkward to get it looked at but I managed to work around them and got a date booked.

my concern is that they will claim there is no fault. With what has been diagnosed, there is no visible damage to the rack and a generic reader would not pick up on the fault code.

From my experience with the car lot so far, they keep their ‘eyes on the penny’s’ and will be in no rush to take it to Subaru for a diagnostic at £100 an hour never mind £1200 to fit a new rack.

‘Shady’ might not be a fair term to use but what ever the outcome I’ll not be buying a car from them again

so far it’s been hard work dealing with them

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Latest so far

took the car back to the car lot on Monday and called this afternoon for an update

they told me the car was ready for collection

because they could not find a fault!

despite me taking in the diagnostic report from a Subaru dealership!

now the AA are involved and will hopefully get things done

lets see what’s next.........

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

So after almost 3 weeks of mediation we can’t reach a resolution 

They will refund the asking price, minus £400 for usage. Which I would deem fair if the car did not have an airbag fault resulting in a manufactures recall, rendering the passenger seat useless and dangerous.

Any legal professionals out there that can help would be appreciated 

Thanks very much

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share






×
×
  • Create New...




Forums


News


Membership


  • Insurance
  • Unread Content
  • Support