Yorkshire Lady

John K - here are the details - good luck. WESTERN POWER STEERING 6, Hanham Business Park, Memorial Rd, Hanham, Bristol BS15 3JE Mobile: 0117 960 2906 https://shop.westernpowersteering.co.uk/

Hello John K, Just received your message and really sorry to hear you have the same problem! I'll contact the garage who obtained and fitted the reconditioned rack and let you have the details ASAP. As far as I recall it was an engineering company in the South of England.

Hello ernieb, I take your points, but that particular part would probably have cost much less that the £750.00 I paid for a reconditioned rack. Totally agree, when I started driving in 1970 practically everything could be replaced, in fact I replaced some parts myself on vehicles over the years! The most annoying aspect of this situation is having owned 5 other Subaru's and not having any major problems, I very stupidly thought a newer model with low mileage and full Subaru service history would be equally as reliable, how foolish was I and have literally paid the price. I have absolutely no intention of changing it for an electric car !! Don't apologies for your rant - it's nothing compared with mine 🙄🤣!

Well - how annoying is this - clearly that rusty part could have been replaced!

Update: only just received the verdict from the engineering company, which is: He has stated that the Subaru steering rack suffered from a pinion torque sensor failure and that it was beyond repair. Due to the age and mileage of the vehicle, he couldn't determine whether it was due to wear and tear or a manufacturing issue. He has also stated that he has dealt with a few of these steering racks on Subaru's with the same fault, but again, can't determine what has caused this. Subaru not interested. I have a rack which apart from the above works perfectly...if anyone interested!!

Thanks for your comments. In reply to Judd. Until the rack was removed it was not known what the exact problem was and sensors were one of the possible causes. Consequently rack and sensors were tested/inspected by the engineering company and the answer lies in the photo's. They supplied a different refurbished rack and returned the old one as I wanted to see whether it was a manufacturing defective part, with a view to contacting Subaru, which it is in the opinion of various mechanics and the engineering company.. The vehicle has been serviced according to the manual by Subaru dealerships, until this year when it was serviced and MoT'd by a local garage (who service a very large haulage company recently featured on TV). The nearest Subaru dealership is in Durham and due to Covid restrictions causing a huge backlog they could not carry out a service/MoT for many weeks. As regards salt. Neither the previous owner, who I know, nor me, live anywhere near the sea, have not used the car off road and have avoided using the car in winter on salted/gritted roads unless absolutely necessary. I'm not a mechanic or technical expert any any means, but I thought the rusted pinion fitted inside the steering column. If it doesn't then why is that the only rusted part of the rack and if it does - same question.

Thanks for your speedy reply Jay762, yes will definitely let you all know what response I get from Subaru.

Thanks for your replies and apologies for late response. The car didn't fail the MoT due to steering rack problem, however the mechanic asked if I had felt some resistance when turning left and thought it could be steering rack sensors. He suggested I take it to a Subaru dealer, which I did and they diagnosed a fault with the steering rack, but it needed to be removed for inspection. Due to the cost of a new rack - as above plus removal and fitting costs - in excess of £2,000, they removed it and sent it to a n engineering company who does supply refurbished racks at a cost of £750.00 incl. VaT. This has taken two weeks from removal to collecting the XV yesterday, with a refurbished rack AND the old rack. Attached is a photo of what caused the problem and I am contacting Subaru with regard to some form of compensation! Comments much appreciated!

Just realised I posted this in the Legacy Club by mistake! I own a 2015 XV, mileage 42,000. Have been told, on dismantling, as the pinion is worn in the steering rack a new rack is needed at a cost of £1,700.00 plus cost of removal and refitting. Should this occur on a vehicle with such a low genuine mileage? Thanks.