I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: Electronic Power Steering __
When manoeuvring there is a delay in turning the wheel and the wheels moving, then on the road the wheel stays in place and with effort to move it it seems to jump and not smoothly. Its especially bad on Dual Carriageways and Motorways, but now its getting worse and more noticeable on minor roads. I’ve checked the connections and all joints/bushes which are OK.
Can the components in the rack be replaced or is it a professional overhaul?
Thanks in advance.
I think it would be a good idea to check how the ‘mechanical’ parts are behaving. With the steering lock disengaged and the engine off stand outside the car and move the steering wheel left to right and right to left and observe if the road wheels respond immediately. They should move with the slightest turn of the steering wheel.
If they don’t you need an assistant to do the steering wheel bit while you explore every joint in the system to see where the play is.
If they do it would indicate that it is the electrical assistant that is causing the problem so an OBD reader would be the next thing to do to see if any helpful codes are being created.
Hi Mad Malc
It recently went through the MOT and there were no issues within the joints and we have checked the ‘mechanical parts’ as you suggest and all behave as expected. I also have plugged into the OBD and no codes are showing. I also had all the electrical connectors apart to check in case of corrosion and all were good, i really do think its one of the electrical components within the rack sending the wrong signal to the motor.
I have researched this and it doesn’t seem to have been a problem in the past, and I’ve tried to find an independent MX garage in the South West who could look at it but to no avail.
‘When manoeuvring there is a delay in turning the wheel and the wheels moving’ Can you confirm that you have proved this statement to be untrue?
Unfortunately it may come down to being a main agent visit to see if they can help.
The complexities of the modern cars seems to preclude our best efforts of self diagnosis.
On the plus side there was a member on here who had an issue with the folding hardtop that was diagnosed and fixed by a main dealer for what seemed a very reasonable cost.
The steering angle learned by the EPS control module is cleared when 5 min. or more has elapsed after the battery negative terminal was disconnected*
If the vehicle is driven in a straight line at a vehicle speed of approx. 10 km/h {6.2 mph} or more, the EPS CM detects the steering angle neutral position automatically. Until the self-learning of the steering angle neutral position is finished, the EPS CM performs assist control based on the steering angle recognized when the ignition is switched ON (engine off or on).*
Having read the above it may be worth positioning the car in a way that you can drive it straight after first removing the battery negative terminal for 15 minutes and then replacing it.
It’s free and can’t do any harm to try just in case the system has become ‘confused’.
I can confirm that there is no delay in the steering. I will try the disconnecting the negative as suggested in the manual to see if we can retrain the EPS CM.
I’ll let you know how it goes. Also fighting my daughters Mini Cooper S with a CAS issue!
Sorry for the delay in responding but no it didn’t work. So now looking at having the rack rebuilt which we have been quoted at over £900 incl collection and return but also looking at a second hand one. It has got worst and now there is a occasional mechanical sound coming from it. The search continues for answers…
The ND is a better driving experience and corners well, the Cooper S suspension was hard and you felt every bump and lump though fun for a short time. It also tended to fart and pop a lot so very boy racer
