[Dazzler]

Interesting you should think that. I might have sold that persona here but in fact I'm a real softy and get trodden on all the time... "is that right dear?... ok I thought so".

You sure had me fooled ...I'm not scared of you any more 

I used to be a real softy once but not these days I can arc up a bit if the need arises..

Just a question which has bothered me while following this thread:

When you turn a corner or move from the straight ahead does the steering return return to the centre/straight ahead with hardly any intervention from yourself?

I would say self-centreing was normal. What prompts the question?

I used to be a real softy once...

Nothing I've read in this forum indicates past tense is applicable in this sentence. Who are you trying to fool?

[eye30]

I would say self-centreing was normal. What prompts the question?

If the rack was at fault then I was wondering whether the camber/toe in/toeout/geometry etc would be affected.

If so, then when the new rack/bits and bobs are fitted then all steering angles etc would have to be reset.

No one has mentioned this as yet.

I would say self-centreing was normal. What prompts the question?

If the rack was at fault then I was wondering whether the camber/toe in/toeout/geometry etc would be affected.

If so, then when the new rack/bits and bobs are fitted then all steering angles etc would have to be reset.

No one has mentioned this as yet.

I'm fairly certain that the rack replacement would not require any other than toe to be redone. The caster and camber should not have altered unless the strut was moved. Caster will be the one to have an effect of centreing.

In any case a "wheel alignment" was done but what that means in this context I dunno. 

[LuciferDarklord]

Pip, my steering 'click-clack' noise as you call it was fixed at my 60k service last week.  The service guy reckons the rack bolts needed tightening.  Its 100% fixed now and it feels so much more stable on the road and doesnt wander around.  I must have grown used to the slight wandering but now its fixed I definitely can feel the difference.  Mine is Aug 08 build del Oct 08 - i think it was the first batch with cruise and ESP standard.

[accim]

I hear some strange noises (rattles) IN my steering wheel. Especially when I'm driving slowly over crappy roads. It's like there are some plastic chips inside the wheel jumping around Is that what you've been hearing? But I know it's not the "chips" or stuff like that, because I can also hear it if my car is parked and I turn my wheel left/right quickly.

Pff I have to take my car to the service too to get it checked.

Pip, my steering 'click-clack' noise as you call it was fixed at my 60k service last week.  The service guy reckons the rack bolts needed tightening.  Its 100% fixed now and it feels so much more stable on the road and doesnt wander around.  I must have grown used to the slight wandering but now its fixed I definitely can feel the difference.  Mine is Aug 08 build del Oct 08 - i think it was the first batch with cruise and ESP standard.

Yours and mine sounds like they came from same batch then and symptom wise it also sounds similar. If they replaced my rack then I gotta assume the bolts are tight. I dunno how it mounts but perhaps the bolts bottom out or something like that and under sufficient pressure it can move ever so slightly.

I don't think I have any wander, seems to drive fine. As I said though, unless it's a placebo effect, it does feel different in the very little I've driven it since (just home from service centre, it's been parked since).

I hear some strange noises (rattles) IN my steering wheel. Especially when I'm driving slowly over crappy roads. It's like there are some plastic chips inside the wheel jumping around Is that what you've been hearing? But I know it's not the "chips" or stuff like that, because I can also hear it if my car is parked and I turn my wheel left/right quickly.

Pff I have to take my car to the service too to get it checked.

Again, your description sounds similar to what I have. It definitely sounds like there is a "wink" of play between the steering wheel and the wheels. Whether there is or not I dunno. It also (unless there are/were two different problems and one is now fixed) rattled most alarmingly on cobbled or corrugated roads. If I find the right road I'll be able to tell if that has changed with the new rack.

If you get a diagnosis be sure to tell.

[Lorian]

The EPS light will come on until the steering has been turned all the way both ways* and then the ignition turned off and back on.


*actually the specs says "more than half way" IIRC.

[LuciferDarklord]

The symptoms described here (pip and accim) sound like its the same problem.  I first noticed my symptoms around 35k if i can remember correctly. 45k service they replaced a steering shaft and universal joint (probably the same part that was causing issues in the Kia soul in the US - near the pedal box) to no avail.  It steadily worsened until it was fixed last week, at the end it was pretty bad especially as my driveway is quite rough.

Apparently the Kia Soul issue - the steering shaft parted at the universal joint, the shaft then fell down and jammed the brake pedal!  No brakes - no steering - hang on for the ride!  This was a US vehicle so it may have been made there and would have been LHD.

[Dazzler]

Here is a link to an article about that Kia Soul Issue...

http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2010/08/nhtsa-probes-2010-kia-soul-after.html

Crikey, that ride would be most unpleasant. Glad our little car has not seen that.

Trying to identify the problem we have seen, I think there is an articulated section, maybe a foot, at the bottom of the column with a UJ at each end to "bend" the column down to the rack pinion. There will need to be mounting points along the way to hold it all still. Somewhere there appears to be something that can move. LD's guy says "loose rack bolts". That might not necessarily mean the actual rack bolts as there will be several fixing points. However he has fixed it and that's the info we need to know.

Any chance LD you can get something more specific from him? Or are you sure he meant the actual rack mounting bolts?

[accim]

Yesterday, I listened to it a bit more carefully. You can hear it, when you steer to the left and drive.. Doesn't matter how much you turn the wheel, it's enough to go to "9 o'clock" or even less (if you understand) and over a smaller bump/hole and you'll hear it. I also have a feeling that sometimes you can feel it in the steering wheel as well. Like small vibrations or smth. Regarding the fact that a lot of the roads in my area, are really bad, you can easily hear the rattle, I just got used to it and thought it's normal because of the rough roads over here. I'll definitely try to take my car to the service next week to have it fixed.

I have approx 70,000 km at the moment and it started rattling quite soon. Pfff..probably at around 30,000 km? Silly me..

[Dazzler]

Hey accim.. You are a good member.. I like the way you put things..

Hope I can meet you some day..

[LuciferDarklord]

Crikey, that ride would be most unpleasant. Glad our little car has not seen that.

Trying to identify the problem we have seen, I think there is an articulated section, maybe a foot, at the bottom of the column with a UJ at each end to "bend" the column down to the rack pinion. There will need to be mounting points along the way to hold it all still. Somewhere there appears to be something that can move. LD's guy says "loose rack bolts". That might not necessarily mean the actual rack bolts as there will be several fixing points. However he has fixed it and that's the info we need to know.

Any chance LD you can get something more specific from him? Or are you sure he meant the actual rack mounting bolts?

I'm sure he meant the rack mounting bolts.  When the 'half shaft' or whatever its called was replaced it did virtually nothing to the symptoms - so I'm guessing the next component attached to the frame of the car would be the rack?  As they didnt actually replace anything its either the rack mounting bush bolts or maybe the pinch bolt that holds the spline onto the rack input shaft?  I dont really know for sure.  When I get some time I'll get underneath and take a look at the rack as I'm sure if there was play in the rack there would be some evidence of movement on the paint or the housing whatever at the rack bushes where they would have been rubbing.

[accim]

Hey accim.. You are a good member.. I like the way you put things..

Hope I can meet you some day..

Hehe, I just try to explain as much as I can, but sometimes I make it look even more complicated Huh, I'm like a woman now  

 

Yeah, I plan (ok, I hope) to go around the globe one day..maybe one day, I'll come and check that hybrid-powered thing of yours

[Dazzler]

Huh, I'm like a woman now  
 

Now you've got me worried..

Yeah, I plan (ok, I hope) to go around the globe one day..maybe one day, I'll come and check that hybrid-powered thing of yours

That would be great... 

[accim]

I was at the service today, told them about it, but it didn't seem that much of a problem to them, as I'm not the only i30 owner, with that "problem". We agreed to have it checked out at next service (80,000 km), because I didn't have much time today..

Anyawys.. Forgot to tell that I began hearing some strange noises few weeks ago (nothing wrong with me ). The car usually started making the sound when driving on highway, going around 100-140 km/h. The sound was coming from the wheels, at first I even thought I had a flat tire, but it was way too loud for that. You could usually hear it for a minute or two, than it just stopped. I thought it was the bearings, so I called them yesterday and drove the car to the service this morning. After checking it out, they said it was probably the brakes, that needed to be cleaned. They say it's done at every service otherwise (20,000 km), but they got messy again (half way to my next service 72k km). Probably because of the bad weather conditions we've had for few weeks and the chips/mud on the road. The problem was, that they just didn't completely "let go" after putting my foot off the brake so the brake pads were rubbing the discs and making the strange noise.. Drove home normally, without any strange noises, so I hope that was it