Steering problem

[Moody]

i've heard that sound from the steering and it happens at slow speeds with the wheel turned hard over. did anyone find the cause?

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[jc1804]

i've had the same noise, it was at the dealer for trans work & I told them about it, they couldn't verify. still has noise low speed & hard turn

 

[[email protected]]

Seems like a PP thing, mine has done similar cold tires?

 

[Walle81]

I'm having issues with my steering wheel when I make a tighter left turn above 25mph between 7 o'clock and 11 o'clock position! Freaked me out the first time I felt it, it basically locks and you have to jerk the wheel back to break it loose!!! I took it to the local Ford dealership for that, for my driver door which sticks out at the bottom rear about 3/16" and the white stitching on the front seats is turning yellow and brown! The dealership says they'll have a body shop fix the door, took pictures of the seats and they're waiting on Ford to reply. I've read that other folks had their seat covers replaced. Now, as for the STEERING WHEEL MAJOR ISSUE, the technician said he drove it and didn't experience what we had!!! Little did he know we have a dash cam in it and when we looked all he did was barely jiggle the wheel going down the freeway! The left turns he took AFTER we told him again that it happens in tighter left turns, were wide left turns nowhere near the 7 - 11 o'clock position we told him! After we picked up the car we took it out again and made some tighter left turns and sure enough it did it and we captured it on video! It's actually pretty bad, the wheel locks! This is a huge safety concern!! I'm frustrated and even more now that I've called them again and haven't received a call back.... I will be calling a different Ford dealer tomorrow.
Anyone else have this issue??????
Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

[Mellow]

I'm having issues with my steering wheel when I make a tighter left turn above 25mph between 7 o'clock and 11 o'clock position! Freaked me out the first time I felt it, it basically locks and you have to jerk the wheel back to break it loose!!! I took it to the local Ford dealership for that, for my driver door which sticks out at the bottom rear about 3/16" and the white stitching on the front seats is turning yellow and brown! The dealership says they'll have a body shop fix the door, took pictures of the seats and they're waiting on Ford to reply. I've read that other folks had their seat covers replaced. Now, as for the STEERING WHEEL MAJOR ISSUE, the technician said he drove it and didn't experience what we had!!! Little did he know we have a dash cam in it and when we looked all he did was barely jiggle the wheel going down the freeway! The left turns he took AFTER we told him again that it happens in tighter left turns, were wide left turns nowhere near the 7 - 11 o'clock position we told him! After we picked up the car we took it out again and made some tighter left turns and sure enough it did it and we captured it on video! It's actually pretty bad, the wheel locks! This is a huge safety concern!! I'm frustrated and even more now that I've called them again and haven't received a call back.... I will be calling a different Ford dealer tomorrow.
Anyone else have this issue??????
Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Mine doesn't lock but I have noticed when making certain left turns when the steering wheel is turned around 120 to 180 degrees it feels like it sort of "hangs" and doesn't naturally want to return to center. The hanging actually feels like it want to turn the wheel more and when I feel it happen I have to apply just a slight counter steer and everything is normal. The steering has never been non-responsive just feels like there is a "dull" spot in it that won't center .

I wondered if it had to do with the double ball joint type suspension that is in the front of the S550. If you look at this video of a Pontiac G8 with a similar suspension ( [ame] )you can watch the suspension caster change as the wheel turns. I have heard over on the BMW forums that this type of front suspension, which BMWs have used for awhile, has some variable effects on steering return to center feel.

Im not sure if this is related to what you are feeling but it sounds similar but with yours being more drastic.

 

[yellowragtop]

go verify that the front end is in perfect alignment. perhaps that would fix it ? maybe the dealer will check this for free. it is possible a different camber setting would fix the issue also. i assume camber is adjustable since it has struts. I have a feeling the double-ball joint setup requires that the alignment be "just right", or a problem can happen.

If for any reason your car has a bent inner/or outer tie rod (even if the car is aligned), this could also be causing a steering issue but you probably don't have that problem.

 

[Walle81]

Mine doesn't lock but I have noticed when making certain left turns when the steering wheel is turned around 120 to 180 degrees it feels like it sort of "hangs" and doesn't naturally want to return to center. The hanging actually feels like it want to turn the wheel more and when I feel it happen I have to apply just a slight counter steer and everything is normal. The steering has never been non-responsive just feels like there is a "dull" spot in it that won't center .

I wondered if it had to do with the double ball joint type suspension that is in the front of the S550. If you look at this video of a Pontiac G8 with a similar suspension ( )you can watch the suspension caster change as the wheel turns. I have heard over on the BMW forums that this type of front suspension, which BMWs have used for awhile, has some variable effects on steering return to center feel.

Im not sure if this is related to what you are feeling but it sounds similar but with yours being more drastic.

Thanks much Mellow!! Dropping it off Monday so hopefully it'll get fixed!!

 

[Walle81]

go verify that the front end is in perfect alignment. perhaps that would fix it ? maybe the dealer will check this for free. it is possible a different camber setting would fix the issue also. i assume camber is adjustable since it has struts. I have a feeling the double-ball joint setup requires that the alignment be "just right", or a problem can happen.

If for any reason your car has a bent inner/or outer tie rod (even if the car is aligned), this could also be causing a steering issue but you probably don't have that problem.

Thanks for the response and advice!! Dropping it off Monday and heard back from Ford Service on this forum so hopefully they'll figure it out and get it fixed!

 

[chris_5oh]

Ever find out what it was? I'm having this problem now

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