Power Steering Failure!

R0B75

R0B75

R0B75

Soldato
Joined
15 Aug 2003
Posts
5,867
Location
Burton-upon-Trent
Yesterday I had the worst experience in a car I've ever had.

I was turning into the juntion of a fairly narrow road and half way into the turn in 2nd gear my power steering failed for 3-4 seconds causing me to cross over the wrong side of the road. I nearly **** myself as had there been cars waiting to come out of that junction I would have hit them, no question. I stopped on the wrong side of the road and the engine was definitely still running and the steering just came back to life.

It was a very weird and scary moment that's for sure.

Will this happen again? Should I get it checked out? What is likely to have caused this???

If it helps I have a 96 VW Polo.
 
slippy belt?

used to happen in my golf at the worst of times. but it will be PAS, just meaning that you have to force the rack ...which is a lot harder.

now you know what it feels like you will be able to counteract it with more force.
 
Sorry, I should have said I know nothing about cars so the term slippy belt means nothing. I am a total car n00b.
 
My old '93 Golf did that once, just for a few seconds as I was doing a ''U'' turn. It was a very wet day(Standing water) and water had got onto the power take off belt as I heard it squeal a little.The under tray of the engine had moved and was alowing water to spray up onto the underside of the engine.Check that and the fluid level as if it is low it may slosh to one side when turning
 
merlin said:
Are you sure you didn't just lose front end grip?
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No I was going quite slowly as it's a tight turn. It felt like someone was holding the steering wheel and stopping me from turning it.
 
Daft question - Have you checked your tyre pressures? That's happened to me on a mini-roundabout before. The cause was a seriously low pressure on one front wheel (drivers side as it happens). Result was I exited off the roundabout and carried on into wrong side of road! Brown trousers were most evident!!
 
RoB- said:
No I was going quite slowly as it's a tight turn. It felt like someone was holding the steering wheel and stopping me from turning it.
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the belt is slipping then.

basically there is a pump, driven by a belt. the belt is driven by the engine.
the pump keeps pressure in the power steering system.

it is a bias system (correct me if I am wrong) and basically the pump produces pressure, which in turn aids you in turning that heavy old VW steering rack.

if the belt is slipping on heavy turning (or when it is worn and wet) then the pump will not produce the same system pressure. if there is no pressure you are turning the steering rack with out any assistance (PAS - power assisted steering)

so that is why it feels like someone is holding *** steering wheel. could just need tightening. could need a new belt.

I assume it was a heavy turn, albeit at low speed this infact is the usual case of belt slip.
hard corner (i.e. parking) low speed. belt slips. = heavy steering.

unless of course there is a loose fluid connection...meaning that under heavy load it will leak fluid and thus loose pressure for that time. better get it checked out. any VW specialist will put their finger on the problem within a short time.

hope this helps.
 
Baggy said:
Daft question - Have you checked your tyre pressures? That's happened to me on a mini-roundabout before. The cause was a seriously low pressure on one front wheel (drivers side as it happens). Result was I exited off the roundabout and carried on into wrong side of road! Brown trousers were most evident!!
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sounds like your tyre folded.
not the case here as he was going slow. but a scary tihng non the less. happened in my metro on a country lane, just plain old ended up in the other lane. fun fun fun.
 
I have a 96 VW Polo GLX.. gonna have to be more careful with this and the slippery road thread.. not looking forward to xmas driving after uni.. :(
 
My dad lost his power steering in a Vectra whilst maneuvering in a car park. After talking to the dealer it turns out that when the engine isnt doing a lot and the steering is, ie turning lots in confined spaces, the power steering motor can turn itself off as its not getting enough power. Restarting the engine reset the steering and it righted itself...
 
If the revs drop down quickly to below idle levels, my powered steering goes very weak. It's only an issue for me though if I'm maneuvering. If I went into a tight slow corner in a too high gear, it'd probably to the same, but I don't and I don't fancy trying it.
 
When I had the oil/filters changed and new plugs etc it was checked then and was fine. That was a few months ago.
 
Mat said:
My dad lost his power steering in a Vectra whilst maneuvering in a car park. After talking to the dealer it turns out that when the engine isnt doing a lot and the steering is, ie turning lots in confined spaces, the power steering motor can turn itself off as its not getting enough power. Restarting the engine reset the steering and it righted itself...
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I've never heard that one before, but then again Vauxhall dealers do come out with a load of crap at the best of times...
 
dirtydog said:
I've never heard that one before, but then again Vauxhall dealers do come out with a load of crap at the best of times...
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Ive only heard of one other person say the same thing and that was a driving instructor who said thiers cut out in a Corsa when students did a lot of bay parking.
 
My instructor cancelled one of my lessons because the power steering failed on the Corsa he had.
 
Mat said:
Ive only heard of one other person say the same thing and that was a driving instructor who said thiers cut out in a Corsa when students did a lot of bay parking.
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Sounds like a fault with the car though doesn't it? Because by design, if the load on the engine (from PAS, aircon, electrical equipment) makes the revs drop then the ECU should compensate. I've driven Vectras and Cavaliers and never noticed the PAS cut out while the engine is still running. If it did, there is a fault. In my experience Vauxhall dealers are useless.
 
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