Loopeloose

Hi I have a 2002 bugeye wrx that has developed a strange steering problem, all of a sudden my steering goes heavy when turning, for 70% of the time when driving my steering feels normal then sometimes when turning, the steering will go heavy and I will almost have to force the wheel to turn, then straight away back to light normal steering,

I've put a new belt on and it's tensioned up correctly, no problems with any of the pulleys, I have changed all the fluid and bled the system, I've jacked the car up so wheels off ground and can feel stiffness in spots when I turn the steering wheel,
Has anyone else had this problem or know what it is, I'm guessing steering rack,

mattwrxCS

iTrader: (1)

Check the UJ to the steering rack, I've had one start to seize up on one UJ plane and it intermittently went stiff when turning.

SteveKozy

Im not a lawyer but you have rights under the 2015 consumer rights act. That if you purchase a car from a dealer and it is found to be at fault within 30 days then you have a right to a refund. After that it gets a lot more complicated. However, they have responsibility for up to 6 months after purchase.

A car is described as faulty if it meets one of three legal descriptions:

1. If it's not of a satisfactory quality (meaning it's not as you would expect for a car of its age, mileage and price range).
2. If it's not fit for purpose (for example, you were told that a car is capable of towing when it is not)
3. If it's not 'as described' (equipment listed in its advert is not present).

The dealership has a responsibility for the car to be satisfactory six months after it's purchased. The three above legal descriptions still apply, and you can approach the dealer to put the faults right by either offering a refund to reflect the status of the fault, or by repairing the car at their own expense, not yours.

If they are offering a refund minus £400 and you are beyond the 30 day original limit, i'd say they are being quite reasonable. However. I guess it depends how far you want to take the matter and for that you'd need small claims court and maybe the advice of a lawyer. Good luck.

lockheed

iTrader: (1)

I had an intermittent steering problem and it turn out to be the turbo heat shied had slipped down and was interfering with steering column , im not saying that's what it is but its worth checking .

ST-X

If it's displaying these symptoms with the engine off then I'm willing to lay money down on it being the knuckle in the steering column, particularly if it's on the return through the same point. And if it's got to this point then greasing may help but it's almost certainly going to require a new knuckle. You should be able to get a WRX one for about £20 or an STI for £30. Soak in oil before fitting! It's time consuming but not especially difficult, just get a second person to hold the steering wheel straight while you align the splines otherwise your steering wheel will be off. And no, you don't need to get an alignment done after. The PAS pump if it's going is likely to exhibit groaning at parking speeds so you can probably discount that being the issue if it's quiet. Racks also tend to be more obvious if they're failing as they'll let air into the system if its seals and cause groaning, or have bits where the wheel doesn't do anything if its teeth missing. You don't say where you are but if you're central Scotland then I'm more than happy to give you a hand in fault finding, having gone through a number of these issues on my own!