Gustavo Martins

Hello,

My '98 Impreza Turbo steering wheel trembles when cornering in rough road surfaces (happens since it was brand new). This trembling occurs either at low and high speeds.

At the Subaru service they say that this is normal and that this is due to the steering box backlash that "must be preserved in order to the steering unmake the cornering"!!!! They even say that "Subaru does not recommend to tighten the steering box because it can cause the steering to lock"!!!

Sincerely I find this very suspicious and I would like to know if anyone experienced such a problem and how to solve it.

Tnxs,

Gustavo Martins

Stef

Surely on rough surfaces the whole bloody car trembles!
Or maybe your steering wheel's scared of rough bends....have you tried reassuring it?

Stef.

[This message has been edited by Stephan (edited 03-11-1999).]

Gustavo Martins

Well, decidely that's not the kind of answer I was expecting to solve my problem... ;-)

Anyway, even on tarmac the steering trembles when cornering in power. The tremble makes a "thunk thunk" noise near the steering wheel...

Waiting for help... yet. ;-)

Gustavo

Tim Bomford

Sounds like your front suspension has worked itself loose under the bonnet. Check the area where the struts are visable above wheels, there should be no play. Could be wrong though
Tim

Gustavo Martins

Humm... I dont't think my front suspension has worked loose because I have been feeling these steering trembling since the car was brand new (0 Km)...
Furthermore I had the struts checked at the Subaru dealer, and they reported no problems.

They say that the cause is the backlash that the Impreza (MY98) steering box has and that this behaviour is normal!!!

Maybe the dealer is avoiding to provide me warranty service?!?!?

Gustavo

AlexM

Hi,

I also have a MY98, and all I can say is that my car doesn't do anything like your description of the problem.

If you don't have luck with your dealer, ask for an inspection from your importers technical representative. This is the procedure with Subaru UK - I'm not sure what the equivilant is in Portugal.

I would try to convince the dealer to replace the rack under warranty, claiming a leak'or similar for warranty purposes. The dealer won't try too hard to avoid making warranty claims if portugal is like the UK, as any claims are underwritten by the importer, so the work costs the dealer nothing. Have you tried comparing to another MY98?. Above all, be persistant.

Rgds,

Alex

Gustavo Martins

Thank you Alex!

I will follow your advise since now I have a positive statement that that steering behaviour is NOT "normal" to the MY98 Impreza.

I will now hard press my Subaru dealer to solve this situation!

Regards,

Gustavo

Adam M

Have you tried something simple like having your wheels rebalanced. The symptom is normally a shaky steering wheel, more noticeable at high speeds but hey, its just a thought.

Gustavo Martins

Well, it doesn't even pass through my mind the car not being brand new when I bought it, because the ODO marked 3Km and I bought it from an official portuguese Subaru dealer. Apart from this trembling, aparently "normal" to the Subaru dealer,it had no other problems and no sign of already have been used.

I also think it is not a problem of unbalanced wheels because the car rides ok at the HighWay, and the trembling I'm speaking of is not the same sort of the one caused by unbalanced wheels. This trembling only occurs when cornering in power on uneven tarmac (and sometimes even on good tarmac surfaces!)and is followed by a clunking on the steering wheel (column?!?).

Anyway, I was only trying to know if this problem really was "normal", as stated by my Subaru dealer, and if I had to live with it.
Your replies seem to prove that this is not a "normal" Impreza behaviour and I will now be much more confident to hard press my Subaru dealer to solve this situation!

Thank you all!

Gustavo

P.S. - Stephan: I will try not to put a nose on my smilies anymore


[This message has been edited by Gustavo Martins (edited 05-11-1999).]

Stef

Gustavo.

Did your car really have no miles on the clock when it was brand new?
Wow! You're a lucky man aren't you?

Stef.
PS My MY98 doesn't clunk or tremble either.
PPS Don't put a nose (-) on your smilies, they look silly! :-)