54 replies to this topic

[mark t]

Yeah, thinking about it, I do have this knocking noise, when I put full lock on, it can feel like one of the front wheels is loose and clonks about!

[Hook]

Just found this on Ford Etis:

06/04/10 Knocking noise from steering column when turning the steering wheel during driving and standing still
19/2010
Should a customer express concern about a knocking noise from steering column when turning the steering wheel during driving and standing still, the possible cause is missing lubrication at the sliding surfaces between the male and female tubes of the lower steering shaft.
To rectify the concern, the steering shaft should be lubricated with lubricant.
Labor Times published in this TSB are available 12th April onwards. Please refresh your Labor Master file at that day to receive the new data in your Dealer Management System. Please contact your internal system administrator.

[matbow]

i had this problem took it to ford and they sorted it no problem but the woman bhind the desk cudnt tell me what it were.

[bryfly]

Hi, Have just noticed this problem / quirk on my fiesta for the first time, has anybody had an answer to this yet from a Ford Dealer, is it something that is common to the electric power steering and needs / has a fix, or another cost reduction to far?? cheers

Managed to clear my creak by moving the steering wheel up / down and in / out, will see how long it takes to come back before i go to a dealer.....

Correction, one day latter it is back this morning !!!!!

[bryfly]

You need the correct lubricant (Part number 1 470 997) which is an aerosol can with a long tube. I wouldn't recommend using any old lube (and certainly not WD40). You'd be better popping along to the dealer and getting it done for free. For info only, the steps are:

1. Wrap a cloth around the bottom of the steering column to protect the carpet

2. Open the small 'glovebox' to the right of the steering wheel and spray the lube down into the top end of the steering column shaft

3. Move the steering wheel up and down and in and out to spread the lube. Mop up any that's leaked out the bottom end and you're done.

If this doesn't fix it, get the dealer to take a look.

Thought i would buy a can of this lubricant so phoned my dealer, price quoted £57, when i got of ther floor he added for a carton of 12 and they will not sell a can seperatly, even if they did suspect it would work out to around £5 a can for some bog standard lub that they have hidden with the ford part number...........

[AntonyJ]

Thought i would buy a can of this lubricant so phoned my dealer, price quoted £57, when i got of ther floor he added for a carton of 12 and they will not sell a can seperatly, even if they did suspect it would work out to around £5 a can for some bog standard lub that they have hidden with the ford part number...........

Ouch
I don't know what sort of lube this this, though looking around, spray lubes are about £4-6 a can, so a fiver would be OK (I bet that was ex VAT, though). Perhaps one of the board members who works in a dealership can help source this for you? Or you could chat to the service manager and perhaps get them to do this fix while you wait, rather than booking the car in for the day. It should only take them five minutes (unless further work is required) and you won't be charged for it.

[bryfly]

You need the correct lubricant (Part number 1 470 997) which is an aerosol can with a long tube. I wouldn't recommend using any old lube (and certainly not WD40). You'd be better popping along to the dealer and getting it done for free. For info only, the steps are:

1. Wrap a cloth around the bottom of the steering column to protect the carpet

2. Open the small 'glovebox' to the right of the steering wheel and spray the lube down into the top end of the steering column shaft

3. Move the steering wheel up and down and in and out to spread the lube. Mop up any that's leaked out the bottom end and you're done.

If this doesn't fix it, get the dealer to take a look.

Anybody had this fix done at their dealer, if so did it cure the creaking...cheers

[r3ign]

Anybody had this fix done at their dealer, if so did it cure the creaking...cheers

mines gone in again today, hope they can cure the problem as with me it's intermittent and ford have never found the cause of the problem. will keep you updated

[Jason Tierney]

I also have this problem, Il be going to my dealers with this and a few other nigles since the CAT 1 Alarm has been fittted(by ford) like seatbelt warning not working on passenger side but works on driver side and also the "Youve still got your headlights on" warning chime not activating when it should since the alarm.

Jay

[bryfly]

mines gone in again today, hope they can cure the problem as with me it's intermittent and ford have never found the cause of the problem. will keep you updated

~Hi, Thanks for the reply, how did you get on today at the dealer with the Creaking?

[rebecca85]

Im glad to see that im not the only one with this problem. My fiesta started creaking a couple of months ago when turning sharply at low speeds - highly annoying seems as I have to park in a multistory car park everyday. I took it in to the ford dealership where I purchased it from, and they replaced something to do with the roll bar on the drivers side which had snapped. This fixed the problem for around a month but it has started to creak again now.

[irononreverse]

My creaking seems to have reduced quite a bit now, not sure why, may be the warmer weather.

I have noticed that my suspension doesn't make the harsh noise it used to when going over the sharper speed bumps. (As tested on the speed bump at my local tescos!)

[aph1101]

Just a little update for those with this issue:

About two weeks ago, we took in our fiesta with this creaking noise. They said (after 6 hours or so) that they couldn't find anything worn or in need of replacing. They lubricated some things (they didn't tell us what exactly), and the creak went away for a few days. It came back after those few days, quiet at first, but now it is worse than it was before we took it in in the first place.

We're going to take it back to the dealers in a couple of weeks time, and hopefully they can actually find out what is wrong with it.
The car has now got about 10.5k miles on it since Oct 31st. Does anyone think the high mileage may have something to do with it?

[DunkPoole]

I too have exactly the same problem with this power steering creaking noise at low speeds. Did anyone actually get rid of it or find a fix as it didn't look as though anyone did? Took my Titanium purchased in July for its 3 month courtesy check and they said they couldnt hear it so wonder if its worth booking it in for them to investigate.

Its a strange one as if you drive up and down the road a bit then pull in for some low speed manoeuvres in a car park you can clearly hear it. If you are staitionary and full then lock left and right a few times it goes, only to come back again after driving a short distance. Its starting to drive me mad as hear it when i get to work and park in multi storey car park and then when i pull into drive at home. It does sound like a rubberised creaking sound.

[Nicola 88]

My car had this problem and I took mine back to where I bought it from and they fixed it under warranty, that was about 6 months ago and have not had a problem since