Steering Problem 1.8 Petrol

[Parko]

Hi

I have recently bought a 2009 Ford Focus 1.8 Petrol with 13000 miles on the clock, from my local Ford dealer

The day I bought it I noticed that there was a constant whine from the power steering , not just when turning the wheel.It gets quite irritating when standing at the lights etc.

This model apparently has an electric power steering pump

I took it back to the dealer , who said that the pump needed changing , which they did , but this did not improve the noise !

I feel they have made a considerable effort to find out what is causing the noise to no avail , but are now backing off and saying that the noise may not be abnormal. I have sat in 4 other similar models , and none of them make such a noise.

Also the steering options on the dash menu ( Sport , Comfort & Standard ) do not seem to make any difference to the steering effort.

Has anyone else experienced this noise ? and should the Sport , Comfort & Standard optins make a marked difference to the steering ?

Any help would be appreciated

[H3lly]

The power steering hose can leak fluid. This happened to my dads mk2. The pump started making a noise, when I checked it I noticed there was no fluid and it had leaked out all over the place. Ford have a modified hose / clip to fix the issue.

[Parko]

Thanks for the reply , but there are no leaks , and the fluid reservior is full !

[mross]

You should feel a difference in the three steering modes not so much at a stand still but on the move, sport is heavier, normal is less heavy, and comfort is lightest, but you should not be hearing any loud noises from the steering system inside the car. The set up in your car is the same as mine its part electric and part conventional power steering in other words it also uses power steering fluid and a pump, the electric side is there to add resistance to your three settings sport,normal,comfort and this does make a robocop moving his arm sort of noise when moving the steering wheel at standstill (sorry that was the best way i could describe the sound it makes, try it you will see what i mean lol) The noise you are describing sounds like lack of power steering fluid, the reservoir is located underneath the offside headlight (drivers side) which you will have to remove first to take a look, make sure your on level ground and its at the max level not below and defo not above. After looking at this take off the reservoir cap start the engine and turn the steering wheel from all the way left to all the way right about 4 times each, this will bleed any air from the system. Dont forget to put the cap back on afterwards sounds daft but we have all done it. Try that and let us know if you have any joy.

[mross]

You should feel a difference in the three steering modes not so much at a stand still but on the move, sport is heavier, normal is less heavy, and comfort is lightest, but you should not be hearing any loud noises from the steering system inside the car. The set up in your car is the same as mine its part electric and part conventional power steering in other words it also uses power steering fluid and a pump, the electric side is there to add resistance to your three settings sport,normal,comfort and this does make a robocop moving his arm sort of noise when moving the steering wheel at standstill (sorry that was the best way i could describe the sound it makes, try it you will see what i mean lol) The noise you are describing sounds like lack of power steering fluid, the reservoir is located underneath the offside headlight (drivers side) which you will have to remove first to take a look, make sure your on level ground and its at the max level not below and defo not above. After looking at this take off the reservoir cap start the engine and turn the steering wheel from all the way left to all the way right about 4 times each, this will bleed any air from the system. Dont forget to put the cap back on afterwards sounds daft but we have all done it. Try that and let us know if you have any joy.

[alz]

you say "It gets quite irritating when standing at the lights" when not driving the pump will be at idle, why are you sure its the pump making the noise, you should only here it on full lock, i had a whining noise on my car and was told that it could be the water pump, in the end all it need was a new alternator drive belt £20 easy to replace, "the old one looked like new" it did look like a wast of time changing it, but it worked no more whining..it may be worth taking a look at yours.

try taking the belt off start the car and turn the wheel to see if the whining has stoped !!

[Parko]

Thanks for the replies again !

Its definitley the power steering pump making the noise , the frequency of the noise alters as you move the steering wheel, also the ford dealer who investigated it confirmed that the noise was from the power steering pump, They have changed the pump once , and bled it twice but still cant work out why it is noisy! Its possible that the replacement pump is faulty , but Ford wont supply a second replacement under warranty!

I think I am going to have to raise a complaint with the Ford customer relations centre.

[alz]

going on what you are saying, it may be that the rack is faulty, try jacking the car both sides to take the pressure off the wheels and see if there is any noise.

[mross]

I agree with alz defo worth trying that.

[artscot79]

I agree with alz defo worth trying that.

i have heard of these noises before but they usually go away after the car has broken in 13k isnt a lot of miles what was the miles on the cars you sat in.

if ford say its the pump and its been replaceed then its likely the noise is normal though perhaps an independant can find the fault

[Parko]

i have heard of these noises before but they usually go away after the car has broken in 13k isnt a lot of miles what was the miles on the cars you sat in.

if ford say its the pump and its been replaceed then its likely the noise is normal though perhaps an independant can find the fault

The noise is definitley too loud and annoying to be normal !

I am going to jack the front wheels off the ground later to day as Alz suggested .

[Parko]

On further investigation it has become apparent that this car has been involved in a front offside colision which has been repaired , but not too well ! There is some sound insulating material missing from the rear of the front wing , and if you open the front door you can see right through from by the door hinge and out of the gap under the bonnet lip !!!! Also the top of the wing by the door pillar is not attached properley.

As this car was bought as nearly new from an authorised Ford dealer I am not very happy to say the least , and am trying to get them to take it back.

Another thing I also notice is that occasionally ,soon after starting the engine , there is a loud thump form under the bonnet , Its not a metallic sound , but a bit like someone closing the glove compartment. It only happens one every few days though ! Has anyone any ideas what this might be ?

[alz]

take it back to the dealer and point out what you have found, its not like ford to sell a car in this condition as nearly new, on a “09” I would expect it to be perfect, you may have to argue to get it put right, “your argument could be that they sold an accident damaged car as nearly new”

best of luck with this, as ford dealers can be a pain to negotiate with.

[artscot79]

take it back to the dealer and point out what you have found, its not like ford to sell a car in this condition as nearly new, on a "09" I would expect it to be perfect, you may have to argue to get it put right, "your argument could be that they sold an accident damaged car as nearly new"

best of luck with this, as ford dealers can be a pain to negotiate with.

the law states that if a car has been accident damaged it is the responsibility of the seller to inform the buyer even more so if its a dealer as they are supposed tio inform you of any accidents that they are aware of that has been recorded.

they may claim it was not a recorded accident that wont wash as the car is by law meant to go through a presale check where this would and should have been noticeed .

if its definately an accident damaged car then ford do not have a leg to stand on you want rid of it these noises added to the fact there was an offside shide means suspension could be bent chassis could have a slight twist any one of a hundred things so dont keep the car

[mross]

Sorry to hear that i can imagine how frustrated you are, like Alz said take it straight back and argue it was missold to you, best of luck with this one. If you keep the car the clunking noise from the engine could well be the air conditioning compressor kicking in, is the air con on when it happens, I have noticed a similar sound on mine from time to time and its defo the a/c compressor kicking in.

[Parko]

Thanks for the replies, and the sympathy .

The car has definitley ben crashed and repaired , I found out who repaired it from a sticker on the front belly pan. I spoke to them and they confirmed that they had repaired it , but refused to give any more details.

I have taken it back to the dealer, they are taking it up with Ford , who supplied it to them ( it is an ex Ford fleet car )

They seem to be on my side so far.

The clunk could well be the A/C kicking in , possibly sounds louder due to the missing sound insulation in my car

[Parko]

Just an update

The Ford dealer I bought this car from have agreed to take it back and supply a replacement of my choice.

They ordered the car from Ford themselves as an 8 month old ex Ford fleet car . I am quite sure the dealer was not aware of its history , but I am disappointed that Ford themselves feel they can offer a crashed and poorly repaired car to their customers without any history.

Be aware ! Even if you are buying a nearly new car from a respected , well established dealer , you must inspect it as if you are buying a 10 year old car from a back street dealer.