As the topic suggests. I have the message "Adaptive Steering Malfunction Service required" come up on the dashboard. If I click ok, the car seems to drive ok.

Took it to a Ford dealer who said they could find an individual part for this to replace / fix the issue, and I would need a whole new steering system at a cost of £1700.

Back story, the message cam up originally and the Ford dealer said the steering rack had sheered and they replaced it at a cost of £2500. We had not had any collisions or bumps, so don't know why this had happened. After fixing the message was still on the dashboard, they didn't have a part so I drove the car home.

Am I being fleeced here for another £1700 or is there a way of either removing the message or just replacing a module, and not the whole steering column.

Also if we did nothing would it still pass an MOT?

Yes you're being fleeced by yet another incompetent garage.

No you can't remove the message.

Yes it will fail the MOT test.

Has the new steering rack been properly calibrated ?

 

Thanks for the quick response. I wouldn't know if the rack has been calibrated. I know that they carried out wheel alignment.

Another point. When I first got the message, and started the car up, the steering wheel was set to 90 degrees to the right, so to drive in a straight line I had the steering wheel a quarter to the right. I drove it like that for about 80 miles, and did not notice any issues with driving.

I read a little on the adaptive steering, it's a shame you can't just turn it off.  I don't think it is available all all cars, so it's seems daft that they have to check for it in an MOT.

1 hour ago, Ebro said:

so to drive in a straight line I had the steering wheel a quarter to the right

That's caused by a lazy technician who can't be bothered to adjust both sides of the rack when doing wheel alignment. The new rack has to be electrically calibrated and by the sounds of what you've said so far I doubt they know how to. 

Bummer. I had the first "fix" done at a Ford dealer in Inverness, (I was on holiday) and then drove to my local Ford dealer in Winsford. The Winsford dealer said they had spoken to Ford, and couldn't find a way to fix the fault other than replace the whole steering. This seems overkill to me.

14 hours ago, Ebro said:

Back story, the message cam up originally and the Ford dealer said the steering rack had sheered and they replaced it at a cost of £2500. We had not had any collisions or bumps, so don't know why this had happened. After fixing the message was still on the dashboard, they didn't have a part so I drove the car home.

It needs to go back to the dealer that did the "so called" repair.

The cost they charged you should include complete fix, no fault lights or codes.

Contact then and get them to fetch the car back, at their cost and fix it. You should've done this straight away.

If you get no response contact FORD CRC first to see if they'll help you (doesn't matter that you have no warranty) then you will have to go through small claims court.

 

Thanks DaveT70. The dealer that did the initial repair were happy to continue with a repair, but quoted the £1700 to fix it, and as the parts were not in the country, suggested a couple of weeks before they could continue. I wanted a second opinion, it was the last day of our holiday and we just wanted to get back home.. My local dealer came up with the same price and timeline.

I have already contact Ford CRC, and their line is that as it's out of warranty, and each Ford dealership does their own thing, it's up to me to work with the dealer. Ford would not help, which was disappointing.

I was hoping there was a way of just switching the message off, by either removing the faulty module or via software code changes, as the car is fine, as long as I don't want to use the adaptive lane feature, which to be honest I wouldn't even know if it was working anyway.

If there is a cheaper way to get this fixed, I am open to suggestions.

Thanks guys.

 

 

 

If you have Forscan you could see if there's a field box in the cluster to add or remove adaptive steering.

MOT isn't actually checking the steering adaption, they're just failing it on the basis of the dash warning.

if you get Forscan and a decent lead you could check for a software update in the PSCM (power steering control module) and the SCCM (steering column control module) also perform a hard reset on both modules and reset the calibration. it might work

I am currently downloading Forscan, and will give it a try. I have a bluetooth device I had used on a mondeo a year or so ago, which should work. I will report back.

Thanks guys.

3 minutes ago, Ebro said:

I have a bluetooth device I had used on a mondeo a year or so ago, which should work.

What's the device?

It's a VeePeak ODB-II Scan tool. (VP11) ELM327 V1.5

Just ran Forscan and is suggested that the adapter was not Recommended for the car. 😞

Forscan did find some modules, TCM, PCM, APIM, DCDC, PAM, HCM and BdyCM, but neither of the Steering modules. Would that be because I need a better supported Cable?

34 minutes ago, Ebro said:

Forscan did find some modules, TCM, PCM, APIM, DCDC, PAM, HCM and BdyCM, but neither of the Steering modules. Would that be because I need a better supported Cable

Yes, if you're going to try and save money and update software yourself, you will need to purchase a full license anyway.

You will need the recommended V-Linker or OBDLink EX cable.

Do not buy a "modified" ELM 327 cable with a switch

Yup, looking to buy a "Vgate vLinker FS OBD2" from Amazon, right now.

 

Amazon have a SALE day this Friday.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vgate-vLinker-Adapter-FORScan-MS-CAN/dp/B0952P4MLP

32 minutes ago, unofix said:

Amazon have a SALE day this Friday.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vgate-vLinker-Adapter-FORScan-MS-CAN/dp/B0952P4MLP

That could be handy. My order will arrive tomorrow. I can use it, send it back, and order a half price one on Friday. Winner Winner.

23 hours ago, DaveT70 said:

Yes, if you're going to try and save money and update software yourself, you will need to purchase a full license anyway.

You will need the recommended V-Linker or OBDLink EX cable.

Do not buy a "modified" ELM 327 cable with a switch

Hi Dave, I got my V-Linker today, and plugged it in. It plenty of modules, PSCM and SCCM, which did not show errors. What did show errors were the SECM (Steering effort control) and SASM (Steering Angle Sensor). Are either of these related to Adaptive steering? If so, how do I reset them.

Dave

3 minutes ago, Ebro said:

Hi Dave, I got my V-Linker today, and plugged it in. It plenty of modules, PSCM and SCCM, which did not show errors. What did show errors were the SECM (Steering effort control) and SASM (Steering Angle Sensor). Are either of these related to Adaptive steering? If so, how do I reset them.

Dave

On the maintenance section (spanner icon) select each module and see what options are available.

Tried resetting SECM and SASM modules, but still got errors. Looks like I may need to take it to a decent mechanic to take a look.

Any suggestions for someone in the North West? I live near Northwich.

I'm a little confused here. How long ago was the original repair done that cost £2500? The shearing would have been the bolts that hold the motor to the rack. Made of aluminium and corrode until they break. 

The fault happened while we were on holiday mid June. The 1st Ford garage fixed the sheering issue, but suggested that we would need a new steering column module. They did not have one in stock, so it would have to wait a day or to for them to continue. We wanted to get back home as it was at the end of our holiday. When home we booked the car in to fix the issue that the 1st garage did not have time to fix.

The 2nd Ford garage said they had swapped out a steering column module ( G21640124) but this did not appear to stop the fault message on the dashboard. They said they had contacted Ford, who suggested a whole new steering assembly at a cost of £1700.

Having already forked out £2500 for the cost of work the 1st garage had carried out, I did not want to fork our £1700 for a whole new column as well.

I am not a car expert, hence my reach out for help with you guys. If it's possible to turn off them adaptive steering message, as I don't think we even use it, I thought it would be a cheaper option.

 

Ah, I see now. Nothing to do with the steering rack then. Ive never seen an adaptive steering on an s max. Seen them on the ford edge and they were unreliable . 

Does sound like a complete column may be required if the module didn't fix it. If a fault occurs the steering should lock up in the 1to1 ratio. 

The car drives fine. Nothing seems to have changed. I didn't even know we had adaptive steering. 

"Available adaptive steering in the Ford enhances the responsiveness and agility of your vehicle"  HAHA - I just want to turn it off, and have the display go away.

 

Just came up with this link. Seems other Fords have had similar issues.

 

Yeah, like I said edge had issues, from the day they they were imported from Canada. 

1 hour ago, iantt said:

like I said edge had issues, from the day they they were imported from Canada.

That's because Justin Trudeau insists everything is steered to the left 😉