Hi I'm new to this site, wanted to know if anybody else has had same problems as me.

My car is a 56plate new off the forecourt. Within the first couple of years I had AA and Greenflag out to my car 11 times. Battery problems. absolutly flat on a morning. I was advised to take it back to garage, they weren't interested saying there was nothing wrong with the battery. well AA and greenflag had powered it to get me started. I asked them to change it but that would put me in the 'Gray area' with the warrenty. after 3 years I gave up and changed the battery myself, I need a reliable car.

Then the power steering broke the car sounded like the number 49 bus. It hadf only 19000 on the clock. Had a new one fitted [ 6 months out of warrenty] expensive. 8 months later power steering went again. After a lot of arguing Ford changed it but warrenty would only continue on from the first one been fitted. We are now 4 months from the 2nd new one been fitted and guess what bus sound back and power steering gone again. I have only done 22000 on clock. Thankfully Ford going to change it. How long will this one last, who knows. Even debating changing my car. Has anybody had similar problems.

The flat battery problem affected many early smax's. It is cured by a software update.

Your dealer should know this - its covered in a TSB article.

As for the power steering - do you have a diesel or petrol?

Hi sorry it took so long to reply I couldn't get onto the site.

Thank you for replying to my quiery. The company would not do anything for my battery and they never mentioned anything about softwear.

The car is Diesel. It was in at the garage this week but they said they wouldn't do anything with it, as it was 'just noisey'. So unless I pay for a

new power steering I'm stuck with the noise. Needless to say the money well out weighs the noise.

JMartin

Not sure what you did, but I've had Power Steering troubles with my 08 SMAX and had a new pump under warranty last year, then after a few months (out of Warranty) strated whining again, one garage advised Power Steering Rack and took it to another who changed the Power Steering Reservoir and flushed.

Hopefully sorted for good, but will keep you posted!

2008 smax 90k miles. Power steering whining like a mule 400 miles after buying from garage in Leicester, my mechanic is currently flushing out existing fluid and replacing bottle and fluid. I have been told 50% chance this will fix the issue. If not then apparently power steering rack has to be replaced at a cost of 800 euro plus labour.

Any thoughts from anyone? Will update on the outcome. I have 3 months warranty but am in west of Ireland, garage in Leicester

Fingers crossed for us both!

what about the warrenty on the car ?,i know you said your 400 miles away,but if it is the rack thats a big spend on a new to you 2nd hand car.

There is a filter in the pas reservoir which blocks and causes the whining noise. Most of the time u can just replace the bottle and flush the system to fix it, but if the pump has been starved of fluid it can cause it to fail.

There is a filter in the pas reservoir which blocks and causes the whining noise. Most of the time u can just replace the bottle and flush the system to fix it, but if the pump has been starved of fluid it can cause it to fail.

This sounds feasible, it's a shame not all Ford Dealers are aware of this. Mine is still okay after 2000 miles. Hopefully this post will help other S-Max owners.

Hi can anyone tell me where abouts the steering wheel pump gos on a ford s max 1.8 08 plate ?many thanks

Can any body help I've had my ford smax in the garage first had crank shaft oil seal done that caused the powered steering to fail. After a £1000in parts,  steering rack pump res bottle full flush and new fluid still hard to turn.

I am pulling my hair out and the garage is a waist of space.

Can any body help I've had my ford smax in the garage first had crank shaft oil seal done that caused the powered steering to fail. After a £1000in parts,  steering rack pump res bottle full flush and new fluid still hard to turn.

I am pulling my hair out and the garage is a waist of space.

I've had similar issues, although on my '07 S Max, at either end of the steering travel I can hear quite a loud hissing sound. This indicates possible air in the system so I'm going to bleed the power steering system and possibly looking at replacing the reservoir as mentioned above, to rule out a blocked filter. Hopefully that will make the noises go away, as well as the occasional difficulty in turning / very heavy steering, often at full lock positions or when trying to turn when stationary, or less than 2mph. Once my new reservoir turns up, I'll post pics and the procedure from the trusty official garage manual.

A new reservoir with filter will set you back £44.33 (incl VAT and free shipping) from the main Ford Parts website, or you can get them from the Arnold Clark eBay shop who also sell genuine Ford Stock items for £42.56 with free postage.

Failing that I may have to look at replacing the power steering pump. You can find these on eBay for between £80 - £536.85 so make sure you choose wisely! I've had success so far with eBay's 'My Garage' facility to make sure parts are compatible with mine. Ford Parts will sell you one for £670.44. It is a fairly easy job to do yourself if you are confident with jacking the front of your car up and removing the front right wheel to get access to a few bolts. Just remember you'll need a pressure pipe union o-ring seal.

My 06plate smax pwrsteering went on Friday, not had any jitter or noises. Just stopped working AA pulled up 2 codes something about steering malfunction and software update issue. Is there any garages that can update software other than ford?? Or is it another issue I've read up on a problem with the racks and if I replace the pump (Ehpas) it will need coding anyways. I'm stuck now, love the car but don't wanna spend more than its worth.