So yesterday, I was driving home from school, and had to drop off a friend. I was driving normally and like I usually do. When I was getting closer to my home, I noticed that after a turn, the steering response felt different than it had about a minute before.

Usually my steering is precise, fluid, and responsive when I move the wheel. Now, however, it is slightly harder to turn the wheel, steering is more sluggish, and the response and movement of the wheel is slower, and is somewhat "sticky" when I move it small amounts.

I don't know what caused the problem, or what the source of it is. My car is still drivable, but the steering just feels different (as described above). I have driven cars without power steering, and I would say that the way the wheel is now, it feels like its somewhere in between power and no power steering. I checked the levels of the power steering fluid, and it's fine.

So once again, my steering is somewhat sluggish, less responsive, and "sticky."

Any input would be appreciated.

 

tire pressure? do you have a flat?

 

No, I do not. My car is maintained regularly, and this is both a surprise to me and my dad, who is a mechanic.

My tC is an 08, with around 1250 miles on it. I figured that I would just take it in to get its first 'real' service, and inquire about this problem.

 

Does it feel as if it catches almost then frees up sometimes as you turn the wheel? Just seeing what you meant by sticking. If that is the case, a bad rack and pinion can feel that way sometimes.

Any whine from the power steering pump when it is happening? Is there plenty of power steering fluid in it?

 

why doesnt your dad check it out then?

 

There is plenty of fluid in the power steering resevior, and there is no hiss. The wheel in general has more resistance when turning. It is also slower to return back to its center, nuetral position. <-this is what i meant by "sticky."
Other than this and what I've said before, this is all of how I can describe it. You would need to drive a stock tC (handling-wise) and then drive mine, to feel the difference.

I should have phrased that better. He will check it out, but I meant that when I told him about it, he did not really understand as to why this happened - thus he will need to look at it (which has not been done yet).

 

check your alignment, specifically the caster...

 

i have a similar issue but mine came after the car got damaged. everything was replaced in the suspension on the left side front. and now the steering is alot tighter feeling. when i turn the wheel it takes more effort and when i let go of the wheel after turning it unwinds only to a certain point. however i cant say the steering is slow. its actually much more direct. if i turn the wheel in small increments away from neutral it wont unwind itself. i was told it was the caster as well but im still sumwhat unsure.

 

are u braking and turning? it effects the traction and steering.

 

Wow....Am I really that stupid - no. Obviously you need to brake before a turn, but not for every turn. I'm not slamming on the brakes and turning at the same time, and I'm not racing where braking and turning need to be two fluid, but different steps. I never said that I'm experiencing understeer or skidding due to braking while turning. If you read what I said, I said that the wheel, in general (that includes every aspect of driving and turning) offers more resistance when I go to turn it.

 

As a matter of fact, my steering sounds a lot like AcrimoniousBear's, however I did not notice a difference if it now has more, or less direct steering than before. My car hasn't been in any accidents, so I don't know how the caster of the wheel could could have been affected. It will be something I will check out, though.

I ran a diagnostic of my car's systems (including power steering), and nothing is out of the ordinary, except for "tire number 4" which has a psi of 35.2 where tires 1-3 have a psi of 33.2. So I need to find tire 4 and adjust its pressure.

 

i said that because breaking uses some of the engines power same with the power steering. that may explain the turning. but guess not.