Power Steering Issues

[dds]

I own a 2007 Honda Jazz 1.4SE which is my second Jazz. The first one I used on regular long motorway journeys and had no steering issues. However this current one does have issues with the power steering. It's a hard one to describe but when you are driving on a straight, the steering feels notchy or sticky and needs almost constant correction. The feedback from the wheel is that it gets stiff then you make a tiny correction and then suddenly it's quite light.

It really is spoiling what is a great little car but the driving experience is horrible compared to my last 2002 Jazz. I reported this to my dealer last year and they said they 'reset' the steering but that it was normal. To be fair to them it did seem to help for a while but during a long drive recently the above sensation has came back and is as bad as it was the last time. Funnily enough it was on a long motorway drive last year that the problem first occurred.

I am due to take it in for it's second service soon and will report this issue again but can anyone suggest what this might be caused by? I have been searching the net for answers and there seems to be some complaints about the electrically assisted power steering on the Jazz. A mechanic has mentioned on a forum that he has changed several steering racks due to complaints about a vagueness in the straight ahead position. Any information would be appreciated and would hopefully help the dealer diagnose the issue.

[jazz club - nice]

Later cars (2005+) have a regeared steering setup, although IMHO, the early cars were more notchy.

[JazzandJag]

I had exactly this problem with my 2007 1.2S Jazz, but normally only on long journeys when the problem would appear after approx 60 or 70 miles.

Dealer (Avonvale) replaced the steering  rack assembly under warranty a couple of weeks ago. Not been on any long journeys yet so cannot yet comment if the problem has been cured

[dds]

Cheers for the replies....I will be asking my dealer to replace the steering rack on my car. Pleased to hear that I'm not alone in noticing this and it gives me some back up when I raise the issue with them.

[JazzandJag]

I had exactly this problem with my 2007 1.2S Jazz, but normally only on long journeys when the problem would appear after approx 60 or 70 miles.

Dealer (Avonvale) replaced the steering  rack assembly under warranty a couple of weeks ago. Not been on any long journeys yet so cannot yet comment if the problem has been cured

I have now done a long journey of 100 miles each way and am glad to report that the steering is now perfect.

DDS - did you get your dealer to change the steering rack?

[dds]

Hi,
The cars going in this month for it's service and for the steering fault. It is getting worse and would be unbearable to drive on any long straight journeys. I really hope the dealer takes this seriously this time as it was handled in a very dismissive manner the last time.

I will report on how I get on.

Thanks for taking the time to update.

[houghton]

I,ve just joined the forum to see what I could find about this same fault.
It is exactly as others describe. My Jass is 2007, 23000miles the steering suspension and tracking have all been checked twice so now I am off to the dealer. I am so pleased to know that others have described the fault.

[Alphagista]

Hi folks
I'm new to the forum and new to the Honda Jazz.
It's not new but only done 18000 miles and is just 4 years old. I find myself liking everything except the steering which is the pits. i have complained on a couple of times but have been fobbed off with technical jargon. What A relief to see I'm not going senile
but am experiencing the same reluctance/resistance to move off a straight line making the normal incremental adjustments hard work.

It has not yet been resolved so any help is appreciated

Alpha

[Rabiedmushroom]

My local dealership lent me a 18 month old Jazz courtesy hack; the power steering was fine but bizarrely it had no self-centering on the steering wheel. It was safe to drive but a truely wierd experience. Going round a corner you'd have to feed the wheel back straight yourself. The technicians could not find what was causing the fault!

[dds]

Hi,
The cars going in this month for it's service and for the steering fault. It is getting worse and would be unbearable to drive on any long straight journeys. I really hope the dealer takes this seriously this time as it was handled in a very dismissive manner the last time.

I will report on how I get on.

Thanks for taking the time to update.

Well a year later than planned I finally put the Jazz in for it's second service. The car was approaching the end of it's warranty cover and I wanted to get it in, get it serviced and have the power steering issues addressed. It has only done 22k miles so couldn't justify the cost last year of this 'big' service when the car had only done about 15k miles.

So, I printed out this full thread and the dealer has agreed to replace the steering rack. I am now waiting for the dealer to contact me when the parts come in.

I'll update the post to let you all know if this fully resolves the issue the way it did for JazzandJag.

[dds]

The car was in for it's steering rack change yesterday and on first impressions the twitchy/sticky awful steering problems have been eradicated. The steering is now smooth and light, really what you would expect when driving a small car like this.

We will see how it settles down but if any of you have an inkling that your car suffers from this problem then print this thread out and show your dealer.

[RichardA]

Bump.

Please vote in the poll at the start of this topic if your Jazz has suffered from this problem. Thanks.

[dds]

Bump.

Please vote in the poll at the start of this topic if your Jazz has suffered from this problem. Thanks.

Even although it was myself who started this thread I could not vote on this poll as I couldn't say my car suffered from 'stiff' steering. That statement does not really describe the fault. If I had to use any single word to summarise, it would be notchy, sticky or vague.

[RichardA]

/\ I think we're talking about the same problem.

I did mean to mention not to vote based on the 'lack' of self-centering to steering which is a different thing altogether.

[golddigger]

Hello all - first post - hi to everyone.

weve got a 1.2s 2008 jazz.  had it from a honda dealer. only 21000miles.   6 weeks now,

weve been on two motorway long journeys - exact same problem.  like the steering is being tugged from side to side.

so ill be printing this thread and approaching my dealer. I think ill phone him first as he is pretty approachable. (hopefully)

speak soon.