questions from owner of my first jazz 1.4 SE

[fashionphotography]

right just picked up this jazz..
2007 with 63000miles full service history..
now 2 things ive noticed although after scouting this forum before i purchased it. i know about the gearbox problem etc .. when i saw the car first i thought lovely and quiet with the clutch down or not.. just drove it up the lane . nothing far.. now while i was driving it back it appears to of adopted that peugeot cambelt whine? (yes i know its a chain lol) but thats what it sounds like mostly first and second..but its a buzzing . not over loud but noticable.  second thing is the steering.. strange tightness to it. as in iff your cruising through roads say about 40mph you have to keep correcting it as it sticks in the direction your going.. almost like the column shaft was tight as example.. ii parked ok.. its more at speed its noticable..
any ideas folks ? on both these issues.

what i will mention is when i picked it up  the battery was dead lol.. he said the mechanic must of left something on hmmmm. but said he will get me a new battery if it does it again. so im thinking i know the FIAT electric power steering can suffer intemittent stickyness iff the battery output is low ..
when it started as the battery was dead the engine warning light came on.. he cleared that and checked the faults which came up as low battery output.. but im thinking iff i replace the battery does that mean the engine light will come back on ?

[fashionphotography]

just an update.. when i drove the car this morning there was a faint dryness from the gearbox when its engaged clearly vanishing when the clutch is put down.. has anyone tried and oil additives to extend or silence this problem ?

[UKjim]

I can't help with the gearbox problem asI have a CVT but the steering characteristic is well documented.

It's OK around town but when out on the open road constant correction is needed to keep the car in a straight line, it appears to be a stiffness which makes it difficult to steer in a straight line.

You do learn to live with it but it is tiresome particularly on a Motorway run, definitely the worst point of a very good little car.


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[WelshBeauty]

Re: steering.
You do get used to it, but yes it is annoying. I find little micro movements seem to improve the situation, otherwise you get into that notchy territory.

[bus_ter]

The steering as above is well documented. A new battery may help as the motor does use a lot of power. However I installed a fresh battery a couple years ago and it didn't improve my steering. Some owners claim not to have the issue, but I wonder if it's sensitivity to the issue, i.e my wife doesn't notice it at all driving the car, but it's very obvious to me.

Your second issue could be the common gearbox bearing issue. Fortunately I don't have that issue, but I understand it only gets louder over time. The solution is to have the gearbox rebuilt with new bearings. Cheap parts but a fair amount of labour required so not particularly cheap.

[Jocko]

Cheap parts but a fair amount of labour required so not particularly cheap.

A local transmission specialist repaired mine for £324, parts and labour.

[degzi]

I just never bothered sorting my gearbox out.

It whines in 1st 2nd and 3rd. But if you accelerate gently you hardly notice it.

Think it started about 85,000 miles on mine and I'm on 142,000 miles now so no need to get it done straight away if you can live with it.
 

[Jocko]

Mine became so loud it was embarrassing. Then suddenly, for half a mile or so, it would go quiet, and I realized what could be!

[fashionphotography]

to be honest . mines just a faint whine as said before more like a peugeot cambelt whine.. has anyone tried some additives like molyslip and did they work ?

[degzi]

Won't make much difference, once a bearing is worn its worn.