Honda Jazz 2002-2008 Stiff or notchy power steering

[guest4078]

Is it the tyres? The 15" alloys and certain makes of tyres at 185/55 15 can cause a strange steering behaviour. I 'downgraded' to 14" steels with 175/65 14 tyres and it has transformed the steering and ride into a much lighter and smoother experience. Also, the 14" tyres are MUCH cheaper!

[guest1844]

In my case, it made no difference having 14" winter tyres over the 15" alloys.
I've now sold the car, the steering being the primary factor in my decision.

[culzean]

we had two jazz in the family at one time before I went back to a Civic because I do quite a high mileage and it's more comfortable (and more OOOMPH) - the only thing I notice now about the Jazz steering now with my wifes car is that there are too many turns lock-to-lock, the turning circle on the jazz still amazes me though,  and I often wish the Civic had the same when I'm parking.  The Civic seems to have only one turn of the steering wheel for lock-to-lock but the Jazz seems to have about three - i will check it out properly though.  Never had the stiff steering on either jazz though.

[guest1844]

Interestingly a relative has an older Jazz, and her steering is OK - well a wee bit stiff but not unacceptably - at least it self centers. More turns lock-to-lock on hers - I wonder if they changed it for the 2005MY facelift.

[guest4524]

Just picked up a 2007 Jazz, from my local honda dealer. I am supprised at how stiff the steering is and how much effort is required at high and low speeds. As my last car was off the road my dealer lent me a 2013 Jazz for a week before my purchase. The steering on this was light and much more like the power steering I've had on other makes. Think I might be contacting the dealer as i bought as honda approved.

Thought I was imagining this until I read this post, thanks for the heads up.

[DrShockr]

I have also noticed relatively stiff steering on my new 2006 Jazz which replaced a 2005. The 05 had the common 'notchy' steering issue where it would get stuck and not correct itself back to the centre position. The 06 does not have this issue but feels a lot stiffer in general. Is the Jazz's power steering fully electric? Do they need power steering fluid?

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[VicW]

I have also noticed relatively stiff steering on my new 2006 Jazz which replaced a 2005. The 05 had the common 'notchy' steering issue where it would get stuck and not correct itself back to the centre position. The 06 does not have this issue but feels a lot stiffer in general. Is the Jazz's power steering fully electric? Do they need power steering fluid?

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

I have had three Jazz's and not had stiff or heavy steering on any of them.
The power steering is electric like a lot of cars these days and does not require fluid.

Vic.

[DrShockr]

I have had three Jazz's and not had stiff or heavy steering on any of them.
The power steering is electric like a lot of cars these days and does not require fluid.

Vic.

Thanks for your reply Vic, maybe i'm just being too anal as i'm comparing it to our other car, a 2007 Prius which has very light steering.

[guest3418]

The electric system is not the best one out there but on our 2007 Jazz it worked reasonably well. The only thing was that it had absolutely no feel around the center position. The Jazz has the electric motor attached to the steering rack itself and for some reason systems which have the servo attached to the steering column give more feel and have better self centering features. The only downside of those systems is that with fast steering (parking for example) the electric servo is more audible because it is located inside the cabin.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn GT-N7100 met Tapatalk

[guest4752]

I have a stiff steering issue too. In addition, the steering wheel does not return to zero without pulling the wheel.

A've made ​​a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC49_pwPjlI&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0OmJQJe2GY&feature=youtu.be

What could help? Regeneration of steering?

[guest4648]

Glad I've just seen this. My 2008 27000 mile es has a steering feel I found hard to describe, but it is a mix of comments made here. I can live with it, I thought it was just a Japanese design thing. I had a Saab 9000 aero before for 11 years, so was very used to that feel. You may have see from previous posting that I had the clutch changed frre of charge under extended warranty,  I'm pleased to say I'm still judder free.

[guest1407]

Hi, we recently bought a 2008 Honda Jazz 1.4 Sport with only 23000 miles on the clock.  After driving it down the motorway for the first time the steering started to stick and needed constant adjustment to keep it straight.  This seems to happen after a few miles of warming up, it doesn't do it when its cold.  One of the Honda dealers told us that it could be the EPS unit but now we are not sure after reading your comments about steering racks.  Has anyone had this problem fixed by changing the EPS unit or is it definitely a problem with the steering rack?  I don't think we can live with it as it is quite tiring on long journeys.

[guest4976]

I've had my 2007 Jazz for over three years and never noticed this problem before until last week after about 100 miles on the M4 when I felt a slight resistance when making small steering adjustments.Then I found I had to constantly move the steering wheel to keep on track. I was scared that something had come loose and that l could lose my steering completely but I made it home OK. l was relieved to see that many owners are or have experienced the same issue. I am having it checked on Monday but do not intend  spending a fortune to correct it as long as it's basically safe since l do not do much long distance driving

[guest4377]

I got this replaced under warranty.   I also enquired to se how much it was to fix out of warranty and it was  well over £1200 !!!

[guest4752]

Has anyone had a similar problem and succeeded in fix it?