JAZZ difficult to steer straight on motorway type road ??

[guest1379]

Just bought an 07 Jazz. All very nice but really hard to keep straight on a motorway! Never had a car like it ! Is this NORMAL. My Previous LOGO ( wot a nice little car ) steered itself without any effort so does my wifeys POLO It just sits on the motorway and sort of steers itself! NOT SO the JAZZ. I have to concentrate like hell, if it drifts to the left the slightest movement seems to FLICK it to the RIGHT......  Do they all do this?? IS this the electric RACK sticking. Is this a characteristic or a fault ?   

[culzean]

The steering shouldn't behave like that, although the jazz steering feels a little different to other cars I have driven I would say it is actually better. The Jazz does tend to be a little more sensitive to sidewinds than some cars, but that is probably because it is a light car that is fairly tall.

The steering should be very light at low speeds but should stiffen up as the speed rises, if it doesn't feel right take it back to the dealer and get it looked at because there have been problems with racks on GD jazz that are covered elsewhere on this forum.

[RichardA]

Would this be of any help?
http://clubjazz.org/forum/index.php?topic=438.0

[guest1379]

THANKS TO EVERYBODY who replied with the steering topics I am pleased to find others are in the same "boat"  and that I am not imagining the WEIRD handling! I will return to dealer on Tuesday with a print out of your comments. I found it highly unnerving at speed on the M3 when sandwiched in the middle lane between huge trucks and the BMW brigade in the FAST lane!! So far I am NOT pleased with the Jazz, worse start to any car I have owned and that includes 5 previous Hondas.....

[guest1328]

Sadly I know what you mean too well.  

After 2 weeks owning my new jazz I put it up on ramps to ensure they hadn't left packing pieces in the suspension springs the ride was so poor.  (reminded me of a Mini kit Car I once owned.)

First clear Motorway I had to back off gently as the thing was taking up more than 1 lane as it twitched about. This was before I had access to this forum and naively thought it must be just mine.  I took it back to the dealer who, naturally, denied hearing of any such problem.

 I've never known a vehicle to behave like that either (and I've driven some real dogs!). I suspect it is something to do with  production tolerances and some cases something like a nylon bush is too tight.  After 25,000 miles it is much better.

Still nowhere near as good as an old Peugeot 309 I kept as a general hack however.   Which had a far better ride and will easily out accelerate the Jazz!

Very disappointing,  paid a fair amount in cash, and expected much better.

Incidentally, just in case I come over as anti-Honda I've owned a number of Honda Motorcycles and generally found them excellent.  Last was a VFR750F - a cracker.

[guest1418]

Hi, Yes, yes!  - I also have the sticky steering problem. On motorway / dual carriageway travel speeds, small steering wheel movements seems to be resisted, until extra pressure is applied, which results in too much correction.
This makes driving very uncomfortable as it tends to produce a weaving pattern from one side to the other and some wrist discomfort.
Bought the car privately -2007 sport model a week ago having just received Honda service at 28,000 miles. Really, really dissapointed. 

[guest1328]

Oldun - if its a 2007 model has it any warranty?

Honda Customer Service - 01753 590760.

Complain to them, quoting the similar complaints on this site.

See - SRS Control Unit thread.

Good Luck.

[guest1371]

for those of you out there who have a 2010 series jazz with the often described steering difficulties.ie.wandering on motorway and general notchiness at other times. Do not be put off by Honda`s insistance that " It is not a known problem", because it is. After a 4 Month battle with Honda, during which I borrowed an identical model from the dealer for 4 days, to compare with my own, Honda have just this week fitted a replacement steering rack under warranty which has cured the problem completely. So if you are having this problem with your Jazz, stick with the complaining, and dont let them " fob you off"

[guest1898]

I feel teh need to comment here as I don't have steering issues with the jazz and I've had five and driven to Latvia and back in one.  This is a light car with small wheels and tall sides the car is responsive to change and gives you the driver the feedback you need to ascertain the grip levels you currently have on the road.  If you want firmer steering then you need negative camber soft suspension and higher profile tires as the standards are quite low profile and interupt your smooth ride characteristics you are looking for.  On the other hand if you are like me and like the light steering rack just put bigger wheels on firmer suspension and some strut bars