[Haque]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

While driving on the expressway i felt a floating feeling while driving car at 80 (or above 80). The road grip seemed less and the steering was weighing vague. I am not sure if it was because of heavy breeze flowing across the expressway which made the car slight unstable at higher speed or was it something to do with Wheels/Steering.

Has anyone else felt something similar? and if yes what was the cause?

Experienced such a feeling when driving back from Yelagiri to Bangalore...it was raining heavily and i was driving arnd 80+ ; normally wouldn't have risked it, however was following a innova that was part of the trip hence didn't slow down... Later realised that what i exerienced was hydro-planing, thanks to google!

My ride: Stock Baleno done 72k.

[speedmiester]

Check your tyre pressures. You might have filled in an extra 1-2psi in your tyres.
A strong cross breeze can also have the same effect on a car.

[mayankjha1806]

Checked the tyre pressure this weekend when went to re-fuel. Today morning on another trip to Narayana Netralaya had to use the Elevated Expressway. While going it was ok but while coming back at speeds over 100 i felt the car was floating. Now i am suspecting the heavy wind breeze across the expressway causing it. The other thing i would do is take the car on a different expressway and see if that makes any difference.

Could there be some problem with Steering column? What are the other indicators when Steering column is in the process of going bad?

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Could there be some problem with Steering column? What are the other indicators when Steering column is in the process of going bad?

I don't see any problem with the steering column ; a hydraulic PS steering column and rake generally give no issues ; only tie rod ends wear out and give a khut khut noise when you steer wheels with the car stationary

[mayankjha1806]

Originally Posted by vigsom

I don't see any problem with the steering column ; a hydraulic PS steering column and rake generally give no issues ; only tie rod ends wear out and give a khut khut noise when you steer wheels with the car stationary

What are the signs i should look for for the steering problems and make out if they need repair/replacement.

Also what i have noticed is when i drive the car and take it over a section of road which has vertical damage (like a small stairs on the road, maybe 1 inch high. You can find them on these concrete roads these days) on speeds around 10 i can feel the jerk on the steering. I remember when it was new it had a cushioning effect. Is this a sign that means steering work is needed?

[kri$hna]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

What are the signs i should look for for the steering problems and make out if they need repair/replacement.

Also what i have noticed is when i drive the car and take it over a section of road which has vertical damage (like a small stairs on the road, maybe 1 inch high. You can find them on these concrete roads these days) on speeds around 10 i can feel the jerk on the steering. I remember when it was new it had a cushioning effect. Is this a sign that means steering work is needed?

May be your suspensions are weak now, have you got the lower arms inspected (bushes might give up at this age of a baleno usually) and get the tier rod ends, and shock absorbers checked. I dont think an MASS will do a good job with checking the suspension, they wont earn anything out of it unless there is damage and often they are not interested in taking up such jobs!

[Mr_Bean]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

What are the signs i should look for for the steering problems and make out if they need repair/replacement.

Also what i have noticed is when i drive the car and take it over a section of road which has vertical damage (like a small stairs on the road, maybe 1 inch high. You can find them on these concrete roads these days) on speeds around 10 i can feel the jerk on the steering. I remember when it was new it had a cushioning effect. Is this a sign that means steering work is needed?

I am try to correlate my problem.

When you go over bad roads and potholes at slow speeds, do you feel the vibration through the steering, feeling of something is crashing?

Do you have play in your steering when taking turns at slow speeds?

[mayankjha1806]

Originally Posted by Mr_Bean

When you go over bad roads and potholes at slow speeds, do you feel the vibration through the steering, feeling of something is crashing?

Do you have play in your steering when taking turns at slow speeds?

Nope on general bad roads at slow speed it does not feel anything only on situation as described before (Like a 1 inch stair on the road) there is a jerk that i feel on the steering.

On the play thingy i have not noticed any play, by play i mean i turn the steering but the wheels don't respond.

[megazoid]

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Last week i had to go to Narayana Hrudayalaya for 2 days and also needed to make multiple trips back home in Outer Ring Road. Decided to use the Elevated expressway as it was fast.

While driving on the expressway i felt a floating feeling while driving car at 80 (or above 80). The road grip seemed less and the steering was weighing vague. I am not sure if it was because of heavy breeze flowing across the expressway which made the car slight unstable at higher speed or was it something to do with Wheels/Steering.

Has anyone else felt something similar? and if yes what was the cause?

The bushes have a problem. 80+ is no speed for a baleno to float. There are small to medium undulations on the elevated road that can cause the car to mildly float but not the feeling you mention. I doubt if the shocks are decimated though. You could get all these tended to in one go. Pretty easy to nail as these are regular issues. All depends on how it has been used till now.

[mayankjha1806]

Today went again to Carnation and explained the floaty problem. My usual SA looked at the Steering and everything else and claimed everything is fine. Did check the tyre pressure fixed the power windows (They were making slight noise and were not rolling up completely). As usual he got them fixed in 20 mins and these were not charged (Required some opening, cleaning and fixing it back operation). My experience at Carnation experience continues to be contrary to others in Pune and elsewhere.

On the floaty feeling he did some tightening of bolts under the body and asked to try again and see if it improves. This evening i have another trip planned for Narayana Hrudayalaya will take the elevated expressway and report back.

Also tomorrow we have a planned trip to Chennai coming up to see how the car now behaves on highway. Will have more updates on Monday.

[mayankjha1806]

The drive from Bangalore to Chennai (Bellandur to Mogapair - Door to Door) took us four hours. As we started on Sunday @ 11 AM the highway was relatively free and i was able to zip really fast. Touched speeds upto 150 briefly a few times but maintained 120-140 speeds overall.

The car behaved extraordinary well, the grip on the road was the best i have felt in years and was confidence inspiring. The floaty feeling that i had experienced earlier was absent (not sure what was the reason). Also after getting the air filter cleaned the car felt much more zippy.

All in all excellent drive, fully enjoyed it. More updates after our return journey on Monday night back to bangalore.

[mayankjha1806]

Yesterday night the drive back was even more enjoyable as compared while going. We started from Mogapair at around 1830 in evening and faced lots of traffic until we crossed Sriperambur, reached Bangalore (Bellandur) at 1045 in the night (With one stop for dinner for 15 mins). The traffic after Sriperambur was very less and i was able to zip consistently at 120-140 (and occasional dash of 150).

The car behaved very well, and i am now satisfied with her highway manners and stability. Engine sounded sweet while doing those speeds. Some rattling had started from rear left door will get it checked this saturday.

[mayankjha1806]

This morning while my wife was waiting at the ICICI Bank merge with outer ring road a mini truck came and gently touched the rear of the stationary car making a small dent.

Not sure how much it will cost to get this repaired, The dent looks small in depth, i.e. a small area has gone in. Will have to check how much it will cost to get this repaired.

[mayankjha1806]

Just came back from a 500Kms trip from Tirupati yesterday. The car felt good as ever on highway but now looks like need to go to Carnation for some door repairs. I guess due to age the rubber linings around glass and on the door edges has gone brittle hence over bad patches it rattles looks like these need to be replaced. Yet to show it to a SA.

Also will give it for denting/painting to fix the last dent, SA said it will cost approx 5K for denting painting.

Anyone has any experience with fixing door/window rattles. Does it warrant all rubber lining replacement, or there is a simpler fix. Also any idea on how much it could cost to replace rubber on all four doors and window glasses rubber?

[filcord]

I strongly recommend you take the car to a tinker/denter. They should remove the dent and re-paint, if needed, for half that price.
Even as regards the rattles, I doubt it's the rubbers. My Baleno had no rattles whatsoever even at 65 k kms. The door linings should easily last the life of the car, or ten years at least. Take it to an outside garage who will take time to trace the source of the rattles.