[tripsme]

I am considering an old DZire (2009 Jan) model that has run 9000 Km.
All else isfine but the steering seems a bit hard at higher speeds... more than what the regulation programmed hardness.

I hav driven other DZires of same vintage but steering did not seem this hard??!

Any ideas?

This ones coming for 4 Lac and I am in Mumbai.

[vigsom]

surprising to hear of a hard steering on a car that has done only 9k

Assuming that the EPS is in order(no warning light on the panel) , the only issue I can think of is the front tyres - they have become hard/have uneven wear ; just check if they are JKs.

[tripsme]

Hi,

Thanks. The EPS worked very smoothly when at low speeds, esp during parking it was very smooth.
But driving it on a highway at 40 - 50 km/hr speeds, the steering response was hard and this is compared to another DZire I have driven of same vintage.

Could be a tyre issue.

The car had undergone a bumper change due to a front accident. Could it be due to that shock that the steering is hard at higher speeds?

[GTO]

Could be that the EPS Module is kaput. IIRC, it costs between 5,000 - 6,000 for the Swift / Dzire and there have been a couple of reported failures.

[tripsme]

In that case, it would not have been so smooth during parking. Isnt it?
EPS disengages after 40 kmph is what I was told.

does it look like a shock damage case... since front bumper was changed due to a minor accident?

[paragsachania]

Funny incident(s) in my case but for a WagonR that had already crossed 160k on the Odometer then.

For me, the steering was harder even at very slow/stationary conditions and it was a tough time to park or turn at slower speeds. But the power steering was doing its job as I could easily make out the difference in effort by switching off the Ignition and trying to turn the steering wheel while the car was stationary. But I still felt the EPS was not putting its usual 100% effort.

One after the other, I tried to rule out various typical culprits : The Tires were rotated, thread pattern was checked, Alloy was swapped for OEM rims, Air pressure was increased but nothing solved the problem.

One fine day, when I went to my usual MASS to help my friend's car checked, the advisor there offered a wash for my car while I was waiting with my friend's car to get serviced. Soon after the wash, I drove to my workplace taking the NICE road and the steering definitely felt much better after that wash even during parking in my office basement.

I kept wondering what 'magic' can a simple water-wash do that the car's steering fault was rectified. When I drive back again later in the night, the steering was back to its usual hardness.

On a particular day, when I was cleaning the spark plugs and Air-filter at home and as a usual practice I disconnect the negative terminal of the battery before doing this, the copper connector breaks.



As you can see from the above sample picture, the connector that my car had for the negative/ground terminal was not OEM as it was once replaced in Pune for some reason during a regular service.

I then went in search for only the connector and the shop owner advised me to buy the whole wiring kit that included the connector as well as the O Ring on the other end of the wire that is grounded to the Chassis.

This is how the OEM wire looked like (neatly soldered and no jugaad using a noseplier ):



I fixed this ensuring that the chassis ground end was also properly torqued. Started the car and let it idle for 10 minutes and continued to drive and my problem with the steering was solved.

To reconfirm, I even drove for the next few days and the problem never recurred.

The most likely issue in my case could be:

1. A Bad connector on the battery end due to which the Electric Power steering Motor was not getting proper voltage.

2. A Bad Chassis ground itself that neither I or MASS would've verified during the previous visits for regular services. It may have been a possibility that the chassis ground may be loose for a few months too!! (The wire was in good condition)

3. The water-wash simply 'strengthened' the ground connection due to water.

Hence, please check for these symptoms as well.

[tripsme]

Thanks.

I will do that.

Anyhow, it looks as if the seller is not in a mood to even accept there is any hardness and is not willing to adjust some cost for possible repairs I may have to perform.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by tripsme

In that case, it would not have been so smooth during parking. Isnt it?
EPS disengages after 40 kmph is what I was told.

Ah yes. IIRC, Maruti EPS start disengaging at about 60 kph. As you say that the steering is light as any other Dzire at low speeds, perhaps the cut-off parameter is incorrect. You should check whether that can be reset to factory spec.

[esteem_lover]

Check the manufacturing dates on the tyres. Also if possible swap the front tyres with a better set and see how it is. In all probability, the tyres are hard which explains why there is no problem when EPS is engaged.

[f1fan]

If this is a Jan 2009 model, do check whether the car is under extended warranty. If yes, you can take it to MASS and have them check/fix/replace any steering component under warranty.

My Dzire is end 2008 and has run approx 54K. Steering response is same as day 1, hence age of car cannot be a factor here apart from the fact that tires might be a little harder as they would not have been changed till now (due to the less kms run on them) or an EPS/Steering issue.