So, I have had my C6 for a few months now. And I am an automotive photographer, so, naturally I wanted to get some pics of my new car. Well, as I am shooting, I noticed the wheels werent turned just how I wanted them, but in my head, it was too much effort to turn the car on to turn the wheel 90 degrees, so I tried to just muscle the wheel over a little bit (silly me I know), and there was a clunk and the steering wheel turned but the whees did not move…

I drove home with the steering wheel turned about 90 degrees to the left when going straight.. Later that night I convinced myself that I could just do the same thing I did but in the opposite direction.. and it worked. Drove for a few more weeks with no issues.

Yesterday I was getting some breakfast from McDonalds and as I was backing out of my parking spot I nearly stalled and power steering assist went away for a moment as I was turning the wheel and it happened again! Again I turned the wheel back the other direction to straighten it out when the car was off and cruised home with no issues.

I am aware this is probably not a good/safe practice. please dont scrutinize me too much. I just want to know if my car is broken. Not too familiar with the interworkings of the steering assembly on these cars, but I suspect rhere is a “steering gear” slipping somewhere in the system.

If this is the case, what kind of cost am I looking at for repair. If this is a safety issue I would like to get it corrected ASAP. The force it takes to create this “slip” is higher than any force input I could imagine will ever be used when actually driving the car with power steering. However, I am afraid if my power steering ever failed, I could not steer the car to safety as my steering wheel would just slip.

 

Definitely broken and a major safety issue.
I would have it towed to a good front end/alignment shop.
Cost?? $500-$3000???

 

It would seem unlikely that the rack and pinion is slipping internally... and then work fine when the engine is running.
I would look really hard at the steering shaft. Is the bolt installed correctly where it attaches to the R&P? Is the nut that holds the steering wheel on, Installed.
i know tha car is new to you, but do you know If any work has taken place on the car that may have involved the steering column?

Also be aware that there is a steering wheel angle sensor mounted to the column; that if it gets out of synch with the steering wheel and the front wheel alignment, can cause problems with the active handling system.

 

Driving for weeks with failed steering is water under the bridge. But you have to stop driving it. Seriously. There is no benign scenario that can cause this. Loose steering is more dangerous than failed brakes. Flat-bed it to the repair shop.

 

I've run entire races with slicks without functioning PS and never had it slip a cog. Definitely need to find what moved though.

 

Almost sounds like the inner part of the telescoping assembly has rotated while the outside stayed...or vice versa but I agree, for a car without dynamic steering this seems like a safety issue and should be corrected right away. I've had things like this happen when I worked on Audi's but that was with the dynamic steering system which is basically a planetary gear assembly that changes the steering ratio. This needed to be centered and calibrated with a scan tool when doing an alignment. If you tried to muscle the wheel, this exact thing would happen but could easily be recalibrated. Very different types of steering systems though.

 

Update: I did take it to the shop. Steering rack was broken (not exactly sure on failure mode to cause something like that, not sure the shop understands how either). Gettinf it replaced with a tested used rack as thats all that was immediately available. like $1300-1500 all said and done. Should have the car back wednesday (hopefully).

Shop could not recreate the failure with the car on. It is only when the car was off that you could see the failure. I am sure of the fact that this rack was broken from the time I bought the car, meaning I drove the car with a broken rack for months. If anyone in the future is reading with the same issue, while its possible it could be okay and nothing happens until you can fix it (I am grateful that was the case for me), I cannot reccomend it. As everyone else on this thread has said, this is a safety hazard.

 

Are you replacing the harmonic balancer when the rack is out?

 

Depending on the model year, mileage, does it leak?, this might be something to look at. Or, not.

 

Already upgraded it a few months back. Wish I knew then what I know now lol. Would’ve saved me a little $$.

 

That's scary! Glad they figured it out and you're getting it fixed!

 

Got my car back today! New (to me) rack and outer tie rods in it! With the new parts in it my speed sensitive steering is much much more noticible (not sure it worked before at all). It is definitely different lol. First impression, not sure I love the new steering feel, but from what I could tell off the forums, this is what it is supposed to feel like. Much heavier than what I am used to, but maybe it will grow on me.

 

Attaching my alignment sheet.