Software Causing Power Steering Problem

[Johnny B Goode]

Hi , as many of you may have read I`ve had significant problems with my P/ Steering malfunctioning regularly , it`s been back to the dealer numerous times and they change everything the "fault code" tells them . Well I picked my car (`56 Galaxy 2.0tdci ghia) up last Friday and it`s failed again after 4 days ! Any way when the car gets back to the dealer it`s working fine ?. .

 

The Dealer has told me that Fords are aware of a software problem with this model and are working to overcome this problem , but it`s not likely to be until April !

I`m waiting to hear if Ford will give me another Galaxy in place of mine until it`s sorted , my guess is that they won`t , so keep your eye open for me on BBC`s Watchdog programme , because that`s who`ll be hearing from me if they don`t help !

 

After reading some of the other electrical problems people are having on this forum alone it would make sense that there is a generic fault.

 

Hope this helps

 

Thankyou for this forum by the way (Power to the people etc.)

 

John

Edited January 16, 2008 by Johnny B Goode

[adrianf.]

So theyve told you April eh

 

I bet its April 1st ;)

[Johnny B Goode]

So theyve told you April eh

 

I bet its April 1st ;)

 

I bet you`re right ..

[Flinders Station]

Hi, did you get the software update and did it fix?

 

I've got an S-MAX and it is just back from the dealers having received a software update for power steering whine and subsequenet power steering malfunction. I only had the car 4 weeks.

 

At first i thought I was being fobbed off by the local dealdership, that was until i found this forum after hearing from one of the mechanics that there were a lot of power steering problems on the new Galaxy.

 

Seems to be a shared problem between Galaxy and S-max then. Apart from that I'm delighted with the new car, I was nervous about changing from Audi A6 Avant.

[Flinders Station]

Power steering failure today, wife at school with the kids. She is mega not impressed. I now have to sort out first thing tomorrow. Had the software updated 2 days ago, has obviously not worked. They should replace the power steering pump now I would reckon, I suppose they have to go through the warranty process.

[big_kev]

I am not impressed with the thought of my cars brakes (ABS) being controlled by some dumb computer.

 

 

Now it appears that a cars steering can be controlled by one as well.....

 

 

Were all going to die.. :wacko:

[Johnny B Goode]

Well since my posting of this topic (touch wood) the power steering has been fine.

Now bearing in mind how hot the weather was at the beginning of May , it appears my climate contol / air con does not work. .. .aaarrgh. .. . so, it`s booked in (again) to be checked out during the scool hols next week.

I`ll keep you posted as to progress (or lack of)

it`s a great shame because , despite all the problems I`ve had with the power steering etc. it really is a lovely car to drive and ticks all the boxes for our requirements .

 

John

[Johnny B Goode]

my Galaxy power steering has failed again (4th time in 6 months) , I`m waiting for Bristol Street Ford in Gloucester to find me another "like for like " exchange after my wife nearly lost control of it when it failed last Friday , she now refuses to drive it ever again ,

I will start my own topic on this if they don`t hurry up, (I am after all dealing with the Managing Director) I`ve been waiting since Monday and haven`t heard a thing !

Oh and I`m also contacting VOSA tomorrow to get a Mechanical Defect Report filled in (that should wake `em up a bit !!).

 

I think there should be a thread on this forum for us to either praise up the product / dealer or slag them off if they deserve it !

 

John

[NikpV]

closest we have Dealer service and reliability

[Johnny B Goode]

my Galaxy power steering has failed again (4th time in 6 months) , I`m waiting for Bristol Street Ford in Gloucester to find me another "like for like " exchange after my wife nearly lost control of it when it failed last Friday , she now refuses to drive it ever again ,

I will start my own topic on this if they don`t hurry up, (I am after all dealing with the Managing Director) I`ve been waiting since Monday and haven`t heard a thing !

Oh and I`m also contacting VOSA tomorrow to get a Mechanical Defect Report filled in (that should wake `em up a bit !!).

 

I think there should be a thread on this forum for us to either praise up the product / dealer or slag them off if they deserve it !

 

John

 

It seems after 3 1/2 weeks they can`t find me a "reasonable" like for like exchange , they offered me another Galaxy from thier stock, same month of registration , almost the same miles, the only differences being that it had leather seats and was the Grape colour, I could see it had been sprayed and poorly polished down one side (with masking tape left under the N/S sill ), scratches to to the black painted backs of the rear seats , it made mine look mint in comparison .

To top the lot they were asking me for a further

[jkspoff]

Another 'happy' Galaxy customer ! Sorry to hear of your problems, I'm on my second Galaxy even after having to sell my first one due to soooo many issues, but 'touch wood' I can safely say its been ok so far. The mk3 does seem to have some serious issues though. Edited October 12, 2008 by jkspoff

[insider]

Remember that the 2.0TDCi is the only model that would suffer from this problem as it's the only one with electro-hydraulic PAS. All other models have the conventional hydraulic PAS.

You could downgrade to a 1.8TDCi or upgrade to the new 2.2TDCi.

[Swan family]

Hi , as many of you may have read I`ve had significant problems with my P/ Steering malfunctioning regularly , it`s been back to the dealer numerous times and they change everything the "fault code" tells them . Well I picked my car (`56 Galaxy 2.0tdci ghia) up last Friday and it`s failed again after 4 days ! Any way when the car gets back to the dealer it`s working fine ?. .

 

The Dealer has told me that Fords are aware of a software problem with this model and are working to overcome this problem , but it`s not likely to be until April !

I`m waiting to hear if Ford will give me another Galaxy in place of mine until it`s sorted , my guess is that they won`t , so keep your eye open for me on BBC`s Watchdog programme , because that`s who`ll be hearing from me if they don`t help !

 

After reading some of the other electrical problems people are having on this forum alone it would make sense that there is a generic fault.

 

Hope this helps

 

Thankyou for this forum by the way (Power to the people etc.)

 

John

[lvgal]

My 57 2.0 tdci also has a problem with the steering. Following a knock on the osf tyre the steering pulls left or right depending on the road surface and as some unusual noises from pump and rack. Every angle has been checked and corrected and all tyres replaced and balanced. Accident repair garage couldn't fix it and most ford dealers couldn't even detect a problem. 'Power steering malfunction' started to appear on my dash but nothing showed up when they plugged computer in so obviously there can't be anything wrong with it!! One dealer in Anglesey agreed with me that there is a problem but could not fix it. Ford Technical told him to try car with 205/50/17 tyres instead of 225/45/17 and he claimed that it made a difference. Therefore Ford closed the case because there isn't a fault with the car! I am currently waiting on action from the Financial ombudsman and Ford Customer relations. Its been 11 months since the bump! No one has mentioned a software problem, but the power steering control module has been recalibrated/reset and now the external temp. gauge reads 5 degrees warmer.

[sainot]

just for info, my brother bought an S-Max about a year ago and it's been in five times (Ford Leeds) with power steering failure. Apparently the pump keeps failing. He reckons they are leaving air in the system each time they change the pump (consequetly leaving it to run dry).

[brighter01]

Hi,

 

Just taken mine out to France, and guess what...power steering failure. I have a 56 plate TDCi, and as soon as i got off the ferry, it went stiff to turn left. If i turned slightly right and then immediately left it was fine, but after a few seconds in one direction it would be stiff again. Slowly made my way down to our resort, and struggled with the steering, if you continued to fight the pressure to turn left it would 'pop' and turn freely again. Took the car into the main dealer in Soissions who diagnosed the problem as the pump, and then told me it would cost 890 euro's to repair....once i picked myself up off the floor, i told him to go ahead. (what else could i do?), and would sort the car repair out with 'the car shop supermarket' warranty department on my return.

 

Any way... 2 days later and several phone conversations, the dealer could not complete the repair, they fitted the pump, but could not update the cars software to accept the new part. They replaced the old pump and disabled it, returning the vehicle with no charge. Leaving me to complete the return journey of 450 miles with a heavy galaxy without power steering.

 

I have now got the pleasure of getting the car repaired again in the UK, but atleast i have piece of mind that the problem is generic, and atleast FORD UK should be able to complete the replacement.

 

The only question now, is will Ford cover the repair as it is a generic fault with their pumps, or Car shop supermarket will have to cover, either way, i will not be shelling out any cash....

 

Off to email the Car shop customer services now...as they do not open on a bank holiday...TYPICAL!

[SueB]

Hi, I know it's a while since the last post on this issue but hopefully someone will see it. I have a 56 plate galaxy which has recently started feeling like no power steering,similar to the issues mentioned above. I have had to pump replaced as it was leaking fluid but not solved the problem. Can someone advise whether the software upgrade actually fixed the problem? Thanks.