Uneven Steering Force

[akcar]

Hi there;
I bought a brand new ranger at 2021. From the first day i have trouble with steering.
the steering wheel is straight, car drives straight, no pulling everything seems ok. But it is hard to steer right than left.
When idling stationery the wheel force is even both sides.
the problem begins when riding.
I tried at car park lots, i tried at completely flat surfaces but steering wheel is always stiff to right turns.
I went to dealer they check the alignment and they said alignment is ok
i didn't trust them went to another mechanic and they said the same "the alignment is ok"

i am searching this nearly for three years and couldn't find anything wrong at car and couldn't find any solution either.
i read all the forum titles about steering but couldn't find anything

Please help !

Sponsored

 

[MarioCart]

so do they acknowledge the steering issue as you describe it?
If they do agree its harder to turn right, then why would they stop trouble shooting after an alignment check?
If your truck has the electric steering like the north American ones do, they have plenty of other things to look at before they throw in the towel
Can you put a spring scale on to the wheel and give us an idea how much extra force it takes to turn right vs left.

 

[Tom_C]

So the dealer went to the trouble of checking alignment but then did nothing else to find the issue?

 

[akcar]

so do they acknowledge the steering issue as you describe it?
If they do agree its harder to turn right, then why would they stop trouble shooting after an alignment check?
If your truck has the electric steering like the north American ones do, they have plenty of other things to look at before they throw in the towel
Can you put a spring scale on to the wheel and give us an idea how much extra force it takes to turn right vs left.

Yes they feel the stiffness but said "it is ok, alignment is ok so don't worry about that"
They didn't investigate further because for them it is normal in electric steering.

i'm in turkey, the mechanics aren't that educated.

i can't place a spring scale because it is noticeable when riding but for me it is 1.3ish times stiff when turning right. the weird thing is when stationary it is even. Also when driving at low speeds (5-10km/h) the steering wheel centers it self faster within right turns.

 

[akcar]

By the way when i talked with another ranger owner, he said he felt the same in his truck but he said "i didn't care, it doesn't bother me"

our trucks are the same
2020 model XLT

 

[MarioCart]

my guess is there is a fault with the lane keeping system. the portion that gives you the feedback isn't functioning correctly and its giving you the resistance on the right side all the time instead of only when required.
I would go into the menu and shut it all down and see if there is a change, and perhaps do a reset of the computers.

 

[akcar]

my guess is there is a fault with the lane keeping system. the portion that gives you the feedback isn't functioning correctly and its giving you the resistance on the right side all the time instead of only when required.
I would go into the menu and shut it all down and see if there is a change, and perhaps do a reset of the computers.

my truck is xlt, it doesn't have "lane keeping system" and also i tried at a big flat surface with no lane markers and do the same.

i have unplug the battery and reinstalled with mechanics but still the same.

 

[MarioCart]

that limits what could be going wrong then.

 

[RedDakooter05]

I have no idea what could cause this issue, but I'll throw out BS suggestions anyway.

Rotate the tires?
What kind of shops are you going to? If all dealerships then go to independent ones instead (or vice versa)

Not really recommended but try spraying dry lubricant into the U joints of the steering shaft.
Our NA rangers have 2-3 U joints if I recall correctly.


I'll think more on this issue... Not a professional mechanic by any means so this stumps me.

 

[Justin says...]

Just a FYI I saw where you said its a XLT and doesnt have lane keeping. For what its worth, my XLT does have it. Makes a big deal about it on the instrument cluster screen.

 

[NotBudule]

"QS" (Quagmire Syndrome ) is the medical term i believe , happens when your , umm , just switch things up for a while and it should even out... (Top pic is really me ...)

 

[machinist85]

You could put an amp clamp on the power wire for the steering motor and check the current draw.
Current draw should be the same whether turning left or right. If it draws more power when turning right then there may be something mechanically binding. If it draws less then I would expect an electrical or software issue. That won't pinpoint your problem but maybe point you in the right direction.

 

[Motorpsychology]

Just a FYI I saw where you said its a XLT and doesnt have lane keeping. For what its worth, my XLT does have it. Makes a big deal about it on the instrument cluster screen.

Not all markets offer co-pilot 360, or a more basic version.
@akcar: AFIK, the the Body Control Module is falsely compensating for what it thinks is a higher speed than actual. The electric power steering has variable effort- the least when stopped, and it builds resistance as speed increases, for artificial "feel."

 

[Motorpsychology]

You could put an amp clamp on the power wire for the steering motor and check the current draw.
Current draw should be the same whether turning left or right. If it draws more power when turning right then there may be something mechanically binding. If it draws less then I would expect an electrical or software issue. That won't pinpoint your problem but maybe point you in the right direction.

Wouldn't that only be true when stopped? @akcar stated the effort is equal when stopped. The steering effort is speed sensitive; the higher the speed, the more resistance, and i believe it's not linear.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Check your tire pressure

Sponsored