Steering
Customers may complain of excessive noise coming from the power steering pump. Typically this is a result of the power steering power rack seals failing, which causes the steering fluid to become contaminated. This in turn causes the power steering pump to become blocked, leading to the power steering pump becoming overly noisy.
Technicians should firstly check the pump filter for debris and blockages. They should also check to see if the fluid is foaming, due to a blockage. A replacement steering rack will need to be fitted. At a minimum the filter will need to be cleaned or replaced. Finally, it’s vital that technicians ensure that the whole system has been flushed and cleaned before fitting new components to avoid re-contamination.
Suspension
The front bush of the rear trailing arms can easily wear. Previously technicians would need to buy the complete arm assembly from the main dealer. It’s now possible to buy just the lower trailing arm bush on its own from CES (UK), making this a more cost effective repair.
TPMS
The tyre pressure monitoring valves can be prone to corrosion on the models fitted with TPMS. The valve assembles can crumble as a result of the corrosion. When servicing technicians should inspect the valve stems for excessive corrosion and advise the customer accordingly.
Bonnet
As a result of water corrosion, the bonnet cables are prone to breaking at the front latch assembly.
Be aware that the cable runs under the headlight and battery carrier into the car. Technicians need to ensure that they quote enough labour time for this job, as gaining access to the cable can be labour intensive.
ABS braking
With the ABS light illuminated, the technician carries out a code read with his scan tool, resulting in a common fault code description of ‘Front ABS sensor circuit A open circuit or short to ground’. The likely problem is that the cars ABS wiring loom to each front ABS sensor has corroded. This causes a break in the wires that connect to the ABS sensor. The looms are situated under the front inner wings behind the dirt shields. For this reason, technicians shouldn’t simply replace an ABS sensor for this fault code description, but also test the ABS wiring to ensure its okay.
Turbo
The customer may complain that the car is lacking power when accelerating. The fault code may be logged as ‘Turbo Boost Power Low’. It’s common for the turbo inter cooler rubber pipe connections to perish and split, which causes a loss of turbo boost pressure. To fix technicians need to replace the intercooler pipe connections and erase the error codes.
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