Hi Guys,

Ok I finally got my car back from the stealership after 5 WEEKS!!

Well I was happy to get the car back, but as soon as I drove it the steering felt heavy, at first I thought it was because I was used to driving the rental car I had (2009 E300).

But after a few hours of driving my car I was defiantly sure it wasn't just me getting used to the steering again. So I popped the hood and checked the power steering fluid, and guess what it was at the min!!

I was pi$$ed to say the least, I mean they've had my car for 5 weeks and part of it was to do a full service, the @ss holes didn't even check. So anyway yesterday morning I topped up the tank and checked it before heading home from work, the level seemed ok.

After driving more yesterday the steering was still slightly heavy especially when taking corners. When I parked the car I noticed there was some leaking from the rear, around the driver's side next to the differential. I looked at the fluid and it seemed like water but I never smelt it or touched it and thought it was AC fluid (even though the AC usually leaks from the front passenger side so I was a bit surprised)

Also one other thing I noticed is when I switched the car on last night I heard a very weird ticking noise coming from the same area the leak was coming from, so with all that put together and also with the heavy steering I can only conclude one thing which is my steering rack cracked.

I will double check again before heading back from work to see if the PS level is at it should be and if there are any more leaks.

I just wanted to ask, if this a common problem? and how would a leak/crack happen? When I last looked at the bottom of the car it was very rusty so That's the only thing I could see would cause such an issues. Other than that I haven't hit the underside of the car against anything so I'm a bit confused.

I just hate the stealers for having my car for 5 weeks and then finding this $hitty problem which means more time in the workshop.

If anyone has had similar experience please chime in, thanks.

 

My experience with previous cars is that power steering leaks usually happen at the front wheels and not the rear. Usually caused by a torn boot on the rack and pinion. I'd try toping it off again and see if there are any rips in the boots. GL

 

well I topped up yesterday morning and checked at night and the level seemed ok, hadn't changed much.

But from reading other posts about power steering leaks most people have had leaks at the rear and not the front, which is why I figured it would be that. I don't think that the power steering reservoir has a leak it's the steering rack that I feel is leaking. I will try and have a closer look tonight when I get home.

 

Good luck. It's hard to imagine an '08 would have sprung a leak already. Most times it's due to age/wear and the boots crack. Wondering if dealership "flushed" or bled the power steering system and forgot to refill with fluid. If that's the case, may need to top off a couple times until there's enough fluid in the system.

 

yeah I'm surprised as well, the only thing I could think off that would cause this to happen so early is Rust, I mean I live like 300 meters from the sea and it's always hot and humid here so I thought it "could" be a reason.

I'll update you guys once I've found the problem.

 

I checked last night and this morning and the PS level hasn't changed, and I can't see any leaking at all.

I'm thinking does the power steering need a little time to re-adjust once you've topped it up? because it seems to be getting slowly better but I dunno.

I'm trying to think of anything else that could make my steering heavy.

 

I am not sure but check your rear tires for wear. If they did donuts with the car and put the wheels all the way to one side for a while when the engine was reving high rpm's then that might be the issue. The dealers just suk, I don't trust them because honestly almost none of them know what their doing. And yes they do mess with customer cars. I got mine back with dings and scratches all over the car!!

 

Well my tires are brand new, that's thr problem I installed new tires like 1 week before taking it to the dealership, it still has loads of thread on it.

I've also topped up my pressure just to make sure. I think I need to do some u-turns to get the PS fluid to fill in or something I dunno

 

Do you have pictures of your steering rack where you believe it's leaking? I believe my boots have been torn for a while and I hear a faint ticking from it while driving. I'll be replacing it soon...

 

Maybe they found that your steering rack was loose and so as not to change it they just tightened it. Does your steering wheel "bite" and doesn't return when you turn it not far from "zero" position now?

 

wow didn't realize you guys replied. Well after a month or so from when I posted this the car seems to be back to normal. Just got it back from the detailer last night and it feels way smoother than the rental car I was driving