Vibration through steering wheel when stationary and turning

S

Shuttled

Member
Hi just after any advice regarding a potential issue with van steering.

Just collected van from service and first mot at a trusted I have used for years. Mechanic mentioned on collection that I should book it in to dealer to be looked at under warranty due to him observing a light steering judder / vibration when applying steering when stationary.

I have never really noticed it as I do not tend to steer without moving vehicle. It’s a slight vibration and goes away with increased revs. No issues felt when driving.

question is have others spotted this before? Is it a feature of vans vs a car? I will be booking it in as I only have 10days warranty remaining…

Just to confirm mechanic has checked fluid and looked for leaks etc with no issues found. Suggest it could be the pump.

Van is 2018 shuttle 20,000 miles.
 
I have a 2018 PV and I can’t say I’ve ever noticed steering any different than I would expect a car. I would definitely agree with the mechanic and get it looked at whilst warrantied
 
Never had in on a transporter but had it on a work van before and it was early signs of power steering issue, mine would kinda stutter through the wheel when putting any rotational force on the wheel on tick over which evolved into doing it at very slow (manouvering) speeds
I had a new pump fitted which seemed to improve it slightly but didn’t last and ended up needing a rack to cure it
 
I’ve seen it happen on a car when the belt drive was slipping at tickover. Once the engine is running at higher rev’s there is enough pressure from the power steering pump even if the belt is still slipping slightly.
 
NickJW said:
I have a 2018 PV and I can’t say I’ve ever noticed steering any different than I would expect a car. I would definitely agree with the mechanic and get it looked at whilst warrantied
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Agreed I have it booked in at lancs van centre Thursday next week.
 
Pauly said:
Never had in on a transporter but had it on a work van before and it was early signs of power steering issue, mine would kinda stutter through the wheel when putting any rotational force on the wheel on tick over which evolved into doing it at very slow (manouvering) speeds
I had a new pump fitted which seemed to improve it slightly but didn’t last and ended up needing a rack to cure it
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Cheers Pauly I will see what dealer says, but workshop manager over the phone stated that we must remember it’s a van not a car. I will be asking to check the steering on another van of similar age before been convinced it’s not the start of something more serious.
 
DXX said:
I’ve seen it happen on a car when the belt drive was slipping at tickover. Once the engine is running at higher rev’s there is enough pressure from the power steering pump even if the belt is still slipping slightly.
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This is a really good description of what I think is happening. Increase the revs only marginally and it goes. I also noted that if I hold the revs at say 1100rpm and apply a small amount of wheel rotation slowly the revs drop slightly. I think it could be a tensioner or belt issue.
 
Shuttled said:
This is a really good description of what I think is happening. Increase the revs only marginally and it goes. I also noted that if I hold the revs at say 1100rpm and apply a small amount of wheel rotation slowly the revs drop slightly. I think it could be a tensioner or belt issue.
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What happened!? What was the problem??! I think mine is doing the same..
 
NickyRider said:
What happened!? What was the problem??! I think mine is doing the same..
Click to expand...
Well the dealer inspected the van and declared nothing wrong with it. Basically could not identify any faults. When I ask to have a look at another van they stated as you have wider offset wheels and none standard suspension it would not be a like for like comparison. Have just decided to live with it and keep my eye on it at this stage.
 
So, I was certain that my judder was PAS pump related (as mentioned on another thread about this) as like some others I've had similar issues with other vehicles. Today, however, I had new top mounts fitted (and coilovers, arb's and a hunter alignment) and I can twiddle the wheel until my heart's content with no judder whatsoever.
 
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Shuttled said:
Well the dealer inspected the van and declared nothing wrong with it. Basically could not identify any faults. When I ask to have a look at another van they stated as you have wider offset wheels and none standard suspension it would not be a like for like comparison. Have just decided to live with it and keep my eye on it at this stage.
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Did you ever get to the bottom of this issue? My warranty is up real soon and wondering if it’s worth paying for vw to look it in hope of being covered under warranty. Since the problem first occurred I have now had coil overs and new top mounts fitted but the problem is still there. I’m guessing vw will now use this as an excuse for why it could be happening.. any advice or things to check Would be greatly appreciated
 
NickyRider said:
Did you ever get to the bottom of this issue? My warranty is up real soon and wondering if it’s worth paying for vw to look it in hope of being covered under warranty. Since the problem first occurred I have now had coil overs and new top mounts fitted but the problem is still there. I’m guessing vw will now use this as an excuse for why it could be happening.. any advice or things to check Would be greatly appreciated
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No just decided to live with it. It has not got any worse and to be honest it only occurs when turning the steering the wheel with no throttle / movement of the van. As I don’t do this in normal use it tends not to get under my skin.

If your under warranty I would not be paying them to investigate. I would get it looked at and then at least you know where you stand. I am of a view that it’s my top mounts, but you have said you have changed yours?
 
Shuttled said:
No just decided to live with it. It has not got any worse and to be honest it only occurs when turning the steering the wheel with no throttle / movement of the van. As I don’t do this in normal use it tends not to get under my skin.

If your under warranty I would not be paying them to investigate. I would get it looked at and then at least you know where you stand. I am of a view that it’s my top mounts, but you have said you have changed yours?
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Yeah had the top mounts replaced with the coilovers, also had the wheel alignment done and still the issue was present. Sounds exactly like what your are experiencing, I only notice it when in idle or rolling with no revs applied. I have the standard 17'' Devon ports on with some nasty winter tyres. Next thing on my list is to change the wheels and tyres for some velar 20'', out of curiosity what wheels are you running? some people report after changing to a bigger rim size and tyre has solved the problem which I find hard to believe. I have had multiple techs look at the issue and no one can fault it, I was concerned the rack or pump might be on its way out but they are make no other noises or issues. The only other thing I notice is when I sit in the cab at night there is a very slight flicker with all the lights including headlights, you do have to stare at them really hard to notice it, but I wonder if one of the belts needs a slight adjustment and could potentially be the underlying issue.
 
Van has 18s supermetal rockets fitted. I would think a larger wheel and offset would likely cause more issues. It could be your belt. I have not noticed any issues with lights flickering.

I know this is no real help to you, but I have learnt to use it and ignore for now. As these little things can drive me mad finding an answer.
 
Annoyingly after reading this thread I’ve noticed that mine also does this very slightly. Probably always done it, but just tried it out of idle curiosity. That’ll annoy me now - until I forget about it in a few days when a new rattle comes along.
 
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