[jasperpie]

Hi all.

I am hoping someone could maybe shed some light on an issue I am having at the moment with my 04 kia rio.

I'll explain this as best I can.

If I am driving along I can turnthe steering left and right atleast about an inch (possibly more) each way without the car moving in the desired direction. Once i have moved the wheel beyond this point steering is fine as it feels like i "get the bite point".

cornering is normal and I have feedback and the steering feels quite tight but on the straight I have movement. its a little worrying as at speed on the straight I feel like I am almost corrective steering (like you see on the old films where they drive along steering left and right for no reason) as I cant just hold the wheel in one point and I dont have the same tight feeling as i do when turning.

i hope thats kind of clear, lol. Any help or advice is welcome.

 

[Rexo]

My best guess is your inner and outer tie rod ends are a bit worn and it could be a bit serious. Have you had an alignment done and said mechanic checked it out? Even tire wear? No odd bald spots on a tire right? If it is tie rods and one goes out you may lose steering completely which is dangerous. Not sure how many miles you got. My 04 rio has about 60k miles and no serious play. Also no power steering so im getton buff driving it. Not sure if there are other models with PS so check if you have PS and see your fluid resevoir level if so.

 

[jasperpie]

Thank you for the reply.

There are not noticable odd bald spots that I can see, but I havent had it alignment or mechanic check it yet, but the MOT os up soon so I am sure I will find out, the tie rods sound like a possible contender, but I am not the best to establish if thats the cause, as I am not sure what it whould look like when normal.

Its got about 105k on the clock but had a replacement engine at 80k. Havent hit any curbs or anything that I know of either.

I will post a reply once I have one - just incase this is of help to someone else.

thanks again