Brought TLS do the dealer for an oil change and Tranny fluid change. Then the SA had me look over the vehicle check report together going through all the checks. Gave me the news that the power steering rack was going bad and had a leak. Quoted me about $1,200 but that was the SA's estimate.

Does anyone know if the powering steering rack really goes bad? If its going bad, what is the symtoms?

 

Its 400 for the rack and 600 in labor typically. Depends on the dealership. The main thing to remember is that they do warranty the work and part.

Shop around for labor charges.

Also don't take his word for it. Are you losing fluid? Is the steering really hard. Is there intermittent loss of pressure while parking. Check for all the symptoms before calling anywhere.

 

My goodness, labor is that much.. WOW.. but I guess it shouldn't be a surprise coming from the dealer. I looked at the ground of my garage and didn't notice any drops unless its dripping on the exhaust and burning up. Doesn't look like I'm losing PS fluid but will do more test when I do a long out of town drive this holiday weekend. Powering steering seems fine and no loss.

I'm surprised this wasn't on a recall as my TSX was recalled because of this.

 

I found this test.. I'll probably wait until it starts doing this.

 

The signs I noticed were noise from the powersteering pump. I would replace fluid and it would be running low after a 30 minute drive. Some fluid leaking from the car and noise from the rack while turning the wheel especially in cold weather. It had given me signs for a while. Also you can find rebuilt racks or slightly used racks from salvaged cars.

I didn't know any better at the time and dropped the cash on it. Like I said though with no warranty its freakin horrible to find out that the problem has returned later on. That is only my instance but be wary.

Certain things contribute to the rack failing. If you have to fight the steering at WOT through 1st and second, check your alignment. After the change I switched to aftermarket wheels and spacers which will exacerbate any alignment issues. The wheels should still self center despite the torque steer if it is aligned correctly.

If you aren't fighting the steering your rack will be fine for years to come. The more input you add because of extraneous factors like torque steer the more stress it will put on the rack. Also turning the wheel when the car is off is not a good idea either.


The labor is that high considering they have to pull the wheels off take the tie rod end's out and unbolt the rack from behind the engine and slide it out after disconnecting the hydraulic lines. Its a lot of work. And needs to be done right. I'm just thankful the dealership stood by their warranty and took care of the problem later on when the rack gave issues again. Spacers don't cause any issues but it is a great excuse for many dealerships to weasel their way out of a warranty.
Jody Wilkinson Acura in SLC did an awesome job fixing the car up. Its expensive but if they stand by their work I have no issues taking my car there depending of course on how reasonable it is. Small things, I can handle myself.

 

http://www.automobilemag.com/am/99/2...1/recalls.html


youre welcome.

 

minus the recall... would this be covered under powertrain/extended ACURA CPO warranty?

 

Most people have done the recall and unless you're hearing a sound from the power steering which is causing air to get mixed into the system I doubt they would cover it.

He'll have to check the service records for that.



^only if he's the original owner I believe.

 

I had this done, according to the recall, it's only the hose, piping and connections that they replace and not the rack itself.

That brings me to an experience I had. It was my wife that experienced it. Thank goodness nothing bad happened. The car started smoking in the engine bay which my wife noticed and pulled over. Good thing she did. Had it towed to the dealer to have it checked out. The dealer found the issue and replaced the hose. Not sure if the SA even looked at the recall but I paid full price for the repair. After doing further research, I found out that it was being recalled. So I called the dealership and they said that they didn't see my car on the recall list. So then I called acura customer service, they figured the symptoms were identical to the recall and reimbursed me. Took about 2 weeks to be reimbursed. They didn't give me an answer on why my car wasn't on the list.

So a couple of months passes by and bring my car in for an oil change. They see my car is on the recall list for the hose, piping and connections to be replaced. LOL.. Anyway, I had time to kill so I let them do it again. So that was my experience with that recall.

I'll probably post my paperwork just so Acura can see it truly happened.

And talking about warranty issue, for my 06 TSX 6MT, I had the clutch master replaced because the SA told me I had to do it because it was creaking when I pressed down on the clutched. I had it done because it was quite annoying, it didn't really fix the issue. Eventually, the creak starting getting louder and went to another dealership and they said I need to replaced the clutch master replaced. I was like F it.. I'll deal with the noise. I went to another SA when I changed the oil and they said this was normal. WTF..

 

The hose recall is unrelated, and steering is not power train. My rack went before I had the hose recall done. They found fluid in the boot of the rack and pinion after I mentioned the wheel felt odd on hard turns. That was at 76K miles. I just had the power steering pump replaced at 97K when it was difficult to cut the wheel parallel parking. Still feels odd backing up. I have Acura care, so it did not cost me anything. I was quoted $1200 for the rack, a tire center told me $800-$1000, after the fact. Keep in mind you get an alignment too.

 

^Yeah the alignment is really important for our cars especially if you're driving style is 'spirited'

 

I work at the dealer and can tell you that the racks do fail a little more than they should. It leaks into the boot first then over time the boot fails then thats when you will see fluid. Hard steering at low speeds, and the recall would not have changed this out come. Nothome17 i saw you mentioned it dripping onto the exhaust possibly and burning off, thats why they issued the recalls due to the flamability of the steering fluid dripping onto the exhaust or hot engines.

 

That is a horrible test, for the reasons I stated later in the thread.