USMC_DS1

OK, I have to call BS on this one with my local Porsche dealership in Austin. I called my SR yesterday to make an appointment next week(1st time available) to service/repair the lose play in my steering wheel. The SR told me they may need to balance my tires and do a wheel alignment. LOL. The car is parked and off when it displays this symptoms. Sounds like they're positioning to get some extra $$ from me.

So I stopped by the dealership yesterday over lunch to see if it might be an easy fix and to get a second opinion from a different SR. They did a 5 min test drive of her and told me the free play was normal. They noted that I have new tires so I need them re-balanced and an alignment. WTF does this have with a parked car...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30KaERW-A-o.

I wanted to re-align their incompetence but had to get back to work. I kept my cool and indicated that I'd be back next week for the scheduled appointment to revisit this issue with them. Please take a look at the youtube video above and LMK what you think. Am I overly sensitive... I just don't believe that an '08 Porsche C2S let alone any car should have this much free play in the steering wheel. I suspect that my "Stealership" is sooo focused on pushing an alignment to make extra $$... they're missing/ignoring the real issue which needs to be repaired/serviced under the vehicle's original warranty. Maybe I need to have the SR check out another 911 on their lot for comparison. I'd like to leverage the 3 yrs+ of Porsche warranty left on my pcar but I'm quickly losing confidence with this "stealership"... unfortunately we only have one P-dealer in Austin. What are my recourse? Contact Porsche USA? Maybe they'll come to their senses next week

TerpsRED

I'll check later today, but I don't recall my 997.1 having any play left or right before I feel the resistance of the tires. Could be low on power steering fluid and getting play in the system, could be warn steering gears (not sure what to call them) before it even gets to the control arms. Or could be some warn bearings/bushings on the external side (Control arms). I'd look at the suspension bits while someone is wiggling the steering wheel. You may ID the culprit loose part that way. start simple and external, then move to more complicated.

USMC_DS1

Thanks TerpsRED... Will work on that this afternoon and let you know what I find as well.

jhbrennan

Your "recourse" would be to find someone else to look at it - long drive but there are dealers in San Antonio or maybe a good independent in Austin - try Colvin's Automotive. PCNA isn't going to do anything but tell you to go to the dealer. I have an 08 and I'll try your finger test and see what mine's like and report back.

utkinpol

I just came to the garage and was able to 'jiggle' my steering wheel in same exact way with my 2 fingers. wheel does not go totally free, I can feel it has some restrain from hydraulics but it for sure has this 'almost free' play without turning wheels. I did it with car shut down, parked.

real 'free play' is when you bounce steering with your fingers and you literally feel how it turns in on a bearing totally free then hits something. when you have that 'tight rubber' feel - it is not a free play, it is hydraulics effect.
IMHO.

cbzzoom

Well, alignment clearly has nothing to do with what the wheel is doing when the car is off.

The steering is hydraulic, and the PS pump is not running when the car is off, so I'm not sure that testing the wheel with the car off proves anything.

When you're driving, there should be no feeling of slack in the wheel - as soon as you turn the wheel, the car should turn.

I suggest you ask the dealer to compare your car to another one and see if there's a difference.

997_rich

Can't listen to the sound on this but does it make a clicky sound?

My wheel had some play like this and I was able to track it down to slop in the universal joint under the dash. I did the steering wiggle like you show and then i got on my back on the floor and held each part of the steering shaft until I could understand where the slop was. (is it the universal, is it the spline, is it something in under the car?)

The joint was replaced under CPO (thanks porsche- seriously this was the standup thing to do). They don't always replace under warranty because it really could be caused by turning the wheel to full lock and manhandling- that would beat up the universal. I was the second owner so they chalked it up to first owner.

The slop in the universal was very small but replacing it fixed it.

USMC_DS1

I feel no resistance from the hydraulics whether the car is on or off. While driving or in park I can bounce the steering with my fingers/hand for ~0.5" in total in either direction until I feel resistance then it turns. Got on the hwy today and I could move the wheel left to right and vis-versa until it catches then turns/engages the steering. No clicking sound or any other sound being made just sloppy feel until I bump into resistance on either direction. BTW, I'm the second owner. Purchase this one in CA and had it shipped out to TX. Had it PPI'd by an independent who gave her a clean bill of health and I specifically recalled how tight the steering was when I test drove her there... noticed this issue after the transporter dropped it off... not immediately thought as I just drove her into my garage and went about getting dealing with the DMV to get a temporary license plate. Really started noticing this on Tuesday and that's when I called the local dealership. So I wonder if something may have gone wrong in the transportation. Perhaps the driver turned the wheel too hard while trying to load her on the ramp... I was there for the off loading but not the on loading part.

I will lift her and check the tie rods underneath next. I did get on my back inside the cab on the floor and held each part of the steering shaft but could not feel any sloppiness in the universal or spline so I suspect it is under my car.

jhbrennan, sounds like you've dealt with Colvin for service previously... how are they on Porsche? I've only used them to dyno my M3. I've had Lee at Blackforest Werkshop servicing my bimmers for the pass 14 years. I'm going to try and have this repaired locally under warranty with Roger Beasley but if that's not possible then I'll try Colvin. It's always good to have an indy in my back pocket even during the warranty period as a sounding board for these types of issues.

utkinpol

call you service manager and tell him all that again and request an evaluation.
if you have more than one dealer in your area - try them all until you find a best guy to deal with.
Service manager at dealer i went to always listened to what I was saying and was honest enough to say up front what of consequent labor expenses would be under warranty and what would be not. If you sure car feels different - then it most likely is. Just take your time to explain it to them.

when I drive my car on a street there is no 'dead zone' for steering, slightest input changes where car goes. but i would not exclude possibility of transportation shock to mess up your front toe really bad and those cars are very sensitive to this, so, it makes sense to do an alignment - it is only $150 usually and most likely is a first step to do, plus while doing it they will see undercarriage.

If you sure issue has happened - give them a car and insist of having it fixed. what will they do is difficult to predict. check with local people about best service manager in your area, that may help a bit.

USMC_DS1

I just jacked her up and look underneath for any lose bits... everything looked to be in it's proper order. No free movement that I could notice so will have to wait until next Tuesday to have the dealer have a go at it. I also had my friend, Lee, who owns Blackforest Werkshop test drive it for a 2nd and he noticed the issue right off... too bad they don't work on these newer Porsche models. Good news... I'm not crazy after all.

jhbrennan

Sorry, my experience with Colvin was with my M5. They advertise as being able to work on P-cars but I don't have direct experience. BTW, I tried the finger test on my car and while I have the back and forth play I can't really assess if it's the same as yours - mine doesn't appear to be as loose as yours. I've had good luck with the guys at Beasley - hope you do too.

TerpsRED

sounds like 997_rich might have a good idea. I don't know if you can see this joint from under there, but it is worth a shot.

Matt(inMA)

Have you sat in a like car with your SR to validate the difference? It might help the SR if you can demonstrate the defect in your car relative to a non-defective car.

Matt

USMC_DS1

I tried 997_rich's recommendation yesterday... got on my back inside the cab and felt along the steering column... no play in the spline nor universal joint. My service appt is next Tuesday so I'll show the SR the difference btw my car and the other 997s on their lot... I'm also considering a trigger pull test to make this a bit more subjective/measurable and scientific. I'm probably over thinking it but I find it a bit disturbing that the dealership test drove it this pass Tuesday and don't think it's a problem... so they offer me an alignment. While at rest or driving on the HWY I feel the half inch of free play. It's really annoying on the HWY because the steering wheel can be moved in either direction without the wheels turning at all until about the half inch mark then I feel resistance and it moves. Kinda feels like an old p/u truck.

USMC_DS1

BTW, I have this issue in sport mode as well.