Hi All,

My 2008 XKR with low miles was sitting in storage for a few months. When I took it for a spin, I noticed the steering was very heavy. Is this a common problem on the x150?

If I drove it about 100 miles with no power steering, would I cause more damage to the steering system? I imagine the pump is what stoped working. Is there anything I can do to try to get the pump working?

I looked in the power steering reservoir and it is full of fluid.

Any other thoughts would be helpful.

Thanks!!
Mike

 

Not something that I've seen reported, so not a common issue.

 

I have had it happen to me on a few occasions where I haven't driven the car for a few days, and on start up I essentially have no power assist. Each time it has gone away within the first couple of minutes of driving. Does yours not return to normal shortly afterwards?

 

I have had it happen several times. Usually have to shut the car down and restart, clears it right up.

Cannot understand why shutting it down and restarting would help, but I am guessing it is an electronic issue rather than a mechanical issue.

 

I didn’t drive it much after I discovered the power steering was heavy. I’ll try to drive it and see if it improves. The battery was also low, as I forgot to hookup the trickle charger when I was away. That could also be an issue.

Thanks.

 

If you don't see any hydraulic fluid leaks and your power steering reservoir is full, I suspect that your power steering fluid is contaminated and caused blockage of the passageways in your power steering pump. If you have opened the cap to check the fluid level, you inadvertently contaminated the fluid by allowing the entry of atmospheric moisture. That's why reservoirs are opaque plastic, so you can see the fluid level without opening the cap. If you open the cap and the fluid is dark, smells burnt, or has anything floating or swimming in it, it's time for a change. The older the car, the more likely the need.

I'd have a qualified Jaguar technician flush and refill the system with the proper fluid.

 

I agree that this is good advice, however, I believe the issues that I have encountered are electronic in nature. Shutting down the car and re-starting sets the problem straight. Just like when my entertainment screen locks up. I think it is a low battery type issue.

Not familiar enough with the "controls" on the power steering, but there must be something electronic in the system.

 

I’ll have this done. Would I cause any further damage if I drove the vehicle?

 

I agree with 110Reef and Stuart S above. If your car is a 2008 and has never had a power steering flush (a cheap thing to hire out), then definitely do this for peace of mind as fluids deteriorate with age and not just milage. However, 110Reef is describing the exact experience I had. Hard steering, followed by restarting the car and suddenly the problem goes away. It is as if the power steering pump is not engaged during the start-up process. This has only happened a few times in the 2.5 years and 21k miles I've owned my 2007 XK. I flushed the power steering fluid due to age and as a precaution and have not had problems with this in a while.

 

My 2009 XK will do this if I hop in, fire it up and immediately put it in gear to drive off. There seems to be some lag as the control modules boot up and the power steering isn't fully functional.

These days I give the car a moment or two to collect its thoughts after I start it up. I haven't experienced the problem since I began this practice. Hope this helps.

2009 XK Coupe
Non-SC

 

call me crazy but I don't leave Park until the RPMs settle down to idle under 1k.

 

+1

 

Replacing old, dirty and contaminated power steering fluid with new fluid should make your vehicle steer better and not cause any further damage to your power steering pump. Not replacing that contaminated fluid could further damage your power steering pump and make it difficult to steer and result in an accident.

 

I am referring too driving the vehicle without power steering to the repair shop.

Regards.

 

That depends on your arm strength and not having to make any quick or evasive maneuvers. Before driving to the repair shop, take a short drive and try it out.

If you're involved in an accident while driving without your power steering working, you risk being held at fault.

 

Solved: After a new battery was put into the vehicle and restarted. My power steering started to function as normal. It will be in the shop tomorrow getting checked out.

Thanks for all the help!

 

Yes another random symptom of low battery voltage!! We can add this to the list.

 

We don't have electrical power steering, don't think the battery fixed it!?

 

Yes we do, well assisted anyway:

Servotronic 2 adds electronic control and speed sensitive steering to the steering gear. The Servotronic 2 feature provides
easy and comfortable steering operation when parking, improved 'road feel' at increased road speeds and adds an
integrated, positive centre feel feature which optimises steering wheel torque during high speed driving.

The Servotronic 2 system is controlled by software which is incorporated into the instrument cluster. The software
responds to road speed signals and controls the power assistance via a transducer valve located on the steering gear valve
housing.

 

Just for everyone's clarity: the power steering assistance is provided by a mechanically powered hydraulic system, but the operation of that system is controlled by electronics in the instrument cluster module. So it is not an "electric power steering" system in the normal sense, i.e. a system that uses electric motors to boost steering force. Nevertheless, as u102768 says, it does rely on electronic control, and that can be borked by a bad battery.