vastremotors.com BLOG

Have you got a Vauxhall Corsa C?  Do you find it more difficult to steer in one direction than the other?  This is a common fault and many people either don’t notice it until it gets really bad, or they just put up with it.

It is almost always caused by a misaligned sensor on the steering column and can be fixed in around an hour without any replacement parts. Unlike most cars which use hydraulic fluid to drive the steering rack, the Corsa has an electric motor attached to the steering column inside the car. A torque sensor is also fitted to the steering column to detect how much force is being applied to the wheel – in turn this applies power to the electric motor to assist the turn.  Over time this sensor “drifts” out of alignment causing more force to be applied in one direction than the other.

If you think your Corsa has this problem give us a call on 01686 888101  and arrange for us to take a look. If we confirm that it is a misaligned sensor it takes about an hour to fix – £35 plus VAT.

A small collection of the broken springs

One thing we have noticed over our first few months of trading is how many vehicles are coming in to us with broken springs. Some of them are obvious and make the car undriveable, but some have only a small piece broken from the end of the spring and the driver was not even aware of the problem.

Two important things – first a broken spring is a weakened spring and it may break again or slip off its mount. If that happens at speed it can obviously be very dangerous. And second – because of that – it will fail an MOT. The worst example we had was a Vauxhall Astra which came in for a regular service and had 3 broken springs – both of the rears and one on the front.

A close up of the jagged broken end of a spring

Opinion varies on the cause of so many spring failures. Is it bad components (ie weak springs) or worsening road surfaces combined with the dreaded speed bumps!  Maybe it is a bit of both.

So if you think you may have a broken spring – or you just want to get them checked – come along for a free check and we will give the rest of the vehicle a quick safety check as well.