josephkoenig28

Skoda Fabia stiff steering and vibration

I'm experiencing a rather disconcerting issue with my 2004 Skoda Fabia, diesel engine, with approximately 23589 km on the clock. The steering has become noticeably stiffer, requiring significantly increased effort, almost as if the power steering has failed intermittently. Furthermore, there is an unsettling vibration through the steering wheel. Based on preliminary research, I suspect a defective steering angle sensor. Could this be related to faulty coding? I'm aware that issues with the steering column itself can sometimes manifest in similar ways, potentially leading to alignment problems. Any insights into this matter would be greatly appreciated before I consider a visit to the workshop.

4 comment(s)

I think I had something similar happen with my Fabia. The steering got super heavy all of a sudden, like the power steering just quit. Was your steering wheel also shaking or vibrating? It felt really weird. I thought it was alignment problems at first, but it was something else...

Yes, the steering wheel was indeed vibrating quite a bit. So, if it wasn't the wheel alignment, what was the cause in your case? I am getting increasingly convinced it is indeed related to automotive sensors, specifically the steering angle sensor failure.

Yep, that's exactly what mine was doing. It turned out the coding on the steering angle sensor had gone haywire. They needed to recode it and do a wheel alignment to get everything back to normal. Honestly, I wouldn't mess with it yourself. Take it to a decent workshop. They'll sort it out way faster, especially if it's the sensor. Much easier than fiddling with the steering column and causing more alignment problems.

Took the Fabia to a trusted workshop, and it turned out to be exactly as you described a faulty coding in the steering angle sensor. They recoded it, did a wheel alignment, and now it's driving smoothly again. The final bill came to 195€, which I think is reasonable.

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