Kia Sedona power steering

[GreeCguy]

Greetings and good evening to all in Bitogville on a soft Florida evening.

Tonight, I have three things. A cup of hot coffee, a cheap cigar and a question.

My daughter drives a 2004 Kia Sedona van. On occasion, the power steering will stop working. She told me about this a few weeks back telling me it doesn't happen often, but every now and then, becomes very difficult to steer. It hasn't happened on the highway, but only when she first starts the van and backs out of her driveway.

This morning, I did a test drive. I cranked the van, backed out of her driveway with no problem, put it into drive, stepped on the gas pedal, and could barely turn the steering wheel. Thankfully, she lives on a quiet street and I was able to sit there for a minute. In about a minutes time, the steering wheel turned with ease. I drove it around for a while with no problem whatsoever.

What could be causing this?

It's a 2004 Kia Sedona Van with the 3.5 V-6 and automatic transmission and 84,000 miles on the clock. The van has done this a couple of times in the past few weeks, but only on occasion.

There's plenty of fluid in the power steering unit. The outside temp was about 70 degrees.

Looking for someone to steer me in the right direction for a solution to this power steering problem.

 

[The_Eric]

Check the u-joint and associated bits and pieces.

 

[HerrStig]

Sounds like the rack. There aren't that many parts to the system. If your engine RPM drops too low under a steering pump load you may loose boost, even with a good pump, or the pump might be failing to produce enough pressure at low RPM.

 

[wymi516]

Whats the condition of the belt?

 

[zrxkawboy]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Sounds like the rack.


I agree. Sounds like morning sickness in the rack.

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: The_Eric
Check the u-joint and associated bits and pieces.


I should add that it's not uncommon for these parts to fail and cause the same type of issues you're experiencing. Certainly cheaper to check this first, rather than replace a rack.

 

[Chris142]

Morning sickness used to be very common. I have not heard of it in years. The seals in the rack make grooves in the bore. When cold the seals are hard and have a hard time getting past the grooves. Once warmed up things loosen up.

 

[michaelluscher]

I'd probably agree with the rack consensus

This thing doesn't have any kind of Variable Assist power steering? That could bring its own set of problems.

I'd try a pull or two of fresh specified fluid before condemning major parts.

 

[GSCJR]

I agree with The_Eric. Check the flex coupling.

 

[GreeCguy]

Good morning to all and a huge thank you for the guidance. Turns out (no pun intended) this is a common problem for this model van.

I was convinced something was wrong with the pump itself, but following your advice, typed in the proper words in a "Google Search" and discovered that this is not only common, but very dangerous.

This is the culprit: http://www.amazon.com/APDTY-Intermediate-Rag-Joint-Universal-0K52Y-32550/dp/B00BV6DI3S

Said shaft typically goes bad between 70,000-90,000 miles. So my daughter's van is right in the middle of failure land.

There are a few "quick fixes" out there that will buy some time. Some as simple as pouring motor oil on the joint or spraying it with WD-40, (which I'm going to do today). But a replacement is definitely in the future as it will eventually lock and could lock in traffic with my daughter and little grandbabies in the van. YIKES!!!!

So no, she ain't driving the van till a repair is made, (till then, she can choose between the ever faithful "Bluesmobile" or the vehicle formerly known as "Thunder the Wonder Pig." She'll love that!)

Thanks again brothers for the guidance and wisdom.

 

[The_Eric]

Good to hear you've got a handle on it!

Story time- Back when worked for another shop, a Zuki Grand Vitara came in with similar symptoms. Boss said to replace the rack, so the other guy that worked there at the shop did. No change. Boss said to replace pump, so the other guy did. No change... Boss had him replace the pump again. Still the same deal. Finally read up on the problem and found the u-joint was seized. Ordered a replacement from... I think the same place in the above link and problem solved! Sucks to have been the customer on that one! (I am SO glad to be out of there!)

 

[exranger06]

^^ That story reminds me of another story! My wife used to have a 2006 PT Cruiser. She bought it used and the factory warranty expired, however the dealer threw in their own warranty. A few months into owning it, it lost all power assist. She brought it to the dealer, and they replaced the rack. Since replacing the rack affects the alignment, the tech drove the car to another shop that has an alignment machine (apparently the dealer doesn't have their own). Alignment is done, dealer says the car is all set. My wife goes to pick up the car, and it still doesn't have power assist! She turns right around and tells them to fix it, and demands a free loaner car. They apologize, give her a loaner, and replace the power steering pump. That finally fixed it. The fact that the tech DROVE the car to the alignment shop and clearly KNEW there was still no power assist, yet had the nerve to give the car back to my wife claiming it was all fixed blows my mind.

 

[CharBaby]

My wife's Lexus in my signature has experienced this same issue with the P/S. Very stiff and very poor/no steering return to center. I completely drained the P/S system by removing the P/S feed line(remove the front passenger tire) and letting the fluid drain.

I then installed BAR's Leaks Power Steering FIX(the whole bottle)and topped off with here required P/S fluid(Dexron) and this has worked wonderfully.

This Bars Leaks is a 2 part split bottle:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Bar-s-Leaks-Power-Steering-Repair/16794875

I used the whole bottle although the instructions mention to use 1/2. Half didn't work for me!

Walmart has the best everyday price I've seen thus far!

Good Luck,

CB

 

[JTK]

I have yet to have a minivan that didn't have some sort of PS system issue at some point. Our 2001 Windstar needed a new rack early in it's life. Our 2008 Honda Odyssey had binding issues at idle speeds that never were able to be resolved. Our 2013 Grand Caravan needed a new PS pump at ~12K miles due to leakage.

My guess is being big, heavy, but yet car based, taxes the system heavily.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

This sounds like a NHSTA recall. There's gotta be a safety recall with a steering braking issue regardless of age!