MG ZS Steering Fault - clicking when turning

[Steve Kaye]

Good morning. I am happy to report that I picked my MGZS up from the dealer a couple of days ago and a new steering column has been fitted under warranty. The car was also serviced and the cost for this was AU$ I075 which translates into 537 GB pounds...this did include one windscreen wiper. Is this normal??

I also had a steering column replaced under warranrty at approx 6500km

My first service ( 2 yrs) was around NZ $450. and I thought this was too expensive.

My second service ( at 4 yrs ) will be at least NZ$1400.. they have the replace the main battery coolant
As soon as Im out of the 7 yr warranty ( in 2029) i wont use the MG dealers anymore for service

Dont buy wipers from the MG dealer
Get them here Wiper Blades - High Performance AeroFlex by Wipertech

 

[fred12345]

Good morning. I am happy to report that I picked my MGZS up from the dealer a couple of days ago and a new steering column has been fitted under warranty. The car was also serviced and the cost for this was AU$ I075 which translates into 537 GB pounds...this did include one windscreen wiper. Is this normal??

best to call another MG garage in Australia and just ask how much is service (which year?) and how much to change wipers. And, as far as I know, wipers are changed (and charged for) as a pair, not one only - unless it's the rear one.

 

[fred12345]

Dont buy wipers from the MG dealer
Get them here Wiper Blades - High Performance AeroFlex by Wipertech

I got a set of 3 from AliExpress for £10 or so, from memory...

 

[Pete G]

Wow Steve Kay, that seems expensive. We have had our car serviced in Launceston Tasmania and it cost us around $220 for the service. Our car is a 2021 ZS EV it has 30,000 kilometres on it now.
Our car has a clunk in the steering too, so we will have to contact the dealer and get that fixed soon.
Pete

 

[Steve Kaye]

Wow Steve Kay, that seems expensive. We have had our car serviced in Launceston Tasmania and it cost us around $220 for the service. Our car is a 2021 ZS EV it has 30,000 kilometres on it now.
Our car has a clunk in the steering too, so we will have to contact the dealer and get that fixed soon.
Pete

Nothing is cheap in NZ.
My brother has a Hyundai Santa Fe, a service is typically NZ $800
I had a Kona, avg service cost $600

 

[Tim Green]

Pete G, please get your steering assessed NOW, it is hugely safety-critical.

 

[Pete G]

We have our car booked in for it to be fixed. The dealer did not seem to have heard of the problem, so we wrote to them explaining what the problem is and how folks here have fixed it.
Fortunately we don't need to drive it every day, usually only once a week.
i will print photos of how to access the bolts by taking the steering column cover off
Pete

 

[Pete G]

We took our car to the dealer today.
We left a bunch of photos from this site showing the bolts that needed tightening.
Picked the car up 2 hours later, steering tight.
We did not get to talk to the mechanic, but the service desk woman told my partner that it had a loose bolt
No kidding we told them that. At least the steering is no longer clunking.
thanks for the warnings and posts on how to fix the car
pete

 

[tomsl]

It seems like my garage finally fixed the issue. This time I insisted to talk to the mechanic and talk to him about the problem, because so far I only talked to the service desk and according to them they only ever "tightened the bolts".

Now the mechanic told me that they'll try putting some rubber shims (or washers) under some of the bolts in the suspension (???, sorry, that's all I remember and since english is not my first language I don't know all the correct terms) because they made good results with that. He told me that they even changed the whole steering columns at other cars but that didn't help.

I'll report back

 

[xichas]

It seems like my garage finally fixed the issue. This time I insisted to talk to the mechanic and talk to him about the problem, because so far I only talked to the service desk and according to them they only ever "tightened the bolts".

Now the mechanic told me that they'll try putting some rubber shims (or washers) under some of the bolts in the suspension (???, sorry, that's all I remember and since english is not my first language I don't know all the correct terms) because they made good results with that. He told me that they even changed the whole steering columns at other cars but that didn't help.

I'll report back

Maybe just maybe they adopted the procedure I made by myself and posted in this thread replacing bolts and washers.... That solved the problem for good... Regards

 

[tomsl]

Maybe just maybe they adopted the procedure I made by myself and posted in this thread replacing bolts and washers.... That solved the problem for good... Regards

I just found the post where you showed what you did with the washers and I am pretty sure they did the same thing in my garage. At least they explained it somewhat like that.

1 month later and still no clicking, it feels like a new car.

 

[boira]

Last month, I took the car to the second year revision and mentioned the click when turning; they treated me like crazy, saying that the sound might be something else because the car is so silent... lol.

Anyway, they didn't fix it; apparently, they didn't even hear it, even though we took a little stroll with the guy in the car.

So, I decided yesterday to apply the method of @Joebar and @xichas, let's see if the problem is now solved.

 

[Tim Green]

Some of these clicking steering problems have been found to be due to faulty universal joints in the steering column. This is an extremely dangerous fault that can leave you with no steering. Thus any clicking noise should be investigated properly by a garage.

 

[Pete G]

Our ZS EV gen 1 had the steering fault, I would describe it more as a "clunk" when the wheel was moved when the car was stationary.
I printed out photos that were on this site showing what needed to be done to fix it. We took it to the dealer and they tightened the bolts which has fixed the problem.
Play in the steering is not something that I feel happy about , so it needs to be fixed properly.
Pete

 

[W12Lad]

The photos are the same as shown on my reply post, but the one I have attached now shows in green the specific parts that have to be moved in the direction of the red arrows after slight unscrew both bolts. Then screwed back both bolts and thats it! Used the tool on the second fhoto the angle helps a lot to reach the ideal position to unscrew and screw it back. Regards

Thank you for this.
I have had 4 visits to the dealers for this including changing the steering column.

I am now 4 weeks after my last visit, where they said they have never come across this problem after replacing the column and they would send videos to MG to see what they suggest and get back to me.

I have just fixed it myself using your method.

I wonder if they will ever get back to me...........

 

[Lovemyev]

Thank you for this.
I have had 4 visits to the dealers for this including changing the steering column.

I am now 4 weeks after my last visit, where they said they have never come across this problem after replacing the column and they would send videos to MG to see what they suggest and get back to me.

I have just fixed it myself using your method.

I wonder if they will ever get back to me...........

My theory is this, they replace the steering column upper assemblies, then torque all the fasteners to the factory values.
Then to there surprise, the problem returns again after a short time and they can not understand why ?.
Can't I suggest, that the original diagnosis of a worn upper steering column that was causing the "clicking / ticking" was incorrect in many cases.
Replacing the inner and outer column assemblies fixes the problem only short term, until movement caused by use of the steering wheel and by the pulling on the wheel to help people to get in and out of the car, then the slight movement returns which causes the noise to return.
If the column WAS indeed badly worn internally, then NO amount of increasing the torque values on the column fasteners would rectify the issue.
The pure fact @xichas modification has been so successful for so many owners, is all the proof I need for myself.
I re-torqued all the fasteners myself in 15 minutes on our previous ZS EV LR and the "clicking" stopped instantly.
So, you have to wonder just how many columns have been replaced unnecessary ?.
Replacing the column has become the "rinse and repeat" fix.
Of course they have been a small number of cases where the lower universal joint has failed, but this a totally different problem.
Any unusual noises or play experienced in the steering system, should be checked by a well qualified person.
In my case ( as a retired tech ) I was 100% confident that the noise was NOT been produced by the lower UJ and it was coming from the head of the column.

 

[Tim Green]

But there is a second u/j at the upper end of the column. So listening to where the noise comes from is inadequate. Ideally, it is checking the play (movement of the steering wheel with no movement of the road wheels) that is important, as this indicates wear in the u/j's. Tightening bolts may stress the steering column by compression or tension, either of which could stifle noise whilst a worn u/j was still present. A normal u/j should not make any noise whilst in use, and where else can a clicking noise come from?

 

[W12Lad]

Sorry to you both.
I agree with you but I should have been more clear.
My fix was the one I replied to, which was the "moving the metal u shaped washer" fix.
No tightening of nuts apart from the one I loosened to move the washer a fraction towards the steering column.

 

[Lovemyev]

But there is a second u/j at the upper end of the column. So listening to where the noise comes from is inadequate. Ideally, it is checking the play (movement of the steering wheel with no movement of the road wheels) that is important, as this indicates wear in the u/j's. Tightening bolts may stress the steering column by compression or tension, either of which could stifle noise whilst a worn u/j was still present. A normal u/j should not make any noise whilst in use, and where else can a clicking noise come from?

Of course you are totally correct Tim.
There are two UJ joints on the lower section on the column.
This lower section contains both UJ’s and connects the steering rack, to the upper steering column.
This double UJ set up is required because the tail of the steering rack, that enters the bodyshell of the car, is way over to the passengers side.
To align the centre point of the steering column to the driver’s seating position, it requires the intermediate shaft containing the UJ’s to allow connection of both rack and steering column.
If you open the drivers door and look behind the pedal box, you will see that lower UJ is situated way over to the passengers side of the car.
The lower UJ joint is one that has been reported as a failure point, not the top on strangely enough.
Although none of these joints should be failing this prematurely tbh.
The clicking noise at the head of the column appears to be caused by the clamping mechanism used to allow the driver the ability to adjust the reach and rake of the steering column.
The tension applied on this device is insignificant and it’s the movement that causes the clicking movement.

 

[Tim Green]

We know that worn or even broken U/j's have been found in these cars, position has not been stated. Assuming that the design parameters of the u/j's have not been exceeded, something has caused them to fail, and the likely cause is excess load. This excess load cannot be from turning the steering, it must be caused by an installation error in manufacturing the car. What worries me is the adjusting mechanism for the steering wheel which I contend could put longitudinal tension into the column thus causing failure of these joints.