steering click.

raycook

raycook

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Holland-on-sea
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MG ZS EV
has it been definitely found where the clicking in the steering column comes from , and is it dangerous ? my ZSEV is in for svs this week and am wondering if its worth mentioning , because although its there in mine, its more of a slight tick than a click, and dont fancy losing the car for a couple days if its not a big problem.
 
Whist stationary and off road.

Do yo get a similar sound if you push one side of the wheel away from you whilst slightly pulling the other side towards you ?

Just gradual pressure, nothing too heavy.
 
I think that’s the same with ours. I would demonstrate it to the service manager by rocking the wheel and use the same test when they claim to have fixed it.
 
There are various different causes highlighted on here but mine is definitely the tilt adjust nut that kept coming loose. I nipped the 13mm nut up myself, with the guidance of the forum, by lifting the top half of the steering column shroud, which totally eliminated the knock/click, but it came loose again after a very short while. So I asked the dealer to look at it last week on the first service and when I picked it up they said they had tightened the same nut, it lasted 8 miles then came back.
I decided that because I knew where it was coming from, I would remove the bottom half of the shroud and get more access. I tightened two other bolts mentioned on the forum that hold the column to the cross beam, but this made no difference, the knock was definitely the tilt mechanism.
As you tighten this tilt mechanism's bolt it becomes increasingly more difficult to move the release lever to adjust the tilt so I decided I would set the wheel at my required height and forego adjusting it and tighten it right up. This seems to have done the trick, I've done about 40 miles since and the knock hasn't returned so far (touch wood). Of course I have no tilt adjustment now, but I have a silent car, no more knocking as I turn the wheel or when going over a rough road.
 
Kithmo said:
There are various different causes highlighted on here but mine is definitely the tilt adjust nut that kept coming loose. I nipped the 13mm nut up myself, with the guidance of the forum, by lifting the top half of the steering column shroud, which totally eliminated the knock/click, but it came loose again after a very short while. So I asked the dealer to look at it last week on the first service and when I picked it up they said they had tightened the same nut, it lasted 8 miles then came back.
I decided that because I knew where it was coming from, I would remove the bottom half of the shroud and get more access. I tightened two other bolts mentioned on the forum that hold the column to the cross beam, but this made no difference, the knock was definitely the tilt mechanism.
As you tighten this tilt mechanism's bolt it becomes increasingly more difficult to move the release lever to adjust the tilt so I decided I would set the wheel at my required height and forego adjusting it and tighten it right up. This seems to have done the trick, I've done about 40 miles since and the knock hasn't returned so far (touch wood). Of course I have no tilt adjustment now, but I have a silent car, no more knocking as I turn the wheel or when going over a rough road.
Click to expand...
 
From a range of experience I have found that this click appears to be only found on the ZS EV and not on the ZS ICE including the latest body style. I would be interested to know if the steering column arrangement is different between the EV and ICE models.
 
Dr Dave said:
From a range of experience I have found that this click appears to be only found on the ZS EV and not on the ZS ICE including the latest body style. I would be interested to know if the steering column arrangement is different between the EV and ICE models.
Click to expand...
I had the steering click on my 68 reg ZS ICE as did a friend of mine. We both had the steering column replaced by the dealership after about 4 months of ownership.
 
I had mine in for the clicking which was getting worse by the day. They tightened up something and all was fine. But after a week, I feel it coming back so.... I'm making another appointment soon.
 
2of3 said:
I had mine in for the clicking which was getting worse by the day. They tightened up something and all was fine. But after a week, I feel it coming back so.... I'm making another appointment soon.
Click to expand...
Sounds like it's the tilt mechanism, same as mine was.
 
Hi All,
From reading other Posts it appears that the top U/J on the steering column is prone to failing and one of the early signs is a clicking noise as the steering is turned at low speeds. I'm told you can check it out by removing the upper cowling and waggling the steering wheel.
I think the U/J (Universal Joint) is made by Bosch, it looks like someone has got it wrong.
I found this info on YouTube.
 
I took my ZS EV into Chorley Motors - Burnley two weeks ago for its first service. I mentioned the clicking steering column which started to appear at 1,000 miles and has steadily got worse since.

The car has only done 1,800 miles over the last year so not many miles on the clock as yet with the lock down etc.

When I picked the car up from the garage after the service, they told me they have requested an authorisation from MG Motors UK to replace the whole steering column and will let me know when the part comes in.

Hopefully it won't be too long as I am planning a long trip up to the Isle Of Arran soon, but I have every confidence in the engineers at Chorley Motors - Burnley, they seem to know what they are doing with electric vehicles as they have been selling them for years.

Andy (Blackpool)
 
300 miles later my clicking has not returned, tightening the tilt mechanism seems to have sorted it.
 
Kithmo said:
300 miles later my clicking has not returned, tightening the tilt mechanism seems to have sorted it.
Click to expand...
I tightened my tilt nut up months ago and now after a couple of thousand miles or more it has not clicked once .i plan to loosen it before the 1st service in October then i can complain about it and maybe they will fix it properly
 
What will a proper fix be? Why if tightening it has cured the noise would you loosen it again? 🧐
 
Cocijo said:
What will a proper fix be? Why if tightening it has cured the noise would you loosen it again? 🧐
Click to expand...
A proper fix would probably be tightening the lower column bolts or the ones on the bulkhead as shown in videos on this forum .tightening the tilt bolts has stopped the noise only and not really solved the underlying problem .
 
Adi6phil said:
A proper fix would probably be tightening the lower column bolts or the ones on the bulkhead as shown in videos on this forum.
Click to expand...
None of that worked on mine, I believe it's a different knock.
The proper solution is to replace the column with a new one that doesn't have a poorly fitting or defective tilt mechanism. Personally I think the tilt bolt was over tightened at the factory which distorted the column shroud at its mounting point.
I'm leaving mine as is and will be trading it for the Mk2 ZS when it comes out, with the 73kWh battery. I shall swap my LED headlight bulbs back to the originals though.
 
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