Steering wheel issues - Is garage responsible

[carx12]

Just after some advice and what you think would be the merit of the case against the garage

Posting in bullet points for clarity

- End of Nov 2017 - Car (VW Golf) driven to fix a broken door and MOT (Car fully driveable at this point)
- MOT identified two issues as below. Which were fixed and MOT passed

1) Offside Front Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover excessively deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (2.4.G.2)
2)Nearside Front Track rod end ball joint dust cover excessively deteriorated so that it no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (2.2.C.1c)

- Was told to collect car. Dropped in , paid up, and then noticed steering wheel doesnt work properly.
Steering wheel cant be moved left or right properly and very rigid/tight.

- Was told they will look into the issue

- Several months have passed. I have had to chase the garage almost every time for an update

- No resolution. Sent an email asking them to confirm within 14 days as to what they are going to do to fix the car.

- Garage response : May 08 2018

"thank you for your email and bringing your concerns about your vehicle to us. We have had phone conversations about this matter previously. I can understand that this has been ongoing for some time now.our main concern is that you have left your vehicle here on you own accord. we have not forced you to leave you var nor have we suggested that we are able to fix the problem. we have checked and diagnosed your car out of good will, as you are a regular customer. How ever under no circumstance have we agreed that the problem to your car was caused due to and work we carried out or that we were going to cover any further cost. Your car came in for a an MOT test and the steering problem accord.
we have not fixed nor worked on any of the steering components on your car and we have proof of this. so for you to suggest that we are responsible for this is out of the question. we would advise that you remove your vehicle from our premises and seek advice from another car repair center as we do not wish to help you any further with this matter.what you must understand is that the problem with your car has occurred due to the age of the vehicle and could of happened at any given time. The steering components on any car a wear and tear items that need regular updating to ensure their function. but you can not ask a garage to repair an unrelated item on your and and then cover the whole car under warranty."


My assessment is as follows:
1. Garage have not taken reasonable care and skill and have damaged the vehicle
2. Car was driven to garage. Hence there were no steering wheel issues
3. MOT has passed after issues were fixed.
3 a) No steering wheel issues reported in MOT - Which means it happened after MOT in the garage
(or) 3 b) MOT wasnt done properly and steering wheel issues were missed
4. Garage says they did not force me to leave the car. How do I take a car that is not roadworthy and unsafe to drive.
5. Garage says they have never suggested they will be able to fix the problem - Dont get what they mean. What is the point of a garage having a car for so long.
Feel they have misled me into believing they will fix it
6. No timeframe nor costs were agreed with the garage for this steering wheel issue. So they cant ask me to pay up any more
7. Garage have been doing work on the car - "We have been working on this all day. To be honest with you we are stumped. Everything is technically and mechanically correct. We are looking into investigating further with an electrical specialist to identify the problem." Hence I dont know if they have modified any other parts etc
8. They havent responsed to if they are a member of the Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair.
9. I was never a regular customer like they say. Its the 1st time

As it stands now, car is undriveable and I have got a ultimatum to move the car from the garage now.

Sorry about the long detailed thread, but which option would you suggest

a) I should take it up further as the garage is at fault
b) No point . Its like flogging a dead horse
c) Garage should pay some level of compensation
d) Anything else? - If you disagree with assessment above

Thank you!

[Kati]

tagging des8 R0b xx

[des8]

Hi and welcome.

I doubt that the garage have caused the problem if all they did was to replace the dust covers.
From your description it sounds more like a failure of a component in the power steering

Before you can take the matter further you need to ascertain exactly what is wrong, and if it was caused by wear and tear or the actions of the garage

[carx12]

Hi. Thanks for the response. Following were the work done on the car

I am not a techie with car parts, these are the parts they have replaced in the car.

Parts:
- New Door Lock
- Anti-roll bar link offside front
- Track rod end Nearside Front
- MOT work (MOT passed after)

[des8]

If the steering was fine when the vehicle went in, it is unlikely to be a mechanical problem.

This leaves the electrical assist system.
I haven't worked on a Golf but would assume that there are sensors near the steering wheel and rack, plus a controller.
There will also be a large fuse somewhere in the system.
The fault could be as simple as a crushed wire somewhere, but without a VW specific scan tool it will be difficult to trace, as I doubt a generic scanner will be able to locate the problem.
When testing the steering in MOT the problem might not have shown up as movement left and right is not done under load
(altho' I am surprised if they did not notice the problem when driving into and out off the MOT testing bay)

I suspect your garage is not a VW main dealer

[paulajayne]

Having worked on a Golf with electric assist I would guess that the ABS wheel sensor is at fault as it is linked into the electric assist.

[ostell]

But they've replaced a track rod end. Mess that up and it could make the steering stiff.

If VW use the same electrical power assist as Fiat then it could be an electrical problem, even a failed alternator. Is the alternator light on? Does it come on then go out even?

[carx12]

No. The garage is not a VW main dealer

At the moment the car is with them, and I am pursuing next steps to try to move the car out of the garage to another dealer .
Not sure about the alternator as I wouldnt even know where to look.

The fact that they have said "we have not fixed nor worked on any of the steering components on your car and we have proof of this" , especially after working on a track rod seems to fail me for words. I am no techie with a car, but all information points to that its an integral part of the steering system.

[meellis]

In my opinion until the fault is located (by another garage and maybe without them knowing the story) nobody can be blamed. From my knowledge of modern cars they would have been working on steering components to replace the parts they have but until there is a known fault and a possible cause there is no-one that can be blamed because there is nothing that can be blamed on anyone. If they have worked on it all day then I cannot understand why they don't want to see it through unless they are just under the impression that they are going to be blamed whatever the issue and then not be paid for their time and efforts. I am an engineer (albeit an heating engineer) and it is very awkward when something goes wrong after you have worked upon it but I basically believe that everyone needs to stay calm and find the fault and how it happened before looking into who was responsible.

[carx12]

@Meelis : Thanks for your inputs. They have had my car for almost 6 months now. I have given them ample time to set things right but instead of finding what's wrong, they seem to be dilly-dallying and dont want to do anything with the car anymore. What choices do I have?

[meellis]

All I can say is that you need to take it elsewhere to find the problem and then when you know what the fault is and if anyone is responsible you then get a report to act upon. All I can do is read between the lines of what you have posted and I wonder whether you have left the car because you have implied that they are responsible for the fault and they are reticent to spend too much time on it because they are unsure whether they are going to be reimbursed. I can understand why you would feel it is their responsibility but you have no proof at this moment so until you have that you have to get it diagnosed and I would suggest by a third party for an un-biased opinion. Some garages would be trying to charge you for storage which they don't seem to have so I cannot believe they are totally unscrupulous so maybe they are just out of their depth, with some modern cars their are things that require expensive tools that are specific to a very small volume of work so small garages will not always be able to do some jobs.

[des8]

Your choice is one of leaving vehicle where it is to rot, or remove it to a garage where there are mechanics capable of diagnosing the problem.
As already advised without diagnosing the problem you have no choices.
The garage may have been dilatory but you have always had the right to move the car, and I certainly would not have left it with them for 6 months!

[carx12]

I have moved my car to a different garage and they are going to do some diagnosis.

I have asked the previous garage "Have you replaced/modified any parts in the car since the MOT passed, as you were looking to fix the steering wheel issue" - but they arent willing to share the details with me and want the new garage to call them . Think its a fair question to ask and they should share since anything they have done could affect the new diagnosis results.. Your thoughts?

[des8]

Your car so yes they should tell you what they have done to it.
How you force them to disclose is another problem!

Perhaps you can listen in (Speaker phone & record on a stick) when the new garage speak to them?

[Onestepatatime]

When you say the steering is stiff, what do you mean by this?
is it stiff in that you can’t turn it without great force or is it that it feels heavier than before? Is it that the vehicle is pulling against you whilst driving?
It could be that they have fitted the new track rod ends and haven’t checked the tracking of the wheels after replacement thus the tracking is out and this can give a stiff feel to the steering dependant upon how far out the tracking is.
How do you diagnose that the car is unroadworthy?
Leaving your vehicle on their premise without any agreement to works is futile as they clearly do not believe their actions have been the cause. You need the new garage to do a tracking check first and foremost as this will identify if what the first garage HAS done is the cause. If the tracking is within parameters then I’m afraid the problem is caused via something they haven’t done as a deliberate action. Then you have to establish what is wrong and the likelyhood of their repair or actions being the resulting new problem.