V40 CC T5 AWD - Heavy Steering
 

Hi everyone!

Just looking for a bit of advice, feel like I'm going crazy. Sorry if this ends up being long winded.

Bought a 2016 V40 CC T5 AWD in June 2023 and it was great for a few months. Swapped a V40 D4 2015 for it and felt it drove much better, especially having lighter steering.

Had some new front tyres fitted beginning of Sept as they were getting ready. Replaced the Continental All Season Contacts with Michelin Crossclimate 2. Sizes obviously the same. Also had the wheels aligned as the car was slightly pulling to the left and thr left tyre was unevenly worn. Didn't notice a huge difference after that.

Took the car to Volvo in October to have the Polestar Optimisation added. After attempting to load it, the car wouldn't start! Had to leave it with them for a day and half whilst they looked into it. They ended up saying the Optimisation wasn't possible and reloaded the car to standard. Prerty disappointed! We think the car was actually remapped/tuned and this caused the issue (I wasn't told this when purchasing so had no idea). I mentioned the steering felt heavy too but they said they said the technician didn't mention anything. I had a lovely courtesy XC40 and the steering was so much lighter than my V40.

Following this I still felt like the steering was heavy and cumbersome. Especially at slow speeds when parking or just maneuvering in car parks, etc. It started to annoy me. I thought it might just be the new tyres and take a bit of time to get used to. Got the suspension checked at Kwikfit (as they're local to work) and they said it was fine and the steering felt fine to them. Carried on using the car, I drive a few hundred miles a week so have drove it plenty since purchasing and familiar with its characteristics. Decided something definitely felt off/had changed. Spoke to Volvo and they said they'd have a look and connect to VIDA to diagnose. They said the power steering motor or module within, was giving error codes and the whole steering rack would need replacing (£1700, yikes!).

They said it wasn't safe to drive so decided to get it done and trust that it was that. I was sort of relieved that it would fix the issue and hopefully make the steering feel lighter, like it was when I bought it. But no joy, the steering is actually heavier now and feels like there isn't much assistance from the motor. I also have to push the wheel back to centre now where as before it would self-centre much more aggressively, possibly due to the allingment? I don't feel any difference between power assist in steering at slow speeds or high - shouldn't there be speed sensitive steering?

My car doesn't have the adjustable steering force option so no light, medium, heavy steering option - it is what it is.

Anyone have any suggestions? Am I overly sensitive to the steering? Is it just the new tyres? I guess I can go back to Volvo but I'm reluctant to sink more money into the car now. Might try getting the tyres swapped. I'm at a loss. Feel like just getting a new car if I could bit I'm stuck with this. Thought I'd have the car and love it for years!

Thanks, any advice is appreciated!

The steering rack had electric motor problem, is the same as used in focus. Sometimes there was a problem with loom. You need to use vida to check data or potencial fault. Find someone with vida or vdash. If there is a fault and you paid volvo to fix, ask them to fix under warranty

Thanks for your reply. The car has been back to Volvo and they say it drives fine. Its still very heavy to me and doesn't have speed dependant steering. Should this be standard on a 2016 V40 CC? Or was it an option? I can see that adjustable steering force was an additional option - which mine sadly doesn't have. Can't wait to move away from Volvo after this, their service has been terrible.

Edit: Done some more reading and it sounds like the speed dependant steering is part of the adjustable steering force option - which my car does not have. Its crazy to me that he default steering for the V40 CC is so heavy and isn't speed dependent. I thought speed dependant steering would be the norm on all cars from this era to now.

I have v40 cc and speed dependent steering and i can assure you it's very light at low speeds and getting heavier on the motorway. Find someone with vida or independent volvo garage. Sometimes with loom problem you won't have power steering and there won't be warning on the dash, but it will log Dtc in power steering related to communication with velocity camera on the windscreen, all systems are connected and if there is one failing it will affect the other.

Hi, thanks for your reply. I assume your V40 has the adjustable steering force option in MyCar? Mine doesn't have it unfortunately so I don't have speed sensitive steering. It's a shame it wasn't spec'd as it was a £100 factory option or that it wasn't standard on the most expensive V40 you can get.

No choice in settings in My Car but looking at the config is speed dependent and it feels that way. Ask dealer to check the spec by vin. This car has electric power steering and it should be very light regardless if you have the settings in my car or not. If you could PM your vin I could check.

Oh right, thank you. I wonder if there is still something off with mine then. Thank you, appreciate your help. I'll PM my vin.

Ah it says I need to have 30 posts to send a PM. That's annoying!

You can have
PSCM-U300053 Control Module. System Programming Failures. Deactivated
and then system will act exactly like your symptoms. Check with vida or vdash, it's a chance that dealer botched the job, since you paid for repair and the steering was working when you bought the car I am not certain they fix the problem only replaced the part. The steering is Ford focus, they are exposed to water and motor was failing, sometimes was the problem with loom but dealer would replace steering rack as its more money than tracing electrical fault.

Thank you. The garage has had the car back and said the steering is fine. I don't really want to keep going back to them but I guess I will have to. How would I check with vida or vdash? I had a look on the vdash website and it only showed one garage in the UK, I emailed them but we didn't get around to speaking. Might follow up with them too.

You can check here:https://d5t5.com/partners users that have vdash in your area, look for home users as they can scan for faults