Rep Power: 0

Hello All,

I'm a newbie here.
I have got this problem with my second hand Honda Civic SE Auto 1.6v(2001 make). Recently bought it. Had checked the past MOT history, etc. No major faults until now.

Now the problem - I was driving around when I noticed that the steering wheel was not moving when I was trying to reverse. After a little acceleration, it was ok. Then today I was doing a turn in the road. The power steering wheel got totally stuck when it was fully locked and I was reversing. Had to really steer hard to get it back. Then while driving normal, it was ok. But there's a definite problem with the steering wheel which I'm not able to understand.

Has anyone else experienced this problem or is aware of such problem. I'm seriously worried what is wrong and how much it is going to cost me

Any help would be appreciated.
Many thanks.

 
Rep Power: 313

Sounds like it has power steering issues. Check your power steering fluid, if its normal then make sure your belt is not slipping. A good way to check for belt slipping is to turn the wheel fully in one direction while stopped, it puts extra load on the belt and it might cause it to slip. Make sure you have a friend watching for it, if it slips the belt needs to be tightened or replaced. Otherwise you might have P/S pump issues.

If it's totally locking the steering wheel you probably shouldn't be driving the car. Thats very dangerous, and that means you might have other issues.

 
Rep Power: 0

Hi tbohar,
Thanks for quick response. Much appreciated.
Sorry for sounding a novice, but what do you mean by 'belt'? Which belt should I check for?
Thanks again.

 
Rep Power: 313

The power steering belt is the only one you can easily see when you open the hood. It's on the right side of the engine hooked up to the power steering pump. It's a fairly small belt and when it slips you temporarily lose power steering. It's generally accompanied by a squealing noise, and sometimes a burning rubber smell. Good luck, check your fluid first

Crap I just noticed it's not a 7th gen so it might not be exactly the same, but it's probably pretty close.

 
Rep Power: 313

Wait a minute, it's a 2001? You sure it's not a 1.7? What country are you in?

 
Rep Power: 0

He says 1.6v which I would assume would mean volts, which means I would assume his car is the mysterious electric 2001 Civic.

/sarcasm

 
Rep Power: 0

Sorry, what do you mean by 'mysterious'?
It is a 2001 Y reg Automatic Honda Civic 1.6 SE Petrol (UK). Does this help?

 
Rep Power: 313

Yes it does, they didn't put the 1.6 in 2001+ civics here. I don't know anything about that engine though, sorry