The steering of my Mazda3 became loose and sloppy after an unauthorized road crown adjustment that I was told involved changing the "toe in".
Although significantly improved after four return visits to the Mazda service department, the steering still feels very light compared with prior to the initial adjustment. We compared my vehicle's steering to a new demo during a one-hour solo test drive, and the differrence was significant. My vehicle has 21,000 km (19,000 at the time of the road crown adjustment).
My husband's suspicion is that something has gone wrong with the electro-hydraulic power-assist. The steering wheel in the demo unit felt solid, and experienced noticeable resistance against the direction of turn. The wheel in my vehicle no longer does.
At the first readjustment appointment, the technician admitted that something went wrong during the initial wheel alignment, perhaps incorrect calibration of the wheel alignment equipment. Is there any possibility the electro-hydraulic power assist unit was damaged either during the wheel alignment, or as a result of driving a vehicle with an incorrectly-calibrated wheel alignment. I ask the same question regarding the steering rack. It was replaced a few days ago. This did help by restoring a solid steering wheel when the vehicle is not moving, but had no effect on steering feel when the vehicle is moving.
We will be meeting with the dealer and Mazda's district service manager at the end of the month to discuss this issue, since the dealer says they can do nothing more for us. I'd appreciate receiving suggestions on what may have gone wrong, what needs to be done to fix it, and how to handle our meeting with the district manager. Although I acknowledge the steering of my vehicle is currently "not bad" when compared with all of the vehicles on the road, it no longer feels like a Mazda3. Instead, the steering has as much in common as that on my husband's 16-year old Toyota Camary as it does with my previously-enjoyed tight steering.
Although significantly improved after four return visits to the Mazda service department, the steering still feels very light compared with prior to the initial adjustment. We compared my vehicle's steering to a new demo during a one-hour solo test drive, and the differrence was significant. My vehicle has 21,000 km (19,000 at the time of the road crown adjustment).
My husband's suspicion is that something has gone wrong with the electro-hydraulic power-assist. The steering wheel in the demo unit felt solid, and experienced noticeable resistance against the direction of turn. The wheel in my vehicle no longer does.
At the first readjustment appointment, the technician admitted that something went wrong during the initial wheel alignment, perhaps incorrect calibration of the wheel alignment equipment. Is there any possibility the electro-hydraulic power assist unit was damaged either during the wheel alignment, or as a result of driving a vehicle with an incorrectly-calibrated wheel alignment. I ask the same question regarding the steering rack. It was replaced a few days ago. This did help by restoring a solid steering wheel when the vehicle is not moving, but had no effect on steering feel when the vehicle is moving.
We will be meeting with the dealer and Mazda's district service manager at the end of the month to discuss this issue, since the dealer says they can do nothing more for us. I'd appreciate receiving suggestions on what may have gone wrong, what needs to be done to fix it, and how to handle our meeting with the district manager. Although I acknowledge the steering of my vehicle is currently "not bad" when compared with all of the vehicles on the road, it no longer feels like a Mazda3. Instead, the steering has as much in common as that on my husband's 16-year old Toyota Camary as it does with my previously-enjoyed tight steering.