Iq Recall - Power Steering

[ScifiPaul]

Inchcape Basingstoke replaced my steering column yesterday. The service was impeccable - pretty much like in Lexus. The car seems to run smoother afterwards and seems happy to lug a higher gear at lower revs - surely not subjective ? Does anyone know if the engine mapping has been changed, I will be checking consumption from the next fillup to see if it gets better still (50+ around town in an IQ2 manual)

[johnan]

Inchcape Basingstoke replaced my steering column yesterday. The service was impeccable - pretty much like in Lexus. The car seems to run smoother afterwards and seems happy to lug a higher gear at lower revs - surely not subjective ? Does anyone know if the engine mapping has been changed, I will be checking consumption from the next fillup to see if it gets better still (50+ around town in an IQ2 manual)

So that means that now three of us seem to think the ecu programming has been changed in some way to give a little more low speed torque.

Surely, as you say, it can't just be subjective, but who knows..maybe we are deluded! Or sad, or both!

[atkiman]

hi

well, i had the software upgrade on my 3 last month, and i reckon your spot on, mine'll run at 60 in top on the m6/a14 all the time now ,whereas preupgrade , i needed to run her at 65 to keep in top,just wouldn't hold top gear at 60 on a drag, and if you got baulked uphill it was a definite downchange. Definately more torque now, better car to drive , just ignore the green 'change now' idiot lights.

[Parts-King]

Does anyone know if the engine mapping has been changed,

No it hasnt, the re-flash is of the EPS ECU, it has nothing to do with the engine ECU so cannot affect the way the engine performs

Kingo

[johnan]

Does anyone know if the engine mapping has been changed,

No it hasnt, the re-flash is of the EPS ECU, it has nothing to do with the engine ECU so cannot affect the way the engine performs

Kingo

I am sure you are correct, Kingo, but the car does seem to behave slightly differently.

For example, in my case, there is a hill near home after a tight corner, that I have to go up every day and I was used to flying up it in 2nd in my Aygo (lower gearing and lighter) and was disappointed when I got the IQ that it was not nearly as keen as the Aygo was to accelerate up the same hill.

After the software update the IQ is quite happy to accelerate up the hill.

Very strange, as I haven't lost any weight, though I could do with it!

I suppose it must be my imagination!

[Parts-King]

I suppose it must be my imagination!

it must be! The ECU re-flash just changes some values in the EPS ECU

The mind plays funny tricks on us!

[ScifiPaul]

One possibility, on my old Lexus IS200 if you disconnected the Battery the main ECU reset and forgot all the engine mapping it had learned from your past driving style, perhaps that is the case and the engine ECU just reset to a basic condition. If I start thrashing the engine - sorry, using the upper rev ranges, perhaps it will lose that low down torque ?

Paul

[Devil-ish]

Well after 2.5hour wait car has been 'done'. Seems ok. They did not say anything when I complained about the £10 extra fee for courtesy car having been waived at other dealerships....said sorry not their responsibility. HUH

They have ordered new locking bit for rusty back door lock and new part for fuel gauge which we have complained about - 100 miles on one bar and 100 miles on 5 bars????? seems wrong!!!!! So now its booked in for MORE work hey ho.....but they are picking it up this time

[johnan]

Well after 2.5hour wait car has been 'done'. Seems ok. They did not say anything when I complained about the £10 extra fee for courtesy car having been waived at other dealerships....said sorry not their responsibility. HUH

They have ordered new locking bit for rusty back door lock and new part for fuel gauge which we have complained about - 100 miles on one bar and 100 miles on 5 bars????? seems wrong!!!!! So now its booked in for MORE work hey ho.....but they are picking it up this time

I'm glad the work on your steering seems to have been done OK.

Re. the rusty bit in the rear door handle, did they take it apart to find out which part needs replaced or have they come across this before and know which bit to order?

[Devil-ish]

Well after 2.5hour wait car has been 'done'. Seems ok. They did not say anything when I complained about the £10 extra fee for courtesy car having been waived at other dealerships....said sorry not their responsibility. HUH

They have ordered new locking bit for rusty back door lock and new part for fuel gauge which we have complained about - 100 miles on one bar and 100 miles on 5 bars????? seems wrong!!!!! So now its booked in for MORE work hey ho.....but they are picking it up this time

I'm glad the work on your steering seems to have been done OK.

Re. the rusty bit in the rear door handle, did they take it apart to find out which part needs replaced or have they come across this before and know which bit to order?

Dont think they took it apart as it still has the same rust around it! So I think they must have had complaints before?????

[johnan]

Well after 2.5hour wait car has been 'done'. Seems ok. They did not say anything when I complained about the £10 extra fee for courtesy car having been waived at other dealerships....said sorry not their responsibility. HUH

They have ordered new locking bit for rusty back door lock and new part for fuel gauge which we have complained about - 100 miles on one bar and 100 miles on 5 bars????? seems wrong!!!!! So now its booked in for MORE work hey ho.....but they are picking it up this time

I'm glad the work on your steering seems to have been done OK.

Re. the rusty bit in the rear door handle, did they take it apart to find out which part needs replaced or have they come across this before and know which bit to order?

Dont think they took it apart as it still has the same rust around it! So I think they must have had complaints before?????

May be one of those cases where Toyota know there is a universal fault but will only take action if an owner specifically asks for a repair.

I was hoping it would be enough to mention it on the 'phone when booking the next service, rather than have to take it in to show them the problem, for them to have the part waiting for when I take it in.

I'll just have to see what they say.

[Phortys]

Hi a question have anyone had there steering column done and the steering wheel wasn't staight when going in a straight line when they got it back ??

My steering wheel was off to the left when going straight so took it back and they said it was sorted but it is still slightly off now have to take it back to get it taken to bits again to get it straight.

Will it just always be off or have they just not fitted it right in the first place and cant adjust it enough to straighten the steering wheel because it was to far out in the first place??

Paul

[johnan]

We had our steering recall work done in early December, and had a nice surprise today when we received a £20 M and S voucher in the mail, as a goodwill gesture.

Didn't expect it, so it is very welcome.

Can have something to eat other than beans on toast for a change!

Thanks Mr T, pity it had to happen in the first place though.

[MarkyPancake]

I've just got back from collecting my iQ3 on the second attempt to replace the steering column and to my disappointment it no longer drives in a straight line when you hold the steering wheel in the centre and now veers off to the right, so I will phone them tomorrow and it will be going back to get it sorted. They obviously did a test drive to check it after the part was replaced, I could tell from the mileage, so why do they think this sort of thing is acceptable.

[Devil-ish]

I've just got back from collecting my iQ3 on the second attempt to replace the steering column and to my disappointment it no longer drives in a straight line when you hold the steering wheel in the centre and now veers off to the right, so I will phone them tomorrow and it will be going back to get it sorted. They obviously did a test drive to check it after the part was replaced, I could tell from the mileage, so why do they think this sort of thing is acceptable.

Mine is off too!!! Going to ring next week n complain................

[MarkyPancake]

Do they not even notice things like this?! Their actual service has been brilliant though.

[MarkyPancake]

My iQ3 is booked in for next Tuesday to sort out the steering and then hopefully this will be the end of the recall work.

[curly kittten]

had my steering column replaced this week at toyota listers cheltenham,great service as always,i can tell no diffence when driving it,it did come back very clean though

[IronIron]

Took mine in to the Toyota East Barnet branch for the recall last week.

Took photos of interior before, but cant see anything has changed afterwards

Rating of branch:

The Good

Super polite staff and quite friendly

The Bad

They couldn’t find my form when I brought it in and faffed about a bit, but found it eventually

Was told it would take 2-3Hrs (this was at 8am), but could take longer they promised (I asked) to call me later to update when it would be ready

At 13:30 I got a call. They wanted to remind me to bring in my car the next day for the recall….

You can imagine what I said, the guy said he had to check something and would ring me back

Someone else rang back and said it would be ready at 16:00-16:30

My car sat in their car park half a day because they lost the form a second time…

I would have been more angry, but Honda Enfield lost my previous car in their car park in 2010, so im actually getting used to this kind of incompetence…

They also left the stereo on and set very loud so as soon as I turned on the ignition I sounded like a boy racer at a club meet. They ‘washed’ the car, but I don’t know what they used as the whole car was covered in a greasy film that clumped up in to a sticky residue when I used the windscreen wipers.

They rang me up a few days later and asked if I was satisfied with the service, I said not really - the guy on the phone then remembered who I was. They then had the cheek to read a script reminding me to please choose completely satisfied when I receive the written feedback form – err did you listen to what I just said?

Im looking forward to getting the feedback form

Update: Now investigating a problem with the horn, which seems to be a result of the recall work:

Problem got worse as time went on and horn only works now if pressing very hard with both hands in the centre. Car is now back at Toyota for them to fix it. They gave me a spare car and i didnt have to pay the excess insurance. One small + for them in this mess, also found the first member of staff there that is helpful and polite not just polite. If you go to Toyota East Barnet try to get Eamonn :)

Eamonn compared my horn to one of their IQs and got theirs to beep with one finger, was quite funny seeing the difference.

I was called to collect it only 30mins after dropping it off. They said it was a loose wire, but didnt admit it was a balls up from the recall work and I didnt get an apology.

If you have already had the recall work done check your horn still works, I didnt notice until 2 weeks later!

[MarkyPancake]

I took my iQ3 back this week to sort out the no-longer-drives-in-a-straight-line-when-the-steering-wheel-is-centred issue and they said they tried to make adjustments to the steering column, which didn't make much difference, so they had a full wheel alignment done. Imagine my surprise when I got in it and drove off to discover it still pulls to the right. It wasn't like this before I had the recall work done and it wouldn't be so bad if my car actually suffered the problem the recall fixes. 'm not happy about it, but I can't fault the service the front of house people provided. Everything was on time, I was taken to work and picked up and they phoned me when they said they would. I didn't buy my first new car for all this hassle though and think I will let them know that it's still not driving as it did before, wheels aligned or not.

[johnan]

I took my iQ3 back this week to sort out the no-longer-drives-in-a-straight-line-when-the-steering-wheel-is-centred issue and they said they tried to make adjustments to the steering column, which didn't make much difference, so they had a full wheel alignment done. Imagine my surprise when I got in it and drove off to discover it still pulls to the right. It wasn't like this before I had the recall work done and it wouldn't be so bad if my car actually suffered the problem the recall fixes. 'm not happy about it, but I can't fault the service the front of house people provided. Everything was on time, I was taken to work and picked up and they phoned me when they said they would. I didn't buy my first new car for all this hassle though and think I will let them know that it's still not driving as it did before, wheels aligned or not.

That must be extremely annoying. I have always found a "non-centered" steering wheel to be one of the most irksome things to have in a car.To have it caused while fixing a non evident fault just makes it worse.

I think you must just keep at them until it is fixed, I certainly couldn't live with it.

Some years ago my Aygo had the same problem, from new, and I eventually got so sick of it I took it in to be fixed.The young lady service desk person said all they could do would be to give it a full alignment check, at my expense, £50 +vat at that time.(She thought I must have caused it by hitting a kerb or something I suppose, the car was about a year old at the time)

As an engineer I couldn't see how that alone would fix it, and said for that price it would have to absolutely perfect afterwards or I would not be pleased.

When I went back for the car she said the alignment equipment had "broken" and they were unable to do the job...

Clutching my £50 I went to a local tyre fitting place that has a good reputation who adjusted the track control arms very slightly which centalised the wheel.

This not a perfect solution as the track control arms should have equal extension on both side, but it solved my annoying problem and the car drove perfectly afterwards.The cost was £12(!)

I hope you soon get satisfaction and it is nice to hear you are getting such good service from MrT, apart from not being able to fix the problem straight away.

[MarkyPancake]

What I don't understand is how can changing a component inside the car, steering column, affect the adjustable tracking parts on the underside of the car?! I haven't called them back yet and thought I would give it a week to see how I get on, but every time I drive it I get annoyed that it goes right when the wheel is in the centre.

[johnan]

What I don't understand is how can changing a component inside the car, steering column, affect the adjustable tracking parts on the underside of the car?! I haven't called them back yet and thought I would give it a week to see how I get on, but every time I drive it I get annoyed that it goes right when the wheel is in the centre.

I presume if it is anything like "old" cars with which I am more familiar, the bottom of the column has female splines which mate with male splines on the steering rack, and if the technicians doing the column change don't get the column and rack splines orientated correctly during reassembly then the wheel can be offset slightly when driving straight ahead.

In the old days to fix it without removing the whole column, you undid the nut holding the wheel on to the top of the column, lifted it up from the splines on the top of the column, turned it as required to be non offset and then refitted it and tightened the nut.

It is not so simple now, with airbags etc, to take off the steering wheel.

The technicians won't be keen to take the whole thing apart again because they might end up with it being just as bad the next time.

They might get it right though!

There must be a foolproof way of doing it, surely, if they have been trained properly.

[tonyishuk]

A Couple of thought on the recall.

The Vouchers that Mr T sent out, Anyone know what the criteria is for being sent one ?

(Reading between the lines, not all recalls were / are sent vouchers ?)

Strange but true !

Does whatever MrT does to the steering affect the odometer in any way ?

When we got the IQ back, the brim to brim fillup figures for mileage showed me that I had either lost about two gallons of fuel, OR the speed was reset showing 100 miles less. Not being that savy I did not note the milage when the car was taken in, and because of the "features" of the fuel gauge, not too sure of how far I was down the tank when the car went in. I DO KNOW that the brim to brim fillup was 26MPG, normaly I get abour 45 MPG.

Rgds

[johnan]

A Couple of thought on the recall.

The Vouchers that Mr T sent out, Anyone know what the criteria is for being sent one ?

(Reading between the lines, not all recalls were / are sent vouchers ?)

Strange but true !

Does whatever MrT does to the steering affect the odometer in any way ?

When we got the IQ back, the brim to brim fillup figures for mileage showed me that I had either lost about two gallons of fuel, OR the speed was reset showing 100 miles less. Not being that savy I did not note the milage when the car was taken in, and because of the "features" of the fuel gauge, not too sure of how far I was down the tank when the car went in. I DO KNOW that the brim to brim fillup was 26MPG, normaly I get abour 45 MPG.

Rgds

RE. the vouchers.

I assumed every one got them, however I remember some time after ours had been done we got a letter from MrT, with a form to be completed by the dealer when the work had been done.We were supposed to take it to the dealer when we took the car in for the work, but it had already been done so I took it along afterwards.

Maybe once MrT gets the completed form back from the dealer they then send the vouchers.

If people don't bother giving the form to the dealers, or the dealers don't return it to MrT (I would assume they would need to , to get payment for the work done) then they won't get the vouchers.Perhaps.

RE. the second part.

The odometer shouldn't be affected.Has someone been on an extended "road test"?