[Aussiei30lover]

Hi all, i bought a Hyundai i30 2008 (my09) just yesterday, its a beautiful car, came with RWC, only has 65000km on the clock and i only paid $5000 for it. Before buying i test drove the vehicle twice and could not find a single thing wrong with it, i was very wary of knocks and clunks especially after the 2 previous cars ive owned. The previous owner supplied log books with full service history on time every time. After all i was very happy to purchase the vehicle.

After purchasing the car, i drove it around for a couple of hours to get a feel for it, and to enjoy my new ride. Overall i was pretty amazed with the ride and feel of the car, it feels like a huge step up to my previous car. After an hour or so of driving i began to notice a knocking in the steering, mainly at low speeds (under 10 km/h) when moving the steering wheel more quickly left to right or right to left, and also when going over bumps at lower speeds. Before i purchased the car, i did some research into known issues, and found issues relating to the electric steering coupling and U joints in the steering, but i checked for this before buying the vehicle and as i said above, i couldnt hear a knocking or clunking.

Fast forward and the knock became a little worse the more i drove it last night, although driving it today it doesnt seem to have gotten any worse compared to last night. I notice if i rock the steering wheel side to side when stationery and car is off, the knock is there. I put my head down near the pedals and proceeded to rock the steering wheel and it sounds like the knock is coming from behind the pedals, where the steering shaft goes through the floor. After reading through this forum i saw a post saying that if there is a problem with the coupler inside the electric steering motor, it can sound like its coming from behind the pedals.

Im really hoping that others here have had similar issues and can shed some light on the situation. Thanks so much in advance

[Dazzler]

 

Sounds very much like the plasic bush/coupler that you suspect. The part is only a few $ but I think the labour to change it can be an hour or two unfortunately.  Bit of a bugger as you did all the right things in your initial search. Not a deal breaker, just a bit of a P.I.T.A.

@nzenigma who is probably the most helpful with this fault.

[nzenigma]

Thankyou Dazz, NZ bows and takes one man's applause.

Hi Aussiei30lover, welcome
 Dazz is spot on, it is a $5 bush in the steering column ( that's become very popular; a colleague told me the price has gone up to $25  )
Do the search on this forum re 'Steering Knock' and you will even find DIY instructions on doing the repair. Also quite a few warnings from yours truly about mechanics and Hy dealers who will load the job, claim it is something other than the bush, or claim you need a new steering column.
So shop around, its still safe to drive. 

[mickd]

G'Day

 
Good score 👍
An easy fix .

[Aussiei30lover]

Thanks everyone for getting back to me,this website is really my point of call for the i30. Hopefully i can save enough over the next couple of weeks to get the job done.

I have read other posts of people with the same problem who have driven their i30 with the coupling issue and had no further issues. However ive seen a few who have had to get the entire electric motor replaced due to damage caused by the worn coupling. I was wondering how bad it has to get for this to happen ?, because i figured that if i could end up with bigger problems from continued use then i might be best of parking the car until i can afford to get it done which would be horrible not being able to drive it

[Dazzler]

Thanks everyone for getting back to me,this website is really my point of call for the i30. Hopefully i can save enough over the next couple of weeks to get the job done.

I have read other posts of people with the same problem who have driven their i30 with the coupling issue and had no further issues. However ive seen a few who have had to get the entire electric motor replaced due to damage caused by the worn coupling. I was wondering how bad it has to get for this to happen ?, because i figured that if i could end up with bigger problems from continued use then i might be best of parking the car until i can afford to get it done which would be horrible not being able to drive it

I wasn't aware of any circumstances where the warn coupling caused the power steering module to fail (I've always considered them to be separate faults) but I stand to be corrected. I don't think @nzenigma thinks one caused the other?

[mickd]

Start with the rubber in the coupling and be wary of mechanics that say "oh no , the whole lot needs to be change " as NZ said.
Is yours a blue one that  was in carsales ?

[Aussiei30lover]

No mine is steel grey, i found it in carsguide after searching for months on end for a good car. It can be quite hard to find a good cheaper vehicle here in outback QLD.

I thought i should add that there isnt any play in the steering at all, it feels very nice and extremely direct.

Regarding having to get the electric power steering motor replaced, i found a website for Ipswich Mechanical who have a whole webpage devoted to the coupling problem with the i30. They have a video of a buggered electric power steer motor that failed due to the coupling, although you cant be sure how genuine they are. Here is the link Ipswich City Mechanical | Hyundai I30 Steering Knock - Ipswich City Mechanical

Just a question, if/when you had the coupling issue, how long did you drive the car with the knock ?

[mickd]

Ours is 10 months old.
As you said "how accurate is the website ".
I would not use them unless you want to hear " it's  all stuffed "
Feels good with no strange happenings suggests no major problems.
When fault finding you always start with the easiest, most common first.
Do as NZ said. Change the rubber first -it's a known cheap fault.
What have you got to lose ?
If you ask,  I'm sure you can be pointed in the right direction to do it yourself .

[nzenigma]

Unfortunately I cant get their video to load, so remain at a loss as to the so called damage. Once the bush starts to break down it rapidly looks like their example. The rubber just decomposes. My wife was driving her rattler for  several months and I have never seen any damage to the metal parts.
These Ipswich guys have realised this is a reasonably common problem in the FDs and are making hay while they can.
 Also why would you spend  $1000s on a new column when they are a dime a dozen in the wrecking yards. The bush renewal, once out of the car, takes 10 minutes.
Ipswich's warning about DIY is BS. 2 days ago, I used my mate's protool scanner to centre an FD steering column. A 30 second job!

Mick has a good BShite detector.     Avoid workshops like this Ippi mob.

[mickd]

Hi NZ ,
VID shows the worn rubber,  then pans to a shot of the motor and they push the central shaft and coupling the to the side. 
They push it a couple of times to different sides and the coupling moves with shaft.
Screen says " you don't want this to happen " .
( get this bit )
They install a NEW rubber bush into coupling and vid stops.
Obviously the shaft locates itself in the opposite housing in a bush.
 I  think all they are showing is the movement in the unsupported side the motor.
 Of course its going to move,  it has clearance to spin and it's unsupported.

[mickd]

Ok brain has  had a moment of clarity.
They show the armature and shaft moving in the clearance around the stator .
They say it will flop around if the bush is shot.
My brain gives me the 💩 at times.

[nzenigma]

You're doing well mate, my brain is addled by Tuesday. But, we are in lock-step on this, these guys are full of it.

Incidentally, their instrument pictured at the Right bottom of the page, is plugged into the car's OBD2 socket and would be reading the  Steering Angle Sensor (30 second job).

[Aussiei30lover]

Here is a link to the i30 i bought, for anyone who might be interested in what she looks like, I think the previous owner has forgotten to remove the ad : 2008 HYUNDAI I30 SX For Sale ,000 Manual Hatchback | CarsGuide,+QLD--Hatchback?searchKey=cg_s.63558618d657eeae5521d0ec51a9f185#pos0

Im about to take her up to the mechanic who did the rwc, i'll try to explain the coupling issue as best i can, and update later.

A big thankyou to everyone on this thread, thanks so much for helping out.If there is anyone who could add any more input that would be fantastic, the more, the better !

Thanks all

[mickd]

Nice and straight and clean 
Wonder if they were selling as they had heard horror stories from "experts ". 
Their loss, your gain.

[Dazzler]

Thanks for the link, despite this little hiccup it was a bargain. 2.0 petrol manuals go well and the motor and manual trans are both pretty reliable.   

[tw2005]

Unfortunately I cant get their video to load, so remain at a loss as to the so called damage. Once the bush starts to break down it rapidly looks like their example. The rubber just decomposes. My wife was driving her rattler for  several months and I have never seen any damage to the metal parts.
These Ipswich guys have realised this is a reasonably common problem in the FDs and are making hay while they can.
 Also why would you spend  $1000s on a new column when they are a dime a dozen in the wrecking yards. The bush renewal, once out of the car, takes 10 minutes.
Ipswich's warning about DIY is BS. 2 days ago, I used my mate's protool scanner to centre an FD steering column. A 30 second job!

Mick has a good BShite detector.     Avoid workshops like this Ippi mob.

Hey Gary, mate. How's it going mate. Ol Mate. What's that , you have access to a scanner to centre the column. Maaaaaaaaaaaate,

can you provide us with the Samford Valley edition then of the video since we're all ex cons over here?

Oh, what are you doing at the end of the year? Shed Full? Maaaaatey mate.

[tw2005]

By the way, they're RACQ approved workshop. There's hope

[nzenigma]

  Luv you too Gerard 
You don't need to scan and re-centre if you mark the column when you remove it, eg steering wheel TDC & lower uni to rack spline. Don't turn the Power steer motor or shaft when you replace the bush.

You finally taking my DATED advice and repairing the taxi? 

[tw2005]

Luv you too Gerard 
You don't need to scan and re-centre if you mark the column when you remove it, eg steering wheel TDC & lower uni to rack spline. Don't turn the Power steer motor or shaft when you replace the bush.

You finally taking my DATED advice and repairing the taxi? 

Nah, TAXI is good it's my 2008 Steel Gray  Hatch. maybe it's a colour thing.  I was thinking doing complete rack and column with the 41K unit. The original factory marks are there for the coupling to rack assembly. I'm guessin in that instance I'll need to reset? yeah it's a no brainer if you remove and refit to original position it should be good. Holding mainly due to time and the real possibility of creating more work i.e. A trip to the dealer .

[nzenigma]

The rack should be ok. A pain to change because you will need to drop the sub-frame etc. Have a look at what is involved,  would do the steer column first.

[Shambles]

We need to think about payment for you i30OC tekkies.

OK.

Thought about it.

Next...

[nzenigma]

We need to think about payment for you i30OC tekkies.

OK.

Thought about it.

Next...

  She sounds like my wife.

[tw2005]

We need to think about payment for you i30OC tekkies.

OK.

Thought about it.

Next...

Appeal, your Honour

[Dazzler]

We need to think about payment for you i30OC tekkies.

OK.

Thought about it.

Next...

Appeal, your Honour

Nope... Has no appeal to me! 

[nzenigma]

OK honey 
One dark night when you are immobile and whimpering on the side of the road ....... you will  throwing money at the Tekkies,

Gosh its a horrible scene 

[The Gonz]

[nzenigma]

 
"Tomorrow will be GREEN!" ....

 ........ to quote a crook I knew in LA ;  he was planning a 'job'. 

[risc527]

I have had this knocking issue on my i30 1.6wagon 90k on the clock. Started as a slight knock\click on the left side and gradually over a few weeks the steering gave more of a rattle and felt looser. The power steering light also came on this time althought it still had power. Had my local garage check it and the bushing had gone again - completely disintegrated, last one replaced 5yrs ago :-| plus the steering angle senor was faulty whcih was why the warning light came on:( .

 Had them changed and all was good for a couple of months but now the knock is back when steering to the left . Had it checked this morning and now it is the bearings on the power steering rack - had been recommended to change the power steering rack  quoted - $950AUD for a new steering rack with labour. 

[nzenigma]

completely disintegrated, last one replaced 5yrs ago :-| plus the steering angle senor was faulty whcih was why the warning light came on:( .

 Had them changed and all was good for a couple of months but now the knock is back when steering to the left . Had it checked this morning and now it is the bearings on the power steering rack - had been recommended to change the power steering rack  quoted - $950AUD for a new steering rack with labour. 

Bullsh, Where did the so called rack knock go for a "couple of months".?    Bush replacement fixed it. May have failed again. Or was never done. 
angle sensor repair was a simple data reset. Get another opinion.