[Dlegare0721]

I've had play in the steering wheel that is most noticeable when stationary or moving slowly. When I had an alignment done, i was told it is due to a worn bushing on the steering column that is common on Kias and Hyundais. I rec'd an estimate for $400 to have it replaced. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm hoping it gets rid of the play and the clunking. I replaced my ball joints and tie rod ends thinking they were the problem. Is this something that would be part of a recall? Thanks for your help!

Dave

 

[KingFatty]

Total BS!

It's a mdps flexible coupling that is bad, a little rubber part that costs about $4. It's nestled inside a large electric motor, the control unit for the Motor Driven Power Steering (MDPS).

Replacement should be free (10 years/unlimited mileage), you just ask for it and they will look up and see that it's covered under a customer satisfaction/warranty extension campaign.

See: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2016/MC-10090090-5448.pdf

Look, your dealership is incompetent for not knowing, or they are greedy little bastards that want your $400.
What is even more insulting, is the replacement procedure should take less than half an hour. So they would have charged you like $800 an hour for half hour of work, minus the $4 parts cost.

Be careful: the bastards at my dealership actually said they replaced the coupling under the free campaign, but they were just lying. They even prepared the paperwork and everything, saying they replaced it. But sure enough, they just took Kia corporate money to cover the free replacement, and didn't actually do it. I know because the problem remained after service, and when I asked them, they said they would charge me a $140 diagnostic fee to check, those m-fers. So I ordered the updated coupling (it's a stronger, stiffer rubber compared to the original) and did the procedure myself using a youtube video walking through all the steps (the mechanic was great, patiently filming the entire procedure start to finish. I think that mechanic claimed that if you know what you are doing you could do the replacement procedure in less than a half hour, which is what I think the techs at Kia should be doing it at that rate if they were honest.

here's picture of me holding the new coupling and the old, you can see how the old one is chewed up and wasn't providing proper cushioning when rotating the steering wheel. if you are handy, it would probably take less of your time to just do this job yourself using the youtube video, compared to the hassle of dropping off and picking up the car, plus waiting time for paperwork etc. And knowing the job was done right and no plugs were broken or left disconnected.

Oh, here's the youtube video, even with all his preliminary talking and things, the total time is still only 44 minutes long:

 

[Dlegare0721]

Wow! What a great answer! Can't thank you enough for all this information. Your pictures are invaluable, and I really appreciate the youtube link. I've made a lot of repairs myself with good videos so I will definitely try this myself. Thanks again.

Oh, one last question - where did you order the part from? I usually go to mykiaparts. com.

 

[Maretta]

Wow! What a great answer! Can't thank you enough for all this information. Your pictures are invaluable, and I really appreciate the youtube link. I've made a lot of repairs myself with good videos so I will definitely try this myself. Thanks again.

Oh, one last question - where did you order the part from? I usually go to mykiaparts. com.

I have the same problem with my steering and I mentioned it when I went in for my 60,000 mile check up on my 2015 and they said nothing was wrong with it I’ve had my tire rods on my front end totally redone just recently because I hit a curb and it’s still doing the same problem so I’m gonna see if I can get the dealer to replace it with under the hundred thousand mile warranty you’re awesome King thanks for all the info

 

[KingFatty]

Oh, one last question - where did you order the part from? I usually go to mykiaparts. com.

I look around at different sites to order parts, but seem to keep coming back to ebay. Ebay can be risky, but I seem to find that Amazon is the same risk, because both sites just offer parts from random vendors. I've ordered parts off ebay, and they arrived in an Amazon box, so I know it's the very same vendor selling on Amazon and ebay, but with lower pricing on ebay. I've also ordered from Kia specific websites, like when I want to make sure the part is OEM. I ordered my steering coupling replacement from Ebay, because the part is relatively simple to inspect and verify, it's cheap, and it's easy to replace if it fails.

The procedure to replace it was not as bad as it looks, but will involve unplugging the various wire connectors, so watch the video to see how the guy unlatches them. I'd just watch him do it, pause the video, then copy him. What's nice is the various plugs cannot be mixed up, they can only be connected back to how they were. But don't break them, you should make sure you are disengaging the latch properly so that it comes apart, without forcing it.

At one point I found it helpful to use a piece of wood to prop up the bottom of the steering column/MDPS unit. Made it easy to align the column without having to struggle with it. But what's pretty nice of Kia design, is the steering column has a little hook that will support the upper part of the column when you are putting it back, making it pretty easy to align. The video shows how you need to be mindful during disassembly to lift up the column to unhook it, or it just hangs in place after you've removed the bolts. If you scoot your driver's seat forward, it will hold up the steering wheel while you swap out the coupling.

 

[Speed2368]

I've had play in the steering wheel that is most noticeable when stationary or moving slowly. When I had an alignment done, i was told it is due to a worn bushing on the steering column that is common on Kias and Hyundais. I rec'd an estimate for $400 to have it replaced. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm hoping it gets rid of the play and the clunking. I replaced my ball joints and tie rod ends thinking they were the problem. Is this something that would be part of a recall? Thanks for your help!

Dave

My Kia dealership replaced mine in my 2011 EX under a factory recall free of charge. You might have yours check.

 

[mikzke]

I have a 2018 and recently noticed a rubbing sound when steering. This is most notable just when I back the car out of the garage. Could this be the same problem. I only have 36,000 miles on the car.

 

[andrewjs18]

kia replaced the one in our 2012 optima for free under the factory warranty..I think they did it sometime in 2019.