I have a friend who owns a Honda Jazz automatic that exhibits a strange steering behaviour. When travelling in a straight line and the steering wheel is slightly turned to the left (or right) and let go, it does not centralise. My friend has now taken his car for an annual service and mentioned this to the dealer. The reply he was given was that “the Honda has electric power steering”.
ADRIAN VAN ZYL, Via email
Answer: We agree that this behaviour is abnormal, but it isn’t because the steering system is electric. From cheap to expensive remedies, we’d first check tyre pressures and the condition of the rubber, then the wheel alignment before moving on to the suspension joint/bushes before concluding with the steering rack. After asking round, it seems that a faulty/sticky steering rack is a common diagnosis on Jazz models with steering woes.