Power steering
QI have 2015 VXR8 which has developed a fault with its electric power steering system. On the first day I picked it up something in the steering failed. There was an error message on the dashboard and the steering became incredibly heavy.
I phoned the dealer who said don’t worry they all do that. His solution was just switching the engine off and on again will clear the fault. It did but it happened again several times, to the point where it became dangerous as it failed at a junction.
What I want to know is which part of the power steering is at fault – the rack, control unit or the steering wheel angle sensor. Or is it something else?
I took my car to Arnold Clarke in Blackpool and asked them to connect it to Tech2 – they had no idea what a Vauxhall VXR8 was or how to service it. So what is the best way to capture the fault codes on these cars?
The engine is the 6.2-litre supercharged V8 with manual transmission.
Paul Bentley
AAs I am sure you know, the Vauxhall VXR8 is a Holden special vehicle which is imported and re-badged with the Vauxhall emblem. There is very little information on the vehicle and even Autodata has very limited details on the vehicle. Other than showing an illustration of the camshaft drive chain, and giving details on how to re-set the service indicator, there is little else which may point to assisting to diagnose the problem.
The vehicle does have the standard onboard diagnostic port and using this should give a more selective indication of the possible area of the problem. The difficulty here will be finding a diagnostic scanner that has the VXR8 listed.
I have been in contact with Gendan and they did not have a suitable scanner available. I have found that the www.launchtech.co.uk site does list the VXR8 but only the 2012 model. It may be worth attempting to find an independent who has suitable equipment, or possibly a different dealer.
The fact that switching off and on again does re-set the problem, is proof that it is an electrical issue in the management system, but without a specific code, the exact area of the problem could not be determined.