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steering assist

2K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  Jo e Lefors 
#1 ·
does it ever require any maintenance?
 
#2 · (Edited)
Terry,
You may or may not have power steering, if you have power assisted steering it is electric not hydraulic, thus very little to no maintaince
.

i'll go on record stating i prefer the old style steering setup. easy, to steer, repairs easy to make and will last a lifetime if maintained. i owned a civic and cruiser and the cars were constantly drifting and pulling even tho the alignment was always perfect. then it dawned on me the other day that these cars have rack and pinion too and they don't drift or pull. now that could be due to the smaller wheels or the narrow front track or the outrigger wheelbase. but either way it is a joy to drive a car the drives like the older american cars.
How is the search going for your replacement rims?

Would replacing your front rims and tires with wider ones change what you like about the current handling of your smart?
 
#6 ·
Not all smarts have power steering. Maybe yours doesn't have it. Or, maybe yours doesn't work. It's such a lightweight car, I'm surprised any of them have power steering. IMO it's probably something they should have left off completely and lowered the price of the cars by $100. Other than parked at a complete standstill, you probably won't notice much of a difference in steering.
 
#7 ·
Since a smart is quite a light car, the effort needed for steering is not much. especially when the wheels are turning (car in motion) The only time you will feel the full effects of the steering assist would be at a complete stop and turning the steering wheel.

As for maintenance, normal lubrication of the steering ball joints if they have grease points , otherwise just a replacement of the electrical juice is all it needs. (by turning the car on )
 
#11 ·
I was told if you had
the steering wheel idiot light on the right side of the cluster when starting the car then you had steering assist. I just can't find any reference as to how it works and if any maintenance can be done on it. the ball joints do not have zerk fittings to allow greasing
 
#12 ·
Electric steering is maintenance free on the smart, just like the ball joints. Think of it this way. The car is so light in the front end, if the assist goes out you may not even notice, so forget about it.
But if you just can't help messing around with your toy car.
Pull the fuse and see how much of difference there is.

 
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