I'm leaving my car into garage tomorrow but interested to hear other opinions on this.
My 2005 Nissan Micra S steering wheel has seized up. It will turn to an extent (along with the wheels) but only if I put all my force into it. I'm not the strongest so got my boyfriend to have a go and he also struggled. There had been a bit of a 'squealing' noise from the steering when I was parking the odd time- that noise has been there for years though, all MOTs passed and no other issues until now.
What could it be? Is it power steering? I didn't think it should be THAT heavy if it was. Hoping it's not something horribly expensive.
Well I just looked and apparently K12 micras like your use an electric power steering on the column. Prices on Ebay look to be £100-£150 but its the labour that would be the real killer unless you DIY
Electric power steering failure is one of many reliability issues with the K-12 Micra, details of problems and remedies can be found on the Daily Telegraph motoring correspondence website Honest John.co.uk. When you get into the homepage try searching the forums for :
( Nissan Micra (2003 - 2010) - 2004 1.2s (K12) Electric power steering loss http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/?t=59770
I have an 04 K12 Micra 1.2S(Which should have been included in the subject header - GRRRRR) , first the mileometer digits went down at 18,000 miles and had to fit new, now the red PS light has come on and there is No power steering! now, I know these have an electric motor on the column that can fail, however before I go ahead and have the whole thing changed is there any other fault it could be? its only done 20,000, worst car I have ever owned!
2004 K12 model Electric Power steering Fault! - langdon
Just to update my thread of 28th Jan, had No power steering whatsoever, red PS light on dash, Main agents advised problem to be electric motor on column, replacement needed, many many hundreds of pounds!!! Had a diagnostic technician come out today, (Has £50,000 worth of latest software equipment on board his van!) and came highly recommended, within 5 mins had turned the light out and restored Power Steering! cost, £45.00+VAT said I was now the third Micra within as many months this had worked for, the other two had not been back so he assumes they are OK, lets hope mine lasts too! worth knowing before you replace.
My 2005 K12 also suffered from the same problem, just 40 miles after closing the private deal. The official dealer quoted 2300 Eur for replacing the steering column. Unacceptable.
I ordered a little thingy that is supposed to be the Chinese copycat of the Nissan Consult II, in order to be able to clear the fault code at no marginal cost (google for "Nissan N607" and you will find it easily). It was a 100 Eur investment which I considered to be fair even if there was no online evidence that this could actually work as expected.
Well, it turns out that it worked perfectly! Received the handheld unit, plugged it into the OBD connector, ran automatic diagnostic, cleared the code, and the PS came back! It took me less than a minute to fix event without any prior knowledge about how to do it.
But here is the aftermath. Apparently there are two major fault modes in the PS of the K12's. One is a proper malfunction of the electrical engine, which can only be fixed by replacement. The other is random CAN communications error of the module in the PS, which is non critical and can be cleared without problems. The error diagnostic report clearly reported the latter. So far I have driven about 500 miles for the last 2 months and the problem has not come up yet. The unit is very compact, so it fits conveniently under the passenger's seat. On top of this, you also have a great diagnostics tool to have good situational awareness before taking your chances at the dealer's garage.
I really hope that this trick solves most of the cases that have been presented here, particularly in these days of financial hardship.
Thanks for all your help and sorry for the delay in replying. It's the electric power steering and I was looking at £800 to £1800 to fix depending where I took it (Nissan being the more expensive of the 2). Gutted. In a nutshell I'll only be able to sell it for the low hundreds despite the car being in near perfect condition. Car is grounded & Im now facing the dilemma of whether to go car-less for a while. I will never buy a micra again
Unfortunately we did try that. It went back to seizing up after 2 days. It has been sporadic ever since; sometimes the wheel will turn and others, no such luck. I was told by a garage they could send off my current one and have it repaired rather than replace it. Not sure if I trust a fix like that though, even if it will temporarily save cash
Very sorry that the can bus communications reset did not resolve the problem in this case. Multiple ECU/slave modules can bus communication single fault code sometimes cascade triggers multiple fault codes in other modules, which go round and round re-triggering each other. Water leaks and condensation dampness on can bus ECU/slaves and connections can cause infinite variety of spurious faults & fault codes. Power down stop, reboot and reset all, may be worth repeating. Do not give up until all economically viable options are exhausted. Garages always want to throw parts at it because that’s how they make the most money.
Most modern small cars all have similar generic electric power steering now and are subject to the same EPS snags & this is by no means specific to the K-12 Micra! Should you decide to sell as it stands, advertise it and you will easily find a competent electrical DIY enthusiast in Belfast to buy and take on the repair project? Less than a day’s work to repair existing EPS or to fit a second-hand module, realign, and recalibrate if required. Introduce them to this fantastic co-operative Micra Sports Club technical knowledge resource base and suggest they be the first to photograph write up & share the innovative repair procedure on here!
Let us know how you resolve this with a positive outcome. Make it happen!
Electric power steering failure is one of many reliability issues with the K-12 Micra, details of problems and remedies can be found on the Daily Telegraph motoring correspondence website Honest John.co.uk. When you get into the homepage try searching the forums for :
( Nissan Micra (2003 - 2010) - 2004 1.2s (K12) Electric power steering loss http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/?t=59770
I have an 04 K12 Micra 1.2S(Which should have been included in the subject header - GRRRRR) , first the mileometer digits went down at 18,000 miles and had to fit new, now the red PS light has come on and there is No power steering! now, I know these have an electric motor on the column that can fail, however before I go ahead and have the whole thing changed is there any other fault it could be? its only done 20,000, worst car I have ever owned!
2004 K12 model Electric Power steering Fault! - langdon
Just to update my thread of 28th Jan, had No power steering whatsoever, red PS light on dash, Main agents advised problem to be electric motor on column, replacement needed, many many hundreds of pounds!!! Had a diagnostic technician come out today, (Has £50,000 worth of latest software equipment on board his van!) and came highly recommended, within 5 mins had turned the light out and restored Power Steering! cost, £45.00+VAT said I was now the third Micra within as many months this had worked for, the other two had not been back so he assumes they are OK, lets hope mine lasts too! worth knowing before you replace.
My 2005 K12 also suffered from the same problem, just 40 miles after closing the private deal. The official dealer quoted 2300 Eur for replacing the steering column. Unacceptable.
I ordered a little thingy that is supposed to be the Chinese copycat of the Nissan Consult II, in order to be able to clear the fault code at no marginal cost (google for "Nissan N607" and you will find it easily). It was a 100 Eur investment which I considered to be fair even if there was no online evidence that this could actually work as expected.
Well, it turns out that it worked perfectly! Received the handheld unit, plugged it into the OBD connector, ran automatic diagnostic, cleared the code, and the PS came back! It took me less than a minute to fix event without any prior knowledge about how to do it.
But here is the aftermath. Apparently there are two major fault modes in the PS of the K12's. One is a proper malfunction of the electrical engine, which can only be fixed by replacement. The other is random CAN communications error of the module in the PS, which is non critical and can be cleared without problems. The error diagnostic report clearly reported the latter. So far I have driven about 500 miles for the last 2 months and the problem has not come up yet. The unit is very compact, so it fits conveniently under the passenger's seat. On top of this, you also have a great diagnostics tool to have good situational awareness before taking your chances at the dealer's garage.
I really hope that this trick solves most of the cases that have been presented here, particularly in these days of financial hardship.
Hi there. I have the same issue with the wife's car. The 'PS' light is on in red. Do you think a diagnostic technician such as the one you used would be able to resolve her issue also please. Thanks in advance!
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