Ford Fiesta is still one of the favorite cars all over Europe and especially in the UK where over 1.5 million Fiestas of various generations are still driving on the roads. This is the number one car model in the UK, by the way.
But there is one problem that almost all Fiesta MK7 (2008-2019) owners face – the problem with the clunking steering wheel. I’m not talking here about the steering rack clunk which is also pretty common for Fiestas. I’m talking about the clunking that occurs when you turn your steering wheel.
It’s especially noticeable when you turn your steering wheel while the car isn’t moving. This sound reminds the driver of the tires getting stuck on the asphalt and it’s actually scary because it seems that something is falling apart in the steering system.
I’ve found the fix for this after several tries.
The culprit is the steering column
While you may be sure that the problem is in the traditionally weak steering rack, the actual culprit for this sound is the steering column. When you hear this sound and feel bumping on your steering wheel, it seems that the problem is happening somewhere near your legs, in the interior of your car. And this is right.
Here’s what happens:
- the steering column in your Fiesta has an intermediate driveshaft with several joints in it;
- one of the joints is faulty and will go bad after about 50,000 miles or 80,000 kilometers;
- the joint will get worse and worse till you replace the entire shaft;
- when you turn the steering wheel, the shaft clunks as the joint jumps from one position to another;
- eventually, the clunking may lead to steering wheel blockage, so it’s important to not ignore this.
Interestingly, I couldn’t find the faulty joint when I took my old intermediate shaft and tried to diagnose the joints. It all seemed to be OK and I was even afraid that I had spent the money for nothing. But no, the problem disappeared right after shaft replacement.
Fortunately, you won’t need to pay for hours of labor as replacing the steering shaft in a Fiesta MK7 is easy. One important thing to remember is that the bolts that hold this shaft should be also replaced – they come in the OEM package but should be ordered separately if you choose an aftermarket shaft.
Which steering column shaft to choose for your Fiesta?
There are three options – the new OEM, the used OEM, or the new aftermarket one.
I strongly advise against used parts for your steering system. They may eventually be as faulty as your old part and you will just throw away some money and time.
New aftermarket parts are available everywhere. Even in Chinese online shops, you can buy such a shaft for something like 40 euros/pounds. But the problem is that these shafts are as bad as you can imagine. Or even a little worse. After my investigation, I understood that aftermarket shafts aren’t worth the money you will save when buying them.
The new OEM shaft is the only optimal solution. Yes, they aren’t that cheap. I managed to find one through my local Ford dealer for about 150 euros but I had to wait. The ones that were easily available were more expensive.
Anyway, I drove 20,000 kilometers with the new OEM shaft before writing this post and everything is absolutely fine, no clunking when turning your steering wheel.
Can you replace the steering column shaft on your own?
In a Ford Fiesta, the steering column intermediate shaft replacement is not a very hard task and you can do this with some level of mechanical experience. But you will need a torque wrench of a special shape and size. Replacing this part is not that convenient as it’s located in the foot well which is pretty cramped.
In my Ford dealership, it took them about 45 minutes to replace the shaft and I paid very little money for labor. So, it’s better to let professionals do this job, in my opinion.
One more strong argument for this is that the steering system is directly responsible for the safety of your driving, so it’s not worth it to risk your safety for the sake of saving like 50 euros/pounds.
Lubricant for the steering shaft – will it help?
One of the key reasons why this shaft goes bad is the lack of lubricant in its joints. The lubricant dries out over time and the shaft starts wearing out extensively.
One of the possible solutions is the addition of the lubricant to the joint. There is a special lubricant that is really cheap and dealers very often recommend applying it before trying anything else.
It may help you to solve the problem partially for several weeks. After that, the problem will come back. So, I don’t recommend spending your time and money on a lubricant for the joints of the steering column shaft – this won’t last long, I checked it on my Fiesta.
How to choose the appropriate shaft?
For the MK7 Fiesta, there are several codes of the shafts that are compatible with the car. You can buy any of them. There are the shafts for the American Fiestas and for the European ones. Actually, they are the same.
You should still use your VIN code if you want to buy the part on your own because there were a couple of types of steering columns in the Fiesta.
Still, the best option is to go to the dealer and get the proper part number for your car. I eventually bought the shaft from the dealership cheaper than I could buy it online in different shops but the dealer was kind enough to provide me with the part numbers for free and I checked the prices everywhere before making up my mind.
Prolonging the life of the steering column shaft
There is another thing I want to cover in this article. The problem is that these shafts haven’t been changed much by Ford since they were first made. So, they keep selling faulty shafts that will start clunking after you drive another 50K miles or 80,000 kilometers.
So, there is one way you can prolong the life of this part and make sure you don’t spend this money again soon.
Here’s what you need to do:
- after driving about 15,000 miles or 25,000 kilometers with the new shaft, go to the dealership;
- ask your mechanic to look at the shaft and confirm it has the needed amount of lubricant;
- if everything is OK, just make sure you inspect the shaft every time you change the oil in your car;
- after about 45,000 miles or 70,000 kilometers, buy the lubricant for this shaft and ask your mechanic to add it to the joints;
- once you feel any clunking, go to the dealership for inspection immediately.
This is just another thing you should remember to do during regular car maintenance. And this can eventually save you some money and nerves.
Also, don’t ever try to tighten the bolts on this shaft. When the steering wheel starts clunking in your Fiesta, you may suppose that some bolts are poorly tightened. Tightening the bolts on this shaft will kill it immediately. They only should be tightened with a torque wrench set to the special torque.
Do you have experience solving the problem with a clunking steering wheel in the 7-gen Fiesta? Please write in the comments below!
