[5.0_stang]

Allot of guys said they had results from simply disabling the EPAS... and they didnt have to replace the entire rack?

huh.gif Really? Who? How? unplug it?

As to the person thinking this was so few cars, its more than a few, a lot apparently. Enough for people to be complaining. Still, glad u didnt experience it:

(From the link below)
"This question often pops up online and I get calls and e-mails from customers on a weekly basis, so I figured I'd put an updated "Public Service Announcement" in our S197 build thread as well as any EPAS specific threads we see on Mustang forums. I am not saying that this will happen to your 2011-14 Mustang, or another Ford automobile with EPAS steering, but it happened to our 2011 GT and we've heard of this on at least 100 more cars, too. "

Vorshlag 2011 Mustang GT 5.0 - auto-x/track build (STX?) - SCCAForums.com - SCCA Racing Discussions - Sports Car Club of America - Racing Discussion Forums - Vendors - Vorshlag Motorsports

 

[blu13gt]

So when you disabled your EPAS how was the steering after that? Does it feel like a traditional manual rack taking a lot of effort to turn the wheel when not moving?

 

[T3RM1N8R]

I read somewhere, and there was a thread about a guy with a 2010 GT who disabled the electronic component of the steering. Our cars have a feature where the car detects cross winds and the computer automatically adjusts steering in order to compensate for the change. They had disabled this feature and all of the steering wheel vibrations were gone.

 

[5.0 Coyote]

I think the electronic steering,came out in 2011 to my knowledge, 2010 has the hydro steering system.

 

[choate]

I've posted about this before and read the long thread in the s197 forum as well. My car was build 02/2011. It's a 2012 model car. I don't recall any vibrations at all until I switched the wheels to 20s. It was still on stock suspension then. I didn't have the old wheels anymore and wasn't going to sell the 20s so I just lived with it but my car has shook at 75-85 ever since the wheel swap. I've had 2 road force balances which took the shake out of the steering wheel but the whole inside of the car still vibrates. It's not terrible and what's funny is some mechanics say it's smooth to them. They don't even notice it but I sure do. You can set a plastic bag or a piece of paper in the seat (or just look at the head rest and it shakes back and forth about 1/4". You can also say "ahhhhhh" and it sounds like someone is patting you on the back creating a "chopping sound". Sometimes worse than others. I don't want to drop 1k to fix this either. Lowering, adding a panhard and rear poly LCAs w/ brackets didn't change anything but for $400 I might be down to fix this issue that is annoying to me. Just my 0.02.

 

[T3RM1N8R]

I think the electronic steering,came out in 2011 to my knowledge, 2010 has the hydro steering system.

Sorry the guy with the 2010 GT changed his rack to epas and added track apps so he could change his steering feel. I cant find the thread of what im talking about. I think its from another forum.

 

[5.0_stang]

I've posted about this before and read the long thread in the s197 forum as well. My car was build 02/2011. It's a 2012 model car. I don't recall any vibrations at all until I switched the wheels to 20s. It was still on stock suspension then. I didn't have the old wheels anymore and wasn't going to sell the 20s so I just lived with it but my car has shook at 75-85 ever since the wheel swap. I've had 2 road force balances which took the shake out of the steering wheel but the whole inside of the car still vibrates.... .

I had the shaking without doing any mods. Yea, I and apparently lots of others tried road force and everything else, the steering still does it (link in prior post). Its totally your (anyone's) preference as to how much it takes away from enjoyment of the car AND prolly subjective each car as to how sucky it gets. All I know is, my steering is completely "healed." Over 60 + I do feel some type of vibration in the pass seat too. I have no idea what that is. I prolly notice it bc I no longer have a steering wheel with a bad hangover.

 

[choate]

I had the shaking without doing any mods. Yea, I and apparently lots of others tried road force and everything else, the steering still does it (link in prior post). Its totally your (anyone's) preference as to how much it takes away from enjoyment of the car AND prolly subjective each car as to how sucky it gets. All I know is, my steering is completely "healed." Over 60 + I do feel some type of vibration in the pass seat too. I have no idea what that is. I prolly notice it bc I no longer have a steering wheel with a bad hangover.

That is interesting for sure. What's funny is when I took it into the shop for a road force balance (b/c according to Plaza Tire "we'll fix that vibration or find the issue with no problem".) They even said one of my tires was bad and they were still new and under warrenty (from a different shop back home where I grew up) and I was surprised but they replaced one of them that was "out of round".

Put back on balancer and as soon as I got on the highway it was still shaking like my knees when I see a big buck under my deer stand. Called back and he said bring it back in and we'll look at it. They came back out after doing it again and he said "the balance became off". Whatever that means. Did it again and I had a hunch it wasn't going to fix it so I drove off after the 2nd time and same issues. I called back again and he said they can't do anything else and it's just there is imperfections in the roads and the "chinese tires" aren't perfectly round. They were budget AS tires I purchased w/ the after market wheels the dealer talked me into. Anyways I just dealt with it, then got a set of used tires and had them put on, same issue. Those tires wore out and I recently got new General Gmax put on by a Ford Dealer and guess what, the seats still shake. I asked the guy who put them on and he said they road test all vehicles and it was smooth. I just said ok maybe it's just me but trust me it's not. I'll take a video of it when I think about it. No huge deal but it's not smooth. I had a $5000 focus I sold recently that drives smoother than this car. Just sayin' Good luck all

EDIT: I will say one thing, the road force balance did take 90% of the steering wheel shake out. I don't even notice that but before my watch would rattle back and forth so it did help for sure

 

[5.0_stang]

I am going to guess that for whatever reason, your EPAS did/does not freak out as much. When you turn on adv track sport mode and leave it on, no shaking of the steering from side to side? I am hoping it does not.

"blu13gt it feels totally like a traditional steering ,no difference. Not hard to turn. When I turn adv track sp mode the light comes on and then out after like 5 seconds. I am sooo glad too, bc it is totally steady. I no longer cringe waiting for EPAS to go nuts.

 

[cpembach1]

I am going to guess that for whatever reason, your EPAS did/does not freak out as much. When you turn on adv track sport mode and leave it on, no shaking of the steering from side to side? I am hoping it does not.

"blu13gt it feels totally like a traditional steering ,no difference. Not hard to turn. When I turn adv track sp mode the light comes on and then out after like 5 seconds. I am sooo glad too, bc it is totally steady. I no longer cringe waiting for EPAS to go nuts.

z

 

[choate]

I am going to guess that for whatever reason, your EPAS did/does not freak out as much. When you turn on adv track sport mode and leave it on, no shaking of the steering from side to side? I am hoping it does not.

"blu13gt it feels totally like a traditional steering ,no difference. Not hard to turn. When I turn adv track sp mode the light comes on and then out after like 5 seconds. I am sooo glad too, bc it is totally steady. I no longer cringe waiting for EPAS to go nuts.

I don't know if the first part was directed at me but I don't have sport mode I don't believe. I have 3 different steering modes, comfort, standard and sport. It's the same in all three modes. The steering wheel moves back and forth but just barely. You cannot feel that and it may be that it's moving from everything else moving too but I do not notice the shake in the steering wheel as much as I do my legs, seat etc. I have read where people with this problem report it's much worse in sport mode however in those that have that option on their car (only the 2011??)

 

[5.0_stang]

"I don't know if the first part was directed at me but I don't have sport mode I don't believe. I have 3 different steering modes, comfort, standard and sport."

Something about that doesnt seem right. You have 3 modes including "sport" but dont have "sport" mode? :headscratch:

Anyway, here is what I gathered:

"Sport Mode on '11 and '12's dials down the amount of traction control, stability control, the ABS intrusion sensitivity. If equipped, one push turns off traction control only and does not effect stability control. Two quick pushes engage Sport Mode. In my pony, holding the button down for five seconds turns off all the "traction" bs. The '13's have this "feature" plus launch control. I believe it is in GT Premium and the Boss. The GT500 has a much more advanced system. "

I am willing to bet the side to side motion of your steering is a result of EPAS. But its not real intrusive for you so thats good.

p.s. cpembach1 what is the purpose of posting "z?"

 

[T3RM1N8R]

OP did this solution take the shake out of the entire car or just the steering?

 

[modernbeat]

The shaking we had that was caused by the EPAS was very distinctive and different than having an out of balance or bent wheel, tire or driveshaft. It was obviously a product of the electric assist in the rack and wiggled the steering wheel in a very distinct way.

You can see the better of the two videos we made here:
Vorshlag 2011 Mustang GT build - Vorshlag Motorsports BMW (M3, E36, E46, E92), Evo, Mustang, Project Car and Racing Events Gallery.

We tried many fixes without any relief. We waited for the Motorsport steering rack to become available again and once we got our hands on one and installed it, everything was fixed.

FWIW, we've only seen this specific issue on 2011 cars, and not yet on the very late 2011 cars. Though we've been told that some 2012-2014 cars suffer from a vibration, after looking into it, it's not the same issue we had with the EPAS.

 

[T3RM1N8R]

The video you posted is the first time im seeing something like this, ever.

I was under the impression most people had a consistent shake which remained static and was not triggered by a certain steering input.

 

[choate]

"I don't know if the first part was directed at me but I don't have sport mode I don't believe. I have 3 different steering modes, comfort, standard and sport."

Something about that doesnt seem right. You have 3 modes including "sport" but dont have "sport" mode? :headscratch:

Anyway, here is what I gathered:

"Sport Mode on '11 and '12's dials down the amount of traction control, stability control, the ABS intrusion sensitivity. If equipped, one push turns off traction control only and does not effect stability control. Two quick pushes engage Sport Mode. In my pony, holding the button down for five seconds turns off all the "traction" bs. The '13's have this "feature" plus launch control. I believe it is in GT Premium and the Boss. The GT500 has a much more advanced system. "

I am willing to bet the side to side motion of your steering is a result of EPAS. But its not real intrusive for you so thats good.

p.s. cpembach1 what is the purpose of posting "z?"

You know what, you are correct. I always knew if I pushed my button once it said "traction control off". I can lay some serious rubber w/ that off too btw. And if you hold it for a while it says "advance trac off" I think. Low and behold I pushed it two times quickly today and it says "advance trac sport mode". I didn't drive it like that since I only remember when I was parking. Wonder if that would make it shake more? I'll try and report back. Also one thing I noticed is mine doesn't start until getting close to 80mph. There is barely any shake at all before that. Normally from my experience if your tires are bad or wheel is bent it will start to vibrate and get worse starting around 65 or lower

 

[5.0_stang]

OP did this solution take the shake out of the entire car or just the steering?

Sure. This took the side to side shaking exactly the same as Vorshlag (but less crazy -however equally annoying) out of my steering when nothing else worked. The car vibration IS less. Now, there is a slight .. "something" in my car that I feel at different times in the pass side seat and when I put my head back on the headrest. I would like any suggestions as to what that is.. hopefully not getting too side-tracked.

 

[T3RM1N8R]

Sure. This took the side to side shaking exactly the same as Vorshlag (but less crazy -however equally annoying) out of my steering when nothing else worked. The car vibration IS less. Now, there is a slight .. "something" in my car that I feel at different times in the pass side seat and when I put my head back on the headrest. I would like any suggestions as to what that is.. hopefully not getting too side-tracked.

Yeah, my steering wheel is not too bad, but at high speed the whole car shakes pretty bad.

Is it possible to damage the vehicle by jacking it incorrectly, resulting in vibrations like this?

 

[jande063]

I have a 2014 that has checked every single box to cause the EPAS to vibrate. I have swapped to high durometer bushings in the front control arms, I run wider wheels, and to top it off, I run 315mm Hoosier A6's on all four corners. I have no issues, and have never had any. The only explanation I have found is that all of the 2011, and some of the 2012 model year steering racks were defective, and if you checked any of the boxes listed above, the unlearn feature would not operate properly.

 

[csamsh]

I have a 2014 that has checked every single box to cause the EPAS to vibrate. I have swapped to high durometer bushings in the front control arms, I run wider wheels, and to top it off, I run 315mm Hoosier A6's on all four corners. I have no issues, and have never had any. The only explanation I have found is that all of the 2011, and some of the 2012 model year steering racks were defective, and if you checked any of the boxes listed above, the unlearn feature would not operate properly.

Pretty sure the programming on the racks was changed sometime in job 1 of the 2012 model year.