Fiat punto at high (ish) speeds

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Fri 1 Feb 2002 13:46
Fiat punto at high (ish) speeds - Robin
My wife drives a Fait Punto, Y reg, with about 3500 miles on the clock. Recently we have found that when she drives at about 70mph on the motorway the car occasionally appears to be out of control. The effect is something like being blown to the left by a sudden gust of wind but happens even on windless days. My first thought would be the tracking but since this is an occasional event and not a continual drift to the left, I am not sure. The tyres are in good nick and are correctly inflated.

Any ideas anyone?
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Fri 1 Feb 2002 14:06
Re: Fiat punto at high (ish) speeds - Big Vern
Faulty shocks or shock mountings, get them checked
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Fri 1 Feb 2002 22:33
Re: Fiat punto at high (ish) speeds - David Nicholls
check out the recall on Punto's of this age. go to the dealer and get the VIN checked. he can do this on the computer i should think. Puntos have an electric power assisted steering, make sure the CITY button isnt pressed in, it makes the car dangerously oversensitive to any steering input. its really for parking to make it easier for the girls. in fact the adverts at launch called it a "girly button"

seriously though, check out HJ's car by car breakdown checklist, its all in there, but be very careful in the meantime
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Sun 3 Feb 2002 21:24
Re: Fiat punto at high (ish) speeds - Neil
We also have a Punto 2000 X reg., which is what I would call unstable in the wind, possibly due to the over sensitive electric power steering. The power steering failure light has illuminated on three occasions when starting the car - then after a few minutes it goes out and the steering will works OK. I have been told that if demand is high on the battery when starting the engine the steering is inhibited until there is enough power in the battery to power up the steering supply. Since these occurrence the steering column seems to give out a clicking sound when turning the wheel some times!
Please let me know if you resolve the problem and what the solution is!
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