Volvo V70 steering wheel very responsive on low speed

[tpogoda]

Hi and welcome,

I have just bought my first volvo V70 2015. I did buy it directly from volvo as approved used. After 2 weeks of driving I have noticed that the steering wheel is very responsive on the low speed e.g. If there is uneven surface or the pot hole and I don't hold the wheel firmly it almost jump to the side. I am finding this annoying when stopping on lights etc. For comparison I was driving recently the rental fiat Panda and I didn't see similar behavior.
I am slightly confused. Should the volvo v70 behave like that or there is some fault and I should get back to dealer to check it? Can you advise please? This is a short movie on YouTube [YOUTUBE]https://youtu.be/jkBEScrJjxE[/YOUTUBE]

I was thinking this is a speed-dependent steering force and that I can adjust that in MyCar settings but I can't see this option. The car is early model from 2015 40000 miles. Any ideas?

[Tatsfield]

My XC70 is 2012 and the hand books says:

Speed-dependent steering force. Steering force increases with the speed of the vehicle to give the driver enhanced sensitivity. At low speed the vehicle is easy to steer in order to facilitate parking, etc.

Steering force can be changed under MY CAR>Car settings>Steering wheel force.

If your car has the same system, I can't seeing it being removed from the My Car Settings screen

[tpogoda]

Thanks for replay. I can't see this option there so maybe is not included in my version. It's not LUX but Volvo V70 D4G SE NAV.

[Thorium]

That isn't normal behaviour for a V70. It's not easy to tell from your youtube video if the steering is moving in response to the road surface, or from the power steering assistance on the car.

Have the tyres and tracking been checked? Some tyres cause tramlining and unpredictable responses to road surface changes. Usually V70s feel very planted and stable, so I'd take it back to the dealership you bought it from. There may be a problem with the power steering system, and the dealer will be able to check via the diagnostics system.

[Kev0607]

My S80 (103,000 miles) does the exact same thing. I'm wondering if its actually an issue with the suspension, or if that's how its supposed to be? The alignment is spot on, as I've had it done recently with a print-out (Done with a Hunter machine - four wheel alignment).

If I'm driving down the road & hit an unavoidable uneven surface or series of small bumps, the steering jerks slightly (Just as shown in the video). I'd be intrigued to know what this is too.

Some time ago, I rang Volvo to enquire about inner track rod ends & I was asked if the car had speed sensitive steering. I didn't know if it did & it seemed to me as if the chap in the parts department didn't know either because he wouldn't have asked me otherwise!?

Can anyone shed light on this?

[Peter2400]

Normal with any car with wide tires and power steering. I have s80 and it does the same on bad roads. Maybe it's a bit more sensitive than other cars but still ok. Solutio nis to hold the steering wheel if PS would be bad it would make it turn harder not lighter. If car is stable at higher speed then nothing to worry about.

[tpogoda]

The car is stable at higher speed. If there are some pot hols etc. they don't affect the drive when going fast. The worst is when I am stopping on the lights and there are some bumps or pot hols I can feel the wheel jerk to the side (Always hold the wheel firm then ). I have never came across with such a behavior

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Peter2400

Normal with any car with wide tires and power steering. I have s80 and it does the same on bad roads. Maybe it's a bit more sensitive than other cars but still ok. Solutio nis to hold the steering wheel if PS would be bad it would make it turn harder not lighter. If car is stable at higher speed then nothing to worry about.

I was beginning to wonder if it was just a characteristic of the car or not . My Dad's V70 does the same thing too funnily enough & that has the exact same size tyres on it.

[tommyweaves]

18 x 8 and 17 x 8 wheels do this in conjunction with a tyre with a stiff sidewall on the P3 V70.

What have you got?

[Kev0607]

7 x 17" (Volvo "Spartes" alloys) on my S80.

My Dad's V70 has the same size alloys & tyre size, but they're a different design (Also Volvo, not aftermarket). I think they're called "Canicula", off the top of my head.