If you ever watch prominent car review videos on platforms like YouTube, one thing they love to do is give the entire car a good shake and pull from the driver’s seat to make sure the construction of the interior is solid. In some cases it might turn up loose-fitting center stack parts, storage lids, and more.
When people refer to a “loose” steering wheel, or loose steering, however, it means something a little bit different. It doesn’t mean that your steering wheel feels loose in its column, as though the whole thing might drop off the dash in a moment. Rather, it refers to the responsiveness of your steering according to how you turn the wheel. In today’s blog, we want to first clarify what one can expect when experiencing a loose steering wheel — also known simply as “loose steering” — as well as how and why it happens, and what you should do about it.
What Does a Loose Steering Wheel Feel Like?
When the car’s steering system is working properly, the steering wheel should be able to provide an accurate picture to the driver of how much they are turning the vehicle when they move the wheel. A slight turn to the left should cause a slight shift to the left of the whole car, whereas a sharp turn of the wheel to the right should take the car neatly and as expected around a sharp corner on a bendy road.
So, loose steering, then, is the opposite of this situation. When travelling in a straight path, it can become difficult to keep the car in a straight line and the driver might have to be constantly correcting the steering to keep the straight path. On a bend, loose steering would see the driver moving the wheel into a position where they’d expect to have enough steer, but then discovering that it’s either too much or not enough and so would have to correct mid-bend, which of course can be dangerous.
It’s sometimes referred to as the steering wheel having “excessive play” when you turn the wheel by a large degree only to get a very slight response from the wheels. The term “play” is important when looking at some of the potential causes, too.
Why Does My Steering Wheel Feel Loose?
There are a number of factors that can cause the steering wheel to feel loose. Below is a selection of the most common:
Worn Tie Rods
The tie rods are the component that connect the steering wheel to the tires. These wear down and become looser — aka play in the tie rods — as a matter of course when driving, so worn tie rods are more a sign of the time since their last replacement rather than because of any actual fault. In normal driving conditions, tie rods can last the whole lifetime of the car, but depending on your driving style, where you drive and how much varied and difficult terrain your vehicle faces, the life can be shortened.
Faulty Ball Joint
Ball joints are used to join the suspension to the tires/wheels. Depending on the design of your car, there will be both upper and lower ball joints, or just lower ball joints. In any event, it only takes one ball joint to stop working to create loose steering. Worn ball joints affect the camber of the wheels, which results in poor steering response and even the tendency for the steering to pull to one side.
Failing Bushings
Most cars use a rack and pinion steering system, and sometimes the bushings at either end of the steering rack can begin to fail, which allows for play in the steering. The steering rack itself is a fairly tough component and it rarely fails in itself, but those bushings can and do.
Uneven Tire Wear
If drivers fail to get their tires properly rotated at the right time — usually every 6 months — then uneven wear can occur that impacts the steering. Even with rotation, uneven wear can happen under certain extreme conditions.
How Can the Problem Be Fixed?
If loose steering is being caused by the above causes, then the best way to deal with it is to take the car to the auto shop and have those relevant parts either repaired or replaced. In some cases, a tightening or adjustment can do the trick, but where there is more serious wear and tear, then replacement is the only option.
For example, if you have worn tie rods, replacement is the best policy since they’re only going to get worse from the way they are now. A loose steering rack or loose wheel bearings, on the other hand, might be properly repaired with a tightening. Replacement of relevant parts is still the most common treatment for various steering problems.
When diagnosing the exact problem, a mechanic will turn the wheel while the car is stationary to see how the wheels respond. If there’s less turn than expected, then they know there is definitely a problem. They’ll also lift the car up on a hoist and inspect the steering and suspension mechanisms, especially the linking parts.
Cost of Repair: Loose Steering Wheel
Costs may vary depending on the vehicle brand, but drivers can expect to pay about the following rates:
- Replacement tie rods – $150-200
- Replacement ball joints – $240-330
- Replacement bushings – $200-500
- Replacement steering rack – $600-1000
Is it Safe to Drive with a Loose Steering Wheel?
Absolutely not. Just as it isn’t safe to drive with proper wheel alignment, it isn’t safe to drive when your steering wheel is loose. When driving with loose steering, you are in essence driving a car over which you do not have full control. Safe control of a vehicle depends on the driver being able to accurately estimate how much a turn of the steering wheel will be sufficient to navigate a road, and also being able to depend on the car driving in a straight line without any steering input.
When one drives with a loose steering wheel, these guarantees disappear, and thus it becomes highly dangerous.
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