Steering seems loose

[randel]

I have been looking at i3 and this week I was able to test drive. Steering seemed a bit odd. It felt like the wheel moved a bit before the vehicle actually began to turn. It was like is was back in the day driving my 65 Buick.

Has anyone experienced this?

Searching the internet I found that hard steering is an issue, but nothing about what I am describing.

 

[mojo]

It's hard to know whether what you felt on that car is the same as what I feel on mine, but to me, the power steering assistance on an i3 is unusual.

It seems to have a higher level of initial assistance, and then assistance seem to reduce as you increase the amount of turn. It feels strange, and gives the impression that there is play at the centre of the range - but when you've driven for a while, you realise that there is no play - it's all down to how the assistance is "mapped".

Until you get used to it, what you will probably find is that you will feel the need to make constant corrections at higher speed. And then you will probably relax a bit, and find that less input works fine.

 

[alohart]

Until you get used to it, what you will probably find is that you will feel the need to make constant corrections at higher speed. And then you will probably relax a bit, and find that less input works fine.

This describes my experience with our former 2014 BEV which we bought new. It felt like there was stiction at the straight forward steering wheel position such that applying a small steering force to make a correction did nothing but when the steering force was increased, suddenly the steering wheel overcorrected. It wasn't as bad as maybe I made it sound, but it was definitely different from previous vehicles with electric power steering.

However, the 2019 BEV that we bought used doesn't need small corrections when driving at highway speeds and feels much more solid.

 

[mojo]

Strange that they should vary so much - though mine (a 2021 i3s BEV, not REX) doesn't really have a lot of resistance around the central point - the opposite, it feels like not much is happening (but it is).

It feels particularly odd to me, as my normal vehicle prior to this was what I guess you would call a Euro van - which had significantly heavier steering throughout the steering range.

I've got over the oddness now, and I really enjoy driving it.

 

[alohart]

Strange that they should vary so much - though mine (a 2021 i3s BEV, not REX) doesn't really have a lot of resistance around the central point - the opposite, it feels like not much is happening (but it is).

Our 2014 BEV was the initial model whereas our 2019 includes many improvements as part of the LCI update. Others have noticed significant improvements in handling and traction control, so I'm not surprised that our 2019 BEV is an improvement over our 2014 BEV.

 

[frictioncircle]

This is a really interesting topic because steering feel and performance are high on my list when considering a car purchase.

My first i3 was a new 2014 i3 BEV which I drove until upgrading to a 2021 i3s BEV.

From my first test drive of the 2014 I was immediately impressed by the steering. Granted, it didn’t have much road feel fed back into the wheel but its steering was pleasantly heavy and so satisfyingly accurate. Move the steering wheel by a millimeter and your direction would follow – there was (and still is in my 2021) no slop, no dead zone where you could wiggle the wheel 5º left & right while A Ye Old Buick would motor ahead, undisturbed.

To the OP – you don’t mention the year of the i3 you’re considering nor its mileage. Mileage in particular could be an issue as it’s not unreasonable for a high-mileage car to have developed wear in the steering system. I had an ICE BMW and at 124K miles I asked my independent BMW shop to diagnose why it had developed a dead zone at center and they identified a worn lower steering joint assembly. I was amazed at how much better the steering was afterwards, all the free play was GONE.