Steering sticking on center Issue

    Good morning all,
    For those of you that have had issues with the steering sticking on center after a few minutes of riding, this was a big topic on the other side. I was one of the last on that side that was about to take his sling for service on it but I never updated the site. For those that aren't aware of the issue, quick summary is that after driving the sling for say 20-30 minutes, the steering starts to fight you when passing past center point. This gets worse as time progresses to the point that it will no longer center itself. There's supposed to be an ECU flash coming up in "two weeks" :P to correct this issue, but for those that have an updated 'Bob' ECU this will cause a problem. Polaris has been replacing some of the ones that are being taken in to their service centers after quite a bit of diagnostics. For some that's cured the issue, for others not.
    So far as mine was concerned, I could no longer wait as it had become dangerous to drive. It was fighting me so much that I was having to reset the ignition (while driving) :S several times during each trip. Especially if I was about to traverse a particularly curvy section of highway. Long story short, it got to be a PITA to keep doing that. In the end, my steering was just hard and notchy....period!. I took it in last week and they advised me it would be a couple of weeks before they were sure what Polaris was going to do. Well I spoke with the Service manager yesterday and polaris had them reset the steering angle sensors, perhaps some of you know what they're talking about, anyway, they've been driving it for the last 2 days and steering seems to be back to normal and holding. I gave them permission to take it on an extended test drive at highway speeds to make sure everything was holding. They took it over trans mountain pass, here in El Paso, and back around to NM, about a 60 mile ride, and everything seems to be holding. I'm to pick it up this afternoon and I'll report back on how it's doing. Right now she's naked as I took the opportunity to take most of the panels off to have them painted so I won't be able to drive it around much. I'ts about a 35 mile ride home so I should be able to tell if the problem comes back as it was sticking on me pretty consistently. Hopefully this cured my steering issues and it's not just the beginning of a long (documented) series of troubleshooting trips to the dealership.
    Hope this helps someone up the road and at a minimum gets this topic on our new home. :thumbsup:

    Quote from NatomasSlingshot1

    didn't you get the 'special' no power steering on start up as well? if so, was this addressed?
    I hope the "cure" hold....... I can't say I have too much faith in their fixes, at this point

    The "no steering" issue only happened to me a couple of times ever. I just did the usual PC tech solution. "restart" :D . That always cured it. The sticking on center, however, would creep up any time I drove it for over 15 minutes without resetting the ignition. The longer I drove, the stiffer it got.... amazed-squared (that sounded kinda dirty.....oh, wrong thread smile-squared ) anyway, where was I ...oh yeah... the steering.... I only had that issue a couple of times. smile-squared

    I just contacted Polaris and created the case number about my steering issue. I also contacted my purchasing dealer about resetting the steering sensors and they said that would be a quick and easy attempt. Please keep posting updates as my dealership has not been very proactive on the steering issue as I'm the only one reporting it to them

    Great info @jorgebri60!! I was following this on the other forum. I saw your input over there, and was hoping your issue would get fixed quickly for you. I'm having this issue as well. After about 20 minutes I start feeling a lumpy resistance when I go from center to either side with the wheel. It isn't real bad, but quite noticeable. I plan on bringing this to my dealership's attention when I take it in for the headlight harness recall. I figure I might as well wait until the flash comes out from Polaris, so my dealer has any and all tools at their disposal. I don't want my baby staying with them any longer than necessary!!! Please keep us updated as your adventure evolves!!!!!

    Those who will give up essential liberty to secure a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety


    2016 Slingshot SL Vin# 8855 (born in September 2015) w/ Alpha Stage 2 Turbo @ 7.5psi

    sad-squared Picked up my SS and drove it home. While it is better, by the time I was close to home it was notchy as hell and still sticking in center :( . Did get to speak to the tech and unfortunately they have to follow polaris's troubleshooting steps. Next time the techs going on a ride with me to make sure he's feeling the same thing I am. Anyway, the saga continues. I'll keep posting on the forum here as I progress.

    Quote from jorgebri60

    sad-squared Picked up my SS and drove it home. While it is better, by the time I was close to home it was notchy as hell and still sticking in center :( . Did get to speak to the tech and unfortunately they have to follow polaris's troubleshooting steps. Next time the techs going on a ride with me to make sure he's feeling the same thing I am. Anyway, the saga continues. I'll keep posting on the forum here as I progress.

    We have discussed this before you and I. Did they actually do the ECU "update" assuming it is now available or just align your steering angle sensors?? Mine is actually better with the new power steering unit but have still had to reset going down the road from time to time.

    Quote from Spudinator

    We have discussed this before you and I. Did they actually do the ECU "update" assuming it is now available or just align your steering angle sensors?? Mine is actually better with the new power steering unit but have still had to reset going down the road from time to time.

    No, it was just the steering sensor reset. I don't think the ECU update is out yet. 2 more weeks I think :P . I'm to take it back sometime this week and drive the tech around in it and leave it again if I can convince them this is a pain in the ass. Should be pretty easy as once the sticking starts and I show him how that feels, I'm going to kindly ask him to let off the throttle and push the clutch in then reach over and turn the sucker off while we're going down the interstate without telling him =O , wait a few secs and turn it back on :D . This way he'll get the full experience. Once reset he'll see the sticking is gone...at least for a few minutes.

    Do you plan to leave the slingshot at the dealership after they update your ECU while you send the ECU back to Bob to be updated again for your turbo? It sounds like we really shouldn't even start the Slingshot with a turbo without bobs ECU tune.

    Quote from Bugeater

    Do you plan to leave the slingshot at the dealership after they update your ECU while you send the ECU back to Bob to be updated again for your turbo? It sounds like we really shouldn't even start the Slingshot with a turbo without bobs ECU tune.

    I don't think I have much of a choice. If the ECU update wipes out the engine programming portion then I'm told that it will run like crap if it even runs at all. I've let hem know at the shop that we're going to have to have the ECU sent out if they have to reflash for some reason. The tech told me that "he" doesn't really have control over what gets updated. Polaris just sends the re-flash and they plug the SS into polaris's software and let it do its thing. At any rate, they know not to mess with the ECU without first letting me know. At that point we'll coordinate with Bob and Henry to get the turbo programming back on there.

    Out tech at the dealership we use and bought ours from was convinced just by letting him turn the wheel when I brought it in without even driving it. I like the idea of turning the key off while on the highway. Have a little drool coming out of your mouth along with a crazed look while you do it.

    Alleluia all!!!! the Damned EPAS update worked :00008040::00000441::00000436::thumbsup::00008674: beautifully . My SS has NEVER driven like this before. The power assist is noticeably stronger therefore less steering effort for me and best of all, after a 50 mile ride still feels the same. Thanks @funinthesun for the update on the factory update being available. I can now move on. Lets see what longer rides does.