Intermitent PAS failure

[Jeff_200]

My PAS stopped working a couple of times yesterday

It only did it from cold at idle (although I suppose you can't really tell if PAS is working at higher speeds so it may have been more). Once the car warmed up the problem went away.

It was very wet out so don't know if this may have contributed?

I had a new rack about 6 months ago, although the fluid is already a bit grey, which I was slightly surprised at, given it's only been in there 6 months. I checked the belt and it's tight, with no obvious problems.


Any suggestions for what this could be? It's a 335i by the way.

Ta

[Simon]

Power steering pump, I had exactly the same problem, where the steering wouldn't work from cold start, and would gradually get better as the car warmed up, when the car was idling, you could also hear the pump making a strange noise..a sort of clicking, fitted a 2nd hand pump, and all was cured.

[gareth]

may just be worth checking the condition and tightness of the belt before changing anything. a loose belt could cause the symptoms you describe