couple questions

[phre0n]

hey guys im new here just joined today, i bought a 03 PT touring about a month ago.. and its great.. fun in traffic scoots around everything unlike my ram 1500 sittin on 35's lol... well anyways.. ever since i bought it.. when i put it in reverse it has some kinda bad viberations.. not really to sure what it could be.. anyone else have this problem? i also noticed that when i put it in different gears it jumps or bucks.. also at low speeds between 0-15mph or so.. the steering wheel goes back and forth.. could this be happening because the tires/wheels are out of balance? one last question.. i went to work last night, and it got really cold out (37*F), and i left work this morning, and i lost all of my power steering.. it wasnt making any noise or anything... the wheel got hard to turn and it was gone.. i checked the fluid. it was a little low.. i added some.. drove around.. and it didnt come back.. i let it sit for a while.. then went n drove again and it finally came back.. i looked under the car didn't see any fluid leaking or anything.. so i dunno whats goin on.. any insite or help would be awsome! it only has 57k on the ticker and still under i think its 5 or 7yr/80k mile drivetrain warranty i think it is... thanks guys

[CREWZIN]

Welcome to the forum,

Lets hope you still have that warranty. Hard to tell about your vibration but could be a number of things: a bad engine mount, low gear problems in the transaxle. 1st gear and reverse use the same gearing (at least in manual trans cars, I'm thinking they do the same in auto trans and you say you have problems from 0-15mph and reverse).

Out of balance tires or a bent rim usually doesn't show up till high speeds and if it does show, it only gets worse at high speed.

The power steering issue seems like it just froze up and took awhile to thaw. Maybe some water got into the system. You say you were a little low, but I've got cars that are near or way over 100K and never lost a drop of steering fluid. I did have the steering pump fail on the PT but not because of low or lack of fluid. There was a recall in 2004 for leaking power steering hoses in automatic PT's. The leaking fluid caused a few fires. When and if you get back to the dealer, have them check to see if your PT was looked at for the recall.

[GOATFALLS]

Hi, our power steering pump went out on our 05 pt that we bought new, this happened at about 10k miles, it was as you described it, warranty replaced it. Good luck..

[slartyblarfast]

Vibrations in reverse are from the motor mounts. Slow speed vibration is either a bent rim or a tire that the cords have broken. It could also be axles... Normally that will show up under heavy acceleration. Also sounds like you need plugs and wires. As for the P/S.... More than likely not covered under powertrain warranty. Especailly since you are atleast second owner...

[ptborder]

I vote for defective rack and pinion.