I might just be imagining it so bear with me on this. I let my Fit sit for a month or so while I drove my jeep around in the winter months. During that same time I also drove around my wife's Accord.

This past week I started driving my Fit again and I feel like the steering is pretty heavy. Not heavy like it would be with the engine off, but just a bunch heavier than the Accord or my old 97 Cherokee. Am I just paranoid the something is wrong or did I just forget how tight my steering actually is in this car? I feel like there is a lot of resistance.

 

FWIW, I alternate between a '91 accord and a '10 fit and the fit's steering feels ever so much lighter than the accord's. That probably does not answer your question but take it as a data point. I'll assume your tire pressure is ok?

 

I don't know about your Accord (I had a 92 Accord that had very heavy steering, but the newer ones seem much lighter). A 97 Jeep Cherokee though... I can explain that easily.

I learned to drive in a 94 Jeep Cherokee. They use very traditional American style power steering. Instead of the direct, lightly assisted rack and pinion setup in the Fit (and practically all modern cars), the Jeep has recirculating ball steering with a LOT of assistance. By design, there is a lot of play in the middle, the steering ratio is slow, and if I recall correctly, it doesn't adjust the assistance according to your speed. When I traded my GMC truck for my Element, the steering felt unusually stiff at first as well.

(On this new Scion of mine, the difference between parking lot speeds and highway speeds is substantial. In the parking lot, it feels almost overassisted, but on the freeway, it's super firm. The difference is far more noticable than in any car I've owned before).

YouTube - De Soto Fire Dome Eight Commercial
De Soto ad from the 50's, boasting at "All you need is one finger to turn the wheel, even at a standstill." I got the opportunity to drive a friend's 62 Cutlass a few years ago... it felt like the wheel wasn't even connected to the steering column, just freewheeling on ball bearings in the hub... but, give it a few dozen turns, and the front wheels would begin to turn.

 

Have you changed the power steering fluid. I had the same thing about a month ago and i thought that was just normal. I go back to the dealer and they had changed it. but i figured out I figure they were still a little warm so i tend to replaced the front struts about a month ago and things were good then. Now the issue hasn't go back...There are lots of steering parts available on parts stores online and it depends on your budget on what brand to choose. It's all up to you.

 

If you paid someone to change the power steering fluid in your fit, then I've got a bridge to sell you.

 

Not everyone is an automotive expert like you, alright.

Stop harping on people that choose (for whatever their reasons) to have a mechanic/dealer do things. It's their money, their time & effort, so therefore, their decision.

It's not like the person asked a dealer to change the CD for them. Even I worry about spilling steering fluid in and around the engine bay.

Hell, even with a funnel, I managed to spill motor oil, just because I twitched for a moment while trying to tip over a 5 qt jug onto a 2 or 3" diameter funnel. Holding a funnel with one hand and trying to tip the jug with the other is hard... and so is trying to tip a jug with both hands with the funnel sitting precariously on the engine (and being a Fit owner, you should know funnels don't go in very deep).

 

Um, the fit uses an electrically assisted power steering system, not hydraulically. There's no fluid to change. Which was my point, if inelegantly expressed.

 

Very.

But it's also my fault for not realizing/remembering. I need a better sleep cycle.

 

I was just looking at the owner's manual. According to the manual, if the EPS steering motor gets hotter it will reduce the current to the motor and "also" reduce the streering assist. So, according to this, it is possible if the steering is being used often, it is common for the steering to get harder. The question is: Is the steering harder all the time from start-up or does it just become harder as you use the car. If it gets harder only after you use the car for awhile, it implies that the steering EPS motor is heating up from either over-use, another external factor causing heat, or the motor is heating up wrongly, and may be a motor problem. If it is hard to use at start-up (ie completely cold conditions), then it wouldn't be due to over-use, and probably is some internal overheating.