Hyundai i30 Power Steering Failure Surfaces During Moose Test

It has a pretty solid repuration, being engineered in Germany and all. But a chink in the Korean compact’s armor appeared during a standard moose test carried out by an independent Swedish magazine. The test is simple – just swerve violently to the left and back again, as if you were trying to avoid a moose suddenly appearing in the middle of the road.

Many people have experienced loss of power steering at one time or another due to the engine shutting down or one of the belts coming loose. However, this problem appears a little different, one of those “I quit” situations modern cars sometimes put you in nowadays. Maybe the driver had the i30’s Flex Steer system in the Sport setting where input and resistance is artificially exaggerated by electric power-assistance. The violent movements of the moose test could have found build weaknesses in the Korean compact car.

"As you saw on the video, the Hyndai i30 continues on straight out of the moose-testtrack beacause the steering shuts down. The power steering shuts down in the middle of the track. I have a small red symbol on the dashboard that tells me something is wrong with the steering. It doesn't need a lamp, you can feel it quite clear while turning the wheel.” said the test driver of Teknikens Varld magazine.

This problem is by no means a minor one. Had this incident occurred on the road, it would almost certainly have resulted in a nasty crash.

"Yes. That's how bad it goes when the power steering shuts off. Don't believe for a second that you can handle this situation out on the road. This is absolutely dangerous. Rubbish!" the driver goes on to say.

If we owned this particular generation of i30, there would be a few restless nights after watching the video. After all, when else would we need a normal car to work at 100% other than in a dangerous situation like this?