Q: Stiff steering wheel, Battery Light flashing, and noise under hood.

asked by on October 30, 2016

I recently had the timing belt replaced and it damage the valves when it broke so I paid $2,400 I've had my car back 2 weeks I've been noticing some slight noise under the hood for the last day or so today I was driving when I push on the gas the noise was so loud like grinding and then I check the fluids the power steering fluid was low I added at the noise stop for a minute and then I started driving the battery light was flashing on and off the steering wheel became so hard I could barely turn the car and there's a rattling noise coming from under the engine this is 2 weeks after paying $2,400 to have my car fixed what is really going on?? Is any of this due to the fact of the repairs that they just made could they have done it wrong and this is why all this is happening?? Plus I notice that the idol is a little higher than my car was before the timing belt broke and all these things happen is that normal or did they do a poor job of repairing and charged me up the ass?

My car has 111000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

Hi there. The stiff steering wheel and flashing Battery Light may be caused by a serpentine drive belt that has broken or come off. It could be that the serpentine belt tensioner pulley was making noise and seized or that the serpentine idler pulley was making noise and seized. It is also possible that the alternator was making noise and seized.

All of these components should have been inspected during your vehicle’s repair. It is possible, things checked out okay at the time of repair and this is a new problem that has developed. I recommend having your vehicle’s stiff steering, flashing battery light, and rattling noise inspected and repaired by a certified technician, such as one from YourMechanic.

The statements expressed above are only for informational purposes and should be independently verified. Please see our terms of service for more details

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