Electric steering noise when turning in one direction

I recently bought a 2012 Buick Verano. The steering works fine, however at low speed, I hear a small noise when I turn left, there is no noise when I turn right.
This only happens after I drive the car for some time, there is no noise when the car is cold.
This model has electric power steering (no power steering fluid).

A small noise? Well, thats not going to be easy for any of us to help with. Is it a clunking noise? A whining sound? A bell ringing? We could use a bit more description than “a small noise”

It could be that the system is just cold and not happy about being told to work? Grease gets like glue when its cold, electric motors can and often do make humming sounds under load etc… It can be a lot of things, as long as it goes away after some use it shouldn’t be an issue at all.

If it becomes a constant noise, it would then be time so seek a source and a solution.

Sorry for the ambiguity,
The noise is more like an electric motor humming noise(similar to when you engage electric parking brakes).
There is no noise when the system is cold, I can only hear the noise when the system is warm (eg, after using the car for a few minutes).

Oops sorry, I got the hot/cold thing incorrect. Thinking about it a little more an electric motor may actually be more prone to noise when hot instead of being cold…in fact I do believe that is the case. Others can chime in and correct me if I am wrong, but I like the hot motor noise scenario the more I think about it.

It could also be the electric motors encoder making the electric motor hunt for its proper position… i.e. if the encoder is telling the motor to move a click to the right or the left to be in compliance with where it thinks its supposed to be. The motor can make noise when it is trying to find its assigned position. It could be something of this nature.

Again…if the noise becomes constant I would then think it is an issue to look into. At present I wouldn’t worry about it if the system operates normally aside from this momentary noise.

@Honda_Blackbird: Thanks for the insight. However, if there is a problem with the motor, won’t it make noise while turning in either direction? In my case, it only makes noise while turning left, no noise when turning right.

Honestly I dont think there is a problem yet… I was just searching for causes of a mystery noise…a noise doesn’t always mean there is a problem.

I just brushed my teeth and made plenty of noise I can tell you… no problem here.

If the issue becomes persistent and bi directional…then look into a cause, as of now I dont think you have an actual issue to solve.

Were You singing while You was brushing? :smile:

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Post a sound clip when its doing it.