Steering Wheel Light Comes On When Going Over Bumps - Advise Needed?

[smithian]

Hi All.
So the plot thickens. Crashed me car in the snow by hitting a kurb at 5pph. Cost to date is £700 (didn't go through the insurance) and that includes new wishbones, new front right wheel bearing, and today I've just had the steering wheel alignment sensor changed under recommendation from the stealer. The problem I was having was that going over bumps caused the steering light to come on. This would go off when the ignition was restarted for the first few days then it stayed on perminantly. The fault code was that it was that the steering alignment sensor was faulty. It was replaced today but withing 5 miles of driving I went over a bump and the light came back on, so it's going back in tomorrow. A couple of questios;

1. What rights do I have with the stealer that they've charged me for a job which they recommended and which hasn't solved the problem
2. Any ideas why the steering wheel light would come on simply by going over bumps?

Interestinly I also have a slight whine noise from the engine which stares around 20 mph doesn't seem to change in tone the faster I get. Putting the car in neutral when at speed makes no difference and when slightly braking the noise seems to disapear... I have a 55 plate DSG.

[Primus84]

For goodness sake don't put the DSG in neutral while moving, it can really damage it!

It depends what the stealer said when they did the work, did they say it might fix it or was it a categorical yes it will fix it. Either way I'd expect them to be reasonable and only charge the difference between the two now and not the full for both separate jobs. This might take letters, etc but seems reasonable.

[smithian]

So it turns out that I need a new steering torque sensor which apparently is based in the steering rack. Trouble is it can't be changed, so I need a new steering rack at a cost of £1150... Anyone recommed a good VW specialist in the Essex/Herts area that maybe cheaper?

[topher]

Did you fit the wheel alignment sensor yourself? They need to be calibrated by computer before they work properly in most cases.. either vagcom or the dealer's VAS tools.

[Ed30DSG]

One option would be to make a claim on your insurance, including the original cost of the sensor replacement?