Something weird happened last night with the power steering

[tychocaine]

I've a 2007 2.0 TDI (BRE engine) with the multitronic gearbox. I was going through a roundabout last night and splashed through a pretty big puddle when my power steering suddenly died for a second. The steering weighted up dramatically which is not ideal 1/2 way around a roundabout. Could the water be splashing up into the engine bay and shorting something in the power steering, or maybe the water is making a belt slip for a second?

[MarkTM]

I googled and & this type of failure is normally caused by water getting on the power steering pump or on the aux belt (front passenger side), but yours should have an undertray to prevent this happening. Is yours fitted and in once piece?

PS should resume when the water on the belt spins off, which tends to be what your describing.

[tychocaine]

Bingo! I checked under the bonnet and I can see the ground, so the undertray must have gone "missing" after a turbo swap a few weeks ago. I'll phone the garage that did the work and see what they say.

[MarkTM]

Elementary my dear Watson! :D