Explorer, Escape recall.

Status
Not open for further replies.
ls1mike

ls1mike

$50 Site Donor 2024
Joined
Jun 14, 2008
Messages
8,257
Location
In the Garage...
Ford Recall

Just for everyone who has one. Not trying to start a brand war.

But I would like to discuss the following.

I have to ask how one cannot steer at speed? I tried it in the Grand Prix and our 13 Equinox after the ignition switch debacle. I turned the key to the acc position (no power steering) and could steer and brake with no issue. I understand the recall, but maybe before we give out licenses in this country people should get better training.
 
Originally Posted By: ls1mike
Ford Recall

Just for everyone who has one. Not trying to start a brand war.

But I would like to discuss the following.

I have to ask how one cannot steer at speed? I tried it in the Grand Prix and our 13 Equinox after the ignition switch debacle. I turned the key to the acc position (no power steering) and could steer and brake with no issue. I understand the recall, but maybe before we give out licenses in this country people should get better training.


I've had cars (automatic, so the engine won't be driven by the wheels) stall at highway speeds. The steering works when the car is rolling. Only time I have noticed an inconvenience when losing power steering was sitting still.
 
Miller88, this had been my experience as well. Even when I had my old 71 K-5 Blazer. From time to time it would die, ended up being a poor connection to the fuse box. At any rate I could still steer that big old heavy turd.
 
Power steering steers harder than manual steering does,when it goes out.You wouldn't want to make any panic maneuvers without PS.The NASCAR boys got real lazy starting in the 1980s,when they switched to power steering,now when they lose a belt and resort to non assisted "power" steering,they make a big deal out of it and claim it just wore them out.I guess Richard Petty,Cale Yarborough,Fireball Roberts,Bobby Allison...etc were superhumans who were forced to drive "stock" cars around the track for hours....even on dirt.
 
The more the power assist, the harder it is when it goes. Or at the very least the more it seems.

Loved my S10. Manual steering and manual brakes. Or non-power assist, however you want to call it. Was good as the choke was bad too, and it liked to stall out when cold. Didn't bother me, braking and steering was unaffected... My Saturn didn't have power steering and I think it would have been fine with non-assisted brakes too. I'm not convinced they are needed on sub-3,000lb cars, and in some ways would rather not have them.

Haven't tried steering/braking without assist on any of my vehicles, at least not very far, although lately I've gotten a bit lazy and have keyed it off when parking.
 
My wife had the accesory belt break in her Subaru Legacy. While she could steer the vehicle if moving it was significantly harder. I tried it and IMHO an emergency situation requiring quick steering it defintely stacks cards against ya when it counts. Same goes for braking.
 
Like others have pointed out, some cars are darn near impossible to steer when the power steering goes out. I drive a Pontiac G5 (electric power steering) and the power steering cut off and on a couple times in parking lots and trust me, that steering wheel wouldn't budge for seconds at a time. The power steering motor was recalled 4 years ago and I have not had the problem with the updated electric power steering motor. In my experience old cars with hydraulic systems can still be operated and controlled reasonably well if the power steering fails. GM knew about the potential hazard electric power steering can cause if it fails so they integrated a warning system that reads "POWER STEERING" on the instrument cluster, if the electric motor cuts out. IMO, they wouldn't have developed a warning system if power steering failure was "NO BIG DEAL" like some people seem to think...
 
There are drivers out there with barely enough strength to operate the softest of power steering. There are also people who, upon feeling the hard steering, will assume the steering is "locked up" and will not try to steer.
 
I had a 96 Chevy truck that the fuel pump relay would sometimes decide to lose connection and kill the motor. It was NOT a big deal. Don't be an idiot and pump brakes. Your brakes work just fine without the engine running, as long as they aren't pumped. Who pumps brakes while driving anyway? Also steering wasn't that horrible.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
That's another plus to having a manual. If my engine dies at full speed, I'll still have power steering and brakes.


My 98 Mustang GT would lose power steering and brake assist when the engine stalled. Found out the IAC was bad when I was doing some corner carving in the mountains when the engine stalled out when I went to downshift at the end of a long straight. Since those years were hydroboost, the steering wheel locked and the brake pedal got hard as a rock. That was fun..
 
Originally Posted By: yonyon
There are drivers out there with barely enough strength to operate the softest of power steering. There are also people who, upon feeling the hard steering, will assume the steering is "locked up" and will not try to steer.


Agreed. And most will not even use 3/4 of their vehicle's abilities when actually involved in an accident situation!

i have had many a vehicle quit while driving, from old time clunkers to relatively new trucks. ALL remained driveable by any normal fit person. Perhaps some of us should practice?
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: yonyon
There are drivers out there with barely enough strength to operate the softest of power steering. There are also people who, upon feeling the hard steering, will assume the steering is "locked up" and will not try to steer.


Agreed. And most will not even use 3/4 of their vehicle's abilities when actually involved in an accident situation!

i have had many a vehicle quit while driving, from old time clunkers to relatively new trucks. ALL remained driveable by any normal fit person. Perhaps some of us should practice?

I used to coast the odd time with engine off in the Neon and it was no big deal at all. Still had full brake boost for one full on stop and the steering was just fine.
The odd time I'll move the cars down the driveway without starting them, and they will have some brake vacuum in reserve even left overnight.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8

Agreed. And most will not even use 3/4 of their vehicle's abilities when actually involved in an accident situation!

i have had many a vehicle quit while driving, from old time clunkers to relatively new trucks. ALL remained driveable by any normal fit person. Perhaps some of us should practice?


Can not be quoted enough!!!

I still don't understand any person who buys a V6 or even a high power I4 and merges onto the highway at 40 MPH taking 30 secs to think about it.

You are not driving a 3 cyl. Geo...don't act like it.

I am usually exceeding the speed limit by the end of the exit ramp depending on conditions.

I will say I have fiddled with the power assist when we had 2007 VW Rabbit. It was electric and at almost no assist it wasn't fun unless you were at speed. So I wonder how hard it would have been had the system completely failed.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: yonyon
There are drivers out there with barely enough strength to operate the softest of power steering. There are also people who, upon feeling the hard steering, will assume the steering is "locked up" and will not try to steer.


Agreed. And most will not even use 3/4 of their vehicle's abilities when actually involved in an accident situation!

i have had many a vehicle quit while driving, from old time clunkers to relatively new trucks. ALL remained driveable by any normal fit person. Perhaps some of us should practice?

I used to coast the odd time with engine off in the Neon and it was no big deal at all. Still had full brake boost for one full on stop and the steering was just fine.
The odd time I'll move the cars down the driveway without starting them, and they will have some brake vacuum in reserve even left overnight.


My focus is light enough that I can push it around in a relatively flat parking lot and turn the wheel just fine - while moving it.

Has no steering lock ... which is really strange.

As long as it's moving ... at all ... it's easy to turn.

I hate starting the car up just to move it a few feet so I usually push it around.

When I lived with my parents I'm sure the neighbors found it entertaining to watch me push around a Jeep or two when I need to rearrange the vehicles to get out.
 
I really think the severity of electric power steering failure is dependent on the vehicle design. On the Cobalt's, Ion's HHR's, G5's, older Malibu's, the steering motor is mounted on the steering column inside the car. When my power steering cut out on my G5 it felt as if the steering column actually locked. Not saying they will all do this but it could. Newer cars now have their electric power steering motor mounted on the steering rack instead of the steering column. I'm guessing that rack mounted power steering eliminates the possibility of a locked steering wheel during failure, possibly just a better design overall too.
 
I'm surprised by the "At speed" comment because it seems that when I have to repair a car with a power steering failure, the majority of effort is turning at low speeds.

There is another thing to think of with power steering vs manual steering. If a car had both options, typically the alignment specs were different. Without power steering, alignment angles were optimized to reduce effort, whereas with power steering models, the angles favored stability at high speeds instead. Typically this was done with caster angles. That would make a car with power steering much more difficult to drive when steering fails when compared to a car that never had power steering.

There is a good reason to have a power steering warning light in any car with electric power steering. Since electronics control it, there would have to be light fimply for diagnostic purposes. It is no different than having an ABS warning light or a check engine light.
 
EPS has multiple sensors, some of which is redundant. Lose one and the system should still work. Should.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

wemay
2022-23 Toyota Tundra fire risk recall
Replies
12
Views
1K
cptbarkey
Boomer
Paint Scrape Removal
Replies
4
Views
391
KrisZ
H
Electronic rust protection.
Replies
4
Views
891
jhellwig
redhat
Is DI always more fuel efficient?
2
Replies
35
Views
2K
dfarr67
dogememe
Explorer engine options
2 3
Replies
49
Views
5K
Warlord
Back
Top