Electric Steering durability/Maintenance/Repair

[SumpChump]

Anybody have any predictions or experiences with electric assist steering durability , hot tips on maintenance to make it last, or info on repair ease or difficulty?

I HAVNT read or heard much around town and I'm sure the units are probably a few grand each and require the motor to be tilted, lol. No problems here. Just wondering if this will be a reason people dump cars in the future due to value vs. repair cost, like air bags systems etc.

 

[d00df00d]

Can't imagine it'll be worse than a hydraulic system with all the lines, seals, fluid, pulleys, pump, etc....

 

[SumpChump]

True, perhaps just more costly and perhaps prone to brine rusting and or odd shorts.

 

[SrDriver]

Have had it in several vehicles without any issues.

Moved from the Midwest (Wisconsin) many Moons ago and no worries about salt on the roads here in Southern Alabama.

Don't miss the high cost of living and ice and snow on the roads either.

 

[WobblyElvis]

The electric steering on my chevy is all inside the cabin. The computer/motor and torque sensor are all under the dash. Salt/corrosion doesn't seem to be a factor.

 

[chrisri]

They came in 99 if I'm not mistaken (in Europe) and were made by Delphi. There was some issues with those early systems, but after 03-04 they became reliable.

 

[itguy08]

No issues on both my vehicles with them. I think early GM units had some issues with sensors but they seem to have that sorted out for a while now.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Honda S2000 has electric steering sine 2000 and I never hear anyone had any problem with it after 15 years.

 

[eljefino]

Wife's HHR has it.

The actual steering is fine. It boosts it a little under 2 mph for parking but it's unobtrusive.

The intermediate steering shaft is rattling and I need to attend to it someday. If I had a power rack & pinion, this shaft would be "assisted" and not subject to such forces. But since the EPS unit is on the column, it sees the full force needed to turn the wheels.

IDK if it was engineered for this extra load. Bummed at the general cheapness of the design.

 

[d00df00d]

What's the advantage of column-mounted EPS? Rack-mounted just seems better...

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
What's the advantage of column-mounted EPS? Rack-mounted just seems better...

I have no idea which type is better, and I don't know which type my S2000 has either.

 

[147_Grain]

No issues with the electric power steering on both of the Toyota Corolla's. Toyota Service Manager said he's had zero problems with these electric steering systems.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
What's the advantage of column-mounted EPS? Rack-mounted just seems better...

I have no idea which type is better, and I don't know which type my S2000 has either.

99.9% sure the S2000's EPS is rack-mounted.

 

[hattaresguy]

I would think it would be more reliable than hydraulic, also one less fluid that needs changing.

 

[Kiwi_ME]

A good technical summary from ZF.

http://www.zf.com/eu/content/media/great...for_website.pdf

 

[SumpChump]

Here is an interesting quote from the article.

The later steering racks are designed to stiffen up after a specific number of turns. This is to "indicate" the unit is wearing out and needs replacing. This is a safety feature and is controlled by the ECU inside the unit.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
What's the advantage of column-mounted EPS? Rack-mounted just seems better...


Probably clearance, they like to sandwich racks between the subframe and firewall. Any junk they can get off of there is good news.