Electric steering wheel is hard to turn

2012 FORD ESCAPE
58,251 MILES • 3.0L • V6 • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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EUGENIORIOS
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
I have the vehicle listed above limited edition. It had a crash in the front driver side which destroyed the fuse box and other composites and after the crash, the steering wheel is hard to turn. I all ready had a profession install the steering wheel sensor because he said that was the problem, but it is still hard to move side by side at low speed but passing over 45 it loosens up a bit.
Dec 21, 2018 at 11:13 AM
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BRANDON SIMON
  • CAR REPAIR CONTRIBUTOR
  • 49 POSTS
It has something to do with the power steering system most likely. A lot of vehicles are equipped with a power steering pump, which when failing or failed, does make turning more difficult. I would check that first. If it does not have a power steering pump, it may have Electronic Power Steering (EPS) which is essentially your power steering pump, but does not require fluid, and they do fail as well. If the power steering is not the case, it may be the rack and pinion that could possibly be damaged from the front end collision.
Dec 24, 2018 at 12:38 PM
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STRAILER
  • CAR REPAIR CONTRIBUTOR
  • 54,193 POSTS
It sounds like the crash might have weakened the power steering motor/unit. But to be sure lets scan the system to see what comes up. Here is a video to show you how:

https://youtu.be/InIlnsjOVFA

Here are diagrams of the system so you can see how it works. Check out the diagrams (below). Please let us know what you find. We are interested to see what it is.
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Dec 24, 2018 at 1:17 PM