Six Signs an Electric Power Steering Rack Is Failing

Assist that comes and goes

Intermittent loss of assist, often warm rather than cold, points at the motor or its control electronics in the rack assembly. A column or sensor fault more usually produces a consistent behaviour.

A heavy spot in the travel

If the wheel is light in the straight ahead and heavy at a particular point in the lock, the rack itself is the likely source rather than the assist system.

Knocking over broken surfaces

A knock from the rack area over expansion joints and potholes usually means wear in the rack, the bushes or the inner track rod joints.

Play at the wheel with the car stationary

Free play at the steering wheel that does not translate into movement at the road wheels indicates wear inside the assembly.

Steering that does not centre

A wheel that stays off centre after a turn, on a car with correct geometry, points at internal friction in the rack.

A stored steering fault code

An EPS fault logged against the rack motor or its position sensor is worth reading before parts are ordered, because the same warning lamp can come from the column, the torque sensor or the supply.

Before you order a rack

Confirm the symptom is the rack and not the column, the torque sensor or a supply fault, then read the OE number from the fitted unit and confirm the driver side. Those three steps prevent most wrong-part returns.