Replaced Power Steering Pump Today

[JTrujillo86]

I've noticed lately that the low speed steering assist feature I have on my car has not been working or works sparatically I took it into the dealership since I'm still under warranty and they replaced the P.S. pump. My service advisor said that the pump was 'cavitating' the fluid, which meant the pump was basically not getting fluid to all the parts of the pump. Even after the so-called fix, I still don't feel a difference. Has anyone else experienced this? I check the owners manual and there is a fuse uder the hood for it. It also controls the ABS however, so if that were causing the problem, the ABS light would be on. Therefore I don't think thats the case.

Jeremy

[DamienZ28]

Wow man this is a good one! I haven't had a problem like this yet and I hope i won't! Your post is very confusing. Is there a differnt assist level or assit completly at differn't speeds? Anyways what does it feel like? When you turn the wheel does it feel like theres a hard spot in the turn? Like if your turning right as you do it you hit a hard spot then it breaks free after a tug or so far after the rotation? If thats the case its the PS rack. I want to explore this one more please post more info on the subject and ill consult the database! This one is very confusing unless im reading it very wrong.

[JTrujillo86]

Well, lets start at the begining. Are you confused by the "low speed steering assist"? If so, it's one of those "fun to drive" features. The p.s. pump supplies more assist at parking lot speeds and such, so that it makes parking much easier. It's a really nice feature, actually. Then, as the car speeds up, the steering is supposed to stiffen to generate a good road feel.

Lately, I was feeling no extra assist in parking lots. The steering was normal for any other car in a parking lot, but for my car, it was not. It was not supply extra assist in the parking lots. It was like this feature completely vanished.

I looked into this by going straight to the manual. The only thing in the manual related to the "low speed steering assist" was a fuse under the hood in the fuse relay box. This fuse also supports the ABS though, so if this fuse was out, the ABS light would be on. Therefore, I quickly dispelled the notion that it was just a fuse. That's when I took the vehicle to the dealer to get looked at and they then replaced the p.s. pump.

I hope this helps and thank you for helping out with your posting. I appreciate it!

Jeremy

[DamienZ28]

OK so the new PS pump fixed everything then thats good! So the pump was acually going bad and that makes sense at higher speeds it is easier to turn the wheels then at slower speeds. Yeah had alittle trouble understanding the first post for some reason but its all cleared up now! I never really noticed the assist in that way... Odd normally I notice things like this so thank you for the information!

Damien