Steering stiff on a 2013

[AlanS]

Drove the wife's 2013 S60 today. Steering was stiff and sluggish. If it were an 'old' car, I would say that there was power steering issues. I checked the reservoir, fluid was adequate. Color of the fluid could be better....Any suggestions? I would hate to have to put in a new rack...must be a cure!

[Vova585]

Elevated the front of the car and with "unlocked" steering try to move the wheels manually side to side. If you have high resistance- inspect suspension elements for wear/rust(strut top bearings, stabilizer bar links, ball joints). If those are checking good, try to replace steering fluid with proper fluid(aka fluid drain and refill several times with wheels being turned side to side). It would be great to figure out what type of system your car is using. I believe earlier some earlier models and basic trims were using "basic" hydrolic pump design, more newer cars were using hybrid (hydrolic/electric ) pumps which are less resilient. In case if later, it wpuld be best to have vida/dice or some other capable diagnostic tool to see if the pump is being commanded (likely duty cycle algorithm) to work with wheel being turned. If such is not an option, you can get alldata subscription for 1 month($30) and read on proper procedure of pump replacement. Obtain one from erie vovo and try it before replacing anything else. Alternatively, pay dealer for this diagnostic with specific question to check if all inputs to power steering pump are correct(power ground signal )and what is wrong. It will be $200-250(1-1.5hour labor) and will save you time, equipment, subscriptions...Good luck

[pgill]

Do what Vova585 said

Additionally don’t forget that the Reservoir has a built in filter and you should change it and the fluid. A clogged reservoir will starve the pump and cause the power assist to not work properly.

The right fluid should be CHF 202

I can post a link to a video if you need one

Thanks

Paul