Car Electric Power Steering Becomes Stiff After Changing CV Joint Axel

 Are you driving a car that has Electric Power Steering (EPS)? Unlike vehicles with the conventional power steering that uses hydraulic fluid to make turning of the front wheel easier or with lesser effort, Electric Power steering on the other hand doesn’t require the use of fluid but rather it makes use of motor and certain sensors to assist in effortless wheeling of the steering and turning of the front tire.

In recent times, many car manufacturers are now producing more cars with Electric Power Steering. Both the hydraulic assist power steering and the EPS has their advantages and disadvantages over one another.

For example, it is less expensive to maintain vehicle with hydraulic assist power steering than the EPS vehicle, which might cost a fortune to fix when the EPS goes bad.

In today’s topic, we will be focusing on cars with EPS and what happens to the EPS when you change CV joint axel of the front drive shaft.

We have heard some persons complaining about their cars with EPS, that the steering suddenly becoming stiff like manual steering immediately after changing CV joint axel of the front drive shaft.

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Yes and you read right, it is very common to notice your steering becoming stiff immediately after changing CV joint axel of the front drive shaft. So if you have experienced or noticed this before, you should not panic as we are here to explain to you why it is so and what you ought to do in order not to encounter such again.

Your EPS is directly connected to your car front wheel drive shaft and the EPS is programmed to work with the drive shaft, therefore, altering or changing CV joint axel, which is a part of the drive shaft might affect the way the EPS is programmed to work, and your steering might become stiff after replacing a CV joint axel of the drive shaft that is NOT COMPACTIBLE with the original joint axel.

If you look carefully at the CV joint axel, you will notice the presence of ABS ring with specified number of teeth. Now why your steering will become stiff after changing CV joint head of the drive shaft is as a result of using incompatible CV joint. 

In other words, if you don’t want your steering to become stiff while trying to change a worn out CV joint axel, you must replace the CV joint axel with the exact type that you are taking out or as the one exactly from the original manufacturer. 

If you have recently changed CV joint axel of your vehicle that has EPS and you notice that your steering suddenly started getting stiff from time to time, then it is time to revisit  the CV joint and make sure that you replace with the right and recommended CV joint axel.