Mar 24, 2021
When we see a light appear on our car’s dashboard, we are immediately filled with worry especially if it’s the power steering light as that means a total loss of power steering, making it much harder to handle and steer your car. If you’ve driven a car with manual steering, you will know how difficult this can be or if you’ve only ever driven cars with power steering, loosing this will be a huge shock for you.
As we mentioned, the power steering light is an indication that there is a fault with your car’s power steering system and it will most likely be this way until you get it looked at and fixed. Not many people take time to look through the manufacturer’s guide and familiarise themselves with the various lights that can appear on the dashboard, meaning they often don’t know what the power steering light means.
Ignoring dashboard lights are more common than you think, but they won’t just go away and it’s important that you don’t ignore this as it can lead to expensive consequences.
The power steering warning light will either be yellow, red or orange and will show an image of a steering wheel alongside an exclamation mark. For cars with electric power steering, the light may say EPS for electric power steering.
One of the most common reasons for the power steering warning light to come on is to let the driver know that there is not enough or very little power steering fluid and if this is the case, pull over to check the steering fluid levels as soon as it’s safe to do so. If you top it up because it’s showing as low, the light should then turn off.
When the light is on, the power assist will stop working to help you steer and while you can still drive the car, know that the steering will be much heavier making it difficult to turn. If you are driving this way, you need to be confident and get it fixed as soon as possible.
If you’re driving a car with electric power-assisted steering, fluid levels will not be the cause for the light. Sometimes it can be as simple as restarting the engine to get it to turn off but if it doesn’t go off after this, then you need to have it looked at by your mechanic.
Have you been experiencing issues with your power steering light illuminating your dashboard? Here at MyCarNeedsA.com, we can help find local mechanics in your area that are reputable, as well as saving you both time and money on shopping around for the right price. Get your quotes today!
