Ford Taurus power steering failure - flat towing related?

[willald]

Our Ford Taurus that we've towed behind the RV for 4 years now, had the EPAS (electric power assisted steering) unit fail, have to be replaced. Basically, the entire steering assembly - rack and pinion, motor, etc. Ford uses electric (EPAS) power steering on this model, something I guess is pretty common, but I'm not very familiar with.

Anyway, this vehicle is 8 years old, has 65k miles on it (plus probably another 20k towing miles that don't get logged), and has given zero troubles and been completely reliable other than this. It is my daily driver. According to the Ford dealer doing the repairs, this is not something that fails very often, is a rare thing.

My question is this: Would flat towing the last several years have contributed to this EPAS unit failing?

Dealer claims no, but I'm not convinced. I'm wondering if this EPAS unit is not designed well to handle the wheels doing the steering instead of the steering wheel, like is the case when flat towing. Yes, Ford gives full support for flat towing this vehicle and indicates such in the owner's manual, and we have done it for years with no issues whatsoever until now. Just wondering if maybe this electric power steering unit ain't well designed for this, and Ford maybe knows but doesn't care, since they figure it will last at least as long as the factory warranty like mine did.

We have a Jeep Wrangler now that we flat tow for most trips, but there are a few trips where we would like to still tow/bring the Taurus, as it does provide for a smoother ride. However, if its going to wear out the (very expensive!) power steering prematurely, then we won't be towing the Taurus anymore.

Thoughts?

[BurbMan]

I'm with you and I think you're right to ask the question....especially when they say a part "rarely" fails, but I'm not seeing any evidence that flat towing might cause any damage to the steering rack.

[willald]

BurbMan wrote:
Hi Will, assuming you flat-tow the Taurus, it's highly unlikely that anything from towing could/would have damaged system by itself. Here is a good tech article on diagnosing EPAS systems.

Thanks, Don, good information there. Yes, we have flat towed this vehicle ever since we bought it, several years ago. Is my daily driver, also. Been very reliable all these years for everything, has needed nothing but routine maintenance until this. It 'survived' two moves also, and was used to tow a Uhaul trailer for both moves. Has been one of the best cars I've owned.

You don't mention if you got any codes or symptoms that caused you to bring the car to the dealer. The article does point out that damaged suspension components will cause the EPAS to throw a code, and that damaged bellows on the steering rack that let dirt/moisture in also affect system performance.

Yes, it did throw codes, but I do not have specific codes. Started it up one day, and message came up saying power assisted steering faulty, needs servicing. And, power steering was shut off, was like trying to steer a dump truck through mud, haha! Shut it off, waited 2 minutes, cranked it back up, and all was fine, haha! Took it to dealer next day, power steering failed on them as well when test driving it, they indicated trouble codes it threw indicated the power steering unit/assembly was going out, and would soon quit completely.

Similar to how old-fashioned power steering works, the rack is free to move on its own, but no assistance is provided unless called for, and without power to the unit it won't attempt to assist. Is it possible there is power to the EPAS unit when being flat-towed so it's trying to provide assistance?

No, that is definitely not the case. Power steering is off, except when engine is on.

What did the dealer say was wrong with the unit when they replaced it?

See previous comments. Dealer just said that trouble codes it was throwing, as well as the way the steering felt when test driving it, indicated the EPAS was going out, and would soon quit completely. This is a dealer service group I've known and relied on for a long time (20 years) for several vehicles, so I'm pretty confident they are being honest.

It is still being repaired, parts didn't come in until today. They supposed to have it done either today or tomorrow. Apparently, the EPAS unit rarely ever goes out, which is why it took the dealer a while to get the new unit (a week). The fact this part rarely goes out, is why I was suspicious that maybe the flat towing might have been a factor. Maybe not, may well just be my bad luck, as dodge guy indicated. 🙂

[dodge_guy]

No towing didn’t do it in. Just age and luck (bad for you).
We tow a 13 Explorer which is basically the same. I wouldn’t give a second thought to towing it. Things fail for no reason sometimes.

[BurbMan]

Hi Will, assuming you flat-tow the Taurus, it's highly unlikely that anything from towing could/would have damaged system by itself. Here is a good tech article on diagnosing EPAS systems.

You don't mention if you got any codes or symptoms that caused you to bring the car to the dealer. The article does point out that damaged suspension components will cause the EPAS to throw a code, and that damaged bellows on the steering rack that let dirt/moisture in also affect system performance.

Similar to how old-fashioned power steering works, the rack is free to move on its own, but no assistance is provided unless called for, and without power to the unit it won't attempt to assist. Is it possible there is power to the EPAS unit when being flat-towed so it's trying to provide assistance?

What did the dealer say was wrong with the unit when they replaced it?

[jdc1]

Nope. If anything, the steering linkage would take more abuse.