Electric power steering

More headaches. I read Mack has the new "Command Steer" that adds an electric motor to assist the hydraulics and Volvo too, but I don't think any truck has an all electric steering,,,yet. Complaints include, reliability, service costs, actual driver feel is lost, and they use a lot of juice, so no real gain in efficiency. I read, electric steering was invented for use in driverless vehicles. We all know how that's coming along,,

 

When I got my new to me SUV in 2018 I looked all over for the power steering reservoir.
Found out it had electric power steering.
Trouble free for 7 years now.
Good road feel and response.
How it will work in a heavy duty application remains to be seen.

 

Yes they are out there. Seen lots of 579 and 589 with electric assist. It truly is 1 finger and like butter. You’ll notice the difference right away.The assist motor is under the column inside the cab. There is no noticeable difference under the hood.

 

So it's just a motor designed to assist the turning of the steering wheel and not electric actuators taking place of the power steering system?

 

Electric assist is all it is. Have a couple of Volvo's with it.
Bought a couple of cars for the office with steer by wire, up'ed the life insurance on them. LOL

 

Correct.

The original hydraulic steering gear and components are unchanged.

 

One step closer to driverless.

 

They've used something similar on old tractors for a few years. Electric motor that mounts to the steering column and it has a roller on it that drives the steering wheel. It interfaces with the modern GPS systems.

Of course with the newest tractors and combines it's usually all integrated into the unit from factory.