Most people are searching for this term on the internet. They think that there is a sensor that measures the steering speed sensor. But the situation is not like this. There is a system that adjusts the power steering level according to the speed of the car. Here, we will explain the general points about this system that your car has. Here, we just call this system a “steering speed sensor” to make it much easier to understand for the readers.
What is Steering Speed-Sensing?
Before understanding the general aspects of steering speed sensing, we need to understand the steering power booster. In most modern steering systems, we have this sensor system. While you are rotating the steering at low speeds or while standing, it makes it much easier to rotate the steering wheel.
If you have ever experienced a steering system that does not have any hydraulic system, it is very hard to rotate the steering at the standing position. And also at low speeds, driving the steering wheel is very hard and muscle power is required. So, people are developed hydraulic steering systems that you do not need extra power to turn the steering wheel.
If we take a look at the working principle of the hydraulic steering system, we can see that there is a hydraulic pump. The hydraulic pump is directly connected to the ECU. Once the steering angle sensors detect that you are turning the steering wheel, they send this information to the ECU system. The ECU gives the command to the hydraulic pump that pumps the steering oil to the required side to make the steering much easier. So, we are using the power of the hydraulic pump here. We call this property the power steering.
But Power Steering Has Comfort Problems
There are problems with the power steering systems in general. They are very useful at low speeds and parking positions. You are not giving too much effort to rotate the steering wheel.
But at high speeds, the manual steering systems have a rigidity that provides very good comfort to the driver. The power steering system is taking this rigidity. So, in the power steering systems, the driver can feel the loss of driving comfort at high speeds.
The steering speed sensor system is developed for this problem. If we take a look at the working principle of this system, there is a wheel speed sensor that sends the speed information to the ECU system of the car. And according to the speed, the ECU adjusts the level of power steering to find the best comfort for the driver.
With increasing speeds, the effect of the power steering decreases. So at high speed, the steering system act as a manual steering system. And this system gives a very big comfort to the driver.
What if Steering Speed Sensor System Fails?
Most modern cars have this system. But in the incident that the steering speed sensor system fails, the steering system turns into a full power system. This means that the steering power system is in charge even at high speeds. You will feel at high speeds that there is a problem with the steering system. The dashboard will give you a signal about this issue.
In general, the problem is generally the steering speed sensor or direct speed sensor. And also, there can be a problem with the ECU and hydraulic fluid connections. So, you need to take your car to a mechanic to solve that problem. And if you are using a modern car which is brand new you need to take your car to its service.
Also in most modern cars, you can adjust the power steering level by selecting the driving options. For example, if you select the “sport” mode, the power assistance of the steering wheel system will decrease. And this will give you more control at higher speeds.
And also if you adjust the driving mode to “comfort”, the power steering will increase. It provides much more comfort at low speed.
Last Words on Steering Speed Sensor
These are the general points that we can state about this new system. And this system is very useful when it comes to increasing the driving comfort of the drivers.
If you have additional questions about the steering speed sensor, please leave them below.
And also, you can find other useful articles and posts about car maintenance on fmechanic.com!
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