There is no single honest price for electric power steering (EPS) repair, because the cost is driven by which part has failed — the motor, the torque sensor, the control unit or the wiring — and by how your make and model’s unit is built. What stays consistent is the value comparison: remanufacturing your original EPS unit is almost always far more cost-effective than the dealer route of fitting a complete new, coded rack, column or control unit. We diagnose, repair and remanufacture EPS units on a mail-in basis and quote against your actual vehicle rather than a generic estimate.
On this page
- How much does electric power steering repair cost?
- Why do EPS repair estimates vary so much?
- Repair or remanufacture vs dealer replacement
- What causes electric power steering to fail?
- How long should electric power steering last?
- Can you still drive if your electric power steering fails?
- How to get an accurate cost for your vehicle
- Frequently Asked Questions
Summary: There is no single honest price for electric power steering (EPS) repair, because the cost is driven by which part has failed — the motor, the torque sensor, the control unit or the wiring — and by how your make and model’s unit is built. What stays consistent is the value comparison: remanufacturing your original EPS unit is almost always far more cost-effective than the dealer route of fitting a complete new, coded rack, column or control unit. We diagnose, repair and remanufacture EPS units on a mail-in basis and quote against your actual vehicle rather than a generic estimate.
How much does electric power steering repair cost?
The honest answer is that there is no one price — and any site that hands you a single confident figure for electric power steering repair is guessing at your car. What you actually pay depends on which part of the EPS system has failed, on how your particular make and model’s unit is built, and on whether that unit needs a targeted repair or a full remanufacture. Two cars showing the same warning light can need very different work.
What is consistent is the value comparison. Repairing or remanufacturing your original EPS unit is almost always far more cost-effective than the main-dealer route of fitting a complete new, coded rack, column or control unit. Below is what genuinely moves the cost, why the estimates you have seen vary so widely, and how to get an accurate figure for your own vehicle rather than a headline number.
Why do EPS repair estimates vary so much?
If you have looked this up already, you will have seen quotes that swing from modest to alarming. That spread is not because anyone is being dishonest — it is because “electric power steering” covers several different components, and a generic estimator cannot know which one has failed on your car. A figure built around replacing a control module is a completely different job to one built around a motor or a wiring fault, so a blanket average tells you very little about your own repair. A few things genuinely determine what an EPS repair costs:
- Which component has failed. The EPS system is really several parts working together — the electric motor that supplies the assistance, the torque and steering-angle sensors that tell the system how you are steering, the control unit that runs it all, and the wiring that links them. Putting right a sensor fault is a different job to rebuilding a motor or a control unit, and this is the single biggest factor in the cost.
- Your make and model, and how the unit is built. Some manufacturers integrate the motor, sensors and control unit into one sealed assembly on the column or rack; others keep them as separate parts. How accessible and how repairable that particular design is affects the work involved.
- Whether it needs a repair or a full remanufacture. A single failed function can sometimes be put right with a targeted repair; a unit that has had a harder life may need a full remanufacture, with the areas known to give trouble reinforced so the same fault does not simply return.
- Coding and setup. Some units go straight back on ready to fit; others need calibration or a steering-angle re-learn once refitted. Repairing your original unit usually keeps your vehicle’s existing coding intact, which often removes a separate dealer programming step altogether.
Repair or remanufacture vs dealer replacement
This is where most of the cost difference lives. Faced with an EPS fault, a main dealer will typically condemn the whole assembly and fit a brand-new column, rack or control unit — supplied as a coded part and priced accordingly. It is the most expensive route, and it carries a quiet drawback: the replacement is the same design as the one that just failed, so it inherits the same original weakness.
Remanufacturing your existing unit works the other way round. The motor, sensors and control unit behind electric power steering are repairable, remanufacturable parts — not throwaway assemblies — so rather than replacing everything, the actual fault is diagnosed and that unit is rebuilt, with the areas known to give trouble strengthened rather than simply renewed. Because it is your original unit going back on the car, your vehicle’s coding usually stays intact, and the outlay is typically a fraction of a new coded replacement. That is the reman-versus-replace decision, and on real information it almost always favours repairing what you already have.
What causes electric power steering to fail?
Understanding what tends to go wrong helps explain why cost varies so much from car to car. At a system level, the common causes are the electric motor wearing or overheating until assistance goes heavy or drops out; the torque and steering-angle sensors drifting out of range so the control unit can no longer judge how much help to add; the control unit developing an internal fault, which often shows up once the car has warmed through; and wiring or connector problems that produce the intermittent, comes-and-goes faults that are hardest to pin down. A weak battery or a failing alternator can also trip an EPS fault on its own, because the system draws heavy current and dislikes low voltage — which is exactly why accurate diagnosis has to come before any part is condemned.
How long should electric power steering last?
Electric power steering is designed to last the life of the car, and on many vehicles it does exactly that with no attention at all. It is a sealed, largely maintenance-free system — there is no fluid to top up and no pump belt to replace. When it does fail, it is usually down to age and accumulated heat cycling on the electronics, high mileage on the motor, or moisture and corrosion reaching a connector, rather than anything you did or did not do. There is no fixed service life, which is part of why a fault can feel as though it comes out of nowhere and why it is worth diagnosing properly rather than assuming the worst.
Can you still drive if your electric power steering fails?
In the short term, yes — losing power steering is not the same as losing steering. EPS only adds assistance; the mechanical link between the wheel and the road stays intact, so if the system reduces or cuts help, you keep full control of the car. What changes is effort. The wheel becomes much heavier, especially when parking and at low speed, and a sudden loss of assist can catch you out part-way through a turn. It is drivable enough to get somewhere safe, but heavy, unpredictable steering is a genuine hazard, so an EPS fault should be diagnosed promptly rather than lived with.
How to get an accurate cost for your vehicle
Because the price hinges on which part has failed, the only way to get a real figure is to have your specific unit assessed rather than matched to an average. This is our specialism: we diagnose, repair and remanufacture EPS motors, sensors and control units at component level, testing every rebuilt unit on our in-house Hardware-in-the-Loop rigs — which recreate the heat, vibration and electrical load the steering meets on the road — before it is calibrated and dispatched. Most units come back ready to fit, and our remanufactured parts carry a lifetime, unlimited-mileage warranty. It is part of our wider power steering and EPS repair service across makes and models.
The service is mail-in: you send us the failing unit, we assess and rebuild it, and we return it. For a model-specific look at how these faults present and get resolved, see our detailed Peugeot 207 power steering guide. For an accurate cost on your own vehicle, complete our repair form with your make, model and the fault you are seeing — or if you are not sure which part has failed, get in touch and we will help you work out the next step before you commit to anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can electric power steering be fixed?
Yes. The motor, sensors and control unit behind electric power steering are repairable, remanufacturable parts, not throwaway assemblies. With electronic diagnosis to find the failed component, a precision repair or remanufacture of that unit, and calibration before refitting, EPS is usually restored without replacing the whole assembly.
How much does electric power steering repair cost?
There is no single figure, because it depends on which part has failed, on your make and model, and on whether the unit needs a targeted repair or a full remanufacture. What is consistent is that rebuilding your original unit is typically a fraction of the cost of a new coded dealer assembly. We quote against your actual vehicle rather than a generic estimate.
Is it cheaper to repair or replace electric power steering?
Repairing or remanufacturing the original unit is almost always more cost-effective than fitting a new, coded dealer assembly, and it keeps your vehicle’s existing coding intact so there is often no separate programming step. A new part also carries the same design weakness as the one that failed, whereas a remanufacture can reinforce it.
Can you still drive if electric power steering goes out?
You keep full mechanical steering — the car does not become unsteerable — but the wheel gets much heavier, especially when parking and at low speed. It is drivable in the short term, but because a sudden loss of assist can catch you out mid-turn, get the fault diagnosed promptly rather than living with it.
What is the life expectancy of electric power steering?
It is designed to last the life of the car and is sealed and largely maintenance-free, with no fluid or pump belt to service. There is no fixed service life; when it does fail it is usually down to age, heat cycling on the electronics, high mileage or corrosion reaching a connector.