Ford Taurus power steering failure - flat towing related?
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?
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?
