Why is My Steering Wheel Hard to Turn?

When vehicles age, there are a whole bunch of different things that can go wrong. No matter how much you try to stay on top of regular maintenance and repairs, it’s inevitable because things that have hundreds of moving parts, will ultimately experience wear and tear. And when you’re experiencing something like a steering wheel that is hard to turn, knowing what to look for is incredibly important.

In today’s blog post we’ll cover various reasons for your steering wheel being difficult to turn. Along with the signs and symptoms that come with them. Knowing what to look, listen, or feel for is incredibly important in diagnosing your vehicle.

Our scrap car removal specialists have carefully crafted the following information to help you stay on top of the mechanical issues you may be currently facing with an aging vehicle, or one that has high mileage.

What Makes My Steering Wheel So Hard to Turn?

As a professional scrap car removal company that has been serving Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley since 2005, we’ve seen everything when it comes to scrap cars. And while there is usually one or two issues that primarily cause your steering wheel to be very stiff, there is actually a bunch of different problems that could be happening.

Knowing which one your vehicle has is the key to having the issue addressed. It’s also critical in knowing whether or not your vehicle is safe to be driven at all right now. Below, we’ve outlined the most common causes for a hard to turn steering wheel, and the signs and symptoms to go along with it.

Things That Can Make Your Steering Wheel Hard to Turn Include:

1. Issues with Power Steering Fluid

Power steering fluid is an important liquid for your car. Back in the day when there was no power steering, there naturally wasn’t power steering fluid. Power steering fluid is actually a hydraulic fluid that transmits power within the power steering system.

The power steering fluid is vital because without it, important components are not properly lubricated. This increases friction, which increases difficulty in turning your steering wheel. Furthermore, because hydraulic fluid is pressurized in your vehicle’s system, that pressure combined with the fluid is what actually makes it easier to turn your steering wheel.

2. Failed or Malfunctioning Power Steering Pump

Aaahh, the dreaded steering pump failure. This is a common issue we see in the scrap car removal industry on aging vehicles, or vehicles with very high mileage. Because, like anything on a vehicle, things are only meant to last a certain period of time. After that, things start to malfunction, and ultimately fail. Including your power steering pump.

Signs Your Power Steering Pump Has Failed Include:

• Very stiff steering
• Squealing noises when turning
• Rough or jerky steering when on flat roads
• A loud knocking noise when steering (and sometimes while driving)
• Metal flakes or debris in the power steering fluid upon checking it
• Check engine light on or power steering indicator illuminated

Depending on what symptoms your vehicle has there could potentially be other problems going on under the hood. That’s why it’s always a good idea to have a professional mechanic check out any new or worsening problems that you’re incurring on your vehicle.

More Cash For Scrap has been buying scrap vehicles throughout Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley since 2005. We see all kinds of vehicles with a wide variety of issues. If you’re certain that your power steering pump has failed and don’t want to fix it, sell it to us. We offer MORE cash for scrap cars than any scrap car removal company in the Lower Mainland.

3. Lack of Air in Your Tires

This one might seem like it’s pretty obvious, but if you don’t take the time to perform periodic pre-trips on your vehicle, you may not notice that your tires are low on air. Moreover, without regular routine maintenance (as we all often forget to do on aging vehicles), your mechanic won’t alert you to the decrease in pressure either because they either don’t see your vehicle enough, or at all.

If you’ve ever had a flat tire, you probably already know how awkward it is to steer your vehicle to the side of the road with a flat. However, if all your tires have low air pressure, it can make steering in general much harder than it would normally be.

Some people believe that having less tire pressure is better for road handling. However, it actually does the opposite. Having your tires properly inflated for your vehicle type is the best way to get great gas mileage, peak handling, and of course, prevent things like unexpected blow outs or tire damage.

At More Cash For Scrap, we purchase a lot of scrap cars without wheels, tires, or ones that have both, but are extremely flat. Fortunately, our scrap car removal team comes armed with a wonderful flat deck tow truck, making the removal of any vehicle quick and easy, even when they don’t have tires.

4. Misaligned Wheels

If you’re wondering why you’re having steering problems, it could most certainly be because of the very wheels that are you attempting to turn.

Regardless of whether or not you have a professional do your wheel alignment, or have a friend who’s mechanically inclined, alignments are not always done perfectly. Moreover, various road conditions, driving habits, and even accidents can affect how our wheels function, including staying properly aligned.

Signs You Have a Bad Wheel Alignment Include:

• Your vehicle pulls to one side
• Steering wheel doesn’t sit straight when not in use
• Uneven tire wear
• Loose or jerky steering
• Vehicle shakes or vibrates (especially at higher speeds)

Usually, your steering wheel won’t be excessively stiff when the cause of it is from having misaligned wheels. However, if you are experiencing the above issues and your steering wheel is very hard to turn, you could have multiple issues going on.

For vehicles that have multiple issues, or major issues that impact your ability to drive it safely, trust the scrap car removal services of More Cash For Scrap. We offer MORE cash for scrap cars with mechanical issues than any other scrap car removal company in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.

5. Warped Rotors

Warped rotors are something that happens to the best of us, no matter how often we change our brake pads or have our vehicle serviced at regular intervals. When you live in a place like the Lower Mainland, you spend a lot of time in stop-and-go traffic, navigating winding hills, and thanks to all of our heavy traffic, avoiding accidents. And slamming on your brakes is one of the ways our brakes get premature wear and tear, including warped rotors.

Another way this happens is when other brake system components are malfunctioning. Things like a caliper seizing, improperly installed brake pads, and poor wheel alignments can all cause premature wear of our rotors. And when this happens, it can cause our steering wheel to shake, but also to become stiff and difficult to steer.

If you’ve noticed squealing, vibrations, shaking, or any other new and unusual sounds or feelings happening when you brake, alongside of extremely stiff steering, have your vehicle serviced by a professional like our friends at Budget Brake and Muffler. They can help you discern if your brakes are the cause of your stiff steering, or if something more critical is going on with your aging vehicle.

6. Damaged or Worn Serpentine Belt

One of the main functions of a serpentine belt is to power different components within your vehicle. One of which being the power steering pump. When the serpentine belt is worn, damaged, or needs replacing, it can greatly affect your ability to steer your vehicle properly.

Signs Your Serpentine Belt Needs Replacing Are:

• Steering becomes difficult
• Loud squealing noise coming from the engine
• A high-pitched squealing or squeaking noise coming from your engine upon start up

If you’re currently experiencing weird, new, or worsening noises when starting up your vehicle, or while driving, be sure to have it checked at your mechanic. It could be something simple like needing a belt replacement. However, if you leave it too long, or don’t get a proper diagnosis, it could lead to something catastrophic.

Cash for Cars with Mechanical Issues

Maybe you’ve got one of the issues listed above happening with your vehicle. Or perhaps you have multiple issues, all of which are making driving at all stressful. If so, it might be time to scrap your car instead dumping more money into something that will only continue to produce problems.

More Cash For Scrap offers MORE cash for scrap cars with mechanical issues, electrical problems, brake system issues, failed engines, and blown transmissions. Which means that naturally, if you have a vehicle with a steering wheel that just won’t hardly move, you can get MORE cash for it with our scrap car removal services.

Give our team of scrap car removal specialists a quick call and find out what your vehicle is worth. We always provide free towing from anywhere in the Lower Mainland. Plus, we can usually offer same day scrap car removal. And sometimes in as little as minutes depending on your location!

How Much Cash for Scrap Cars Do We Pay?

Part of what has made us the #1 scrap car removal company in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley is our ability to respond promptly to our customers’ scrap car removal needs, while paying MORE cash for scrap cars than the other guys. And part of how we can offer MORE is because we don’t consider just the weight of your vehicle when preparing you an offer on your car.

Give our scrap car removal team a quick call and provide us with the make, model, year, condition, mileage, and location of your vehicle. Then, let us know what repairs it needs (if any), what repairs it has recent had (also, if any), and whether or not it still runs. Running vehicles are always worth MORE with us!

Once we have all of the details of your vehicle, we’ll make you an instant cash offer on it right over the phone. If you accept our offer, we’ll dispatch our free towing service at a time that works best for you. We offer our junk car removal services 7 days a week, from 7:00 AM-11:00 PM.

Also, we work on most statutory holidays to better serve our Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley customers. Once our tow truck arrives, our driver will load up your vehicle, then pay you cash in hand before leaving. It’s that simple!

Call or Text Our Scrap Car Removal Team Today!

If you’re ready to get that aging vehicle out of your life, and a little MORE cash back in your pocket, give us a call. The prices for everything these days continue to rise across the Lower Mainland. That includes vehicle repairs. So, instead of sinking your hard-earned money into a vehicle that will only continue to depreciate and give you grief, sell it for MORE at More Cash For Scrap.

You can reach out to our scrap car removal team 24/7, and ask us anything about our scrap car removal process. We are always happy to fill you in on our procedures, or simply answer questions about the value of your car.

If you want a quick and easy way to scrap your car, truck, SUV, hybrid, or van for MORE cash, scrap it with More Cash For Scrap. We offer MORE customer service, MORE flexible junk car pick-up times, and pay MORE cash for scrap cars than the other guys!