Electric Power Steering (EPS) uses an electric motor to assist driver steering.Checked 2026-08-12
Electric power steering (EPS)
Steering assist from an electric motor rather than an engine-driven hydraulic pump.
Also called: EPS · electric assist steering
What it means
Definition
Nexteer, an OE steering maker, states it plainly: electric power steering uses an electric motor to assist driver steering. The motor sits on the column or the rack. Hydraulic systems instead run a pump off the engine continuously; ZF notes that unlike hydraulic systems, electric power steering only consumes energy when the steering is engaged.
Why a buyer cares
What it changes
There is no fluid to check and no hose to leak. Heavy steering or a steering warning light on an EPS car points at the motor, its sensors or its wiring rather than at a fluid level.
In practice
Where you meet it
On estimates naming a rack or assist motor, and as a steering warning light.
Two things that look alike
Not the same as
Hydraulic power steering has a reservoir and belt-driven pump; EPS has neither.
Read next
Related terms
Where it shows up
Related problem files
Where this comes from
Sources
Unlike hydraulic systems, electric power steering only consumes energy when the steering is engaged.Checked 2026-08-12