Symptom
A whine or groan from the front of the car that rises as you turn and fades as you straighten up — loudest at full lock, and usually worst when manoeuvring slowly. That relationship to steering angle is the whole diagnosis: it places the noise in the power steering rather than anywhere else, because nothing else in the car is loaded by the steering wheel. On a hydraulic system the first check is free and takes a minute — the fluid level, and whether it is full of froth, which means the pump is drawing in air and will destroy itself if left.
Also described as: whining when turning, groaning when steering, noise when turning the wheel, power steering whine, moaning noise when parking, صدای فرمان هنگام چرخاندن, زوزه پمپ هیدرولیک, zumbido al girar volante, ruido al mover volante, chillido direccion, chirrido volante, ruido volante, أزيز من الدركسيون, صوت الدركسيون عند اللف, صوت عند لف الدركسيون, أزيز عند تدوير المقود, صوت الباور عند اللف
A whine or groan from the front of the car that rises as you turn and fades as you straighten up — loudest at full lock, and usually worst when manoeuvring slowly. That relationship to steering angle is the whole diagnosis: it places the noise in the power steering rather than anywhere else, because nothing else in the car is loaded by the steering wheel.
On a hydraulic system the first check is free and takes a minute — the fluid level, and whether it is full of froth, which means the pump is drawing in air and will destroy itself if left. Froth is the finding, not the level: a system that has aerated is already running its pump on foam rather than fluid.
Air gets in from the suction side, which is the low-pressure hose between reservoir and pump — so a leak there draws air in without leaking fluid out, and there is nothing on the driveway to find. That is the version people search hardest for and find last.
A low level with no froth points at a leak on the pressure side, and those do drip: the high-pressure hose, the rack seals, or the pump shaft seal.
A whine with a correct, clear fluid level is the pump itself — worn vanes or a failing bearing — and it typically gets louder over months rather than appearing.
On an electrically assisted system there is no fluid at all, and a whine that follows steering angle is the motor or its gearing. That is a different repair and a different part, so establishing which system the car has comes before anything else.
Do not hold the steering at full lock. On a hydraulic system that runs the pump against its relief valve, which heats the fluid quickly and is how a marginal pump becomes a failed one.
| What you find | Likely cause | How to confirm it | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whine rises with steering angle, hydraulic system, fluid frothy | Air being drawn into the pump — usually a leak on the suction side that lets air in without letting fluid out | Look at the fluid rather than only the level: froth or milkiness is the finding. Inspect the low-pressure hose and its clips. | Renew the suction hose or reseat its clips, then bleed by turning lock to lock with the engine idling. |
| Fluid level low and clear, with visible leakage | A pressure-side leak — high-pressure hose, rack seals, or the pump shaft seal | Clean and run to find the source. Pressure-side leaks drip where suction-side leaks do not. | Renew the leaking component and refill with the specified fluid. The wrong fluid damages seals. |
| Level correct, fluid clear, whine persists | The pump itself — worn vanes or a failing bearing | Note whether it has grown over months. Measure system pressure against specification where a gauge is available. | Renew the pump. Flush the system, since a failing pump sheds debris into the rack. |
| Electrically assisted steering, no fluid anywhere | The assistance motor or its gearing rather than a hydraulic fault | Establish which system the car has before anything else — the hydraulic reasoning does not apply. | Diagnose the steering module and motor. See the power-steering lamp entry in this vocabulary. |
| Whine worst when cold, improving as it warms | Thick cold fluid, or the wrong specification fluid making the pump work harder | Check what fluid is specified and what is in it. Cold dependence is characteristic. | Drain and refill with the correct fluid. Cheap, and worth doing before condemning a pump. |
| Whine plus heavy steering | The assistance is genuinely failing rather than merely making a noise | Two symptoms together escalate this from a noise to a function complaint. | Repair without delay — see the heavy-steering entry. Assistance that fails at parking speed catches people out. |
Whine rises with steering angle, hydraulic system, fluid frothy
Fluid level low and clear, with visible leakage
Level correct, fluid clear, whine persists
Electrically assisted steering, no fluid anywhere
Whine worst when cold, improving as it warms
Whine plus heavy steering
Listed with the codes that most typically present this way first — the likeliest place to start.
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Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
A hydraulic power steering system spends its whole life telling you how it is doing, and the noise it makes is the most specific thing it says. A whine that rises as you turn and f...
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