Why is power steering not working?

Check to see if the belt is still on, and see if the belt is tight enough so it doesn't slip.

Apparently it`s a problem that subaru has with this electronic power steering system. You will need to get it replaced. My friend had this problem too in sub zero, he was stuck and couldn`t safely drive it. This is a fail from subaru.

My 2014 Forester 2.5i Limited Edition also suffers from intermittent steering wheel locking problems. This problem occurs mostly after the car is parked for 6 hours or more. When I turn on the ignition (in Parking gear), the steering wheel will NOT move. I sometimes need to turn off the ignition 3-4 times to get the steering wheel moving again.

Just had the power steering module replaced in my 2014 Forester due to repeated failure of the power steering upon starting. Temperatures were not below freezing when this began to happen. Dealer was responsive and the repair was covered under warranty.

Gee when my power steering was acting up all I had to do was put some power steering fluid in..Hmmmm, interesting no one has mentioned that.

In the summer I noticedon't my power steering tightnng up but it was mino and went away once I got driving. Once the cold started esp 20 degrees it is much worse. I let the car warm up and it improves. I park parallel all the time so I thought it was that direction when I back up and turn left but it seems now driving it is tightning on the right also. It still pretty much goes away after a few Mike's of driving but each times seems to be getting worse. My mechanic has 2x ckd the belt and the fluid and they are fine. I'm hoping there is a simpler answer than replacing the pump. Anyone have ideas to help?

2004 Legacy Outback, replaced power steering pump four times, hoses and rack..still having issues! Very frustrating and I can afford to put it in the shop again!! Apparently they dont replace pump with new ones Ever so they go easily ;( Its bad enough the air bags arent safe but neither is my steering!

also its above freezing where i live..

Mike. In response to cali888, it should be important to note that subarus from 2014 on do not use power steering fluid and instead have an electric mechanism.

This is happening almost weekly with my 2018 Forrester and I am not pleased. Already had major parts replaced twice for a car I bought in July. It’s unnerving to drive a car that is often not steerable.

I had the power steering module replaced in my 2016 Outback about 6 weeks ago for this same problem, and after less than a month it started happening again. The Subaru tech guys told my dealership mechanic to replace the battery as it was probably a voltage problem. Got the car back Friday and it happened again today. I'm about to tear my hair out - anything new?

I am having the power steering computer module replaced now in my MY2013 Forester 2.5i. The fault can be rectified by keying off/on but may reoccur at anytime so the car is unsafe to drive. This is gonna cost me $2400.

Neither replacing the power steering module or the battery worked on my 2016 Outback. Ultimately the dealership got Subaru to agree to replace the ECM (engine control module? They said it was like the server that routes all the other modules) and so far so good. Good news is it’s actually cheaper than the power steering module. Luckily my dealership hasn’t been great, advocating for fixing everything under warranty even though it was a few thousand miles out of warranty - I had reported the light coming on at a normal service check before the warranty expired but diagnostics didn’t reveal the problem until the steering actually stopped functioning.

2018 Forester drove from garage -13C to park outside for half an hour at -26C. Then when starting the power steering inoperative, but it was possible to Armstrong the car back to the garage. Two dealers agreed many Subaru’s had similar problems in the last few days of this deep freeze. They suggested turning the ignition on and off a few times, which I have yet to try. For now the battery is on trickle charge.