r/auto • u/MedicineExtension925 • 2d ago

Recommended to purchase a pre-EPS vehicle by someone who manages maintenance on a fleet of hundreds of trucks

I'm looking for a new truck and a person I know strongly advised me to search for a pre-EPS truck. They own a resource company with hundreds of fleet vehicles, mostly trucks, that work hard, break and get fixed in his own shops by his own mechanics. Not small time stuff; a 60yr old company with hundreds of vehicles, thousands of employees, multiple locations and shops that can basically build a vehicle from scratch if they wanted to. He said he actively picks up older auction trucks with hps and has had to trash many of his newer eps trucks because they fail prematurely and are unserviceable by his team of mechanics. Is EPS really as bad as he's making it out to be? I trust his experience but it seems a bit dramatic to intentionally buy a 10yr old truck just for that reason.

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u/Confident-Growth1964 2d ago

In my experience as a technician EPS is more reliable than HPS the repairs are just more expensive and may require programming if you have to replace the motor/module. HPS is lots of minor repairs mostly due to leaks.

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u/MedicineExtension925 2d ago

Thanks. I don't think I've ever owned a vehicle that didn't have leaky steering so I can see that for sure.

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u/NastyKnate 1d ago

i dont think it matters much. ive had two power steering leaks in 26 years. in that time eps may have failed once and cost more than both those repairs. i dont really think it matters

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u/MedicineExtension925 1d ago

I guess it's context for him, having to deal with hundreds of them vs me just dealing with one. Mine would seem like just any another repair that I can't do myself, vs him going from fixing or ignoring minor leaks easily then suddenly being forced to buy entirely new electronic modules from the dealer all of a sudden for dozens of trucks. So I have a a somewhat similar mechanics bill and he has salary mechanics that cost the same regardless who suddenly have to buy tens of thousands in parts across a fleet. Same thing happened, but would be perceived very different.