Mercedes-Benz has announced it will offer steer-by-wire technology in the EQS, several months after the brand’s flagship electric sedan got updated back in April 2024. This brings with it a yoke steering wheel and several advantages in terms of everyday driving.
According to the company, the steer-by-wire system reduces the amount of effort required in such a way that drivers no longer need to adjust their grip on the steering wheel. In fact, media outlets that have tried the system for themselves report that it is just 170 degrees of steering from lock to lock, hence the use of a yoke steering wheel. Vehicles like the Tesla Cybertruck, Lexus RZ and Nio ET9 also come with this technology and feature steering wheels with a flattened top and bottom.
In the EQS, the new steering wheel is also more compact to improve the view of the driver display, while also making ingress and egress easier. This does require a reworking of the airbag system, with Mercedes-Benz saying there is need for an internal support and folding architecture to handle controlled shaping during airbag deployment.
With a steer-by-wire system, there’s no mechanical linkage between the steering wheel and road wheels. Instead, a motor takes the driver’s steering input to deliver steering actuation, which allows for infinitely variable steering ratio. For redundancy and to meet safety regulations, there are two sets of DC-DC converters and power supplies, communications circuits and motors to ensure there are two signal paths.
In the event of one failing, the other takes over so the car can be continued to steered safely, albeit in limp-in mode and restricting speed. Should it ever come to be, however unlikely, that both signal paths are not working, the system will use rear-wheel steering and selective braking to achieve the driver’s intended path. Mercedes-Benz says it has tested its system over a million km on test benches, test tracks and in overall vehicle validation in road traffic.
On the mention of rear-wheel steering, it comes standard with the steer-by-wire system and allows for the rear wheels to turn up to 10 degrees. The standard rear-wheel steering system for the EQS is set at 4.5 degrees unless optioned with a software upgrade that brings it up to 10 degrees. It should be noted that Mercedes-Benz will continue to offer electromechanical steering for the EQS for customers who prefer not having steer-by-wire and the yoke steering wheel.
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Lexus also has steer by wire
Electric steering wheel. That was introduced some 12-13 years ago by Nissan in the JDM Skyline. That model was sold in Malaysia, though under the Infiniti 50 badge. R&D started some 10 years before, but not to be confused with BMW Active Steering system in the E60 5 series which still had a mechanical linkages connecting the driver to the road.
Not a bad system since all types of vibrations, judder or wobbling at the wheels are gone. Reliability is going to be an issue thought. I mean, can the system last for 20 years or more. Your guess is as good as mine.
honda steering cant even last for 2 years