I've never had a problem with the steering. No failures, nothing. It's been like this for the past 4 years, and I do know that it is definitely power assisted when the car is on. Perhaps we're comparing the vehicles differently. The steering on the vehicle is very stiff when the vehicle is not moving. However, once the car gets moving at anything about 5-10MPH, it's definitely different.

I'm comparing the steering of this vehicle of pretty much every other vehicle I've driven as well, which is decent number... maybe 15-20 different models. I haven't had a chance to get my hands on someone else's Volvo though for same model comparison.

However, I'm almost certain that a problem does not exist in my steering. I'm sure if it was a problem, it would have gotten worse throughout the years or manifested itself in some weird sort of way. Steering fluid was recently (last year) completely flushed, and currently is very clean due to the magnets that I have placed in the reservoir.
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Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'