The invention relates to a surgical patient side cart with a steering interface. A patient side cart for a teleoperated surgical system includes at least one manipulator portion for holding a surgicalinstrument and a steering interface. The steering interface may include at least one sensor positioned to sense turning, fore, and aft forces exerted by a user to move the cart. The steering interface may further include a coupling mechanism to removably couple the steering interface with the patient side cart. The at least one sensor may be placed in signal communication with a drive control system of the patient side cart when the steering interface is in a coupled state with the patient side cart.