This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Started car to go to lunch, pulling out of parking lot steering wheel locked up, pulled in lot across street and left car running, man checked and steering still locked. Turned car off and re-started...steering wheel unlocked. Miles on car 110886.7, date, 09/28/2016
Lost power steering assist while driving vehicle at approx. 35mph. It was all I could do just to get it back home. I couldn't even turn it to get into my garage! I did some research on this problem and found that a recall had been issued for vehicle years 2008-2011. I called the dealer and was told that my vehicle was not included in this recall since it was manufactured on May 26 2011. My problem is: I'm having the identical problem and who's to say that these parts weren't manufactured at the same time the defective ones were?
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. While driving approximately 5 mph, the power steering failed without warning. The vehicle was driven to a mechanic, but was not diagnosed. The VIN was excluded from NHTSA campaign number: 14V284000 (steering). The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 74,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. While in reverse, the steering wheel suddenly became locked and would not turn. The contact indicated that the failure occurred on two separate occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the electronic steering torque sensor was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 119,000.
4 separate times while driving, the steering wheel completely locked up and could not turn the steering wheel at all. Luckily, was able to stop, turn car off, restart, and the steering wheel unlocked and was able to proceed. This all happened within two weeks. Very scary situations.
- Smyrna, GA, USA
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The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. While driving and making a turn, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. In addition, the fuel fill inlet warning light illuminated. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the electronic power steering failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V284000 (steering). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. Updated 09/22/16
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. While driving approximately 15 mph and coming to a stop, the power steering failed without warning. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The VIN was excluded from NHTSA campaign number: 14V284000 (steering). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 49,112.
Power steering started going out at the beginning of June 2016. If I shut the car off and turn it back on, it will work. But, not always. It tends to go out when turning corners, but just this week, it went out while driving straight on the highway. There is no recall on this by Ford even though I have seen thousands of people with the same car and the same problem!
The power steering randomly goes out. Sometimes immediately upon turning the vehicle on, other times while driving down the high way, sometimes while driving slow, or turning. It is completely random. The quick/temporary fix is to turn the vehicle back off and on again and it goes away for a while. I took the vehicle in to Ford and they have to replace the steering column which comes to a total of around $1500. This is the same problems other vehicles had that were a part of the recall. My year is included in the recall but for some reason my VIN is not.
I filed a complaint the other day but it has gotten so much worse that I had to take it to the dealer. They told me that the pscm was bad. Almost $1300. It will have to wait until I have the money for it. This is the same problem as recall #14S05 but it does not reach our manufacturer date. It is time for them to step up and extend the recall to cover all of the dates before someone gets killed when the power steering goes out in the middle of a turn like happened to me the other day. I was making a left turn in the inside turning lane when it stopped working. Not only did I lose power steering but it snatched the wheel out of my hand. I almost hit the car next to me before I got control of it. If my wife had been driving, and it is her vehicle, she would have hit the car next to her. I find it hard to believe that we are the only ones complaining about this. They need to do something about this because it is going to put a financial hardship on us to get it fixed.
Last year it began when the vehicle was started the power steering would not work. You could shut the engine off and restart it and it would work. As time went by it happened more frequently and I called the Ford dealer about a recall someone had told me about and was told that our Escape was not included and that I should file a complaint with you. I did that last year and have gotten no response. It has gotten progressively worse. It has been shut off and restarted so many times that it killed the battery. It still had volts but no longer had enough cold cranking amps to start the engine. Now it has happened a couple of times while I was driving. When it stops it almost snatches the steering wheel out of your hands. There is never any warning and no warning lights come on. Sometimes when it is quiet in the car I can hear a click come from the steering column and it either quits working or if it was not working it start back. Three days ago it happened while I was in the middle of a turn at an intersection that has two turn lanes and I almost hit the car next to me. If it had happened while my wife was driving she probably would have hit them. There is a good possibility of this as it is her vehicle. I am driving it this week because I am a little uncomfortable with her driving it. I live in Maryland and work all week in New Jersey. I hope it does not happen while I am on the NJ turnpike as people on there like to stay close and goes fast. I really have no choice because we have to be able to go to work and cannot afford to have it fixed. My understanding is that there are several possibilities that go from software programing, sensor replacement or steering column replacement. It is obvious from the symptoms that it should be included in the recall but has not been.
Power steering assist randomly malfunctions causing loss of power steering at both low speed and high speed both going straight or turning. This has happened multiple times. Ford has a recall on this issue, however my vehicle is not listed under the recall despite being manufactured at the specific plant they identified the problem with. The recall date started one month after my vehicle was manufactured. Ford is very much aware of the mechanical failure and refuses to cover the cost of repairs for their manufacturing defect that they have been aware of since 2009. The recall number is 14S05.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the steering wheel was loose. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V284000 (steering). The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
While driving at low speed on a side street, power steering quit working and error "power steering assist fault" came up. Power steering completely inoperable. With much difficulty vehicle driven to Ford dealership. Could not be driven by person without extreme strength. Unsafe for anyone to drive! advised that not included in recall and cost to repair almost $1200.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. While the vehicle was in motion, the steering wheel seized and was extremely difficult to turn more than once. The failure was randomly progressing. The contact notified the dealer of the failure and they indicated that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V284000 (steering). The vehicle was to be inspected and diagnosed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided no remedy. The approximate failure mileage was 126,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 70 mph, the steering wheel seized without warning. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V284000 (steering). The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.
When starting the vehicle the power steering will not engage. After one or more tries it will finally engage. On more than one occasion the steering disengaged while backing out of the driveway and had to be stopped and restarted as above. My local garage found error code B1342 and confirmed by a Ford dealer. The code mean the steering column must be replaced. The dealer said the vehicle in not covered by the recaĺL 14S05. I spoke to Ford customer service and a case # was opened. When I called to inquire kevin said a case should not have been opened and an internal inquiry would be started. Ford obviously doesn't want complaints recorded. This is a Ford mistake and a safety issue and should be corrected at their expense. Ford executives are unaccountable and apparently only worried about the bottom line and their bonuses. They tried to meet their safety obligation by updating software in some vehicles that warns steering is about to fail. That is unethical and no help when going 70 mph on a three or four lane highway. This reminds me of the pinto fiasco.
While driving the car there was a loss of power steering. Drove home on local city streets with difficulty. The next day the power steering was available after starting the car. Checked on internet and found that Ford has had a problem for years with the model vehicle. Went to the Ford dealer and was told that the vehicle was out of warrenty. Called Ford service rep and was told to have the vehicle checked and that because of the low mileage, they may repair it.
Electronic power steering unit failed while driving in a rural setting on a 2011 Ford Escape with 67287 miles. The car was able to be controlled but with great effort. This unit has been the subject of previous recall 14V284000, however this vehicle was manufactured after the cutoff date according to Ford customer service. ( case #8247746-B4F4D1). It does not appear that the recall was extensive enough as this unit failed in the same mode as those previously recalled. The local Ford dealer quote for repair was $705 parts and $322.50 labor.
When driving car going about 45mph.car shut off and wrench will appear on dashboard. I have been able to coast off the road, shut off car wait for a few minutes and restart car. I am in fear that car will shut off in area where there is no shoulder and I will be hit from behind. There seems to be a pattern building with this same problem, same model, same year.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Gray Court, SC, USA