Complete steering failure vehicle undriveable.

- Duluth, MN, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became abnormally stiff, and the vehicle became difficult to maneuver. The contact was not aware of any warning lights being illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with steering mechanism failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating the failure to an unknown recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to call the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Colorado Springs, CO, USA

Power steering stopped working instantaneously while exiting the interstate. Narrowly avoided leaving the road thru maximum braking, which nearly resulted in being hit from behind. Vehicle displayed a message saying -??Steering Assist Fault Service Required-??.

- Chicago, IL, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality, and the steering wheel seized. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the steering rack and pinion had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

- La Grange Park, IL, USA

The power steering assist has begun to randomly stop working. It has happened 3 times. The first time it happened was as soon as I started the car to move it. I turned the car off and turned it back on and it worked. 5 starts later the same problem occurred and I was able to restart the car and it worked. Approximately 7 starts after that the power steering assist stopped working again, but this time it was not as soon as the vehicle was started. This time it went out mid turn as I began turning onto the road. Each time the warning came up on the dash after the steering became difficult. The power steering assist randomly going out while driving puts the safety of myself, my passengers, and other cars at risk for a crash from the sudden change in ability to steer the vehicle. At this time the vehicle has not been taken into a service center because it is not a consistent problem and if they don't find the problem on the first try they will charge a diagnostic fee to tell me that "everything is fine" or "we can't find the problem" and I am not willing to pay them money for no work. Once was a fluke, twice was a coincidence, three times is a problem that makes this vehicle unsafe to drive. Ford has had a recall on previous model years for this same issue.

- Ottawa, OH, USA

Steering assist fault. Power steering freezes when car starts. Steering wheel is locked so you are stuck wherever you parked your car. Cannot turn wheels. Very finnicky youtube tutorials to get it -??fixed-?? after 30+ minutes of restarting the vehicle. This is the second time this has happened to me in this car.

- Malibu, CA, USA

2014 Ford Escape Power Steering failure while on the interstate in fast moving and heavy traffic. Almost caused a pile up and barely got out of the way of a semi truck going 70 or more mph to the safety of the edge of interstate. The power steering had been working fine. Until a couple days prior to the incident, I cranked it up and it seemed like it was in manual steering mode. I cut it off re cranked it and it was fine. So i thought just a randon glitch when starting it. Always loved and relied and trusted ford vehicles until the incident on the interstate. I got it off the interstate cut it off and started it again, it was no longer power steering and felt it was in manual steering mode all the way on the back roads getting it home. I contacted Ford and told them of the problem, they instantly said they had repared vehicles and also numerous complaints on this problem and that there was not a recall on it, only on vehicles up to 2012. Then after further research I found tons of folks who were experiencing the same problem and some in the process of lawsuits or in process of filing one against Ford for the problem. I ask on line and researched others complaints about their experience, for some it was just the battery, so I replaced it with a new battery, it was not the problem and soon after had someone put a scanner on it and it shows the electric steering rack as the error. the dealership when called about the part stated that Ford had several problems with the steering part, that the system had a faulty boot which would allow water to get into the electric steering component and basically fry the board. The solution Ford has for it is not to do anything about it in numerous vehicles having the same faulty parts is to sell you a corrected part and charge you around $4000/labor" Really? You are getting sued and you are telling others to repair it with another probably faulty part again? Should I sue for the repairs? Can they be forced to recall"

- Moody, AL, USA

My power steering locks up on Frozen mornings and will not turn this has happened numerous times since 2023 and it is now January 21st 2024 and is becoming more frequent

- Horntown, VA, USA

The electronic power steering system failed while driving. We were unable to steer the vehicle and barely avoided a collision. The vehicle is undriveable. We contacted Ford and they have refused to help with repairs even though Ford has issued recalls for other vehicles about the same problem.

- Tujunga, CA, USA

Power assist steering wheel failure. My power steering stop working suddenly and I was not able to move my car. There is a recall for power steering problems from 2008/2013 for the same issues as my SUV. My SUV only has 33,000 miles on it. I think Ford didn't stop using faulty parts in their 2014 models. I spend over $3200 for repairs. I would like to see if I have any recourse as I believe my Ford Should had been included in the recall.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

1) Steering went out without having issues prior. It reads "steering assist fault service required" on the dash 2) Lost all steering capabilities without warning. The car did not lose all power, it was still running and driving just zero steering. I drive daily with my children in the vehicle most of the time. This time, thankfully, I was alone and not in traffic to harm other drivers. Steering does not work at all, it's not just hard to turn, there's no movement in the wheel no matter how hard you try. 3) It has been checked out by our mechanic and he states "the code reader brings up nothing, no loose wires, tried resetting the battery, it doesn't have power steering fluid that could even be low, but there are cars recalled 2011-2013 with the exact same issue but this is a 2014" 4) It has not been checked by the dealer or manufacturer yet. 5) There were zero warnings. After the incident, a light came on the dash reading "steering assist fault service required"

- Buckeye Lake, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH and making a left turn, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact pulled over without power steering assist and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted, and the power steering functionality resumed. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent but had occurred three times. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

- Hastings, MI, USA

The steering wheels started to get hard. The car warned me to stop safely. It was to hard that I couldn't do much to turn the steering wheels.

- Toa Alta, PR, USA

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the steering wheel seized. Additionally, the steering assist fault warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who informed the contact that the ECU was defective, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.

- Myrtle Beach, SC, USA

Powering steering assist fault. Loss of steering and car went into limp mode and needed to try to pull over immediately. I have reported this issue several. Times. Ford has not been able to fix this issue. This car is not safe to drive. Please hold Ford accountable before someone gets severely injured or dies in a car crash from this known problem with the steering issues.

- Omaha, NE, USA

May 31.2023 I was involved in an accident your left front wheel Castor and wheel. Separated from vehicle. Causing me to crash into a light pole.in the east bound lane when I was going west bound on Franklin rd in Boise id Knocking me unconscious idaho state police made report. Before accident left front wheel pulled left when braking gave car gas car pull right last thing I remember. EMT took Alfonso's hospital. As investigate because I was almost killed lucky I survive.

- Boise, ID, USA

My daughter was backing out of driveway and said the steering was difficult to turn and felt locked. The steering assist fault came up on screen. She parked car and didn-??t drive. My husband tried backing out of driveway as well and said the steering was hard to turn. He then put it in park and tried again and it drove fine.

- Kannapolis , NC, USA

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering with the power steering assist fault warning light illuminated. The contact stated that he was able to continue driving; however, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering rack assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 56,000.

- King George, VA, USA

Amongst SEVERAL problems with this vehicle, it often slips out of gear while driving. Which has caused me to have to stop in the middle of the lane. It has had multiple mega fuses go out. It will often say -??power steering fault-?? and then the message will go away. I am genuinely scared to drive this vehicle because I never know when the power system is going to go out. I have always stayed up to date on maintenance and it has less than 90k on miles. I do not understand why this has not been pulled off the market. It seems like all the escapes before mine were pulled for the same issues.

- Cedartown , GA, USA

Steering assist failure

- Somerset, KY, USA