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.
As my seventeen years old daughter was pulling out of the driveway for school she noticed the steering was hard to turn. She took my car to school. I went to try and move the car back up the driveway and could barely turn the wheel myself. Luckily she was at home and not on the road. There is no assisted steering anymore, it just went out.
Power steering just went out. No warning until it was out. I was on my way to work driving and the power steering just went out completely. Almost caused an accident when it went out do to how hard it is to steer! it's not hydraulic system. It's all electric assist steering. There are many other people with this same issue. Some mechanics could not find the issue. Including people that have taken it to a Ford dealership. Some people have spent over $1,000 and the issue has came back within a few months. Also this issue has caused some accidents. Ford needs to find the problem and fix it on all cars!
My family and I were driving home when suddenly and without warning, the power steering went out. I have had no warnings leading up to this event. The wrench icon came on and an error message came on in the dash stating to have the power steering serviced. This was extremely dangerous as it just happened without warning as I was turning off of a major highway at a busy intersection. I have contacted Ford and they are saying that this is not part of a recall. Everything I have read states that this is a common problem specifically in the hybrid vehicles Ford manufactures. There have been recalls for the same issue for newer model vehicles, but not this one. It is my belief that this issue should be investigated due to the dangerous condition caused by the power steering going completely out in the car as I was turning.
Went to drive the vehicle one morning to find that the steering wheel was tight and hard to turn. Dash displayed wrench symbol indicating maintenance needed and narrative that power steering needs service.
My vehicle has 75,000 miles on it. I bought it Oct.9,2015 with 72,000 miles on it. In May 2016 the engine started cutting out and the message would read "service engine" along with a yellow wrench appearing on the dash. I had the vehicle taken to the local Ford dealer and was told I needed a harness. I paid $1004 for the new harness and they also installed a fan for the hybrid system. The car did it again a few days later and I had it towed back to the dealer. The service department told me they had made a mistake and had to call Ford to get the correct codes to fix the car. I was told it was done and picked it up. The same thing happened less than 4 days later. I had the car towed again and let the dealership send my car home with a mechanic for 2 days. I was told nothing is wrong and picked it up. I now have the ABS light coming on, the red triangle safety light coming on, the red brake light coming on, the low tires light coming on (it stays on) and the yellow wrench light coming on. At night when I turn on my right blinker the high beams come on. The dealership says there is nothing wrong and no codes come up on their machine. When I brake I have to push very hard and sometimes the brakes lock up on me. I have avoided accidents so far but I am concerned at this point. I do not want to be injured or killed and I certainly do not want to injure or kill anyone in an accident that could be avoided, if Ford had a mechanic that knows what is happening with the car. When I am driving the car will suddenly shut off in traffic and I have to stop, put the car in park and restart it. This is good for about 10 minutes before it acts up again.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Escape hybrid. While driving various speeds, the power steering malfunctioned and the wrench light illuminated, which made it extremely hard to maneuver the wheel. The contact mentioned that the vehicle resumed normal operation after turning the engine off for several minutes. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 45,000. Updated 09/30/16
Vehicle was parked. Restarted and power steering wouldn't work. Yellow wrench warning, and power steering listed on fault indicator. Will take to dealer.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Escape hybrid. The contact stated that while parked, the power steering failed. In addition, when the vehicle was being driven, the steering wheel seized and was difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the power steering module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 137,000. VIN was not provided.
Abrupt loss of power steering assist. Electric power assisted steering system failed. Does gives message "service pwr steering" on dashboard, but provides no useful function. Car did not crash at time of failure, but controlling it was very difficult, requiring high physical effort to move steering wheel. Though manufacturer has recalled 2008 model for this problem, 2006 is not on the recall and manufacturer refuses to provide repair.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Escape hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 10 mph and making right turn, the steering wheel seized and the service power steering warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 157,872.
Traveling home on the interstate at about 70mph and the motor shut off, giving me a 'stop safely now' with the red triangle light on. I stopped, waited a few minutes on the roadside and it started again. Headed home again, when about a mile and it happened again. Waited a few minutes by the road, then took off. This time I turned off the A/C and made a few miles to the house.
The contact owns a 2006 Ford Escape hybrid. The contact stated that while parking, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who stated that the torque sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact also stated that there was a manufacturers recall related to the failure however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
Completely lost power steering with no warning while making a right turn into oncoming traffic. Left me in a dangerous situation without power to turn the vehicle in time to avoid the incoming traffic.
My 2006 Ford Escape hybrid sporatically looses power steering without any warning or clear indication of root cause. It has happened while making turns on resident streets and while traveling at high velocity on major highways. The manufacturer has replaced parts at a combined cost of ~3500 and the car continues to have the same problem. I believe Ford does not understand the problem nor have they adequately evaluated the risk of the issue. I would not even consider letting my wife drive this car due to the amout of force it takes to control the car once the steering goes out.
It is so obvious that Ford has a major problem with their power steering on most of their hybrids and they should recall this problem. I totally lost steering that was very dangerous it was like being at the gym to try and steer my 06 feh.
Electric assisted power steering not functional. Dealer troubleshooting consisted of reading codes, then indicating that the entire rack and pinion assembly needed replaced ($2200). Replaced the assembly, still doesn't work. The electronic steering control module was replaced, still doesn't work. The repair shops and the dealers have inadequate information and training to repair these electric steering systems. There should be adequate information and training to identify the failed component, as opposed to swapping out large assemblies, and still not fixing the problem. These systems appear to have a high failure rate, and present a huge safety issue when they fail while driving! please issue a recall asap!
1) we have been receiving a yellow wrench light indicating maintenance needed off and on for a couple of weeks even though we were well within the maintenance period. This turns out to be an issue with the blend door for allowing air cooling of the hybrid batteries. 2) the power steering went out completely for the car. We have had no prior problems with the steering, and the system check showed no problem (I believe it checks fluid levels) so the problem appeared to be electrical.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Virginia Beach, VA, USA