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CarComplaints.com Notes: Power steering problems started rearing their ugly head in the 2010 Fusion, so you'd think Ford had plenty of time to make sure those problems didn't creep into the 2012. But here we are.

The Electronic Power Assist Steering (EPAS) is a mess. It fails at an alarming rate. Don’t believe us? Take a look at NHTSA’s data on the subject.

And much like the power steering, we’re still seeing the same throttle body failures that started in 2010 continue in 2012.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
45 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
13 / 1
Average Mileage:
69,923 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2012 Ford Fusion steering problems

steering problem

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2012 Ford Fusion Owner Comments (Page 67 of 68)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #28

Jun 042013

Fusion 6-cyl

  • 34,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While turning a corner the "power steering failure" message appeared and power steering was lost. This has happened several times with no warning and is very unsafe. This condition warrants a recall from Ford as it is a common occurrence. Make a recall happen as this vehicle is unsafe at any speed!

- Sioux Falls, SD, USA

problem #27

Jun 252013

Fusion 6-cyl

  • miles
My first incident was driving out of a parking lot, the power steering message appeared with a strange beeping noise followed by an extremely difficult to move steering wheel. When I turned off my car and got it back on, the power steering was back to its normal levels. Later the next day, the car was in movement over 30mph while driving through the highway and the power steering message came on again making my car totally unresponsive causing me to almost crash. It was very difficult to get the car out of the high way in order to have the steering levels back by turn it off and back on again. Today I took my car to the Ford service complaining about this in order to get my car checked but the service manager indicated that there was nothing he could do about this incident for what suggested me to contact roadside assistance during the next incident and have them take in my car to there service to fix it at the moment. I mentioned that if that was to be done my car would obviously have to be turned off and on in the process causing the issue to momentarily disappear for what he would still not be able to witness the incident as he request, just like today. He refused to make any further comments indicating that was the best thing he could do.

- Toa Alta, PR, USA

problem #26

Jun 132013

Fusion

  • 30,000 miles
Driving along doing around 35mph, power steering failure...dashboard read service advancetrac? took it to hall Ford, replacing steering gear...needs to be a recall for this.

- Williamsburg , VA, USA

problem #25

Jun 052013

Fusion 4-cyl

  • 40,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Driving out of a parking lot steering without warning became extremely heavy and extremely difficult to steer almost resulting in a head on crash. "power steering assist failure" light came on. I turned the car off and back on again and the light went out. The steering returned to normal. I took the car to the livermore ca Ford dealer. They said they found the fault codes but could not verify anything was wrong or duplicate the event. So they said they wouldn't fix anything per Ford's instructions. I googled the issue and tons of complaints came up on exactly what happened to me. Many had the entire steering system replaced. Dealership ignored this when I sent it to them.

- San Ramon, CA, USA

problem #24

Mar 302012

Fusion

  • 60,000 miles
Early part of the year (2013) the service advance trac light will come on and off I contacted the dealer and he stated that it was the stability in the vehicle and also it wasn't nothing to be alarmed about unless the light just come on and stay on. Finally it came on and wouldn't go off I took it to the dealership they said it would be $ 240 to repair the car and I had to wait until the parts come in by that time come to find out they was will to pay the $240. I picked the car up the same day which was the first day the car should have been repaired same problems took the car back on that Monday they so called fixed the vehicle it seem to be okay drove the car for approximately 8 days the same service advanctrac light came back on next service power steering light came on about 15 mins later the service power steering now light came on lost all power and control of the vehicle had the car towed backed to the dealership they check the car and quoted me a job for $ $2,658.12 which was not covered under a warranty.

- Adamsviile, AL, USA

problem #23

Jun 072013

Fusion 6-cyl

  • 40,325 miles
The vehicle was parked and as I started to drive it was extremely hard to steer. The power steering assist fault warning appeared on the dash. I consulted the owner's guide which gave instructions to turn the motor off and back on after 10 seconds. When I turned the car back on, the warning was off and the steering issue was gone. However, I experienced the same problem (*with the dash warning) about 2 hours later when I tried to drive the car again.

- Desoto, TX, USA

problem #22

Jun 042013

Fusion

  • 28,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Power steering fault came on all of sudden when driving home from picking up my kids. Totally unresponsive and hard to turn.

- Livingston, TX, USA

problem #21

May 292013

Fusion

  • 13,283 miles
Got into the car. Started it and the power steering did not work. Drove it seven miles home not working. Started it up the next day and it was working.

- Goldsboro, NC, USA

problem #20

May 292013

Fusion 4-cyl

  • 37,000 miles
I was traveling up a parking ramp what the power steering gave out and a default showed up on the dashboard. I have purchased the vehicle used 2 weeks ago. This is the first incident.

- Riverview, MI, USA

problem #19

May 282013

Fusion

  • 25,000 miles
This is the third time my power steering has just randomly gone out of our rental 2012 Ford Fusion. The first time, I was traveling at 25 mph making a left turn. Second we were driving 50 miles an hour changing lanes. This morning about a quarter a mile from our home she lost power steering and hit the curve resulted in a blown front tire. What a dangerous car.

- Lincolnwood, IL, USA

problem #18

Apr 302013

Fusion

  • 38,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the power steering assist light illuminated and the vehicle became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis and the contact was informed that the steering rack would need to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileage 38,000.

- Ford City, PA, USA

problem #17

May 042013

Fusion

  • 24,395 miles
This is the second time my power steering has just randomly gone out of my 2012 Ford Fusion. The first time, I was traveling at 60 mph on a freeway. Yesterday, I was stopped at a stoplight. Both times my hud warns me that "power steering assist fault", service advancetrax" or something along those lines... and each time my steering will becomes almost impossible to turn. The issues is solved if I turn off my car and turn it on a few times. This is a serious issue and is only a matter of time until someone dies from this power steering failure.

- Glen Burnie, MD, USA

problem #16

May 012013

Fusion 4-cyl

  • 4,635 miles
Drove car from home to supermarket with no problem. When leaving supermarket after car had been shut off, was backing out of parking stall and nearly hit another car because power steering was inoperative. This definitely caught me by surprise! message to the effect "power steering assist failure" was displayed. Drove car with great difficulty to dealer. Service rep at dealer turned off and restarted car; problem had gone away, power steering was now working. Mechanic at dealer ran diagnostics which indicated a bad steering motor/steering gear. Car is being repaired at dealer to replace steering motor/steering gear. Would have been scary and dangerous if the failure had occurred while I was driving it on highway.

- Bellevue, NE, USA

problem #15

Apr 212013

Fusion

  • 36,616 miles
Upon starting the car the power steering would not turn the wheels on the car. On the odometer it read power steering fault..... after restarting the car the electronic steering worked. How do you restart a car that's moving?

- Deltona, FL, USA

problem #14

Mar 272013

Fusion 4-cyl

  • 14,950 miles
We were driving the vehicle down the road at a speed of roughly 50 mph. With no advanced warning there were chimes going off and a message in the warning center telling me power steering assist failure service advancetec. With great effort we were able to get the car off of the road way, turned the engine off, let it sit for 5 minutes and restarted the vehicle with no issues. This is the second time it has done this the first time wasn't a great big deal since we were sitting in a parking lot with the car idle.

- Blue Ridge, GA, USA

problem #13

Mar 152013

Fusion 4-cyl

  • 5,000 miles
After 20 min driving under normal conditions, power steering suddenly failed and warning light illuminated. Steering wheel became difficult to turn, but with considerable effort was able to maneuver into parking lot (would have been dangerous on the highway). Turned off engine and restarted car after 10 min, and steering began operating normally with no warning light.

- Newcastle, WA, USA

problem #12

Feb 152013

Fusion

  • 12,700 miles
I was making a left turn on a dirt road when the power steering went out and my steering wheel jerked the opposite direction and I went off the side of the road and did damage to my fender. I took it to the Ford dealer that I purchased it from for warranty fix and to fix my fender and they denied my work and wouldn't fix the power steering even though the code po7ae and U0415 clearly came up. This is a huge safety issue and Ford needs to take responsibility.

- Papillion, NE, USA

problem #11

Sep 242012

Fusion 4-cyl

  • 4,500 miles
When exiting onto the access road of a major freeway, my 2012 Ford Fusion's power steering locked up and I could not maneuver the wheel (there was no advance warning of the impending failure)... immediately, I turned on hazard lights and reduced speed, then with great difficulty I was able to pull to the side of the road. The dashboard showed an error stating "power steering assist fault." I turned off the engine and upon restart of the engine, the power steering began working again. Today, Oct. 22, 2012, this same power steering failure has now occurred for the fourth time in less than a month. Each occurrence was at speeds less than 25 mph, however on two of these occasions, I nearly had an accident with vehicles nearby because I had no control of the steering and could not maneuver out of the way of the neighboring vehicles... thankfully, the other drivers were able to swerve to avoid hitting my vehicle. I am very concerned that my vehicle will be involved in an accident in the near future due to this very serious malfunction of the Ford Fusion's power steering! the NHTSA needs to order a recall on this issue immediately because there are hundreds of complaints online of the exact same power steering failure on the Ford Fusion, Ford Focus, Ford Explorer and Ford escape. I am highly upset with Ford for not addressing this issue and continuing to sell new vehicles, such as mine, to unwitting and trusting customers... all the while knowing they were manufacturing the same damaged part and placing it into their new vehicles. Please hold the Ford Motor Company responsible for their dishonest and misleading practices.... make them issue a recall of all their vehicles with malfunctioning power steering and avoid an extremely hazardous condition on roads all across America. Please do not wait for an innocent person to die because of Ford's failure to act!!

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #10

Aug 192012

Fusion 4-cyl

  • 17,700 miles
Was driving on freeway at 65mph. Service power steering soon light came on then pulled to the side of the freeway. Owners manual said I needed to turn vehicle off and back on. After I turned the vehicle back on the "service power steering system now" light came on. The vehicle had completely lost the power steering system. The steering become very difficult to use. It becomes very stiff and jerks hard to whichever side you turn it to. The vehicle was taken to the Ford dealership the next day. After a week in the shop they replaced the lower control arms and reset the vehicle computer. Many Fusion forums say that this doesn't fix the problem and have returned the vehicle for more repairs.

- Stockton , CA, USA

problem #9

Aug 282012

Fusion 4-cyl

  • 9,588 miles
Power steering failure. Has occurred four times. Warning on the dash for "power steering assist failure" then power steering fails. Nearly impossible to turn the wheel. Happened in stop-and-go traffic on interstate as well as making a turn in a parking lot which nearly led to a collision with a parked car since I could not turn the wheel. Since it happened twice before I know to put in neutral then turn off and turn on the ignition. However, previously Ford dealer replaced lower front arm iaw Ford tsb. This obviously did not fix the issue. Most recent failures were within 150 miles of each other. I cannot let my wife drive this car as she would not be able to turn the steering wheel in the event of a failure.

- San Pedro, CA, USA

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