2013 Ford C-Max: loss of power steering

Filed Nov 30, 2024 · Steering · UT

Got a “Power steering assist fault” message on the screen. It was very hard to steer the wheel. The case on the wheel was turning around it. Managed to drive 3 more miles to the dealership. A lot of other ford models have same issues, even under 50.000 miles. And many of the are in recall program, but not 2013 ford c-max. Can’t afford 3.400$ price for fixing it at the dealership. I’m a second owner, bought it for 5.000 , 3 years ago. At least it didn’t stuck completely, and I didn’t Die

Filed Mar 23, 2023 · Steering · FL

I went to change lanes and all of a sudden the steering became difficult. I thought the car had lost power, but it was only the steering. The sudden loss came as a surprise and did cause me to loose control momentarily during the lane change. Shortly thereafter a warning light came on indicating the power steering needed to be serviced. I was able to arrive at my destination safely, but power steering was completely out. Upon restarting the car the problem went away. Returning home later that evening the problem returned about 5 miles into my trip. I returned home and shortly after brought the car to the auto parts store to see if there was a code on their scan tool. No codes, but this time when the car was started the warning light came on immediately and power steering has quit working 100% of the time.

Filed Nov 10, 2022 · Steering · CA

I started the car and could not move the steering wheel without great great effort. “Power steering failure” notice appeared on dashboard.

Filed Oct 29, 2022 · Steering · CA

Steering warning light came on after driving away from home. Power Steering failed, no possible way to move steering wheel. Powered vehicle off. Next day, steering worked and took vehicle to Ford Dealer. Upon inspection by Dealer, the steering gear failed and needs to be replaced. Vehicle has less than 50,000 miles driven. In my opinion, this is a manufacturing issue that Ford needs to review and possibly recall. This could have been very serious had the failure occurred while I was driving the vehicle.

Filed Jan 1, 2022 · Steering · WA

The message to service the power steering suddenly appeared and the steering wheel could not be rotated, when we were at our drive way. I felt to be very lucky for not being on the road when the loss of power steering occurred. After I turned off the engine and restarted the car one minute later, the power steering problem disappeared and I was able to drive the car again. About one week later, I sent the car to a Ford dealer for inspection. The test result showed the error code U300-49:08 and the internal electronic failure type. The dealer recommended replacing the steering gear at a cost of over $3000. We have just completed a 7-year service contract with the same dealer. Thus, the car should have been well maintained.

Filed Aug 25, 2021 · Steering · OR

After making a stop at a rest stop traveling from Portland, OR to The Dalles, OR, when we got back into the car and started it, a warning light came on saying “service power steering. See your dealer.” From that point forward, we had no power steering and had to drive home that way. We know after doing research that Ford has a recall (15S18) for this exact problem but because there weren’t as many CMax vehicles sold, they did not include it. We had to drive home almost 60 miles at highway speed to get home.

Filed Apr 4, 2021 · Acceleration, Brakes · 76,600 miles · PA

Turned the car on in a parking lot and saw the check engine light was on. Had totally lost power steering and acceleration, and braking was extremely difficult. Rolled down the parking lot and was able to stop the car with the parking brake and turn it off. Turned it back on and the power steering and brakes and accelerator were back. Drove the car home and tried turning it on and off a few more times. Power steering seems to be completely gone. Check engine light is on.

Filed Sep 17, 2020 · Steering · 79,678 miles · GA

Electric steering rack failed causing no power steering. Symptoms started with intermittent locking. Luckily the vehicle was at the dealership to replace faulty high energy battery pack still under warranty. Reprogramming did not correct the issue. It appears ford had a recall for higher production models using the same rack but not for c-max which had low production. Major safety hazard to lose steering capability.

Filed Aug 4, 2020 · Steering · 50,000 miles · FL

Backed out of driveway to drive to a spot on the cul de sac. Started to pull up to the curb and could not turn the wheel. Saw a light that said service power steering soon. No warning until power steering stopped completely. Got stopped just a couple of feet from the light post. Ford charged $2200.00 to fix. Car has just over 50,000 miles.

Filed Jun 8, 2020 · Steering · 177,000 miles · HI

Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford c-max. The contact stated at start-up, the steering ceased with the power steering assist failure warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed honolulu ford located at 1370 n king st, honolulu, hi 96817, (808) 824-3981 and the contact was informed that the power steering needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic where the power steering was replaced. The manufacturer had not been informed of failure. The failure mileage was approximately 177,000. *bf consumer stated manufacturer is aware of faulty power steering in their entire product line but has not issued a recall.

Filed Dec 13, 2019 · Steering · 70,000 miles · SC

I was pulling out of my drive way and turned my steering wheel when my car's power steering stopped working instantly and it became impossible to steer, there was also a message that displayed saying "service power steering". When I stopped an restarted the car, the message and steering were fine, however this repeated a few days later. When I took it to ford to be serviced, they said it was 'probably a battery issue", which was replaced, however the next day, the same issues occurred.

Filed Jul 24, 2019 · Steering · 68,000 miles · HI

We began to have difficulty steering our well-maintained ford c-max just after starting when backing up in our driveway at around 63,000 miles. We reported it to ford and they said it just was that the electrical signal takes awhile to get to the steering. Before 70,000 miles the 'check steering' light went on. Before we could get it to the dealer, the power steering failed completely. Fortunately this happened while we were backing out of our driveway. We have read that this problem happens frequently and there was a recall of other 2013 ford models for this same issue. The dealer says the repair will cost us approximately $3,500. We believe the ford c-max should have been included in the recall.