The steering wheel locked in one position i pulled over shut off the car restarted and the steering wheel started working again. Is their a recall on my 2011 Ford Escape Hybrid with this problem. This scared me to death I got lucky and the road was straight and I was able to stop the car. [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Ford Escape Hybrid steering lock-up problems
36 of the 1,747 owner complaints about the Ford Escape Hybrid describe steering wheel locks up, most of them for the 2008 model year.
- owner complaints
- 36
- worst model year
- 2008
- typical mileage
- 115,000
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
Engine failure 19Power steering loss 4Stalling 2Overheating 1Loss of power 1Knocking 1Adaptive cruise 1
What owners say
Upon purchasing and receiving the car from a dealership, I attempted to drive it around my neighborhood and after about 1 minute received a warning saying "safely stop now!" and the steering wheel locked and the power shut off in the middle of the street. The car would not turn back on and had to be towed to the dealership. The dealership (not Ford) already replaced the battery and that did not fix the issue. They are having to take it to Ford service to get it looked at. This poses a very significant safety risk because it could have happened on the highway, as some Ford Escape users have reported on forums. Before purchasing the car, all available recalls were addressed and "resolved", but clearly not all issues have been fixed.
The contact owns a 2020 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at 15 MPH, the ABS warning light was illuminated. The All-Wheel Drive, cruise control, collision control, and hill assist were all turned off. The contact stated that while the ABS warning light was illuminated the power steering seized. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the speed sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was contacted a case was opened. The failure mileage was 29,859.
The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering assist failed and the steering wheel seized. The power steering failure warning message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with power steering assist failure. The mechanic informed the contact that an unknown part needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that a recall for the steering had expired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape hybrid. While driving 65 MPH, the steering wheel seized without warning and became difficult to steer. The vehicle was able to coast to the side of the road. The contact powered off the engine. The vehicle was restarted and was able to drive normally. The contact also stated that the failure occurred three times, and was intermittent the first time. The contact stated that sometimes when the vehicle was powered off and restarted, it did not always correct the failure. The vehicle was taken to south bay ford (located at 5100 rosecrans ave, hawthorne, ca 90250, (301) 584-7641) where it was diagnosed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to the repair fees. The contact called the manufacturer and was informed that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v284000 (steering). No further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape hybrid. While driving 30 MPH, the steering wheel seized without warning and a wrench warning indicator illuminated. The contact and a bystander pushed the vehicle over to the side of the road. The contact called an independent mechanic who inspected the vehicle and diagnosed that the power steering failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The approximate failure mileage was 211,000.
Was making a right hand turn and power steering locked up in middle of the street , with cars coming in both directions nearly got hit .... Had to use extreme force to steer car to side of street..... Power steering module went bad
Sunday afternoon around approximately 3pm (10/21/2018) I was driving and my steering wheel became stiff without any warning, and I was unable to move it. In the car with me was my friend, and myself. On the first instance this day, I was pulling into a parking lot, and without warning my car beeped twice, and the steering wheel went completely stiff. Thankfully, I was able to just park where I was, turn the car off and back on, and the problem seemed to be gone. About 15 minutes later, as I was in the intersection coming out of that parking lot, my steering went out again. There were no lights on the dashboard, and no beeping occurred. I could not move the wheel, and I was traveling in the direction of other vehicles that were turning, and I was very close to hitting them. Again, thankfully, I was able to get to a spot straight ahead to park and I ended up leaving my car there overnight. My friend and I almost wrecked in a busy 4-way intersection due to a manufacturer mistake, as I have recognized online through multitudes of other complaints for similar situations. This is dangerous. Someone needs to take responsibility, as the vehicle (a 2008 ford escape hybrid), gave me no warning whatsoever before the steering wheel seized up.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape hybrid. The contact stated the vehicle was included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v284000 (steering). The contact took the vehicle to capital ford of charlotte (5411 tyron st, charlotte, nc 28213) and the dealer updated the software; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized, which caused the electrical power steering to fail. The contact took the vehicle back to the dealer who stated that nothing could be done because the recall ticket was closed out. The manufacturer was also contacted and was unable to provide any assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford escape hybrid. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse of the driveway at approximately 5 MPH, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was turned off and on couple of times and then the steering ability returned to normal. The vehicle was taken to the chapman ford lancaster dealer of petersburg pennsylvania that determined that the steering wheel module failed and needed replacement. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000. ...updated 11/15/17 *bf updated 11/28/2017
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Ford Escape Hybrid steering lock-up
Which Ford Escape Hybrid years have steering wheel locks up problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2008 (18 complaints), 2009 (7 complaints) and 2006 (3 complaints).
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