2008 Ford Escape: sudden loss of power

Filed Feb 4, 2026 · Steering · CA

Forscan showing torque sensor malfunction, the same issue that was recalled in 2014. Causing loss of power steering

Filed Aug 14, 2025 · Steering · OH

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 35-40 MPH and making a turn, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact was able to make the turn, but the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The contact stated that the failure was initially intermittent but had become a persistent failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was called several times, but was unreachable, and the mailbox was full. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Oct 9, 2024 · Steering · 150,000 miles · WV

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle lost power steering functionality and excessive effort was needed to turn the steering wheel. The "Power Steering Assist Fault" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with a defective power steering column. The contact was informed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The dealer was also notified of the failure and the vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was given the same diagnosis as the independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Filed Sep 19, 2024 · Steering · VA

My daughter was drive to college and stopped for gas. She called me saying the power steering assist failure. But she had not lost power steering. She called me a few hours later saying she could not turn her steering wheel to get turned around to leave the school. I came to assist her and sure enough the steering was very hard to turn, the power steering assist was blink on the dash and the engine light was on. I finally got the car turned around and started back to our mechaniac. She followed behind. I found the slower I would go the harder it became to steer. I did a solid 50-55 MPH all the way there but could feel the tightness in the steering wheel. We made it to the garage. The mechanic called the next day and said he couldn't get it to start and we needed to take to a ford dealership to have the car scanned. We called the ford dealership, they said they couldn't get to it for another 2-3 weeks and referred us to a company in a 4-5 hour away to get a used part and come to us to fix. We researched if there were any recalls and found 14s05. Since we are the second owner of the car and never were notified of a recall or were told about a current recall at the time of purchase, we started to search if the recall had been fixed by the first owner (out of pocket) or through the recall. Please any information and/or guidance would be appreciated.

Filed Jul 28, 2024 · Steering · MN

Driving and lost power steering. Replaced torque sensor within the steering column, but power steering is still a no go.

Filed Apr 11, 2024 · TX

My car was scheduled for the mechanic for ABS brake issues on April 8, 2024. On April 1, 2024 I was driving on the highway at 65 mph when I lost power to the gas pedal. I could have been seriously injured from other motor vehicles. There was no warning lights, no messages, nothing. I got to the side of the road at about 20 mph. I turned off the vehicle and then turned it back on when the engine light came on and the wrench light. I turned it off again and on and no lights lit up. I was towed to my mechanic and they were able to repeat the incident. The mechanic took it off the tow trailer and he said there are no warning lights when he turned the car on. I told him they went off when I turned the car back on on the highway. The throttle body is the part that went bad and was replaced by the mechanic.

Filed Feb 27, 2024 · Steering · FL

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated while making a turn from a complete stop, the vehicle lost power steering functionality and the steering wheel was significantly difficult to turn. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed. An independent mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the power steering had malfunctioned. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The dealer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Mar 30, 2023 · Steering · 200,000 miles · MI

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost power steering assist and the “Service Vehicle” warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact the torque sensor needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the federal safety agency Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

Filed Mar 22, 2023 · Steering · 143,000 miles · WI

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH and making a right turn, the vehicle lost power steering functionality and the steering wheel became very firm. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to her residence and turned the vehicle off and on. The power steering functionality did not return. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the electric power steering assist had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 143,000.

Filed Feb 16, 2023 · Steering · 189,000 miles · MI

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while her father was driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had driven the vehicle, with no power steering, to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the Electric Power Steering (EPS) assist had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The contact and the independent mechanic researched online and determined that the failure was related to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 189,000.

Filed Feb 3, 2023 · Steering · 118,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist with the power steering assist fault message displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.

Filed Jan 23, 2023 · Steering · KY

Having issues with periodic loss of power steering while driving .making it very difficult to drive. Also I'm having an issue with the battery continuing to die ..when the vehicle is off even.i park it n the evening and Over night it goes dead.