I was driving in town and all of a sudden my power steering locked up and would not release. Usually if you put the car in park, shut it off, let it sit fore awhile then start it back up it well eventually release. However, it happens regularly and is a dangerous thing to have happen suddenly.
2008 Ford Escape steering complaints
Page 29 of 39: complaints 821 to 850 of 1,127, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was attempting to leave a gas station when the power steering failed. Turned the vehicle off for about 10 seconds, then on again. Still no power steering. With great difficulty and with no power steering, backed away from the gas pump to an out-of-the-way area. Turned the vehicle off then on again. Power steering returned. I checked online to find that other ford/escape owners have experienced the same thing. It also happened again two weeks later at another location.
Power steering stopped working while turning corner--car hit mail box @ 10mph. Power steering goes out anytime.
When I start the ignition en various occasions I don't have power steering I have to turn the ignition on and off multiple times until I regain power steering. While I'm driving my steering wheel starts trembling and shaking. When that occurs and I come to a stop I loose my power steering. I have to turn the ignition on and off multiple times until I regain power steering.
While driving at highway speeds the steering wheel began to pull and shake to the left and right. The power steering also shuts off entirely while driving, and randomly when starting the car. The car is incredibly difficult to steer when this occurs, making it almost impossible for me to drive. Shutting off and restarting the car will sometimes restart the power steering, but the shaking and pulling does not stop.
This is the fourth time that the powering steering has gone out on my escape. I have reported the other incidents as well. Just impatiently waiting for ford to recall this issue that is life threatening!! These last two times have been at a low rate of speed thank goodness! Its really scary when the steering goes out while driving. I really like my vehicle but I think I am going to trade it so driving will be less stressful for me, even though I have invested thousands of dollars in this vehicle. Ford sucks and needs to help save lives... I will not buy ford again, this neglect really makes me angry!
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the power steering assist suddenly malfunctioned as the steering wheel became very difficult to turn. The contact stopped the vehicle and turned the engine off. After restarting the engine the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering column was faulty and would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. No additional information was available. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 82,000.
My escape had a faulty power steering sensor or steering column that would allow the power steering to stop working at unknown times. This happened several times while driving and affected the way the car would steer. I had to replace this at the ford dealership at a cost of $1,200 to me. This should be a recall item that ford is required to pay for.
While driving in regular traffic, I noticed that my steering wheel would shudder when stopped. After parking, shutting off car, and then returning, my car had lost its power steering. It has intermittently returned after turning car. Off/on, but it is happening more often. Quick internet search listed very similar issues and symptoms. All pointing towards the electronic steering assembly. Which looks like it costs nearly $1400 to fix usually. I find this extremely dangerous and will not be having my wife or child in this vehicle.
Without warning, the power steering on my 2008 ford escape simply went out. I had no issues or indication that the steering was about to fail and suddenly, the power steering simply stopped working. Fortunately, this loss of power steering didn't result in a crash in my case. I quickly scheduled an inspection at the ford dealership and they confirmed that the power steering had in fact failed. In researching this issue on the internet, I have found scores of other people with the same issue. I discovered that ford had changed from a hydraulic power steering system to an electric system starting in 2008. Clearly this system is defective and should be looked into immediately. I was lucky not to have had an accident but one day some one will be killed when this system fails again. Don't let this turn into another issue like is currently happening with gm ignitions and lives are lost.
I was driving down the highway slowing down to make a left hand turn and was unable to turn wheel. After researching it found out if you have the heat on it will cause the sensor to over heat. This is unacceptable.
For the last couple of days, whenever I put my car in reverse and begin to back up, I lose my steering ability. The only way I can get my steering wheel to work again is if I turn my car off and then turn it back on again. Well, today, it happened again, but this time I tried multiple times to turn my car off and turn it back on and my power steering would not kick back in. I have read through many complaints on here as well as other sites and see that a lot of people are having the same issue with their 2008 escape. I have seen that it can cost over $1400 to get it fixed!! I do not have that kind of money right now!! The fact that there was no warning light to tell me that something in the power steering was going is ridiculous!! In the past 2 years I have had to replace the transmission, get a new battery, get brakes, tires,new gas tank, new sensor for the heating control, and the list continues. This car is only 6 years old and just past 100,000 miles!!! I should not have had to replace all these things already!! I am not about to put another $1400+ in this vehicle especially since it seems to be an ongoing problem with many other escapes. Time to do a recall people or you can gladly take this car back!!
While driving I lost all power steering. The SUV became very difficult to steer. Once I was able to muscle it over to the side of the road the steering wheel started to shake back and forth on its own. After turning the car off then back on this went away for a short time. Then after about a month or so it happened again. Now this happens frequently. I cant drive without this happening. This is very dangerous and needs to be recalled.
This happens multiple times on a long drive over 30 minutes. As I am driving the power steering in my 2008 ford escape xlt will fail and I will lose the ability to steer my vehicle. I have almost had several severe accidents on the highway when it happens at 70mph. This is a huge safety issue and there are many reports of this happening online to similar 2008 escapes. Ford has been silent on the issue. This needs a recall in place immediately. Ford is aware of the problem and how to fix it. Average repair costs are >1400. I can not afford that and will continue to drive/risk my life until this is recalled because I have no other options. The problem resolves itself after restarting the vehicle but happens a short time later. Please look into this, I don't feel safe and this is a huge safety issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. . The contact stated when he attempted to pull out of the parking space, he was unable to steer. The contact stated that the failure had occurred multiple times. The vehicle had not been taken the dealer or independent mechanic for a diagnoses of the failure .the manufacturer had not been notified of the failure. The failure mileage was aproximately 119,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. The contact stated that the power steering assist failed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the steering wheel became very difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering column sensor needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 118,000.
At idle and while driving the steering wheel twitches from left to right uncontrollably and without warning. Many consumers I've researched are having same problem followed by total power steering failure and extreme difficulty in steering.
When I was driving and then going to make a turn the car gas and steering shut down and the car would not move any longer. The steering wheel also got stuck in the process of turning and. The gas peddle also have been getting stuck before this incident it has been going on for at least 3yrs 2011 until 2014 the present we have gone to check it put no diagnosis was done to let us know the steering column system was out until this year when the car went out completely. This is not an acceptable problem and I should not have to pay to get it repaired.
Happened several times since nov 2013, while pulling from parked position, steering is very difficult to turn. Have to turn off engine and restart to have steering operational. Has occurred 6 times.
The steering on the subject vehicle "failed" intermittently. In essence, the power steering became non-power steering without any warning on 3 or 4 occasions. The vehicle was much more difficult to steer than a car that had standard steering. If the car was re-started, on occasion it would recover the power steering. I needed to have the entire steering column replaced, which was a repair that cost $970.60. More importantly, this is a serious safety issue.
Driving down the road, turned down a busy street, wheel locked up. Completely frozen, took an incredible amount of strength to turn into a parking lot to safety. Restarted car and it was fixed. Happened again later that day going down the highway, steering wheel locked. (it's like I have no power steering at all, but it is all electric). The wheel has continued to lock at random times, with no warning what so ever for 20 (twenty!) more times, I have documented them all. Nothing provokes this happening, like turning, going up or down hill, slow speeds, nothing, it just happens out of no where. This is extremely dangerous, numerous times I have been in very heavy traffic with no outlet available for me to turn into. It has happened waiting at a stoplight in a turn only lane, but I can't turn the wheel. It has happened again while in the middle lane of a busy highway and I've had to very forcefully angle the wheel so I could get on the shoulder. The wheel unlocks after you restart the car. My stability control light turns on every time the wheel locks. I have done research this is a known problem, hundreds of complaints and ford is doing nothing about it. From what I have read, you have to replace the entire steering column (a $1,300 fix) due to a faulty switch. This is extremely dangerous and I could very easily wreck if it happens in a bad time or bad location. I have had numerous very close calls already and I am afraid to continue driving every day. Ford needs to recall this immediately.
The power steering suddenly stopped functioning while traveling 45 MPH on the highway. I was able to pull the car over to the side of the road and call for assistance. After getting the car to a nearby garage they informed me nothing was wrong once the car was turned off and then on again. I took the car to a ford dealer where they knew of the issue and said it was a common failure in the 2008 ford escapes. The fix was to replace the entire steering column. A quick search of the internet for 2008 ford escape power steering fail yielded multiple results and a pending recall in canada for an issue with the power steering sensor.
Without warning, the power steering on my 2008 ford escape simply went out. I had no issues or indication that the steering was about to fail and suddenly, the power steering simply stopped working. Fortunately, this loss of power steering didn't result in a crash in my case. I quickly scheduled an inspection at the ford dealership and they confirmed that the power steering had in fact failed requiring replacement of my steering column. This was almost a $1,600 repair but had to be done immediately due to the serious nature of the failure. In researching this issue on the internet, I have found scores of other people with the same issue. I discovered that ford had changed from a hydraulic power steering system to an electric system starting in 2008. Clearly this system is defective and should be looked into immediately. I was lucky not to have had an accident but one day some one will be killed when this system fails again. Don't let this turn into another issue like is currently happening with gm ignitions and lives are lost.
The power steering goes out without any warning, making the car impossible to control. This is a problem many many people have reported, I can only hope enough people report it so that you perform a recall. The power steering can come on and go off again intermittently, but this only gives the driver a false sense of security and allows the problem to go unchecked a little longer!
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. The contact stated that the power steering failed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage and VIN was not available.
Lost power steering when turning from a stop. Pulled over stopped and restarted the car and the steering came back. Happened again 2 weeks later. When the steering goes out it is nearly impossible to steer the car. The second time it happened was at 30 MPH and was lucky enough to be near a shopping center where I could pull in, stop and restart the car. There is no warning when this happens it just goes!
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. The contact stated that while traveling various speeds, the power steering failed without warning. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for a diagnostic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure approximate failure mileage was 87,000 and the current mileage was 87,500. The VIN was not available.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. The contact stated that while traveling various speeds, the power steering failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was found that the electronic power steering had failed. The vehicle was being repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.
I was heading to work one morning, and I started the car up and didn't have power steering. I shut the car off, and the steering came back. (at the beginning, shutting the car off would fix the problem right way.) I pulled out of my driveway and drove down the road with the steering wheel shaking. There was also a quiet grinding noise coming from the steering column. As the car slowed down (at stop lights etc.), the steering wheel shook more and the noise grew a little louder. As the days went on (3-4 days later), the shaking and noise got worse until it was an uncontrollable, constant shaking of the steering wheel and the noise became so loud and horrid that I thought the car might break down. Within that week, as I started my car, the power steering went out about a total of 10 times, and I had to shut off the car and restart it. Unlike at the beginning, by the end of the week, I had to shut my car off 4-5 times before the steering would come back. The last day of driving the car, the steering wheel was so loose that it was hard to control on the back roads/highways/freeways and over pot holes. At one point, I made a right hand turn, and I almost thought I was not going to be able to bring the steering wheel/car back. Thankfully, I (and no one else) has died from this manufacturer defect in the 2008 ford escapes, but is that what it is going to take in order for something to be done?
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