I get a steer assist fault code, and loose power steering at random points. It is very dangerous and almost crashed twice.
2013 Ford Escape steering complaints
Page 2 of 11: complaints 11 to 40 of 303, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I have experienced many issues with my vehicle that have been recalled in other vehicles of the same make/model/year but have been denied the assistance in fixing me car and preventing and further damage or risk of my safety due to my VIN not showing any recalls. I do believe that my safety has been disregarded and that my car needs inspection to further show that I should be assisted in getting the recalls identified and fixed to improve my safety and others on the road. The first issue I noticed that was recalled on other 2013 Ford escapes was a recall on the control arm which was caused by the separation of the control arm from corrosion which increased the risk of crash. I had an incident where my car all of the sudden would not return from the right turning position after I heard a clunking noise which caused me to run into a curb. After further investigation it was found that my control arm failed and locked which wouldn't allow me to avoid hitting the curb. I suffered a concussion and had to pay for this to be fixed due to being denied from the recall. Secondly, Ford has issued many recalls on 2013 Ford escape engines due to overheat and cylinder head malfunctions many of them my car has been diagnosed and proven to have. I have pulled codes from my check engine that are direct codes that was recalled about the overheating of the cylinder head causing cracks and leaks into the oil. This code I pulled from my car was P0117 and it was traced to the recall from ford ( 13V583000). Other recalls have been issued by Ford for engine overheating, and my car has been over heating after directly putting coolant into my vehicle and it tends to run out in 1 to 2 days after refilling. My safety and others on the road are at risk from these issues that were not caused by me or other drivers but I am not getting any assistance or anyone willing to look at these recalls and assist in reimbursement or fixing my cars issues. My car needs to be reviewed for the recalls.
I was driving my vehicle home and as I was turning to the street I live on the power steering went out and I almost lost control of the car. I had to use all my strength to turn the wheel and barely miss an oncoming car in the turn. If my wife would have been behind the wheel Im certain it would have caused an accident. After getting home I searched for what may have caused the loss of power for the steering and I read this has been a reported problem but the NHSTA has not issued a recall. Why? Does someone need to die or be injured before it is investigated and issue a recall?
Steering wheel locks up intermittently. Never know when the steering wheel may lock up. When able to use steering wheel there is no power assist to help with turning the steering wheel. Hesitant to use car out on the road because I don't know when the power steering may go out and make it very difficult to turn the steering wheel to get off the road to somewhere safe.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized, and the vehicle became difficult to maneuver. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
It wouldn't steer it ran hot it stalls everytime I was on hwy system fail to warning system not display not updated
I started my Escape to come home (about an hour and half from home). I immediately got a message that said Steering Assist - Immediate Service Required . I turned the car off and restarted it and got the same message. I got really nervous, but thought maybe it would steer like a vehicle without power steering - which I have driven long ago. But the wheel would not turn at all. I could only go forward. I turned the car off and went to the bathroom thinking I was going to have to call my husband to have him come and get me and have my Escape towed home. When I got back in the car and started it up, the message was gong and the vehicle was working. I drove home, scared all the way, that it was gong to happen again and the road was very mountainous with uncountable turns. Thank God I made it home.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after restarting the vehicle, it was discovered that the power steering had failed, and the steering wheel was very difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that steering rack was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 113,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while reversing, the steering wheel became firm. The contact stated that on another occasion while driving in the residence parking lot at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became firm. The vehicle was restarted but the failure persisted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 265,000.
Several times in the past month the "power steering assist " fault has appeared when I start the car and I am unable to mover the steering wheel. It locks in place. I have to turn off the car and turn it back on again, trying several times for the steering wheel to unlock. This is a serious issue and I'm afraid it may happen while at a stop light or while driving.
Several times over the past month upon starting my 2013 Ford Escape the following warning message appears: " power steering assist " fault, and my steering wheel locks. I believe there was a recall on this same issue with other Ford's but I searched the recall list with my VIN number and a recall does not exist for my 2013. This is a severe safety issue and will cost me thousands of dollars to replace.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at approximately 25 MPH, the steering wheel became very stiff, and the vehicle became difficult to maneuver. The contact was able to maneuver the steering wheel using excessive force. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The ABS, brakes, stability control, and air bags warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or local dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 213,000.
I was driving on.the road the power steering stop working, I almost caused an accident ,I had a warning light power steering fault , dealer said can be an expensive repair
Was prompted with a steering assist fault while in the middle of driving had couldn’t turn or steer because the wheel locked up I almost crash and had to try and pull over safely. The amount of people with the same experience who have reported about this same problem for this vehicle and there still isn’t a recall is concerning!!!
When steering the vehicle a loud,strange noise suddenly occurred. It started being hard to steer around corners and especially when turning right. I took it to my mechanic today and he told me the rack and pinion looked like it had blown apart,he could see inside parts that shouldn't be visible.
When the 2013 Ford Escape was started, a warning message came across the screen stating "steering wheel assist fault" and the steering wheel would not move. Turned the car off and then back on and the message did not appear. Turned the car on this morning and received the same message and the steering wheel would not move. Multiple car owners of this vehicle have complained about this issue and Ford is not doing a recall. It appears this has been an issue with Ford Escapes of many years.
Was driving the car parked went into the store and came back out I started the car and it was driving fine then all of a sudden I had to grab the wheel tight because it flashed saying steering loss pull over. I had my children in the car it was so unsafe and scary and I see many people with this issue and I am not understanding why there is no recall
Power steering completely failed mid drive about 15 mph in a turn, no codes. Worked briefly after restart. Now completely has failed regardless of restart.
Power steering out and I am unable to afford the repairs. There is a recall for my make and model my van is not included in. I have already paid for a new transmission when the transmission recall was out and the Gilley Hyde Ford local dealership was dishonest with me and replaced almost $2000 of extra things and gave it back to me broken.
The steering became hard as I turned into a parking space at the doctor's office. It has happened 4 or 5 times since then usually at low speeds. i have been extremely cautious since the first time. It is my mother vehicle, but I was driving it at the times the steering became hard/stiff.
I was turning right and as I pulled out my power steering totally went out causing g me to loose control for a second but then it came back on almost causing an accident. This isn't the 1st time just the most recent. There's a recall on other years of the same vehicle with Ford for the same problem but not for 2013.
Steering assist fault light has come on randomly since I bought the car in February of 2022 and just 2 days ago on March 30th 2024 my power steering in my vehicle is starting to go making a God awful sound like someone threw gravel into a wood chipper. I see ford has had a recall out for this once before but ultimately are wiping their hands clean of it. This is ridiculous owning a car that has had this many safety recalls on it.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, an abnormal squeaking sound was coming from the steering wheel while turning. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and was diagnosed with a defective steering gear. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the message "Steering Assist Unavailable" displayed and the steering wheel seized. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and the message disappeared and the steering wheel regained functionality. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed that the power steering module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired but was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a complaint was filed. The manufacturer referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 60,000. The VIN was not available.
Power steering has gone out. There is a recall, but it is not attached to my Vin number.
I own a 2013 ford Escape sel. While driving on the road a message appears and states steering assist fault. When this happens the steering becomes very hard to steer. I feel like I can’t even pull over because it is very hard to steer. I feel is very unsafe. Another msg that appears is hill start assist not available and then with that massage 911 assist fault. All of these messages to me seem very unsafe and need to be looked at. I looked online and there are thousands of people complaining about these problems.
Started my car and had no steering with no warning. Thank God I wasn’t driving the car when this happened. Spoke with Ford Dealership and they knew exactly what the issue was. They said it was a malfunction of the rack and pinion steering which they said was common on the 2013 Ford Escape. Cost for Ford Dealership to repair was $2,700.
Since we bought the car we have always had problems with the steering locking up. Was told the whole rack and pinion which is electric needed to be changed. I have read that this is a huge problem with FORDS. My wife was driving on the highway and it locks up and she can’t steer. Please check into how many ford vehicles have this problem. Someone is going to get killed
I received an alert on the dash that says "steering assist fault service req'd" I have received this alert in the past, in the middle of driving. When the alert comes on, the power steering completely goes out, making it impossible to turn the wheel. It's scary knowing that I can be driving and the power steering can go out at anytime, due to evident poor engineering on Ford's behalf. There have been a plethora of other Escape's that had reported this exact issue. For whatever reason, Ford decided to not recall the 2013 model, even though it experiences the same issue that the other year models were recalled for. This is putting myself and others' at danger and currently the vehicle is stuck and I am not able to turn the wheel at all. Ford is unwilling to cooperate. This is easily something Ford should be willing to look at and FIX for zero cost. An engineering issue within the electrical components of the car is not something I should be held responsible for. I didn't build the car. Nor was I given any sort of warning when the steering just all of a sudden went out, while I'm driving on a busy highway. What can we do to get Ford to cooperate to FIX the issue at no cost on my end? Thank you in advance.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed, and the steering wheel was difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the steering rack was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 104,000.
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