2015 Ford Escape: steering wheel locks up

Filed Aug 12, 2024 · Steering · 33,841 miles · PA

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Escape. The contact stated while attempting to reverse out of the garage, the steering wheel seized. The contact stated that the “Steering Service Required” message was displayed. The contact stated turned off and restarted the vehicle and the steering returned to normal operation. The contact stated that several days afterwards while exiting a parking space, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 33,841.

Filed Jun 8, 2021 · Steering · FL

Suddenly while driving and making a right turn the steering locked up, the car jerked to the left into oncoming traffic. The "steering assist needs service" indicator light on the dash came on and then went off. As I looked for a safe place to pull over the car continually jerked from right to left and I had to keep pulling on the wheel to keep it straight. I phoned Gary Yeoman Ford in Daytona Beach Fl to check for recalls and was told there were none. I called Ford Motor Company in Dearborn Michigan, customer complaints and spoke to a representative and was told there was nothing they could do. I then asked to speak to a supervisor and spoke to "Supervisor Angel" and was told the same. This car has less than 40,000 miles on it and this should not be happening. This is very dangerous and could have caused a very serious accident. There have been other recalls for this same problem, but not for the year 2015. I looked online and there are other complaints involving the same power steering problem on these Ford Escapes. It is now in the shop for repairs at my expense! Est $1400

Filed Sep 25, 2019 · Steering · 5,785 miles · DE

Tl* the contact owns a 2015 ford escape. While the vehicle was parked, the service steering warning indicator illuminated and the steering seized. The vehicle was towed to garnet ford (1610 wilmington pike, west chester, pa 19382, (610) 358-5600) where it was diagnosed that the steering gear needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 5,785. *bf

Filed Mar 3, 2016 · Electrical, Steering · 3,400 miles · NH · crash · fire · 1 injury

I was driving in maine. I'm not sure if I hit a patch of ice or if the steering froze up. I was traveling 35 in a 40 MPH zone and on a curve, the vehicle veered off the road into a bog. The vehicle started to sink and I was unable to open the door for a few minutes. Then I noticed a flame coming from the back of the vehicle. It took all of my strength but I pushed the door open and began swimming away from the vehicle. As I was about 20 feet from the vehicle, it exploded. I was in the water and ice for approx. 10 minutes. The fire dept, police, and emt's arrived and pulled me from the water and took me to the hospital. I have 2nd degree burns on my arm and legs. My insurance company has deemed the vehicle a total loss and the adjuster said the only thing that could be salvaged was 1/2 of my license plate. I asked what could have caused this and the adjuster said that perhaps it was an electrical problem and water mixed with the electrical problem may have caused the fire. Although he did state that he was speculating and he did not know what caused the fire and explosion. The vehicle is sitting and I have asked that it not be destroyed (what's left of it) until the cause can be determined. This concerns me greatly because I do not want this to happen to anyone else. I believe if anyone else had been in the vehicle, they would not have had time to escape. There was no smoke - only fire and then the explosion. The shock is starting to wear off and I keep asking myself how in the world a car could "just explode". Please let me know if anyone else has had any problem like this or if anyone can suggest what may have caused this catastrophe. Thank you.

Filed Feb 29, 2016 · Electrical, Steering · 3,400 miles · NH · crash · fire · 1 injury

I was driving and I'm not sure if I hit a patch of ice or steering froze up. I was traveling 35 in a 40 MPH zone and on a curve, the vehicle veered off the road into a bog. The vehicle started to sink and I was unable to open the door for a few minutes. I tried putting the vehicle in reverse to get out of the water and ice. Then I noticed a flame coming from the back of the vehicle. I pushed the door open and began swimming away from the vehicle. As I was about 30 feet from the vehicle, it exploded. I was in the water and ice for approx. 10 minutes. The fire dept, police, and emt's arrived and pulled me from the water and took me to the hospital. I have 2nd degree burns on my arm and legs. My insurance company has deemed the vehicle a total loss and the adjuster said the only thing that could be salvaged was 1/2 of my license plate. I asked what could have caused this and the adjuster said that perhaps it was an electrical problem and water mixed with the electrical problem may have caused the fire. He did state that he did not know what caused the fire and explosion. The vehicle is sitting and I have asked that it not be destroyed (what's left of it) until the cause can be determined. This concerns me greatly because I do not want this to happen to anyone else. The shock is starting to wear off and I keep asking myself how in the world a car could "just explode". Please let me know if anyone else has had any problem like this or if anyone can suggest what may have caused this catastrophe. Thank you.

Filed Sep 19, 2015 · Electrical, Engine · 19,125 miles · MD

Symptom: fuse for interior lights, including gear indicator on shift, controls in steering wheel, fails. Issue began 2nd month of ownership 2/2015. 4th incident on 9/17/15 brought my attention to the circumstances pertaining to all instances leading to failure of the interior lights fuse. Incident: traveling at 55 MPH while merging into traffic from the left side of a 5 lane highway, I removed my foot from accelerator. I stepped on the accelerator within a few seconds and the engine shut off, all electrical components, dash board, gauges, everything shut themselves off and then every gauge and warning light lit up, but no engine. I moved the gear selector into neutral and turned the key to off without locking the steering wheel, and tried to restart the vehicle. It did not restart. I made my across 4 lanes of traffic to the right shoulder, stopped the car, put into park and turned the car all the way off and restarted the vehicle, the interior lights no longer worked. The car restarted and I drove on. I realized that every time the fuse for the interior lights has failed, it was after the car had shut itself off, all electrical lights and warning lights had gone off and then all warning lights and lights, except interior lights came back on, requiring turning the key to off engaging the steering wheel lock and restarting the car. It is currently in the shop for evaluation. The 3 previous times, the ford dealers' (2 different dealers) service department technicians have not found a cause for the fuse failure.

Filed Aug 24, 2015 · Steering · 450 miles · WY

While turning left from a stop sign, the steering wheel locked, causing the vehicle to veer into the lane of oncoming traffic. The driver yanked the steering wheel hard to the right and the vehicle returned to the correct lane. This happened again on 7/31/15 while making a right hand turn. The vehicle was taken to the dealership on 8/8/15 and the tech indicated there were no codes; however the vehicle had an active recall out, which they fixed. It happened on three additional occasions between 8/8/15 and 8/21/15. It should be noted, the vehicle was sold when there was an active recall.