Driving for about two weeks with a "sticky" steering wheel. Driving down the road one night, received Steering Fault, Service Now message. Power Steering was barely responsive. Parked car overnight, came out to car in morning, received Steering Loss, Stop Safely message. Power Steering was not functioning in the vehicle at all. Complete loss of power steering is a safety hazard while driving down the road. The problem was reproduced at the dealer and an independent shop. Recommendation to replace steering rack and outer tie rods.
2016 Ford Escape steering complaints
Page 2 of 4: complaints 11 to 40 of 73, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The component that malfunctioned was my transmission according to the mechanic. I was driving and all the sudden my car stopped and wouldn't go, then the accelerator started going to the max but nothing happened. My first thought was a flat tire and after I checked my tires it wasn't flat. I started my car back up and it did the same thing eventually stalling and not moving at all. The wheel locked and would not move to steer or release. I had to get it towed. This is a huge safety issue concern because it stopped in the middle of the road while I was driving putting my life and others at risk. It's available for inspection upon request.The problem was confirmed by a mechanic in which he said there was a recall at some point on the transmission for my vehicle but he was unsure if it was still active. There were no warning lamps or signs and there still isn't present on my dash. Thus making there being no warning signs at all a safety issues for myself and others.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH pulling out of a parking lot, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stopped, turned off, and restarted the vehicle to attempt to reset the power steering functionality. The contact stated that the power steering functionality failed to return to normal functionality. The contact drove the vehicle to a local dealer. The dealer had not yet diagnosed the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.
Drove 170 miles round trip to airport and back. Shut off car to unload friend. When car was restarted I had no power steering. Message indicated steering power assist problem. Let car cool for about 2 hours. Restarted and drove without problem. Dealer stated that it would be best if it were not working when I brought it in.
The steering is all electric, doesn’t use power steering fluid. When I am driving, at random times, the steering wheel locks up and has almost caused me to get into two accidents. It lasts for a few seconds until I can regain control by gripping the wheel very tightly.
I am having the same problems with the 2016 Ford Escape that is listed in Recall Campaign/the federal safety agency#15518/15V340 with a loss of electrical power that controls the steering with the steering wheel; turning to the right or left. Loss indication from steering assist. The exact same problems listed under this recall. Vehicle is not safe to drive because cannot control the steering wheel. I need it repaired because it is my only transportation back and forth to physician offices and hospital. Being elderly, it is a danger to me.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering assist warning light illuminated. In addition, the power steering wheel was not functioning as intended. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed steering rack. The contact was informed that the steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was advised to report the failure to the federal safety agency Hotline. The failure mileage was unknown.
Problem: The steering loss stop safety light came on as I was on the highway with a total loss of steering. (Steering locked up). Traffic of said highway was going from 4 lane to two lane with two northbound semi’s as I was headed southbound. Steering locked up and pulled me into northbound lane. How the semi’s missed me was a higher power looking out for me. I’m trying to figure out how to get it home as we speak. I haven’t tried to have any professionals look at the car nor did I seek a police officer as I made around the semi’s and they kept going. This is a terrible situation to be put in no matter if a malfunction happens it SHOULD NOT prevent me from or have the potential to completely loose control of the vehicle. I would expect Ford to help me with this situation at THEIR cost asap prior to seeking legal options. Yes warning light and bells for steering loss stop safety. No prior warning.
The car has a clicking noise and recently I lost power steering. I didn’t see any codes but was not looking as I was terrified I couldn’t get home.
The power steering control module (PSCM) that replaced my original PSCM failed while I was driving with my 4 year old in the car and I lost power steering completely. We have been told it was reproduced by the dealership service center at 1hour 32 minutes of the car running. The car is at the dealership for the 3rd time for this issue and the warning light that came on was Steering Assist Fault Service Required.
The Power Steering Control Module failed as I was driving with my children in the car and I lost all power steering abilities. The car was taken to the dealership service department and reproduced and confirmed by the dealership. This part was replaced and it happened again 5 days after receiving the vehicle back. The Light that comes on states "Power Steering Assist Failure." this light began to happen when driving in very congested conditions and intermittently. After the repair and when the light came back on I was driving with my 4 year old in the car and completely lost power steering.
I crashed car because is park according with transmission and car still moved and hit fence, I contact ford for this incident and still waiting someone contact me. So I decide lawsuits against Ford
As I was turning onto a street the power steering assist fault light briefly flashed and the car lost all power steering causing me to nearly hit oncoming vehicles. It was impossible to steer the car. After stopping and waiting several minutes the power steering returned. This is the second incident I have had like this with this car.
Ingine light/suspension lights went on. Car jerks and shakes on the road and pulls to the right making it hard to keep the steering wheel straight
While driving my 2016 Ford Escape my steering became hard to turn and a steering fault light came on the dash. I was able to make it home but the car is very hard to turn which is very scary and unsafe. The car only has a little over 100,000 miles on it and we have already replaced a transmission at around 90,000. I don't think buying another Ford is in our future due to all the issue we have experienced and at our cost. I called the dealer to address the issue and they are 3 months out so how do I get out and back to work with the issues that I am facing?
Jerking, unwanted jolting, locked up steering
While sitting at a stop light the electric power assist warning light came on and I lost all power steering. I tried turning the car off and on several times to reset system but had no effect. It is extremely hard for me to steer and impossible for my wife If this had happened while the car was in motion an accident could have occurred. This car is a 2016 with approx. 50,000 miles and has been immaculately maintained and in like new condition. This is a known error with fords electric steering assist on many models and a recall needs to be implemented on this year and model. This a quite an expensive burden placed on owners of an almost new vehicle.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that when they turned on the vehicle, the steering assist fault warning message displayed. The power steering had failed and the vehicle was now operating with manual steering only. The contact had made an appointment with the dealer however the vehicle had not been seen as of yet. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 17,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the steering wheel was significantly difficult to steer. The message Steering Default was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Additionally, the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and continued driving. However, the failure reoccurred and the vehicle was towed to an unknown dealer where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic where the transmission was rebuilt; however, the contact stated that upon attempting to drive the vehicle, she shifted into drive(D) however, the vehicle failed to respond and remained idling. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while attempting to shift into reverse(R), the gear shifter remained in drive(D). The contact stated that upon moving the gear shifter into reverse(R) successfully, she heard an abnormal loud popping sound coming from the hood. The contact also saw smoke coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an unknown dealer where the transmission was replaced. The contact later received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 22V413000 (Power Train) which she associated with the failure. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 10-15 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. A warning message indicating that the vehicle needed assistance was displayed. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact stated that upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, the vehicle regained power steering functionality. The contact was able to drive to her residence however, the failure reoccurred while driving. The vehicle was towed to an unknown local dealer and was being repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
I was driving and my car felt like it changed from drive to neutral without any physical prompt on my part. The for escape kept rolling away and I was able to bring it to a parking lot. I was able to turn the vehicle off and tried turning it back on again. It felt like it was changing gears without being touched. It kept trying to move forward and reversing when it was on park. I was scared so I turned the car off and put the emergency break because of the strange shifting between gears that was happening. I had to have the vehicle towed as it is now inoperable. It is at the shop and is currently untouched . A few days later I found found has recalled my vehicle for transmission issues. I am now careless with no help in sight.
The ecm become disconnected driving down the road causing the car to loose complete power. 1 week later steering failure warning alert on info cluster immediately followed by complete steering failure alert on info cluster. Loss of steering and control of car. Towed to Asheville Ford & Lincoln in Asheville NC for inspection. Receipt from Asheville Ford & Lincoln provided. Confirmed steering failure. The vehicle was NOT in any accident since my purchase of the car. Prior to my purchase of this car, it was in an accident reported by previous owner and not disclosed by the dealership. I located insurance receipts in glovebox of car where a body shop had done repairs resulting from an accident. My car was under extended warranty at that time however my claim was denied because I used a zip tie to secure the ecm back to the car when it disconnected. I couldn’t get the car in the shop to have it repaired right away and while waiting for an appointment from Ford, the incedent with the steering failure happened. I have plenty of notes, receipts and documentation of this situation and previous repairs made to the car prior to me purchasing it. Please let me know if any further info is needed and I’ll be glad to provide it. Ford instead voided my warranty without any written or verbal notice to me about anything. Still haven’t received a reason my claim was denied in writing.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while at a traffic light, the steering wheel locked inadvertently. The warning message "Steering Wheel Default" was displayed. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle regained power steering functionality. The contact was able to continue driving; however, the failure reoccurred after restarting the vehicle. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle could not be repaired under an unknown recall as the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000.
I received the "Steering Assist Fault Service Required" message as I was parking. Because the wheels became stiff I had to wait an hour to drive again. At the same time I received the 911 assist error. This was not the first time that it happened to me. Previously I took the car to the dealership and they did not fix it.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the power steering failed which made the vehicle harder to steer. The contact stated that the power steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer nor an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating the failure to the federal safety agency campaign number: 14V284000 (Steering). The manufacturer had been informed of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 50,096.
I was in a drive thru at mcdonald's and I turned my wheel to pull around and my steering wheel locked up and has been doing this on and off when I drive.
Steering failed while driving. It became very difficult to turn the steering wheel while driving. Made loud grinding sound and very difficult to move the wheel. As the vehicle became undrivable, it had to be towed.
My wife was returning from the store when the steering got stiff. As if the power-assisted steering had failed. She managed to get it home since she was on our road and only had to turn into our driveway. I took it out and the steering was ok for about a mile. Then it did the same for me. Ford has had this issue with several of their vehicles for some time now. Many have been recalled and this one should be. I have read many complaints and reviews about this issue. I believe this is a serious issue. If the steering fails at an inopportune time people could be killed.
Went to leave my house for work and started my escape and had no steering. The steering wheel was frozen stuck. I have never had this problem as I bought the car brand new. Had it towed to a mechanic and was told there are tons of complaints about frozen steering wheels in the escapes and there is no fix for the problem. Only thing I can do is start the car and let it warm up for an hour, or until the steering box gets to 42 degrees and the steering wheel will unfreeze. Then while driving down the road the steering wheel tries to lock up and not turn. This is a huge safety issue that needs to be addressed and corrected before lives are lost!!!!!!!!!
This vehicle has an electric power steering that turns off while driving making it impossible to steer properly. To get the steering to work again you need to get to the side of the highway (which is not easy), make a complete stop, turn the ignition off and then back on to get the steering to work safely again. This has happened over 100 times, including five times this week. In looking at factory recalls, many 1000s of fords, of many years and models have had factory recalls for this same issue. But, not this specific VIN number. I need to get a factory recall which includes this VIN number before their is a fatal accident involving this car.
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