2018 Ford Escape. I have had the car since 12/2024. Less then 22000 miles in it. In this time I have had 4 alignment done. First one was 2 day after getting car. I pulls to the left. Second was 2 weeks after the first one. Then drove my car with a trailer on it to [XXX]. I made it [XXX] and dropped my load in a storage because I could not control the car. I was so scared. What should have taken maybe 2 days took a week. That was a nightmare trip. Ok so now in [XXX] took it to car max and explained what happened. Alignment always out. Always pulls to left. Carmax had my car 3 days called me and said I need a Alignment and 4 new tires. I was like what I just drove from [XXX]. Gentlemen told me I shouldn't have drove that car with it like that. I said carmax in [XXX] a load me to. Car repair places just think we can drop of our car and say here. I don't have another car to us will that one in the shop. Now the forth was when I got back into [XXX] which was maybe 2 months later. So my car did a lot of sitting in the driveway when I was in nc. With this car u have to have your hands both on the wheel because if u hit a pot hole the car goes crazy. I have been drive for about 40 yrs and I'm from [XXX] where u can drive not legally but able to drive with your knee,eat with the left hand will putting on makeup with the right. I can't do that. I can't even take my eyes off the road because the car will go to the left and I'm not even steering that way. So anyone out there please help. This is my first Ford and it's been a nightmare. Plus less then 40000 I have had a new battery alternator and start put in. My window wipes don't work. Came on it never rains in [XXX] so what the. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Ford Escape pulling problems
73 of the 27,594 owner complaints about the Ford Escape describe pulls to one side, most of them for the 2005 model year.
- owner complaints
- 73
- worst model year
- 2005
- typical repair cost reported
- $1,675
- typical mileage
- 75,000
By model year
Often reported together
Grinding brakes 6Ball joint 6ABS 6Jerking 5Stalling 4Loss of power 3Knocking 3Sudden acceleration 2
What owners say
Front subframe on the right side prematurely rusts, causing the vehicle to loose steering and pull to the right.
This vehicle is driven by my [XXX] 3 things happened the third can cause an accident leading to death or a multi car accident. #1 [XXX] driving on the freeway she heard a squeeling noise like a belt slipping then went away and has not retuned. i checked belts and idlers all ok. #2 [XXX] heard loud ticking under floorboard of car driving on the freeway car seemed to drive normally then ticking went away. #3 [XXX] driving on the freeway steering wheel pulled the car aggressively to left almost causing a multi car accident cars behind and to the left were swerving to avoid hitting other cars. She was able to control the car back straight again luckily the car to her left was not next to her but at her rear bumper or she would have hit that car pushing it into cars in all the lanes to the left. After an internet search I discovered that Ford has had problems with their transfer cases (PTU) and its rare but people have reported issues with the car pulling hard left for no reason. I mention the three steps that happened previous to the steering wheel incident because from my research these are the warring signs before the transfer case goes out. This vehicle is a 2018 Ford Escape AWD 35,000 original miles p.s. Ford customer service was notified of this safety issue on December 6, 2025 my Case# [XXX] Response was not covered i will be repairing this vehicle and I will retain all the old parts for your convenience if you need them for further inspection or investigation. PTU failures are a well know issue with these PTU'S INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I was driving on the highway, when the car steering started to pull to the left, and an alarm chime was heard from the dash, and a wrench light on the dash came on, as well as a service steering system soon message appeared on the message display. This happened multiple times. I contacted the local Midland Ford Dealer about this issue, as they had replaced the Electronic Rack & Pinion Assembly previously. The same dealer diagnosed the problem as a corroded electrical connection in the harness connector, to the Electronic Rack & Pinion Assembly. I was hoping that they would have covered this issue under a warranty, seeing as they replaced the Rack & Pinion, and that did not fix the original problem. I was charged $624.00 to have the problem diagnosed and the Electronic Rack & Pinion electrical harness connector replaced. The problem has not reoccurred since this repair was done. I am wondering if other 2006 or after Ford Escape vehicles have experienced this same dangerous condition?.
The entire panel and screen goes off and on countless times when driving. Cannot see speed or anything when panel shuts off. Makes it even more dangerous at night. It is also very distracting. The problem has been confirmed by FORD and dealer. They still can’t fix it. They have had our car for almost 2 months with no resolution. It started first with screen powering off and on countless times and then the entire panel. I have been told so many different times things. I have requested documentation and they will not provide me with anything other than vague emails with no answers. I was told several things: wrong part installed by Ford, severe wiring issue, wrong program possibly installed when trying to resolve the issue. The car was even pulling to the right and left but they said that had nothing to do with panel but just a dirty sensor, which I don’t know if I believe or not. They also stated the first issue had nothing to do with the recall even though it sounds and appears very similar. Me not being a mechanic, they can tell me anything. What I have not been told is what the problem is and we do not feel safe taking the car back but Ford is offering us nothing other than empty, vague answers. Any help you can provide would be so helpful and appreciated! Text from phone so please forgive any errors. Thank you!
While driving down road, vehicle suddenly pulled right and started shaking the steering wheel and started making grinding noises. The steering wheel was now off by several degrees in order to drive straight. Luckily this occurred at a low speed and not at highway speed. If this was at 70 miles per hour it probably would have resulted in accident. Pulled to side of road and noticed right wheel out of alignment. After getting vehicle home looked under vehicle and discovered the end of the subframe where lower A arm mounts has rusted thru and cracked. This had the potential to be a really bad accident. Hard to believe a 2011 Ford Escape with only 93000 miles has cracked subframe.
I'm getting warnings all of a sudden that the Pre Collision Assist, Advance Trac and AWD are either not available or have a fault and need service. There were some other warnings which I don't recall as when driving I wanted to keep my eyes on the road as much as possible. Right now, it is not showing those. I have lost all safety features like backup sensors, forward sensors, lane wandering and blind spot warning. I have lost convenience features such as cruise control and parking assist. Mileage is 29,726.
The contact owns a 2010 Ford Escape. The contact stated while his daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle continuously pulled to the right, requiring the driver to make constant corrections. Upon visual inspection of the vehicle, the contact observed that the front passenger's side tire was angled inward and had nearly detached from the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the front engine cradle after observing excessive corrosion. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 122,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed, and the vehicle pulled to the right while stopping. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the passenger's side engine cradle subframe was severely corroded and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the steering wheel was pulling to the right. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact used excessive force to regain control of the vehicle. The contact arrived to the destination and had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed the vehicle with a defective steering column. Upon investigation, the mechanic discovered the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering) which was linked to the failure. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 175,000.
Related recalls
Steering: electric power assist system
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner vehicles manufactured August 18, 2006, through September 11, 2010. The affected vehicles have a steering torque sensor that may not be able to properly detect driver steering input. As a result, the system could remove the Electric Power Steering (EPS) assist.
- Risk
- If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power steering control module (PSCM) and the instrument cluster module, free of charge. If a vehicle shows a history of a loss of the torque sensor signal or fault codes relating to the PSCM when the vehicle is brought in for the recall remedy, the affected components will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on July 18, 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑800‑392‑3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14S05.
Recall number 14V284000 · Recall details
Steering: steering wheel/handle bar
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles. These vehicles may have a mis-assembled or incorrectly manufactured nut that attaches the steering wheel assembly to the steering column. The nut could be upside down in the steering wheel assembly, which could overstress the steering column shaft when the nut is tightened. In addition, some of the nuts may have been cracked during manufacture resulting in the nut fracturing when it is tightened during vehicle assembly.
- Risk
- Either of these conditions can lead to the steering wheel becoming loose or separating from the steering column, resulting in loss of steering control.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and replace the steering wheel retention armature and, if necessary, the steering column to correct this condition.
Recall number 00V223001 · Recall details
Questions about the Ford Escape pulling
Which Ford Escape years have pulls to one side problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2005 (9 complaints), 2008 (7 complaints) and 2001 (6 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix pulls to one side on the Ford Escape?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,675 (median of 5 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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