Experienced a total loss of power steering. No codes/warning lights were shown. Power steering fluid was filled properly, and there were no leaks found. Thankfully this didn't occur at a higher speed as this is a terrifying safety concern. A message board was found with at least 6 pages full of people that experienced the same exact problem (http://www.fordflex.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=10080). This issue needs to be addressed before someone dies!
2009 Ford Flex steering complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 18 of 18, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Was driving onto ramp and steering became harder to drive and there was a humming sound.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford flex. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the wheels intermittently and independently seized. The contact had to depress the accelerator pedal repeatedly to unlock the steering wheel. The dealer and manufacturer were both made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 30,000.
Purchased flex in 2009, day 1, 5 miles, station wagon has vibration. To this day, still has vibration. 58000 miles now. Bbbautoline says it's out of coverage for arbitration. Flex was in shop min 12x for same issue. Dealer and engineers said bad brakes, the have put on 5 sets of pads and rotors. Bad wheels, mine were the 17" style, now I have 19" limited wheels, very expensive tires. Still vibrates.... One 3 day service stop at varsity ford , a@$$$$@ tech or mechanic drove miles to the tune of 750!!!!! And I wasn't supposed to be upset.....test driving it..... Ok, 12,000 miles, on new 19" hankook junk tires, optimo, they were bald, dealer says I have to replace myself, a 60,000 mile tire, lol on me. 31000 mi, dealer says don't bring back, we can't fix.... And said it's a lemon, go arbitrate it out, we know it's a bad car, but we can't get you a new one. 35,000 miles, spouse taking kids to daycare, turns corner, says she heard something pop, and she could not steer, hit a parked car.... After looking with police, I have video and photo proof, inner tie-rod snapped, causing the accident. So, 4,000$ of damage to my car, from a tie rod not being installed right. There was an inch of play, up and down, side to side, on the outer tie rod, from not being installed correctly at the factory, hmmmmmm, made in canada. So now, after accident, car fixed, I thought for sure, it would be a whole new driving vehicle? Shat not! 58,000 now, and vibrating like an off balance washing machine. And bbb and ford are not taking any responsibility. All I wish was for a flex that drove smoothly. ....
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 ford flex. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the vehicle became extremely difficult to steer. After a few minutes the steering wheel operated normally. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis but the cause for the failure could not been determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 77,000.
Drove 30 miles at highway speed. Then in shopping mall engine quit suddenly at 20 MPH without any warning. No power brakes, no power steering. It was if someone had turned off the ignition. I was able to muscle the car out of traffic and was thankful this sudden failure did not occur at speed or while making a turn across traffic. This seems to be a problem identical to those reported by other 09 flex owners, but ford ( or at least my local dealer) is not interested in addressing the problem. Considering that the car had a loss of control, it is puzzling that this defect is not being taken more seriously. In terms of severity of the problem, this sounds like a '10'. The proposed fix is new throttle body, reprogram computer, clean injectors. Since no fault codes appeared and since this is intermittent, the mechanical breakdown policy does not cover what is clearly a manufacturing defect on these early builds. So the problem is twofold: the car dies suddenly and the computer does not recognize this as a fault.
Twice while driving my ford flex, I had spontaneous total shut downs of the engine. The first time, my car was only a few months old and I was idling in front of a friend's house when all the lights came on and it completely died. I started it right back up (and it subsequently performed perfectly) and I drove it to ford where they did some diagnostics checks and found no anomaly. It concerned me but thinking it may be a fuel injection issue while only idling, I went about my business. On july 20, 2012, at 38k mile, my ford flex died again! Total shutdown of the engine and all the lights came on while I was driving approximately 30 miles per hour with my daughter in the car! No power steering, no power brakes, no power anything! Because I was on a slight downhill, I was able to get the car over to the side of the road without catastrophe, thank god. The engine started up again as if nothing occurred. I drove direct to ford where they did 10 minutes of diagnostic testing and told me once again that there was no anomaly. I went a little crazy, informed them that I was leaving for a 10- day vacation the following morning and that they had the full 10 days to fix the car or that I wasn't going to be picking it up ever again. A ford tech drove my car with a computer plugged into the car, typed in the problem and after maneuvering the car to try and get a repeated response, the car did indeed shut down while he was driving it! Apparently, the throttle body was binding internally and needed to be replaced. After replacing part # 1 7t4z 9e926 fa, ford walnut creek ca is telling me it is fixed. Let's hope so. I pray that no one has been involved in a fatal or injury accident as a result of this part's failure. I am writing this as an alert and a heads up to anyone who has had the same scary experience.
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 ford flex. While driving 15 MPH and making a left turn something broke off of the vehicle under the right rear wheel. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated the rear sub frame was broken and will be replaced under warranty. The manufacturer was notified and confirmed that the vehicle would be repaired per the warranty. The failure mileage was 24,000. Updated 02/11/11 *bf the tie rod was also replaced. Updated 05/06/11
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