One month ago my car read default in power steering and the wheel would not turn. I could not drive the car. I turned off the vehicle and restarted and it went away. As a precaution I took it to the dealer who said it was ok and if it happened again bring it back. Well the next week it did and no matter how much I restarted the car it was locked with the same default code. I had it towed to dealer for repairs. They said the repairs were not covered under warranty and since my warranty just expired at the end of july I had to pay for repairs. The part replaced was steering gear assembly. It seems the same parts was defective in a lot of other ford vehicles. My fear is that it will happened while driving and an accident or death will occur from this problem. I am afraid to drive the car. The car only has 7k miles on it and is in perfect condition otherwise and is serviced regularly for preventative maintenance.
2011 Ford Fusion steering complaints
Page 42 of 49: complaints 1,211 to 1,240 of 1,436, newest first, as owners wrote them.
A few days before the incident I had started my car and the steering wheel would not turn and felt stuck then a message popped up in my dash saying power steering fault. So I turned my car off and let it sit for about 2 minutes and started it back up and it drove fine. Then a couple days later I was arriving to a stop light and the steering just went out and luckily I was right next to a gas station and pulled into the side and turned the car off. I tried letting the car sit and see if it would re start fine just like the last time but this time when I started the car the message would appear again in the dash and the wheel was not turning. I tried multiple times turning the car off and on and it wouldn't change. I then had to get a tow truck and have it towed to a mechanic. I was told I had to replace the rack and pinion and it would take about 2 days for the parts and labor to be done.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. The contact stated the service advanced traction and the power steering warning light illuminated as the power steering assist failed. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 86,500.
I was slowing down to turn the corner and the power steering completely went out. Had to steer hard to get to the side of the road. I re-started the car and it is working fine since. This just happened this morning on my way to work.
Power steering assist failure while driving. Luckily we were able to get vehicle safely off highway.
Power steering assist failure while driving. Luckily we were able to get vehicle safely off highway.
Was exiting highway and depressed the brake. Car pulled to the left and power steering went out. Advance trac failure message displayed on indicator panel. Pulled off the road, turned off engine, then restarted the vehicle. All systems started normally. Took vehicle to ford dealer for service on november 1st, 2013. They checked brakes and indicated all was fine. Also indicated no error message was in memory of the service module. As history, car has always had issues with pulling when braking (and sometimes when accelerating). Typically pulls to the left, but sometimes to the right. Never had it thoroughly checked until this visit as symptom is not consistent. Pulling is still occurring sporadically as of this date.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the power steering suddenly malfunctioned causing the steering wheel to become very difficult to turn. The contact indicated that during the incident the service power steering message had displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the power steering pump was faulty and would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 60,000.
Steering power assist & traction failed while I was in traffic. Power steering assist failed twice before as I backed out of garage.
After starting the vehicle and attempting to pull out of a parking lot, the steering became very difficult. The car had to be pulled into a separate parking lot and restarted. After restarting, the steering returned to normal. In the following days, when the car was started, sometimes the steering would be very stiff and a warning would display on the instrument panel. In some cases, turning the car off and back on would resolve the problem. Eventually the problem could not be fixed by restarting the car. I took the car to the ford dealership where I was told that the gear assembly had to be replaced. I had to pay over $2,000 for parts and labor since my car was 1 month beyond its warranty period at the time.
When starting, console displayed "power assist steering failure". Power steering would not work. Required turning car off and on again (sometimes multiple cycles) to get the power steering working. Ford dealer read code c200d (steering gear internal failure), which required a new power steering rack. Ford did pay half of the bill, but my half was still high at $863. I was told this failure would not occur during driving, however I had read and heard this was not always the case. Therefore I had it fixed before it failed while driving or completely failed which would require a tow. This should not happen with a car with 40,000 miles on it and just over 3 years after purchase. This component has no dealer replaceable parts which means the consumer has an expensive repair.
First occurrence: while driving in urban setting and preparing to make a turn, I lost power steering assist. Having driven cars without power steering, I was able to manually steer to car to our destination. I turned the car off for 10 minutes and when I restarted, the power steering operated correctly. Additional occurrences: when starting the car and trying to move there is no power steering assist. Turning off the key and restarting resets the power steering. Some of the time an error message shows up indicating a power steering failure and sometimes it doesn't.
While driving my 2011 ford fusion, in a residential area. My power steering gave out on me. There was no warning, there was no indication until after it happened. I had a car full of minor children because I am a cheerleading coach and it was extremely scary, to say the least for me and the kids.
Lost power steering suddenly without any warnings. The is the second time in the past year this has occurred.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. The contact stated that the power steering failed and the instrument panel warning indicators illuminated. The contact mentioned that it was difficult to maintain control of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 62,000.
After cranking my car and before putting it into drive, the power steering failed and the "power steering assist failure" message appeared on the dash. I turned the car off and sat for a minute. Turned it back on and was fine. Two days later, I was leaving my home and the same thing happened. However instead of it working after a restart, the power steering assist failure message came on each time. I could barely muscle it back into the driveway. Myself being 5'3" 130lbs found it very scary to try to control the vehicle when the power steering was lost. It was almost impossible for me to get back in the driveway. The driver of the tow truck had to move it back before he could load it. I purchased the car from ford as a certified pre-owned car with 63,000 miles on it in june. I cannot believe I have already had a $1000 repair on this certified pre-owned. Hugely disappointed. If this had happened to me while driving, I am scared to think of what the result would have been. No way I could have controlled the vehicle if it were in motion and the power steering went out. This issue needs to be addressed and I would like for ford to reimburse those including myself dealing with their faulty parts.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. While driving in reverse, the power steering failed. As a result, the contact had to use extreme force to turn the steering wheel. The vehicle had to be restarted in order to resume normal operation. The failure occurred several times. The dealer was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000. Updated 11/20/14
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. The contact stated that the low tire pressure indicator illuminated and the power steering malfunctioned. The contact had to exert excessive force to turn the steering wheel. The dealer stated that the computer had to be reprogrammed and reset. The manufacturer was notified. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 37,000.
The steering system stopped in april 2014. I turned car off then back on no more problems so I thought it to be a glitch. Finally july 4, 2014 power assist defaulted again for good. I purchased the car august 22, 2013 from stateline auto group. They're not a ford dealer so they refuse to do anything stating I need to fix my car problem. It is an estimated $2100.00 repair. There needs to be a recall for this problem as there are hundreds of people with the same issue. Too bad I didn't see this before hand. Ford is recalling the 2013 fusion for the same problem. My vehicle according to my VIN..was built in a mexico fordplant. Please some one help.
Service advancetrac now - power assist failure lights come on and the 2011 ford fusion is difficult to control and steer, this happened twice today. I stopped turned the car off, once I restarted the vehicle the light went out and assisted steering was working. I drove another 30 miles and the warning light came back on and experienced loss of assisted steering. I have had this happen before once about a year ago and once about 6 months ago. I did some research and see their are many complaints about this serious problem. In my research I noted that a class action lawsuit has been filed against ford in june of 2014 in the us district court of the northern district of california. I hope that the federal safety agency and the us district court of the northern district of california will prompt and/or force ford motor company to recall the effected vehicles.
Wife was driving home from work luckily without my son in the car, power steering assist fault light displayed and then the power steering cut off while she was driving into our apartment complex. I started the car no warnings sounded drove around the block sure enough power steering assist fault light came on again and lost power steering never regaining power steering again. Same song and dance as far as I can find on the net $2000 repair without 100% guarantee of fix or of what the problem actually is. Im sorry but my wife and kid is worth more than that!!! Were a blue collar family and this was to be our luxury vehicle now its collecting dust in the drive way thank you ford, and best count your blessing that no harm came to my family because of this!!!
The first time an alarm that sounded like music began playing. It played for awhile and then the car turned off. I was able to stop the car safely. I restarted it and it would not start. I tried again after a few minutes and the car appeared to work normally. The second time I was on the freeway in the fast lane going 65 MPH. I heard the music/alarm playing again, so I began working my way to the side. Before I got to the side of the road, the car locked down my steering wheel. A warning light came on, that said something like "service advancetrac". Once I got it restarted, it drove normally again. Later that day, I was unable to back out of a parking space because the steering was not working. I took it to the dealer. The dealer stated that the entire power steering system has to be replaced for 2100 dollars. They told me they were not going to address the issue that the car turned off two days earlier because the steering was the current problem. I contacted the ford company and they opened a case on my car. I do not know the outcome of this situation yet. After reading several accounts on the internet, I want to be sure to report this safety problem as it could have been very dangerous.
I was approaching an intersection and had just stepped on the brakes to slow and merge into a turning lane when the warning lights and sounds started, and steering became very difficult, as if power steering was gone. It was extremely difficult to steer the car through the turn and pull off the road safely. There were a lot of other vehicles around me that needed to swerve out of the way. Once on the side of the road, I turned the car off. Once I restarted the car, the warning lights cleared and I had normal steering. A month prior, the same thing happened while backing out of a parking space. Turning the car off an on cleared the problem then, too. When this happened while driving, resulting in a dangerous situation, we took the car to the dealer. They advised the power steering rack needed to be replaced, for a cost of $1,700. This car was 2 months out of warranty. We live in an area with many winding roads, so this problem is a serious safety concern. If this had occurred while driving on interstate or on a winding road, I don't think I could control the car to keep from running into oncoming traffic or off the road entirely. I paid for the repair, and am surprised to now see lots of other complaints about this issue.
I was driving with my children in the car, and the power steering cut out on me. Fortunately, there was a shoulder to pull off onto and no cars right behind us. It was very difficult to turn the steering wheel and very scary. The power steering did not return, but I did drive it down the road to a garage where I found out that the steering rack would need to be replaced and that this is a known issue to ford, but that no recall had been issued for my vehicle.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, there was a loss of power steering and the warning indicators were illuminated. The contact was able to maneuver the vehicle to the side of the road where the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The problem has recurred several times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified about the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 84,000.
I was turning a corner after the extremely heavy rain in detroit, mi on the 11th of august and all of a sudden these warning lights and bells came on saying service trac assist/power steering assist fault and then the steering just stopped. I struggled to get it home with the extreme inability to steer. Luckily no one was near me so I could swing out as wide as necessary to turn without colliding with another car. I bought this car used in november of 2013. This is just unacceptable. Had I known about this issue, I never would have purchased this car. My powertrain warrant should cover it, since I'm under 60,000 miles, but ford says if it's damaged by water, then warranty is not engaged. This needs to be recalled. They have recalled the SUV's with this issue, recall the fusions.
Sudden loss of power steering. Messages show power steering assist fault and service advancetrac. Advantrac LED is lit on console. This is an intermittent problem that started on 10/23/2013 at 69,000 miles until it finally failed completely on 7/14/2014 at 86,700 miles. Between october, 2013 and july, 2014, it could fail at any moment at any speed. There were approximately 30 instances of power steering loss during this time. I found out that the problem would go away when I stopped the car, turned it off, and restarted. It would clear the messages and the power steering would work fine until the next incident. My ford dealer stated that they couldn't fix it until they got the fault code. I would have to bring in when it was in the failed state. Needless to say, it didn't conveniently fail when I was near my ford dealer during business hours. This is a serious safety issue that many other ford fusion drivers have experienced. It was very stressful driving the car without power steering. The code fault is c200d. The steering rack (ae5z*3504*ce) needed to be replaced to fix the problem. I had to pay for the repair. My ford dealer provided some reimbursement, but I think this should have been a recall to cover all costs because it was a known a safety issue. There is a recall for sudden loss of power steering on explorer and escape, but not fusion. Why not? It's okay for fusion owners to drive with an increase risk of crashing, but not explorer or escape owners? The car is awful to drive without power steering especially at low speeds.
While traveling on a highway at approximately 65 MPH, my power steering went out, and a power steering fault message came on. I had a real hard time getting over to the emergency lane as the steering wheel was almost impossible to turn. This caused me to almost get hit by incoming traffic while attempting to change lanes or even keep the vehicle straight, had this happen while making a turn and accident would have ensued for sure. Once I made it to the emergency lane, I turned the car off and back on and the problem went away. As I look on the web this is a very common problem with ford fusions, why isn't there a recall?
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the steering wheel seized as the power steering warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician diagnosed that the power steering box needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 64,000.
I was on the interstate driving my 2011 ford fusion awd 3.0l at 75 MPH when suddenly I lost power steering. A warning icon appeared on my dash in addition to a message reading: "service advanced trac & service power steering. I had this occur three times previously at low speeds in parking lots, but never at such high speeds. I safely exited the interstate, came to stop, turned my engine off, and restarted my car. The warning message disappeared and I regained power steering. I then went back onto the interstate up to 65 MPH when the issue happened again. I was able to carefully drive home the rest of the way without power steering which took a significant amount of effort to turn the steering wheel. I took the car it into the dealer the next day. They diagnosed it as an "internal motor fault in steering rack". They had to replace the steering rack and gear assembly and do a wheel realignment. Total cost of repair was $1700. I was fortunate to not be involved in an accident when suddenly losing power steering on the expressway. Ford needs to further investigate this and repair it across all vehicles affected before someone gets seriously injured.
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