My wife was driving are 2011 ford fusion the other day on her way back from a trip. Note we just purchased this car 35 days ago roughly. The fusion had 30,xxx miles on it when purchased and the time of the incident when the power steering failed was 31,xxx miles we had not put more then 1000 miles on this car since we bought it. The wife was driving through a construction zone on her way home. She was a little more then a 100 miles away from are home. She was on the interstate when she suddenly realized the power steering light came on saying it needed to be serviced. She was driving in single lane of traffic in a 65 MPH zone because of the construction. Luckily the power steering held up long enough for her to get off at the nearest exit of the instate before it failed complete in the parking lot of a gas station. Things like this are no joke and I can not believe ford isn't doing anything about this. I'm thankful my wife was not hurt or anyone else like on coming traffic or a construction worker. But I'm very very anger and hope ford wakes up and recalls this steering issue before its to late for some unlucky person!! This should not be happening on any car let alone close to brand new cars with less then 100k on them. I have owned and drove many ford vehicles in my life but I don't know if I will ever buy another ford car because of this clear safety issue. My wife is fairly strong and she could barely move the car steering wheel after it lost power to the wheel and I even moved the car so it could be towed and I struggled to turn the wheel I could not imagine if the power steering went out and I was not ready I would probably lose control if I was on the interstate or in close traffic let alone trying to make a hard turn in a corner. I hope ever one the best of luck with this as I know I'm not alone and please fill out the report to get this recalled. Thanks!!
2011 Ford Fusion steering complaints
Page 43 of 49: complaints 1,241 to 1,270 of 1,436, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was driving down the road to get to work and a icon popped up on my dash in addition to a couple messages appearing where my odometer reading typically is. The messages read : "service advanced trac & service powersteering." there seemed to be no difference in the control and handling of my car until I went to parallel park (my steering felt stiff) so I continued onto my appointment. After returning to my car and turning it back on the icon was back and the messages returned with the addition of say "now" after the initial messages. My driving experience however was difficult. My power steering was not working and I had to exert a significant amount of effort to turn the steering wheel. It also felt as if my turning radius was much wider to turn corners. My dealership checked my car and gave me an estimate just under $2000 to repair the issue including the initial diagnosis of the issue. The report indicated that the "module on the steering rack" was at fault, but to repair that would require the replacement of the whole steering rack.
I was driving to work on interstate-87 north in new york with normal driving conditions when, all of a sudden, the power steering light on my 2011 ford fusion came on the dash informing me of a power steering failure. At the time, I was driving in the left hand lane of the three-lane highway and was had to navigate my way across two lanes of busy highway traffic to pull onto the shoulder. With my hazard lights on, I had to fight the stiff steering wheel to get to the shoulder. I put my car in park, turned the car off, and turned the car back on. The issue went away and I drove the rest of the way to work. I have owned this car for almost 2 years and had not had an incident until july 2014. Two times prior to this steering failure, the electronic power steering failed in my driveway as I shifted the car into reverse to pull out of the driveway. This trip could have easily turned into a serious accident for myself and those driving around me.
I was taking off from my parents front yard when I received a message stating advanctrac power steering failure the first time. I then was on the road driving around 50 MPH when I received the same message on august 10 2014 then again it occurred while driving 5 MPH in a parking lot and turning I received the same message again advanctrac power steering failure in reading online I am not the only person to encounter this problem and I feel this is a manufacturer issue as its not only me. Please advise thank you!
Upon traveling at slow speed steering completely failed--no power assist. Could not turn--very dangerous almost had near collision. Shut down car and waited 10 minutes. Started up and ran ok. If this was at highway speed I could have been killed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. The contact stated that while driving at no particular speed, the vehicle lost power steering and the power steering light illuminated. The failure occurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that a new power steering rack was needed to repair the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
While driving the vehicle at 25 MPH I lost the power steering. I was able to safely pull the vehicle into a parking lot and place the auto in park. I turned the car off and back on and receive a service message to have the advance trac system and the power steering system serviced soon. I allowed the car to sit for a few minutes, turned the car off and on again and this time the warning messages changed to have the advance trac system serviced and the power steering system serviced now. I was unable to drive the auto. I called a tow and the car is now sitting at firestone auto repair. I'm on the phone with ford now. They have a recall for this issue but only for 2011's manufactured at the kansas city plant. My car was manufactured at the hermosillo plant in mexico. I'm on hold now with ford customer service waiting to discuss this to see if they are willing to broaden the recall to cover the mexico plant. I drive on interstates in chicago every day. If this happens during a daily rush hour commute I will be in serious trouble. The firestone auto repair doesn't really know how to approach this issue. I have read that it may have something to do with the road angular sensor or the voltage on the battery. Supposedly the dealer that I purchased this auto from (milady nissan in crystal lakek) gave me a new battery. I have had the car for 5 months.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford fusion. The contact stated while driving 5 MPH, a traction control, service power steering message illuminated on the control panel. Seconds later, the power steering stopped working. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the power steering rack had an internal failure and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 63,145.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. While driving 45 MPH, the power steering warning indicator illuminated and the power steering failed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 94,000.
The vehicles power steering completely turns off and will not turn on until it is brought to a ford dealership and they clear the code. The problem seems to be very consistent with ford fusion models and I cannot understand why there is not a recall on this as the repair will be coming out of my pocket.
While driving car, steering locked and power steering assist fault message appeared on dashboard.
Driving to work 25 MPH and suddenly my power steering went out, then the traction control system(tsc) lights went on.
After having my car for 3 months or so I had the first incident with the power steering failing on my car while driving with a warning message that stated "power steering assist fault, service advancetrac" I was able to pull over turn the vehicle off and back on and the problem would be corrected, the last event with.with this same problem did not clear the message, I have read a number of blogs with peep owning ford fusions to.know this is not an isolated issue and yet ford motor company still has yet to take corrective action against this problem and at around 1900.00 for repair costs of this issue that is unacceptable.
Driving on a surface street at approx 10-15 MPH and the power steering goes out. "power steering assist fault" message on dash board. Pulled car over to side and shut off engine. Restarted and issue went away. This happened 5-6 times in the following 9 months. Then on aug 6 (warranty expired), power steering would not work and message would not go away, even after restart. Took it to the dealer and was charged $1827.88 to fix. (part installed - ae5z 3504 ce: gear assy - steering).
After several intermittent losses of power steering when driving the car the past year the power steering gear assembly failed on 8/12/14. Cost to repair: $1987.73. It's a dangerous situation when you lose power steering while driving-especially for women or elderly people. I can't let my wife drive my car anymore in good conscience.
Steering locked up due to a faulty steering assist and a traction issue. Luckily my kids were no hurt. The car is new so we shouldn't be having these problems.
I lost power steering while making a turn onto a street. The first occurrence happened about july 12 making a turn onto a busy intersection. It took me by surprise and grabbed onto the wheel so hard to gain control wheel my elbow still is sore. Pulled over, turned off the car. Started the vehicle and power steering was back. Took the vehicle to a service repair shop to run a diagnostics and they couldn't find anything wrong. Then again on august 10, happened twice. Same situation, making a turn, lost power steering. I was able to pull into a driveway. Turned off the car, restarted, and made it home. Took it to the repair shop and informed me it is the rack and pinion that needed to be for $1150 (part only) labor of course was extra. I was so upset, I did call ford and reported the incident. I tried to make an appointment at a ford dealer, told wait would be 2 weeks or more. After some on line research, discovered this problem is occurring, not only in the fusion, but other ford products like the escape. I can't believe there isn't a recall! The loss of power steering creates a dangerous situation. It is intermittent and happens unexpectedly. The wheel tightens and it takes a lot of power to turn the wheel to get to a safe spot.
The first incident was at work around the beginning of june 2014, I turned on the car to leave and the "power steering assist fault" message came up and I had no power steering. I turned the car off and then back on again and everything worked. I mentioned it to the dealer and I was told not to worry about it. It happened about 5 more times over the next two months while at home and work. It would happen when I would first turn on the car, I would shut the car off and then restart the car. This last time, august 8, 2014 I was at home and turned on the car, I received the "power steering assist fault" message again. I turned my car off and then back on and it did not reset this time. I tried to restart my car 4 times and it didn't fix the problem. I called the dealer and I was told to disconnect my battery and that might help reset it. This also did not work. I had my car towed in to the dealer and I am now being told that I might need to have the power steering gear box replaced and this will be expensive. I know there are many other models of ford cars in my year that are having this problem and I am being told by the dealer that it is not related. We will see how much ford helps with or not.
Coming out of sloped driveway - entering a main avenue - steering wheel locked. Was able to get in middle turning lane. 2 blocks from home - waited for traffic all to go by - made left turn into parking lot with. *tr extreme difficulty. Straightened up by backing up - made another right into parking space by backing up and inching forward and pulling on wheel to turn. Wording came up "power steering assist fault" :service advance trac". Dealership put thru it's paces on the computer - could find nothing wrong - and did not charge. Keeping overnight and someone going to drive it. Never had anything like this happen and ford should definitely be looking into this, in my opinion.
Friday I had my 3 year old and 5 year old in the car and we were pulling out into a busy highway when the steering wheel locked up and the power steering assist fault light came on. In a panic I turned the car off an on again but it didn't fix the problem and we were stranded horizontally in the middle of the road, I literally used all the strength I had and pulled it onto the side of the road. The power steering is now out all together. Is it going to take someone dying for ford to fix this problem? My babies could have been seriously injured or worse.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the service power steering light illuminated and it was very difficult to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 63,000.
Was driving about 35 coming to a stop and power steering stopped working message appeared on dash. Service stabilitrac service power steering and tire moniter.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the power steering assist and the service advanced tract warning lights illuminated. The contact mentioned that the power steering became inoperable. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the diagnosis was undetermined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 36,000. Updated 6/8/15*cn updated 08/24/2017
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. While driving approximately 40 MPH, the power steering failed and the power steering fault warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact experienced difficulty turning the steering wheel. The failure recurred multiple times. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.
This has happened on numerous occasions but on this particular date I was driving with my two kids and as I was turning with traffic the power steering went out, it was all of a sudden and all the cars were going my same speed. I lost control of the vehicle and side swiped a car and also was rear ended because I stopped since I had no idea what was going on with my power steering. I will never again buy a ford because when I called the dealership they had nothing to say.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering with power steering at fault illuminated on the instrument panel. The steering wheel was hard to turn. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for a diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
We have a had a few incidents recently with the electrical power steering in our 2011 ford fusion just quitting and the car being hard to turn. Most were occasions coming off a stopped or slowing position on regular suburban roads.
I was driving approx 40 MPH onto an on ramp for a highway. As I started on the ramp my steering wheel would not turn normally. It took tremendous effort to steer it. Fortunately there was a dirt road off the ramp back to the road I was on and I was able to muscle the car into a gas station less than 1/4 mile away.
My daughter was driving my car and all of a sudden power steering and advance trac system light displays on the dash, cut the car off and restarted no change. With all these complaints I pray that for do something about this, now my car is outside in the parking lot, not sure if im going to be able to pay to get it fix bc I was just laid off my job.
My power steering in my vehicle has been going out while I drive. (very scary) it has happened approximately 4-5 times. I read the manual and it said if "assist failure" comes on, turn off the engine and let it sit for 10 seconds, then turn vehicle on to reset. The first 4-5 times it did reset after doing so. This very last time, the vehicle no longer was resetting. It remains in my driveway because the "assist failure" stays on with no power steering. I called the dealership and the gentleman that I spoke with mentioned that the 2010 has a recall out for that issue but not yet the 2011. I am very upset that I did not get any assistance with this matter due to the problem not being my fault.
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