Driving my car and the error message flashes "service trac now" and "service power steering". I got home, but the next morning I had no power steering. This is the second time this has happened. This first time Ford reset some codes and it was fine for 2 month but it happened again. Apparently my car was made about a month after the cut off date for the recall for the power steering issue 15S18 (the federal safety agency Campaign ID 15V340000). I do also want to note that it could be a coincidence, but the low tire pressure came on, I was on my way to fill it up and then all these error started flashing. That happened both times but I'm not sure if it is related. Ford has refused to fix this issue even though it is the same issue that is included in that recall. I cannot drive my vehicle without power steering, it will be very costly and seem like it should have been included in the recall.
2012 Ford Fusion steering problems
1,476 complaints (59% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 83,828. 46 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 1,476
- of this car's complaints
- 59%
- typical mileage
- 83,828
- crashes
- 46
- recalls
- 1
Which part fails
- Electric power assist system16
- Rack and pinion10
- Hydraulic power assist: power steering fluid6
- Steering control module3
- Steering wheel /handle bar: yaw/angle sensor1
- Rack and pinion: rack1
- Hydraulic power assist system1
- Gear box (other than rack and pinion)1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Ford Fusion steering problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2012 Ford Fusion steering
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Power steering loss 779Steering lock-up 157Steering noise 19Pulling 7
Related recalls
Steering: electric power assist system
- What is wrong
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford Fusion vehicles without a 3.5L engine and Lincoln MKZ hybrid electric vehicles, 2011 Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with a 3.5L GTDI engine and 2013 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with any available engine. The affected vehicles have electric power steering assist systems that may shut down as a result of a steering motor sensor fault.
- Risk
- If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
- Remedy
- Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC). If dealers find any loss of steering assist DTCs, the steering gear will be replaced, free of charge. If, no codes are found during the PSCM inspection, the PSCM software will be updated, free of charge. The recall began on July 21, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1‑866‑436‑7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S18.
Recall number 15V340000 · Recall details
Related investigations
Power Steering Failure
On September 28, 2016, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE16-011) to investigate claims of power steering assist loss on model year (MY) 2010 Ford Fusion vehicles. During the PE, ODI received 718 unique claims related to the alleged problem with 598 reports indicating the power steering assist failed while driving at various speeds with no warning. Ford Motor Company (Ford) provided 1,851 unique reports and 1,720 warranty claims related to the alleged problem. It should be noted that as the result of investigation PE14-030, Ford conducted a safety recall (15V‑340) ofMY 2011-2012 Ford Fusion and other vehicles using the same electric power assist steering unit to rectify incidents of loss of power steering assist. On November 20, 2017, PE16-011 was upgraded to this Engineering Analysis (EA17-004) to further assess the scope, frequency, and consequence of this failure. This was based on an analysis of the subject vehicle complaint data that had indicated an increased likelihood of failure as the vehicles age. At the time, the rate of occurrence of this failure was comparable to previous investigations involving loss of power steering assist including the previously mentioned PE14-030. During the EA, ODIâs analysis of the alleged defect in the subject vehicles identified the following: testing showed minor steering effort changes between âassistâ and âno assistâ, no root cause identified, a declining failure trend, the ramp-down or reduced assist provided when a DTC is set, a lower failure rate than the recalled Fusion vehicles, and the high age of the vehicles. A safety-related defect trend has not been identified. Accordingly, this Engineering Analysis is closed. See the attached Engineering Analysis Closing Report for details. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety defect does not exist, and ODI will take further actions if warranted by future circumstances. To review the reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to
EA17004
Electric power steering failure
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a preliminary evaluation to investigate complaints of the loss of power steering while driving. The subject vehicles are equipped with a rack mounted Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) unit.Some of the complaints alleged that the steering assist failed and resulted in increased steering efforts that contributed to a loss of control and in some cases a crash.The EPAS system was manufactured by TRW Automotive for Ford and was designated as Generation I.These units were first produced and put into vehicle production in July 2008 beginning with the model year (MY) 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan.The system is comprised of a mechanical steering rack-and-pinion gear with torque sensor, electric assist motor, motor position sensor and a power steering control module (PSCM). The PSCM is self-monitoring and designed to detect faults within the system and can store diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) if a problem is detected.There are 29 potential DTCs the system can detect.Many of these allow the system to go into reduced-assist steering mode by using the default vehicle speed signal should the live speed signal be lost, if voltage to EPAS system falls below 10.7 or goes above 17 volts, the temperature at the PSCM goes above 105C (221F), or if high friction is detected.Some DTCs will cause the system to go into manual steering mode (no assist). On July 1, 2015, Ford filed a Defect Information Report (DIR) identifying a safety related defect in TRW GEN I EPAS systems installed in some of the subject vehicles (the federal safety agency Recall 15V‑340, Ford No. 15S18).The DIR indicated that intermittent electrical connections caused by quality issues associated with conformal coat contamination and ribbon cable pin misalignment within the steering gear motor may lead to a loss of the motor position sensor signal, resulting in a sudden loss of power assist while driving.The recall covers approximately 393,623 vehicles built from September 2010 through February 2012:2011-12 Fusion built SEP 2010 - FEB 2012; 2011-12 Lincoln MKZ built SEP 2010 - FEB 2012; 2011 Milan built SEP 2010 - DEC 2010; 2011-13 Taurus built SEP 2010 - FEB 2012; 2011-13 Flex with 3.5L GTDI engine built SEP 2010 - FEB 2012; and 2011-13 MKS, MKT with 3.5L GTDI engine built SEP 2010 - FEB 2012.The repair consists of updating the PSCM software to prevent a loss of steering assist while driving. The revised software will provide audible and visual warnings to the driver. If one or more of the following DTCs are stored, C1B00-62, C200B-2F, C200B-61, C200B-62, C200C-2F, C200D-49, U0300-00, U2011-49, U2011-61, U3000-46, U3000-49, U3000-61, U3000-72, U3000-96, P07AE-09, the dealer will replace the EPAS system at no charge to the owner.ODI's analysis of failure data for this PE identified a total of 2,584 complaints to ODI and Ford and 9,967 Ford warranty claims related to the alleged defect.The recalled vehicles account for 1,634 of the complaints and 7,311 of the warranty claims.ODI's analysis identified 40 complaints alleging crashes that may be related to loss of steering assist while driving, 20 of which involved vehicles included in Ford's recall.The information available for the alleged crashes were not sufficient to assess specific causes of the incidents or to verify EPAS malfunctions in each case.Most of the crashes were low-speed impacts with curbs or roadside objects resulting in wheel or minor body damage.None of the injury claims indicated medical attention was required.In addition, statistical modeling of the failure data by the federal safety agency's National Center for Statistics and Analysis projected 10-year failur
PE14030
What 2012 Ford Fusion owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Stirring assist module failure.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while entering the vehicle to start the engine, the power steering became inoperable. The contact associated the failure with the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering); however, the dealer refused to perform the steering gear recall repair because no Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) were present. The contact stated that the dealer was withholding Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) information to avoid replacing the steering gear. The manufacturer was notified of the failure by telephone. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
Our 2012 Fusion suffered a sudden loss of power steering, was diagnosed with code U3000 at a Ford dealer, and that the dealer confirmed it matches the 15S18 recall symptoms despite being built two months outside the window. Our vehicle was manufactured at the Hermosillo plant in 2012, just two months outside the 15S18 recall window. It suffered an identical, sudden loss of power steering assist while driving, indicating Ford's recall parameters failed to capture all vehicles fitted with the defective component.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering assist, causing the steering wheel to be significantly difficult to turn. The contact was able to drive to the nearby residence and parked in the driveway. The message "Service Power Steering Assist" was displayed after the failure. The contact associated the failure with the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.
While I was driving my 2012 Ford Fusion on August 3rd the steering cut out. I parked the car and re-started it and it worked again. It went to the shop (Extra Mile Automotive) on XXX where they informed me of the 2015 recall on the steering. Recall number 15S18 and program 15N01 When I spoke with [XXX] Ford in [XXX], they said they replaced the electrical piece of the recall on December 7th 2015, but not the steering shaft. [XXX] (the westlie ford employee) said because the electrical was completed, the recall procedure was marked as completed, even though [XXX] said that this is very much tied to the original recall. I asked him to submit a Special Service Support Center request to get this fixed and he did submit that on XXX. On XXX it was denied. On XXX I also requested to speak to [XXX] supervisor and was connected to [XXX] (id # XXX) who also said there was nothing she could do because this was already "solved" in 2015. This is not a new or unrelated repair request, it is the unresolved second half of a federally mandated safety recall. Ford's own dealership confirmed that my steering gear failure is directly connected to the original defect covered under Recall 15S18, and Ford's own extended coverage program, 15N01, exists specifically to remedy this exact scenario. Despite this documented connection, Ford has now denied a remedy twice, once through the dealer's SSSC request, and once directly through Ford Customer Service, without providing any technical explanation for why a known, recall-covered defect is being treated as ineligible for repair. My vehicle experienced a complete loss of steering assist while in motion. This is an active, unresolved safety hazard on a vehicle currently in use on public roads, and I am filing this formal complaint because Ford has failed to meet its obligation under federal law to remedy a safety defect without charge to the owner. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Vehicle experienced loss of power steering so it was hard to steer.When I called a ford dealership I was told my vehicle didn’t qualify for any power steering recalls so I would have to pay full price which is unaffordable
I am submitting this formal complaint against Ford Motor Company and its authorized dealership network for falsely reporting a safety recall repair as "resolved" while applying an unauthorized, temporary workaround that left the primary safety defect active. In 2023, I brought my vehicle to an authorized Ford dealership to perform mandatory safety recall service regarding the Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS) failure. The dealership subsequently updated Ford’s central database (OASIS) to show that the safety recall was fully resolved and completed for my VIN. However, the official Repair Order / Invoice provided to me by the technician explicitly documents that a permanent remedy was not performed due to a lack of replacement parts. The technician’s exact written notes state: "Customer states power steering is not working. Tech and advised verified concern finding that the ground wire pin on the high current wiring harness to PSCM had backed out of the connector. Reconnected pin and cleared codes finding issue resolved. Issue will continue to happen until the harness is replaced. Harness is unavailable at this time. Glued pin into connectors."Because the dealership glued the loose pin rather than replacing the backordered wiring harness, the temporary repair failed shortly thereafter, resulting in a total loss of power steering assist. For the past three years (approximately 47,698 miles driven), I have been forced to operate this vehicle without functional power steering. Every attempt to have Ford or its franchised dealerships address this safety hazard has been denied because Ford’s internal system incorrectly lists the recall as "The Harness Powers the Recalled Module: The "high current wiring harness to PSCM" is the primary electrical supply to the exact module being recalled. Reprogramming software on a module while leaving a damaged, glued power connector defeats the entire purpose of restoring power steering safety.see photoes of invoice below
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed. The failure was a recurring failure. The first failure was serviced by the dealer under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering); however, a year later, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic where the rack and pinion was replaced but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 138,000.
No check engine, light or anything lost my electronic steering capabilities I’m going down the road
Questions about the 2012 Ford Fusion steering
Does the 2012 Ford Fusion have steering problems?
Owners have filed 1,476 complaints about the steering of the 2012 Ford Fusion, 59% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2012 Ford Fusion steering problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 83,828 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2012 Ford Fusion steering?
Yes, 1 recall: 15V340000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Ford Fusion have bad steering?
The Ford Fusion model years with the most steering complaints are 2010 (1,662 complaints), 2012 (1,476 complaints) and 2011 (1,436 complaints).
Other 2012 Ford Fusion problems
Airbags 404Electrical 165Transmission 158Engine 116Brakes 113Body 99Driver assistance 90Acceleration 86Fuel system 65Suspension 36Wheels 28Locks 24Lights 21Seats 11Tires 11Visibility 11Seat belts 8
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