As I was out running errands and backing in to park my 2008 ford taurus x, it became very difficult to turn the steering wheel in either direction. The steering was very stiff and required a good bit of effort. I immediately called the dealership repair shop and was instructed to bring in the car for evaluation. Ford determined that I needed to replace the steering column (rack & pinion) as well as the power steering pump & reservoir. Prior to the initial complete power steering failure in december of 2014, I had complained to ford numerous times about the steering and had had the rack & pinion unit & power steering pumps replaced (at 100268 miles) in february of 2013! In december 2014 they quoted an astronomical price to again repair my car, at which point, I took it elsewhere and ordered the parts on-line. Fast forward 6-months later (june 8, 2015) and my steering has again failed with the same issue - power steering failure. The parts are still under warranty and the repair shop has replaced the pump - which they stated was not working at all, but my steering is still not functioning. This is the third time I'm making this repair, clearly it's a symptom and not the real issue. When is ford going to address this problem?!
2008 Ford Taurus X steering complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 42, newest first, as owners wrote them.
When trying to make a ninety degree turn right or left into a parking space or pulling out while making a turn, I lose power steering and only have manual steering. I almost hit a car or the corner of the road/building as using all my strength, I cannot make a sharp turn. I have to back up and make wide turns. I am not driving this car much as afraid I will lose steering at a higher speed. It has become very difficult to pull into a parking lot to park at slow speeds as I completely lose the power assisted power steering and I have trouble steering in manual mode--can barely turn the wheel using all my strength at 1 mile per hour. I learned that ford has recalled thousands of cars for this recently and online blogs show there have been complaints about the power steering for this model.
While driving approximately 35 miles an hour I lost my power steering. My vehicle steers very hard and is extremely hard while trying to park car. Right turns are harder than left turns. The vehicle is hard to maneuver around sharp turns and corners. Mechanic diagnosed it as a bad rack and pinion (steering gear) and is a safety hazard concern.
While driving on a secondary road the vehicle's power steering system stopped working making it very difficult to maintain control. After getting the car off the road I shut off the engine and checked the power steering belts and fluid. Both were fine. When I restarted the vehicle the steering seemed to be working properly again so I drove home. The steering worked fine until about a block from my house when it failed again.
The steering effort became very great in making turning right from a standstill. It requires intense effort when moving from a parked area. Steering is effected to a degree when at travel speed but less so in straight operation. All right turning is effected and requires tremendous effort. The same effect in either forward or reverse motion.
It slowly got difficult to steer and got progressively worse
Driving the car, and lost the ability to turn the car left. I had to have the car towed and discovered the rack and pinion dear failed internally. Somehow a gasket became intertwined within steering column. Repairs totaled $860.91.
While backing and turning out of my driveway at speeds at or near 1 MPH I noticed the steering was tight - as if the power steering no longer worked. After pulling out of the driveway and proceeding approximately 1 mile (speed limit less than 25 MPH) to a stop sign, I was unable to make the left turn from a stopped position (had to back up and try again - fortunately no other cars in intersection). Moments later, still at speeds of 25 MPH or less, the steering became hypersensitive while going around a bend in the road, causing me to not only enter the opposite lane, but to almost do a 360 degree turn (and off the pavement). I went home and had the car towed to ford dealership. First, a failed steering rack was diagnosed, then a lower steering rod joint failure (not sure if only the latter or both since the car is still in the shop). Fortunately, neither I nor anyone else was injured - but the car was not controllable. Also fortunately I had purchased an extended warranty (4th time I needed it, but first safety issue). I read others have similar issues so I am reporting it.
Was driving along parkway drive and try to turn into a side street and after making that turn the steering wheel got very tight I first taught that my rack and pinion went bad but there is no sign of leak or damage to any parts if it was one side I would have think I look over some thing and miss some thing but it is hard to steer both sides at any speed.
I was backing out of a parking space when I lost all power steering. Turning the wheel made a grinding noise and on the drive to the mechanic's garage some power came back, but it was much easier to turn left than right. My mechanic reported that he found a tsb from ford on this issue detailing the exact problem I had and how to fix it (replace rack and pinion unit, replace steering pump, power steering fluid exchange - cost approx. $1600) ford is aware of this problem. This is a safety issue. These vehicles should be investigated.
Scanned system no codes. Check p/s pump pressure output. Found a valve in rack that was stuck in one direction and not allowing pressure the other way. Replaced p/s rack and then reset alignment. Test drove to verify operation. Vehicle would turn left normal, but difficult to the right at slow speeds. No p/s fluid loss. Known issue found online with this year, make, and model.
2008 ford taurus x -- power steering stopped working at low speeds and then would re-engage without notice creating significant potential for swerving due to unavoidable over-correction. The vehicle is especially difficult to turn left at low speeds, but all turning is difficult. The steering rack was replaced at substantial cost. Steering rack failure appears to be a common problem in 2008 ford taurus x vehicles, which creates a substantial safety risk for the public.
Car suddenly very difficult to turn to the left almost causing an accident. Dealer states steering rack failed and replacement.
Car has a tendancy to drift right or left while traveling. More pronunced drift while stopping. Excessive tire wear. Dealer inspection indicates gears in gear box are loose and gear box needs replacing and vehicle needs alignment. Second set of front tires are worn down to wear bar after only 13,000 miles. Cost for gear box replacement and four wheel alignment is $900. Dealer stated no recalls or service bulletins for steering/gear problem.
The ford taurus x sel fwd was purchased new in 2009. We have noticed steering noise since 85k miles approximately. Recently the car has stopped driving with power steering regularly at low speeds. Sometimes at higher speeds it will now also drop out and then resume, making driving extremely dangerous as you are steering hard with two hands when suddenly power steering cuts back in and you swerve as the wheel immediately begins to respond.
Driving normally when steering control/assist was suddenly lost causing the steering to bias to the left causing the vehicle to suddenly veer to the left. Braking and extreme physical effort to recover control by rotating steering wheel to the hard right had to be maintained to maintain the vehicle on a strait-away course. Steering shuddered violently while attempting to maintain a straight-line path. Brought vehicle to authorized ford dealer (brondes ford, maumee, oh) for repairs. Catastrophic failure of the steering rack part of the rack and pinion steering gear was cause. Metal debris from this catastrophic component failure had to be flushed from the steering hydraulic system during the repair process; entire rack assembly was replaced which necessitated complete front-end alignment. Cost for repairs exceeded $1,000.00. Vehicle is well-maintained, garage-stored and has never been in any collision and/or road hazard encounter of any kind.
Unable to steer in a parking lot to park. Turning left became extremely difficult and a hissing sound occurred. This has not caused an accident but in several situations it has come very close. I feel that ford needs to recall and fix this issue since after doing research I have found this is happening on all vehicles of my make, model and year. This issue has caused my to fail my vehicle inspection for safety. It's an obvious problem and if the state will not pass because they feel its a safety issue then I believe the dealer needs to resolve this problem.
Power steering rack failed while driving in a parking lot. Vehicle became very difficult to maneuver. Ford said steering rack is not part of the power train warranty so I had to replace out of my own pocket. Ford is apparently aware of the problem as tsb 09-5-7 shows. This tsb should be a recall for safety reasons. If the power steering would have failed while driving in traffic the car would've uncontrollable.
Slow speed turning very stiff, so stiff that my wife cannot turn tight at slow speeds. Returned to dealer and had car inspected. Ford said nothing wrong. Has happened twice more before failing completely. Ford says not covered by 5 year warranty. $1100.00 repair and the part is backordered. Obviously ford has a problem with their steering components but doesn't want to admit it.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford taurus x. The contact stated while driving at the speeds of 7 MPH with no warnings the power failed causing the steering wheel to lock while making a right turn . The vehicle was driven onto the emergency lane and turned off; however, the power steering failed to function correctly when it was turned back on. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated the power steering pump and steering gear mechanism needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 56,645 and the current mileage was 56,710. Updated 03/14/12*lj updated 03/30/12
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford taurus x. The contact stated that the steering would become extremely difficult whenever attempting a right turn. The vehicle was taken to the dealer or a mechanic to be inspected or repaired. The failure mileage was 118,592 and the current mileage is 125,000. Updated 01/03/12*lj the rack and pinion was replaced. Updated 01/12/12
Turning left is difficult at times. As others have said, ford knows there is an issue as it is in tsb 09-5-7. Dealer first replaced power steering pump, which wasn't the fix. Now the rack and pinion needs to be replaced. Problem is intermittent so you don't know if you'll have power steering or not when attempting a turn.
The car without warning became very difficult to impossible to make right turns. Ford knows there is a problem that they claim is not a safety risk per tsb (service bulletin) 09-5-7. In our case we were traveling slowly through a drive through safari and were left stranded on a hill with several wild animals around our car trying to get in while we were unable to turn to get up the hill. We were also unable to make any evasive maneuvers that involved turning towards the right.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 ford taurus x. The contact stated that when attempting to park the vehicle the steering wheel locked; nearly causing a crash. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosis determined that the contact needed a new steering pump, as well as a rack and pinion. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer said they would assist them with the repairs. The failure and current mileage was 41,000. The VIN was unavailable.
1. The problem occurred at the end of a 1600 mile drive when turning into residence driveway. The problem then persisted until repaired. 2. Loss of power steering assist, primarily for right turns. 3. Dealer replaced, at my cost, the rack and pinion assembly per released technical service bulletin which recognized this as an existing problem.
Loss of steering wrecked 2 tires.
My car: 2008 ford taurus x, VIN=[xxx] the steering wheel is very difficult to turn when starting out from a parked position. While driving, the steering column makes a clicking sound when I make a hard turn. Too dangerous. Force ford to make a recall. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
We were driving with 3 of our kids in the back seat, when all of sudden, without warning, the power steering system failed, resulting in not being able to turn right. Fortunately, we were able to stop the car and no one was hurt. It could have been much worse if this had happened on the highway. We went to the ford dealer, who told us that the part had to be replaced, but was not under warranty. We are waiting for a quote, but were already told it was going to be at least $1,000 this car is only 2 years old and failed without a reason.
Driving for work noticed with backing in and out of driveways that steering was tight. Checked power steering fluid level and it was fine thought it was just needing new tires. Driving home after picking my children up from daycare and went to turn right on a curve at about 35 MPH and steering very tight with "throbbing" felt in steering wheel. I did not have good control of the vehicle and needed to slam on the breaks to make the curve. Took car in and was told needed new rack and pinion. Car has 47,000 miles on it. Called ford and they said no problem reported and not covered under warranty. Now it is very hard to turn at all and raises some serious crash aversion issues as well as sometimes works fine and sometimes not at all. I am a visiting nurse and have two young boys and the cost to fix the problem is over $900 plus more if the p/s pump was also damaged. Ford has tsb out (which they denied) and supposedly the new part, that cost at least $200 more than an aftermarket, has to come from ford because they know that there is a manufacture defect. They have remedied the problem with an "improvement" to their rack and pinion system at the cost of the customer.
Power steering , intermittent dis-engagement. This was noticed by my wife in early august 2010. She said it was getting harder and harder to turn. I drove the car for a week and it became worse, (power steering fluid levels were topped off). It would work some times and then completely fail leaving only manual steering without power assist. When I drove on the freeway I could feel the system coming in and our of power, this caused a very dangerous sensation as I never knew when power steering would be active and if I had to do an accident avoidance move at high speed I would not be able to due to the lack of power steering. I read that there is a service bulletin on this problem, I brought it to the dealer and he will gladly fix it at a cost of $1400. My car has 58,800 miles on it and is out of warranty. The dealer wants $562.37 for labor, $ 562.37 for a 8g1z-3504-d steering gear, $190.43 for 8g1z-3a674-a pump, and $69.95 for an alignment.
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