While making a right turn into Walmart parking lot, car was suddenly very difficult to turn. We almost hit the car in the lane next to us. We had to back up into the main road and risked a collision there as well just to pull into the parking lot. Like the power steering went out. Just a mile before that turn we made a turn and had no issue. Highway driving is okay, it is just difficult to steer in low speed city driving conditions. I had a mechanic look at it. he could not find anything wrong so we flushed the power steering with fresh fluid. It did not seam to help. He concluded that the electric assist is probably what failed. We looked this up, and it is a common problem with this model year MKZ and a recall has been out for this. But, for some reason my car does not pull up this recall.
2011 Lincoln MKZ steering problems
19 complaints (13% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 72,000. 2 crashes reported.
- owner complaints
- 19
- of this car's complaints
- 13%
- typical mileage
- 72,000
- crashes
- 2
- recalls
- 1
Which part fails
- Linkages: tie rod assembly1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
Lincoln MKZ steering problems in other years
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
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 2011 Lincoln MKZ owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Seconds after starting and driving approx 200 feet my, 2011 lincoln mkz hybrid , cars power steering stop working. On the message center on the dash lite up listing the power steering assist failure in red letters. I stopped turn the key off restarted the car upon steering was normal, this has happened 4 times in the last two months, I had the ford dealer,"mullahey ford" in arroyo grande look at it. He stated that no codes came up so they would not do any repairs, we purchased a full warranty, $3500 for repairs but he wasnt willing to repair it since no codes arose on the cars computer.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 lincoln mkz hybrid. The contact stated while making a turn from a stop sign, the steering wheel became hard to maneuver. As a result, the vehicle was hit on the front passenger side by another vehicle. The contact stated that the front passenger side air bag deployed injuring his girlfriend. His girlfriend sustained cuts to the stomach as the contact stated it seemed that metal shrapnel had deployed from the air bag. The passenger in the rear middle also sustained injuries to the hip. Medical attention was required. A police report was filed. The contact stated prior to the collision, he contacted st auto sales inc (4545 glenwood rd, decatur, ga) to make them aware of the steering wheel failure. The contact stated that they advised him to add steering fluid to the reservoir. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or dealer for diagnosis after the collision. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 lincoln mkz. The contact stated that while attempting to park the vehicle, the power steering became inoperable. The power steering sensor light, stability control light and check engine warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was unable to be started. Central florida lincoln (2055 w colonial dr, orlando, fl 32804, (407) 841-4550) stated that the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v340000 (steering). The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 89,000.
Steering on vehicle went out in mid march 2020 due to recall on lincoln mkz. Vehicle has been back to dealer three times for an extended amount of time twice with no rental vehicle. Need to use this car to go out of town after the dealer informed me the car sits and waits for a response form lincoln hotline most of the time. Need to use this car to go out of town lincoln advised they would not extend me any time of rental or reimbursement for this issue which is a recall that can not be repaired correctly and has left me with out my vehicle for multiple weeks. Lincoln case # [xxx]. The supervisor from lincoln called me said she really was not familiar with my case and then told me the car went in for recall in jan and I had to correct her. She had no real facts and the employee was better than the supervisor because she told me sorry [xxx] to many times. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
The first time it happened was while driving when my wheel locked up and I was unable to turn it at all. It happened again after gas at a gas station, I was stationary but the steering wheel still locked up.
While driving the car send a fault code of service power steering and loss of power steering happens immediately. Took the car to the dealership they said they fixed the issue (replaced power steering motor and reprogrammed). Picked up the car and within 16 hours as I was making a turn the same issue happened. The car is currently still at the dealership with no solution to the problem. There seems to be a recall out for 2011 mkz for this reason but for some reason my car VIN doesn't pull up that recall.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 lincoln mkz. When attempting to move the vehicle into the left lane, a beeping sound was heard and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. In addition, the check engine, power steering service now, and advancetrac system indicators illuminated. The contact was able to drive to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the electric power assist and steering gear failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v340000 (steering). The approximate failure mileage was 101,069.
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 lincoln mkz. Upon starting the vehicle, the steering fault warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was then shifted into drive and the steering wheel seized. The contact stated that the vehicle was serviced per the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v340000 (steering) at cherry ford (363 harlem ave, peotone, il), but the remedy failed to repair the vehicle as the symptoms recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, but the failure could not be duplicated. The contact was informed that the recall repair corrected the failure. The manufacturer was notified and did not assist. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000. *tt updated 9/24/18
2011 lincoln mkk. Consumer writes in regards to defective tire rod. *ld
Questions about the 2011 Lincoln MKZ steering
Does the 2011 Lincoln MKZ have steering problems?
Owners have filed 19 complaints about the steering of the 2011 Lincoln MKZ, 13% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2011 Lincoln MKZ steering problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 72,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2011 Lincoln MKZ steering?
Yes, 1 recall: 15V340000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Lincoln MKZ have bad steering?
The Lincoln MKZ model years with the most steering complaints are 2014 (26 complaints), 2012 (20 complaints) and 2011 (19 complaints).
Other 2011 Lincoln MKZ problems
Airbags 66Brakes 20Engine 13Body 10Electrical 8Acceleration 7Tires 5Transmission 4Driver assistance 3Lights 3Fuel system 2Locks 2Seats 2Suspension 2Wheels 2
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