The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became difficult to steer in either direction. No warning light was illuminated. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed. The contact stated that the failure had progressed over time. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it remained for further investigation; however, the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency Campaign: 15V340000 (Steering). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 135,000.
2012 Lincoln MKZ: loss of power steering
11 of the 146 complaints about the 2012 Lincoln MKZ describe loss of power steering.
- owner complaints
- 11
- of this car's complaints
- 8%
- typical mileage
- 135,000
- recalls
- 1
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall and 2 service bulletins for this area of the car. See below
Loss of power steering by model year
What owners say
I became the owner of a 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid in 2016. At first there was no issues. Roughly a couple of months later, there was a power steering issue- so the car was driven to Ford with great difficulty where they reset the sensor or something and the power steering was working again. Now a couple of years later, the problem occurred again. The power steering chime came on, the car read “service advancetrac” in yellow and “power steering assist fault” in read, accompanied by the wheel stiffening. I pulled over turned the car off and back on, and the problem went away. It occurred several more times and turning the car off and back on remedied the problem. It would only occur every couple of months, but more recently it started happening every couple of weeks and now- the last ten days it has happened every time I drive. Each of those times, with the exception of the most recent occurrence, turning the car off and letting it sit for a couple of minutes, followed by turning it back on, solved the problem. The most recent time, I was traveling on the highway going 60 mph when the messages appeared and my wheel stiffened. It terrified me as I was moving fast on a Southern California highway where there are hundreds of cars. I was on my way to take a final exam, that I could not miss, so I kept driving. Steering was near impossible at low speeds. I went in to take my final and three hours later, when I turned the car back on, the power steering still was not working. After hours of research and years of dealing with this problem, I have found that there was a recall regarding the PSCM in the 2012 Lincoln MKZ. I am unsure if this problem extends to the hybrid model, and if so whether it was remedied by a past owner, but a detailed vehicle history report indicates that it was not. I have never received any notice as to this recall. I do know that my car was manufactured in the applicable time period (2011), and that it is experiencing exactly what the recall describes.
After getting an oil change and battery software update, I headed home. Before arriving home the warning light to service Power steering and traction control came on. Returned to dealer, they said the power steering needed to be calibrated. Left and before making it home power steering stopped working and warning lights returned. Dealer has stated the power steering gear needs to be replaced but because the milage is 224,000 and the car is over 10 years old Ford will not extend the warranty and it will cost $2,500 to repair.
While traveling at approximately 22 mph I entered a roundabout when the steering wheel pulled out of my hand and the car was no longer turning, but going straight towards another car that was waiting to enter the roundabout. The car no longer had power steering but I was able to steer past the waiting vehicle and into a curb where I stopped the vehicle off the road. There was no warning prior to the incident, with the traction control warning light coming on at the same time the power steering stopped working. The vehicle has been diagnosed by a reputable independent shop with a faulty steering gear at a cost of approximately $2,200 to repair. This is the same problem that has been addressed by recall 15S18 for the 2012 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, but Ford/Lincoln has refused responsibility for this repair based on date of manufacture of this specific VIN.
The contact owns a 2012 Lincoln MKZ. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the power steering assist fault message intermittently appeared on the instrument panel. The contact restarted the vehicle and the vehicle resume normal operation. Recently, the contact stated that the traction control and the power steering warning lights would illuminate at start-up and remained illuminated despite the engine restart. The contact also mentioned that excessive force was needed to steer the vehicle while driving at various speeds. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer and he was informed that the vehicle was out of warranty and the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 lincoln mkz. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, an audible chime was heard after which, the power steering assist message displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle became difficult to steer. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer felix sabates lincoln (7601 south blvd, charlotte, nc 28273, (855) 975-3985) where it was diagnosed with needing the rack and pinon to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure recurred. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that vehicle was out of warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
I turned on my car and received a message from in the information panel stating, " power steering assist fault". Its extremely hard to turn my steering wheel. I drive easy on my car and the roads are smooth in my commutes.
Started my car to let it warm up, when I returned and went to leave the driveway it flashed service stabilitrac and service power steering. Tried to drive it and had no power steering. There is a recall on many of this same car for the same reason but none for my VIN #.
My traction control and advanced traction control lights are on and I have no power steering. There was a previous recall on this and the dealer said not for my VIN number. My electric power steering isn't working
Power steering assist fault. This has happened twice now. First incident was september 29th 2018, second was today august 23rd 2019. There was a recall previously but isn't one for my VIN number. Vehicle first time was in motion on city street, second time was stationary in driveway of home.
I was driving at about 15 MPH all of a sudden power steering froze. Warning light "service advancetrac" and "power steering failure came on. I turned car off and on and steering was back to normal. Two days later the same thing happened right after starting the car. This situation is very dangerous, as the car was almost impossible to control. Car is at dealer now, they say part has a backlog of over 1700 units. Could take months for repair.
Service bulletins that may apply
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
Questions about the 2012 Lincoln MKZ power steering loss
Is loss of power steering a common problem on the 2012 Lincoln MKZ?
11 of 146 owner complaints about the 2012 Lincoln MKZ (8%) mention loss of power steering. The model year with the most reports is 2012.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2012 Lincoln MKZ?
There is 1 recall and 2 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2012 Lincoln MKZ
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2012 Lincoln MKZ?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history