Steering Problems of Ford C-max - part 1

Steering stopped working but after restarted it began to work again. It was fine for a few days and then dtc came up indicating "service power steering" and the power steering has quit working.

See all problems of the 2013 Ford C-max 🔎.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford C-max hybrid. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel detached from the steering column. The contact stated that the steering wheel had loosened. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a detached steering wheel bolt. The contact was informed that the steering wheel bolt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 43,896.

See all problems of the 2017 Ford C-max 🔎.

While driving car, power steering will fail and deactivate leaving the steering extremely heavy and manual. Can happen at any speed, and has happened on the interstate at highway speeds. Information cluster states, "power steering fault - service power steering immediately" when this happens it is highly unsafe and happens instantly without warning. Makes getting the car off the road and stopped safely very difficult and dangerous. Stopping the car, turning it off fully and restarting seems to clear the fault and makes the car power steering operate as normal again. But this has happened many times since owning the car and I can find no reason when or why it gets triggered. Online searches find many other owners of this car describing the exact same issue and they share the same concerns about it being unsafe.

The issues that I am having is with the power staring at this. On my way back from dropping off my child I entered the apartment complex and drove over a speed bump and that’s when the fault light came on about the power steering. I noticed that when the light came on my steering wheel started to stiffen however, it’s when I got home and took my car off that the steering wheel became stuck and needed more power to turn the wheel. This is the first time I’m ever seeing this issue, but my abs tire light is the only light that has remained on since purchasing the vehicle a few months ago. I have already contacted Ford to see about what they could do, and I was instructed that this particular vehicle did not have a recall while others do which highly concerns me. Upon further research, I found out that this is a common occurrence since 2014 with these models.

See all problems of the 2015 Ford C-max 🔎.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford C-max energi. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the message "service power steering" was displayed, and the steering wheel suddenly became difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering rack was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer has not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 37,200.

See all problems of the 2016 Ford C-max 🔎.

Got a “power steering assist fault” message on the screen. It was very hard to steer the wheel. The case on the wheel was turning around it. Managed to drive 3 more miles to the dealership. A lot of other Ford models have same issues, even under 50. 000 miles. And many of the are in recall program, but not 2013 Ford C-max. Can’t afford 3. 400$ price for fixing it at the dealership. I’m a second owner, bought it for 5. 000 , 3 years ago. At least it didn’t stuck completely, and I didn’t die.

Steering wheel became loose. Within a week I took it into a Ford dealer who confirmed this was a serious safety concern. They worked on the problem a day later. Steering wheel bolt was damaged and would not retain torque. The steering wheel bolt was replaced by dealer.

System: electric power steering assist module failed on engine start up. Safety: without power steering it is extremely difficult to steer the car manually which could cause an accident and/or bodily injury. This is a well known problem with the Ford cmax which has created a recall for earlier model years of the cmax (but my 2014 model is not covered under previous recalls). Inspection: vehicle is at the Ford dealership and has been diagnosed with a failed power steering module and is currently under parts replacement. Warnings: on 8 Feb 2014 during engine start, I warning window was displayed that said "service power steering". Same warning window appeared the following morning when car was started. I drove it carefully to the dealership for repair.

See all problems of the 2014 Ford C-max 🔎.

The owns a 2017 Ford C-max hybrid. The contact stated while starting the vehicle in cold temperatures, the steering wheel was locked. The contact stated that the steering wheel operated as needed after the vehicle had warmed up. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 30 mph, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The message "power steering assist fault" was displayed. The contact stated that he used his physical strength to steer the steering wheel, and he drove to his nearby residence. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the power steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where the same assessment was made. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 50,500.

The contact stated that while driving at various speeds and attempting to make a left or right turn there would be a squeaking noise coming from the front-passenger side wheel. The sound would occur when driving over a bump on the road and whenever the vehicle is accelerated forward as well. The tire pressure sensor failure warning light had been illuminated. The contact learned of NHTSA campaign number: 14v514000 (steering) and believed their failure was related to the recall. The vehicle had been taken to an independent mechanic where it had not been diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure where it was confirmed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14v514000 (steering). The manufacturer also confirmed that their vehicle was included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 20v331000 (latches, locks, linkages) and 22v413000 (power train). The contact was referred to NHTSA to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 307,868.

On the morning of 12/13/23 I got in my car to go to work. Upon starting my car the warning light for service power steering came on. I noticed the car was very hard to steer when existing my drive way. I drove the car back into my neighborhood to see if it was safe to drive in traffic. The steering was so tight and steering wheel would fight me wanting to return to center. With the fault code still present I went home and inspected the steering system and hooked up my scan tool to the obd port. I had a fault code of 3000-53 and 3000-49. The 3000-53 would not clear. I have found online other fford vehicles with recalls for the same steering system setup, but not on the Ford c max. If this had happened when I was driving on the road at a high rate of speed it would have caused a serious accident, as the steering was very unresponsive and actually fighting my input of direction.

I went to change lanes and all of a sudden the steering became difficult. I thought the car had lost power, but it was only the steering. The sudden loss came as a surprise and did cause me to loose control momentarily during the lane change. Shortly thereafter a warning light came on indicating the power steering needed to be serviced. I was able to arrive at my destination safely, but power steering was completely out. Upon restarting the car the problem went away. Returning home later that evening the problem returned about 5 miles into my trip. I returned home and shortly after brought the car to the auto parts store to see if there was a code on their scan tool. No codes, but this time when the car was started the warning light came on immediately and power steering has quit working 100% of the time.

Electric power steering assist failed. Started intermittent and cleared on restart of the vehicle. Now complete failure within 2 days of first alert. Spouse was going to drive the vehicle after the vehicle was parked overnight and when she started the vehicle the power steering was inactive and the warnings were displayed and audible. Warning and alarm to "service power steering" is still active and cannot be cleared. We are currently traveling and will not be home for months and must drive the vehicle without power steering assist. My spouse cannot drive the vehicle with this malfunction. We have researched for solutions and have found that this is a common failure for 2014 Ford cmax hybrid and there is not a fix other than complete replacement of the power steering motor and rack assembly. The safety and health of myself, passengers, other drivers, pedestrians, and even animals is the risk especially if this component(s) fails during active driving and it has according to social media posts and blogs. We have tried to have the vehicle diagnosed by dealerships, but they cannot get the vehicle in for service in any time frame that does not come with significant inconveniences and financial loss. Dealers will not order a part without first diagnosing the problem and cannot schedule an appointment any time soon. I contacted Ford support directly and they confirmed that steering components have been recalled on 2014 Ford cmax based on production dates, however, our cmax was built outside of those parameters. We have logged case number: cas40982963 with Ford.

Steering locks to the point that it can't turn. Happened while driving. Unknown cause. Warning light came on for driver to park. Issue unresolved and can no longer drive car.

See all problems of the 2018 Ford C-max 🔎.

Complete failure of the steering without any warning, was not able to steer the car. The dealership diagnosed the cause is a failure of the steering rack pinion which needed to be replaced. I understand that the 2014 Ford C-max has a recall on the steering rack pinion, but for some reason my car was not included in this recall. It is obviously it should been included.

I started the car and could not move the steering wheel without great great effort. “power steering failure” notice appeared on dashboard.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford C-max energi. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph, the steering wheel locked up. The contact stated that it was difficult to turn the steering wheel. The contact received help from her passenger to pull off the road. The contact stopped and turned off and restarted the vehicle and the power steering functionality returned. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact stated that she had stopped driving the vehicle. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

Steering warning light came on after driving away from home. Power steering failed, no possible way to move steering wheel. Powered vehicle off. Next day, steering worked and took vehicle to Ford dealer. Upon inspection by dealer, the steering gear failed and needs to be replaced. Vehicle has less than 50,000 miles driven. In my opinion, this is a manufacturing issue that Ford needs to review and possibly recall. This could have been very serious had the failure occurred while I was driving the vehicle.

As I was driving I lost power steering and almost crashed the car. A red alert and sound on the dashboard told me “steering assist failure service vehicle”. Also the light on the dashboard for steering was illuminated. I was able to barely drive the car home (approx 3 miles). Took to my local mechanic and had the error code: u3000 49-08 driving the car by my husband in our neighborhood resulted in the same problem including the warning sounds and message. He was able to restart the car and the steering was fine and was able to drive it back to its parking spot. Took the car to the sheehy Ford dealer today and am being told it is a 3k repair to replace the rack and pinion.

I started my car & put in reverse the service power steering light came on & my steering wheel locked so I put it back in park turned the car off waited a moment & started it again the problem stopped. I then got online to troubleshoot & see that there is many complaints about this happening but it worse situations when they were actually driving & almost had an accident due to not being able to steer the vehicle. Now I'm scared it will happen when I'm driving next time. This is a life threatening problem & the fact that its a know issue should be fixed by Ford at no charge or you will end up with class action lawsuits for putting peoples lives in danger !!!!!.

I was driving on the freeway when my power steering failed. Ford has switched to an electronic steering control system and it has had multiple class action suits against them, however no recalls have been done. I nearly ran off the road because when I turned off the freeway it took all of my strength to correct the wheel. There was no warning, just full failure and alerts on my dash board. This is a known problem and needs to be corrected. Not only that, it is a $3000 repair job on a known problem.

The message to service the power steering suddenly appeared and the steering wheel could not be rotated, when we were at our drive way. I felt to be very lucky for not being on the road when the loss of power steering occurred. After I turned off the engine and restarted the car one minute later, the power steering problem disappeared and I was able to drive the car again. About one week later, I sent the car to a Ford dealer for inspection. The test result showed the error code u300-49:08 and the internal electronic failure type. The dealer recommended replacing the steering gear at a cost of over $3000. We have just completed a 7-year service contract with the same dealer. Thus, the car should have been well maintained.

Was driving my 2013 Ford cmax and heard a noise in the front. I took it to the local belle tire and they replaced the upper inner front tirod. Still had issues and heard noise. Took it to a repair facility and they claimed they heard no noise. Two weeks later my steering assist warning light came on and I lost all steering capabilities. Luckily I was not injured. Ford has recalls for this same issue on other years and models. Due to the severity of this problem and possible casuality Ford should issue a recall for this part. I had to pay $2100. 00 to repair this problem.

Steering wheel locked up and could not control car. After taking car to repair shop I was informed that the entire power steering rack would have to be replaced. Upon internet research noticed numerous similar complaints of same problem in Ford cmax and Ford focus vehicles. Appears to have been a limited recall back in 2014 of several hundred cmax and focus cars but Ford gave assurance those were all the cars affected. Not sure if that problem was the same as current problem but there are many reports of power steering failures which can make the cars difficult or impossible to be driven. To repair the car will be approx. $2000 as the entire electronic power steering rack needs replacing. Please see attached pdf for additional information.

The issue is related to steering. My Ford C-max steering system would become very stiff and gets locked. The warning "service power steering" would pop up and the steering wheel would become inoperable. This has happened a couple instances and creating a huge panic. When this happens the steering cannot be moved. I have to stop the engine and restart after a couple mins. The issue is intermittent and does not give any warnings before this situation occurs creating anxiety and huge risk to drive. I took the car to Ford dealership at georgetown texas. They investigated the issue and reverted that the problem is with steering gear and has to be replaced to fix the issue. Upon checking on internet I see Ford had reported out similar issue in Sep 2014 and had tried to address the issue. Details below. . Read more...

Sudden loss of power to steering. . . . Noted that many others have had this problem.

Power steering system failed while driving, just out of warranty above 60,000 miles; vehicle is currently at a dealer for repair within a week. This made it extremely difficult to safely maneuver the car off the road. Dealer confirmed the power steering system is inoperable and needs to be replaced. Warning light appeared when power steering gave out; no other warning was given.

After making a stop at a rest stop traveling from portland, or to the dalles, or, when we got back into the car and started it, a warning light came on saying “service power steering. See your dealer. ” from that point forward, we had no power steering and had to drive home that way. We know after doing research that Ford has a recall (15s18) for this exact problem but because there weren’t as many cmax vehicles sold, they did not include it. We had to drive home almost 60 miles at highway speed to get home.

During last trip with car, parked car while shopping. When leaving store car lost steering and warning light came on in dash indicating power steering assist fault. Car was extremely difficult to drive after that. Waiting for appointment with dealer. Had this happened while turning at a busy intersection it could have been a problem. Car has 100,000 miles so I expect some problems, but I think this could be a safety issue.

As with many complaints listed in forums outside of the NHTSA my 2013 c max is experiencing the same steering issues that have been resolved in other Ford models under recall 15s18. The electric steering rack needs to be replaced at an approximate cost of $2,000. Issues are scraping and minor seizing steering intermittently when turning and progressively worsening. Currently noting noise when leaving turning the steering wheel. No issues driving straight, at this time. Many state their steering seizes completely and clearly I do not wish this to happen, particularly with kids in the car. I have no on board screen errors illuminating at this point and have valid fear of driving the vehicle. This car and others should be covered under the 15s18 recall and why others are complaining outside of NHTSA I don't know but this affects many more cars than listed in the original recall. I am requesting this vehicle be included in recall 15s18 before death occurs. This issue began in winter and has progressed. 40,000 miles on car.

Backed out of driveway to drive to a spot on the cul DE sac. Started to pull up to the curb and could not turn the wheel. Saw a light that said service power steering soon. No warning until power steering stopped completely. Got stopped just a couple of feet from the light post. Ford charged $2200. 00 to fix. Car has just over 50,000 miles.

Tl the contact owns a 2015 Ford C-max. The contact stated while driving 10 mph and making a right turn, the vehicle loss power steering assist and became difficult to steer. The contact stated that steering system error - steering fault service now warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to haley Ford richmond located at 10724 jefferson davis hwy, richmond, va 23237, (804) 748-2253, where the vehicle was diagnosed. The contact was informed that the steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of failure. The failure mileage was 33,370.

My vehicle has approximately 105,000 miles on it. I got in my vehicle to leave and a red message appeared saying, "service power steering system". The steering wheel became very hard to turn left or right. In fact, I wasn't able to turn it at all. I shut off the car and then restarted it. It appeared to be working again and I drove it for an hour without any issue. When I returned home I looked on a few forums and this is a very common problem in the cmax and other Ford epas systems. A lot of people in the forums say it happened in the middle of them driving. Apparently this is a known issue for Ford. Because of what I read, I am scared to continue driving, but need the vehicle to get ot work. I want to get it fixed, but do not have the approximately $2000 it costs to do so. I do not want to risk my life or the lives of others. Ford, if this is happening in this model and in similar models, and you know about it, will you please cover the cost?.

While vehicle moving at ~15miles per hour in a left turn at a t intersection power steering turned violently the steering wheel to the right, without a possibility for me to keep it in my both hands. Rotation rate of the steering wheel was very rapid and required immediate and heavy braking so as not to hit parked vehicle on the outside of the turn. My wife described two other instance when it happened to her in her work parking lot where she lost control of the steering wheel and had to immediately slam the brakes to prevent the car from hitting another vehicle. This happened to her while turning to the right. This issue is new. We had the gear box changed at 75,000 miles and the 3 instances have happened since then. We are bringing the car back to the dealership for repair hoping they can fix this issue.

My car would not turn. A notification to check power steering appeared. I was parked and could not get out of the space because the wheels would not turn. There are multiple reports on line about the same issue with cmax cars. The repair will cost me $ 2,600 to fix.