Steering Failed problems of the 2008 Ford Escape - part 2

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 10 mph and attempting a turn, the steering wheel failed to operate normally. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the technician stated that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 160,000.

I was taking a left hand turn and the power steering/steering column failed and I crashed into a curb,.

While backing out of a parking space the steering locked on my wife’s 2008 Ford Escape. She called me to come help her as she was not able to move her Escape. Upon arrival I inspected the vehicle for obvious signs of problems, none were noted. I tried to move the steering wheel; I was quite shocked that the steering wheel could not be moved. Since I am 6’4” and 300lbs most things that I grab move…the steering wheel should have moved, just without the assist of the power assist. The vehicle was towed to a Ford dealership for them to diagnose the issue. I was informed that the sensors in the steering column are bad. The dealership stated that they were able to reset the computer and that the steering now functions. The dealership informed me that I have two choices drive the vehicle and see if the issue repeats or replace the entire steering column ($1,500. 00). I explained that this is in fact a safety issue as the steering failed completly and locked up as I was unable to move the steering wheel. Ford customer care was contacted and they have offered no assistance in this issue and claim that they have no knowledge of any issues pertaining to this problem on record. This statement by Ford customer care seems to be highly suspect as a quick internet search found many identical issues. The complete failure of the steering system is beyond unacceptable! if someone with my strength cannot move the steering wheel than how is someone the size of my wife supposed to move the steering wheel if and in this case when the steering system fails. Ford needs to accept that there is in fact a major safety problem related to the failure of the electronic steering system of the Ford Escape. Complete failure of the steering is not acceptable. Again this was a complete failure of the steering system!!!.

1/22/13-started my vehicle up at 8am and the power steering would not engage, thinking is was due to cold, I stopped the vehicle and restarted the vehicle up, power assist engage and I drove the vehicle approx 1/4mile when I attempted to make a left turn the power assist failed and nearly collided my vehicle onto oncoming traffic due to steering failure; I immediately drove home and parked the vehicle. On 1/23/13 I drove the vehicle very carefully to a nearby Ford dealership (approx 2 miles from home). I was advised by the service representative (after a diagnostic test) that the steering column requires replacement due to the electronic module failure as it is part of the vehicles electronic power assist system (epas) and was quoted a repair price (>1400. 00). I did some online research and found that this type of steering failure is extremely common with this vehicle and the epas and many many complaints have been registerd by consumers on this exact steering problem. Due to the unpredictability, potential danger and the commonality of this type of complaint with this type of vehicle, could this warrant a recall of this vehicle or at least a service bulletin of this potentially catastrophic steering issue?.

Tl-the contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated the steering wheel failed. There was a clunking noise in the engine compartment when the steering wheel turns from side to side. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated they will replace the steering column and reprogram the computer. The dealer informed her there was no recall for this failure. The manufacturer was notified who informed her to take the vehicle to the dealer for a diagnostic test. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 88,133. Mw.

Power steering was interrupted, leaving me to rely on manual steering. Power steering returned after the car ignition was shut off and the car restarted. I took the car to the dealer on Monday 12/17, and was told that a "code" said that a sensor in the steering column had failed, and that the entire steering column had to be replaced, at a cost of about $1400. Dealer service rep told me the steering might "lock-up" while I was driving if I didn't have this fix. I understand from an internet search that many Ford Escapes have this power steering problem, and that replacing the steering column does not fix the problem. It seems to me a recall is in order.

Tl-the contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle steering failed while in traffic and became hard to turn. The steering returned to normal function when the engine was restarted. The failure was experienced several times. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacture was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 84,000. Li.

My daughter was entering an interstate from a cloverleaf when the steering failed and locked which forced the vehicle across to lanes of traffic. Luckily there was not an accident and she was able to get it to the berm and turn off the motor. . After the initial shock of almost being killed she restarted the car and the steering worked. This is the second time the steering has failed. I contacted the dealer and they said they have never heard of this before, even though I contacted them when it happened the first time! this is dangerous and Ford should be made to replace all of the steering columns on the 2008 Escapes since this is the year they were first introduced on this vehicle and by the amount of complaints and reports I have discovered. The NHTSA has issued recalls on vehicles with far less dangerous problems in the past.

While entering into traffic onto a busy street the steering failed. Was able (with great effort) to straighten the vehicle in the lane and then safely pull to side(fortunately, my wife was not driving as she would not have had the strength to carry this out and probably would have crashed). Turned ignition off and looked under hood to see if belt had broken, etc. Could not find traditional power steering pump. Turned ignition on and steering worked! and has worked since. Discovered this vehicle has an electric power steering pump. And they are frequently failing. Called dealer-roughly 3 week backlog for part-which is the entire steering column-pump not able to be replace separately. How could a car designer or the government allow this type of steering pump to be put on a vehicle(probably just to squeeze out an extra mpg)? it is not only plain dangerous, but impractical. If I had known that this was how the steering was on this car I would not have bought it! the NHTSA should require (Ford at least) to issue a recall and stop this type of power steering being offered on new vehicles. I have had pumps and belt snap on vehicle in the past while driving, but never with this amount of steering loss.

As I was getting onto the highway from an enterance, my steering failed. I could not turn the steering wheel to control the car. Thank god I was going slow and was able to pull over. I shut the engine off, turned it back on, and was able to drive. I have researched this complaint and there are many Ford Escapes, with this same complaint. I hope that something will be done before a death occurs. I plan on persuing this further even up to involving media and legal action.

I have experienced a serious safety concern, and it appears that there is no current recall or acknowledgement of this issue. While driving, the steering locked up. Luckily, the car was only traveling out of the driveway at low speeds. This happened a few moments later, again, at a low speed of driving. The only remedy initially was to turn off and turn the car back on. We have taken the vehicle immediately to the dealership for fear of serious injury/death and was provided information that there is an electrical short in the steering column, causing the functionality of the steering to fail. After research, there appears to be quite a few complaints from other owners online with this exact same situation, all in the 2008 Ford Escape, which is the vehicle I drive. Additional research shows that this model year was the first year that Ford equipped a vehicle with electronic power steering vs traditional power steering. After filing a complaint with Ford seeing that there are no recalls and urging a voluntary recall, I was denied any assistance or reassurance that they are concerned for safety of others that may be driving at higher speeds when the steering fails.

We bought our 2008 Ford Escape in June of 2011. It was a certified used vehicle with about 48,000 miles on it. Over the last few days my husband and I have noticed that the steering wheel on our 2008 Ford Escape suddenly begins vibrating at stop lights. On three occasions now, the steering has become extremely hard, almost as if the power steering just quick working. The problem seems to happen for a few seconds and then it stops. This morning when we started the vehicle the power steering was almost completely locked. My husband turned the car off, then on, then off, then on and the power steering returned to normal. We are extremely worried that the steering may fail while we are driving the vehicle. My husband contacted the dealer this morning to tell them that we are bringing the vehicle back to be fixed.

The power steering goes out as I am trying to make a turn. If I put the vehicle in park, turn it off and restart it, it will be just fine. This is a serious safety issue, crossing a highway, or turning out into a lane of traffic if the steering fails you do not have the time to put the vehicle in park and restart. Extremely difficult to regain control of the wheel, requires great deal of strength to wrestle the vehicle out of harms way,.

My 2008 Ford Escape loses it's power steering while driving. It happens at random times. The last time it happened I almost crashed into a brick wall. The dealership service dept. Has tried to fix it twice and it continues to fail. I am afraid of loosing control of the vehicle. When I searched the problem on line I found it has happened to several people throughout the country. One woman said she crashed while exiting the highway and was seriously injured. In her instance the airbags did not deploy which did not surprise me. My airbag and traction control problem lights appear everytime the steering fails.