Steering Is Tight problems of the 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid

Problem first arose while driving ~60 mph on highway, there was a slight jerk of the steering wheel, as well as a dinging-alarm heard. Did not notice a warning on the dash at the time, car drove fine the rest of the day besides this quick incident. A few days later, the power steering went out upon turning right at a stop light, steering was very hard but manageable. Upon starting the car again later the same day, I noticed a message of "power steering assist fault" on my dash along with dinging heard, and no power steering at all. Drove home without power steering, forced and difficult turning. Found that there were recalls for this problem of my car, just not for my VIN specifically.