general problems of the 2011 Ford F-150 - part 1

I was driving when the steering locked up with no warning light on the dash or fault messages. Was driving on a road and taking a turn when I went straight into the woods not allowing control of vehicle.

The electronic power steering locked up while driving & could not turn the wheel at all. Yes this has been inspected & confirmed by an independent service center. There were no warning lamps or messages prior to this incident. The vehicle is render useless with the locked up steering.

On my. 2011 Ford f150 XLT the electrical power steering asssist failed completely while driving in traffic. . . It was incredibly hard to maintain control of the vehicle . . . I had to use all my strength to get the wheel to turn what so ever. It was u credibly lucky that I didn't cause an accident because it made me steer into oncoming traffic and would. Not let the vehicle. Tur. The opposite direction. . . The warning light said service advance trac and then said power steering assist failure.

Power assist fault warning is displayed and the power steering stops working while driving causing a dangerous situation. Stopping the truck and turning off the ignition and restarting it clears it. This condition is becoming more frequent and harder to clear. The last occurence was 12/28/2024. It happened about 10-12 times in a row.

The transmission downshifts inappropriately while driving (typically at higher speeds). I can see that there have been recalls for inappropriate downshifting during my model year, but Ford is saying there are no recalls on my truck. This has been an issue for a while. The power steering shut off while driving (while I was turning) I saw that there have also been recalls for power steering problems but Ford is saying there are no recalls on my truck. This recently started happening.

I bought a used 2011 super crew 4x4 in June 2023. Since then, the truck has had almost daily occurrences of the steering sticking to the left during shallow turns at speeds over roughly 25 mph (e. G. Lane changes, wide sweeping turns, round abouts, etc). It requires quick recognition of the issue and a modest tug to return the wheel to center and avoid potential unintended lane changes or collision with objects or curbs to the left. After scouring forums and this site, it appears there are numerous 2011 f150s with this problem and over 400 steering related nthsa complaints, mostly of similar reports. There are 2 Ford tsbs to this effect, but no recall. How is it that a reverse light warning issue with a 10th of the complaints gets a recall, but not this recognized, potentially dangerous/deadly steering problem? I don't have $2500 to fix this and it's obviously out of warranty. Please do something!.

Loses power steering while driving without warning.

My truck truck won't start. We could jump it and it would be fine. I took it to Ford and found out it was a bad body control module and there was a nationwide backorder. I found on line a recall for other F-150 but didn't included mine. I was able to have mine repaired. Now I was pulling my camper home from maine, parked the truck at home. The next morning I had a notice on the dash to have power steering serviced, found out the rack and pinion is bad. Again found others on-line with the same issue. I am lucky it didn't happen while towing or when my wife was driving. I also now have the same issues with a 2012 F-150. I feel like it needs to be investigated and Ford needs to make it right. I will fill out a complaint for the 2012 truck.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel locked causing the vehicle to stall in the middle of an intersection. Immediately following the failure, the traction control warning light illuminated. The was not able to be restarted. A police officer arrived to have the vehicle towed to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle with a failed steering and stated that the electric rack source unit needing to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 144,000.

This is the second Ford factory replacement steering rack that has failed and almost caused me to wreck by having the steering wheel lock and may not being able to move the wheel in any direction. It has almost caused multiple accidents, and I know that there are multiple reports of Ford electronic power, steering racks failing.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel intermittently failed to return to the center and excessive force was needed to bring the steering wheel back to center. The contact also stated that the vehicle hesitated with an abnormal cranking sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact was then transferred to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 43,000.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 mph, the steering wheel was loose. While making a left turn the steering wheel unintendedly turned to the right. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering shaft, tie rods, and steering rack needed to be replaced. The dealer replaced the steering shaft, tie rods, and steering rack however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and the contact was informed that no cause of the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the tire and struts had previously been replaced and the wheels were aligned. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 98,571.

I own a 2011 Ford F-150 4x4. The VIN I entered should provide any further information you need. This vehicle is equipped with electronic power assist steering. This vehicle has experienced stiff return of steering in left turns at approximately 45-50mph. This vehicle has about 156,00 miles on it. This steering difficulty has existed for 4-5 years that I have owned the vehicle. Recently, the steering stared to make loud screeching noises in both left and right turns. This was accompanied by stiff steering as if the power assist was not functional. The power assist failed completely after a weekend vacation. I had to have the steering replaced at a cost of $2552. 12. I have never had the power steering fail on any other vehicle I have owned, no matter what the mileage. I have read that many other owners of this year and make have experienced the same problem. Good thing I was strong enough to control the vehicle without the power assist. This could have been very serious problem!.

While driving the steering locked up, steering assist came up, and something about steering sensor. Very dangerous going down highway and steering locks up on you. They need a recall on 2011 Ford f150 electronic steering.

Electric power steering stopped working with no warning. One second it was working, the next second nothing. Happened backing out of a parking spot or it could have caused a serious if not fatal accident.

At speeds greater than 45mph on left hand turns or corners the steering wheel will lock in place and will only return to center with driver intervention.

Electronic power steering. Power steering assist fault. Lost complete control of steering going around a corner at highway speeds.

Epas system has failed twice now while driving. I have had to replace it for the second time. While owning the vehicle.

While driving in my 2011 f150 the electric power steering assist has went out intermittently during a turn causing the steering wheel to lock up or get very tight which has led to curb hits and near miss collisions. No warning indicators have ever come on during or after this has happened. I took ut to a shop and they could find no history of codes releated to steering or any failures during test drive or shop visit. This still continues to happen daily. Ford dealer recommended I replace entire steering systems at a cost of over $3000 without giving me a specific component failure.

The steering on my Ford F-150 has begun to be (hard) . . . It jerks and is sometimes difficult to turn the steering wheel . . . It behaves like it is low on power steering fluid, which is what I initially thought until I brought it to a repair shop. The shop owner told me my Ford does not use power steering fluid . . . It is (electric). The (rack & pinion) are controlled by an electric motor.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The message "service auto trak" was displayed. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle responded as needed. However, the failure reoccurred inadvertently while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the electric power steering assist had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

Driving down the road and my steering became difficult almost like the power steering stop working. After a while it started to work. This has happened several times in the last 5 years.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle sporadically shifted right and the lost power of steering assist. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where they informed the contact the steering arm control failed; however, the part to do the recall repair was on backorder. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 88,000.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist with the advancetrac warning light illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle made abnormal sounds while driving. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

I was parked in a semi hill in orlando FL, turned my truck on hit reverse, turned the steering to the left and when I rolled down the hill the steering wheel completely locked up on me, couldn’t turn it left or right. I pulled up the hill once again because that’s the only way I could go and it released the steering wheel. I had to drive back home for 2 hours on the highway terrified because I can feel the tension on the steering wheels every time I’m turning left, even if it was a slight turn. God permitting I made it back to the shop where I work at in tampa florida. That same day as I was going home I have to make a u turn, once again as I make my u turn I should land on the right lane, but the truck decided to lock the steering wheel once again and I landed on the left lane almost on the ditch, luckily there were no vehicles on the left lane. This issue is not new, I’ve been doing research and I just pray someone does something about it before someone gets hurt or gets killed. Thanks for your time and have a blessed day.

Driving down residential street about 100 yards from my driveway and power steering completely failed. Dashboard message says steering assist fault. Luckily school hadn't let out yet so there weren't any kids running around. I was able to get the truck in my drive safely. I am having it towed to certified repair garage. Safety first. I've learned that this is a fairly common issue and that it can happen at highway speeds. Not cool Ford. Do better.

On 10/1/22whike driving my 2011 Ford F-150 eco boost with a130 k miles the service advancetrac warning came on along with turn signals not working and the electronic power assist failure warning came on and stayed on . This is a well documented issue with 2011-2014 f150s especially 2011 model because this is the first year cord changed to electronic power steering,the issue almost caused me to wreck while taking the on ramp curve to interstate 10 in port arthur TX . The hundreds of thousands to millions of complaints on this safety issue and the lack of Ford not addressing it on the first year this electronic power steering was offered needs to be taken care of by Ford . This is extremely dangerous. It makes no sense for them to have a TSB on this issue on models 4 years after they started offereing epas on the same body style and not on the first year it was offered. Plese address this with Ford motor company before someone is killed due to this safety issue.

Lost power steering while driving. Power assist failure flash on dash and then power steering went out and caused me to crash. Just like all the recalls for the same type of vehicle same year.

The steering wheel will often get stuck or catch when turning left. It will do it consistently for a period of time, then quit for a while. It has done it while driving on winding roads, causing the vehicle to cross over the center line in the middle of a turn. It has also caused over correction when pulling the wheel back to the right. We had it looked at by an independent mechanic. He was able to replicate the problem, but was not able to find the cause. There have not been any warning lights or messages. The vehicle has never been in a wreck.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph and making a turn, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact was able to pull over and restart the vehicle. The contact stated that the power steering assist fault warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic where it was diagnosed with the eps module needing to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was approximately 126,000.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 75 mph, the “steering assist fault” and “advance traction fault” warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the automatic feature of the turn signals became inoperative. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road by using extra effort to steer the vehicle. The contact stated that he turned off and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle regained power steering functionality. The contact then drove to his workplace and parked the vehicle. However, the failure reoccurred upon restarting the vehicle. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failure was associated to an unknown recall however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist. The manufacturer then referred the contact to the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 227,000.

Was driving to take my grandson to the doctors today and my power steering went completely out with no warnings almost crashing into an oncoming vehiclestaring the vehicle was difficult locked up unable to move vehicle.

The power steering cut out and this made the vehicle more difficult to steer, especially at lower speeds, potentially increased risk for a crash.

Both my airbag lights remained on & off between 2017 until 2019, after more than 4 repairs 2013-2015 on the airbag system, according to the dealer I have to change the evaporator every 2 years. But since the last repair of the a/c in 2015 it is still working. In 2017 I had some throttle problems, I had to clean my fuel injectors and throttle body and change the sparkplugs. Both airbag light remained on/off. On 26 January 2019 my power steering failed and both airbag lights remained permanently on. I had to buy a new racking pin February I 2019. With regard to airbag lights after scanning they told me I have to change the oct ,or the airbags, after the latest scan July 2019 I had to change both seat belts. I still have not change them. I donot trust them any more ( the dealer went suddenly bancrupt Nov 2021) I have the impression my problems are either factory made maybe recalls can shed more light and or bad unprofessional service. My latest problem since 24 sept 2021 is failure of the transmission 6r80 the scan result p0720, p0722 recommendation replace lead frame connector, the filter, gasket and the oil. Nhtsa & Ford have recalls/csp since 2016 till end 2020 on the lead mold frame problem . According to the new local dealer I am not eligible for the recall/csp because 10 years has passed . " the warranty cover a total of 10 years or either 150. 000 miles whichever occurs first" , . I bought my f 150 XLT 2011 3. 7l ecoboost on 13 April 2011 but my mileage is since 24 September 86. 681 miles . Can I apply for recall or csp ? my result of VIN # says 0 unrepaired recalls , what does that mean . I have sent fomoco 3 letters since October 2021 they never answered me . I am an International /foreign client living in curacao former netherlands antilles. Do we share as clients the same benefits as USA clients?.

While driving the truck the steering wheel locks up and you can not turn the steering wheel. I was in a parking lot when I had to slam on my brakes. I almost crashed into a person. I looked on the on the web and there are many complaints.