Steering Problems of Ford F-150 - part 2

Nhtsa safety complaint draft vehicle information: make: Ford model: F-150 year: 2018 VIN: [xxx] incident summary: while driving my 2018 Ford F-150, the vehicle suddenly displayed a warning on the dashboard: “steering assist fault – service required. ” within moments of this warning, I lost all power steering assist and was unable to control the vehicle, resulting in the truck veering off the road and into a ditch. This was a sudden and dangerous failure of the electric power steering (eps) system. I was fortunate not to have been injured, and no other vehicles were involved. However, this type of failure represents a major safety risk to me and to others on the road. I contacted Ford motor company and was assigned case number: [xxx]. Despite reporting the issue and explaining that the vehicle ran off the road, Ford refused to offer any assistance or goodwill repair. I was told the vehicle is outside of recall 24s45, even though it displays the exact same failure symptoms as recalled vehicles from later years. This failure could have resulted in serious injury or death. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this steering system failure and expand any related recall coverage to include affected 2018 F-150 models like mine. Incident date: [xxx] mileage at time of incident: 157,000 location: pine bluff, ar complainant information: name: [xxx] address: [xxx] phone: [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2018 Ford F-150 🔎.

The contact owned a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the contact's son was driving at 20 mph, the contact's son noticed an unusual sound. The steering wheel did not turn in the intended direction. No warning lights illuminated. The contact stated the steering wheel was detached and loose. The vehicle crashed into a nearby tree. The contact's son did not sustain any injuries. In addition, the air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was towed to the insurance company for inspection. The vehicle was condemned as a total loss by the insurance company. A police report was filed; however, the information was unavailable. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. The contact was advised that the vehicle needed to be inspected by the investigator. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became stiff and hesitated while turning to the left or the right. The steering assist, traction control, and collision assist warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the battery was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired and needed to be towed back to the local dealer for further investigation. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 21v407000 (steering); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 91,000.

See all problems of the 2021 Ford F-150 🔎.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while exiting the driveway, the steering wheel moved voluntarily and failed to respond as intended. The contact stated that the steering wheel then seized. The message "power steering fault" was displayed on the screen. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

See all problems of the 2013 Ford F-150 🔎.

The truck has stiff steering at slow speeds. It experiences the same as the NHTSA recall 14v-316 or Ford safety recall 14s09. It is describe as "safety recall 14s09, issued by Ford motor company, pertains to certain model year 2014 F-150 trucks manufactured between may 26 and June 19, 2014, and equipped with electronic power assist steering (epas). " I have taken it to sugarloaf Ford in winona minnesota and they recommend replace. But they do not have it as a recall. In the uploaded files, I have the door sticker and my vehicle with a manufacturing date is may 2014. This is in the range of the defect production dates. How do I get the Ford company to replace the part of the recall?.

See all problems of the 2014 Ford F-150 🔎.

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.

See all problems of the 2011 Ford F-150 🔎.

The button on the steering wheel get hot then fail to work this has happened several times I have complained to Ford. The cruise control quits working and all the buttons for the dash menu quit working. I will be driving down the road with the cruise control on and all of a sudden it will quit working. Then it will just come back on like you never shut it off and when you least expect it. When this happens you can not shut the thing off its gonna cause an accident.

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while attempting to complete a turn, the steering wheel seized, with the "steering assist fault detected" message displayed. The vehicle was restarted and returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The power steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 21v407000 (steering), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 19,000.

Electric portion of rack and pinion faults while driving causing loss of power steering safety factor is loss of power steering Ford dealership has confirmed the issue and the truck only only has 37,000 miles.

See all problems of the 2022 Ford F-150 🔎.

The first indication of a problem was a red "service charging system now" message at 121 total vehicle miles and continued to be intermittent. The vehicle was returned to the selling Ford dealership the next day. After a day in the service department, they were unable to duplicate the problem. This same message reappeared sporadically, but did not seem to affect the safe operation of the vehicle. At approximately 1460 miles the red "service charging system now" and many other messages appeared while I was on an interstate traveling at 70mph. As I started maneuvering for the nearest exit, the steering would not respond without using excessive force, creating a dangerous, unsafe situation. I managed to safely exit the highway and park the vehicle. It would not reset or operate normally. The vehicle was subsequently towed to a Ford dealer. After 3 weeks of troubleshooting, they replaced the main agm 12v battery (part number bagm 94rh7 800) and the dcdc converter (part number ml3z 14g649 f). These components may be available from astro Ford in biloxi, ms for inspection.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the power steering assist became inoperable. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that an independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the steering rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance and transferred the contact to NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 225,000.

See all problems of the 2016 Ford F-150 🔎.

Driving out of town for a trip and out of nowhere at?steering assist fail? alert hill decent alert.

Power steering assist randomly stops working. Has been going on for a while. The fault clears by stopping, shutting off the truck and restarting it. Last time it occurred 05apr2025, it would not clear. Had to drive to dealer without power assist.

The truck has a body frame that was cracked in several spots and welded back together in more then 5 different spots and the welding job is very poor. The truck has a power steering line leak, cvs axle leaks and a exhaust manifold leak. The dealership fixed upper ball joints when we agreed on lower and upper in the front. They added a exhaust but did not do the job correctly with completing the job and the welding of it. Ive made a complaint with the loan company and I as well have talked to the owner of the dealership and he fights that none of those things are wrong with the truck and im lying but I have had a inspection done on the truck. When I got the truck I looked it over and so did my brother I pointed the issues of what needed fixed that I could see and that was not done. I then started having issues with the truck and took it to a mechaninc and had an inspection done.

See all problems of the 2008 Ford F-150 🔎.

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.

The truck would just shut off while driving or not start whenever you need it to. It acts like a dead battery but the battery is fine. It has been at the dealership for 45 days plus straight for this issue. When it cuts out, we lose all steering all breaking all power. I’m very lucky it hasn’t taken my life or one of my family members lives. There are some innocent person on the road because of the lack of quality and workmanship. In my opinion the truck needs to be recalled because it’s been nothing but a hassle for us.

See all problems of the 2019 Ford F-150 🔎.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at various speeds, the steering wheel was pulling to the left or to the right, forcing the contact to keep and maintain a strong grip on the steering wheel while driving. There was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The contact referenced equipment recall: 24s45 (electronic power steering assist steering gear); as a possible cause for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 135,000.

I was driving to work and when coming to the parking structure making a right hand turn my steering wheel locked up on me and on the dash hill descent control fault and service advancedtrac came on the dash. I towed it home and the steering wheel is completely locked.

I’m very concerned about the actual malfunction of my entire steering rack & pinion assembly at just over 6,000 miles. The failure on my 2023 f150 (bought as new in sept. 2024 from dealer w/ 1200 miles) occurred at more than 80 miles per hour when I had punched it to pass another vehicle. The steering became very wonky and was 'soft-locking' in stuttering positions – about 2 degrees apart in moving the steering wheel. It was very touch and go coming into town – even back at 60 mph. I was still hitting the hard spots and making all sorts of racket in full turns as we pulling into a parking lot to check it out. At that time, the only thing I could relate it to as far as how it felt was that the steering assist/ lane keeping assist was wanting to run the show. But I don’t use the feature and have only tried it a couple times since I got the truck – specifically to see how it felt. There was no message on the instruments. Anyway, my point this seems to be a serious safety issue, and I would think Ford would want to figure out what happened. The Ford dealership service manager kind of blew it off like, ‘well, stuff happens’. That’s all good and I’m not faulting him – they did a great job of repair, and the truck now drives like a new truck (new steering assembly shipped overnight from memphis, TN to livingston, TX) – steering is actually better that the first day I had it. It was always a little quirky in its ‘feel’ so I just thought it was kind of what it would be. Didn’t feel perfect but not enough to complain or even say anything about. I just figured Ford had done something that just gave the steering a little bit different feel. I’d really like to find out what the Ford engineers figure out and how could this have been a one-off thing? this seems like a very serious, potential safety issue. The dealership has not replied to 2 emails from their apparently automated 'are you happy with your service' inquiry.

See all problems of the 2023 Ford F-150 🔎.

Loss of power steering resulting in steering gear needing to be replaced.

The contact owns a 1997 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds the steering wheel will begin to wobble, and no warning lights were illuminated. The local dealer was contacted, however the vehicle was not diagnosed as the contact was advised that their vehicle VIN was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 192,699.

See all problems of the 2000 Ford F-150 🔎.

The contact owns a 2003 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel felt very loose and was difficult to turn. The vehicle was restarted. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 175,000.

See all problems of the 2003 Ford F-150 🔎.

Steering assist, faults and adaptive steering not available lights up. Power steering goes away. Program update with dealer did not solve the problem. Looks like it’s a faulty gear.

I own a 2018 Ford F-150 with 56,000 miles, and I have been experiencing serious and unpredictable transmission issues. These problems first started around 48,000 miles, but at the time, I assumed it was normal behavior. However, the issues have progressively worsened, and by 55,000 miles, a wrench warning light started appearing intermittently. Symptoms: •while driving at highway speeds, the transmission unexpectedly drops from 10th gear to 1st gear, causing a sudden and severe deceleration. •the gear shifts are jerky, unpredictable, and rough, making it difficult to maintain control of the vehicle. •the wrench warning light appears occasionally but disappears quickly, making diagnosis difficult. •no diagnostic trouble codes (d dtcs) are stored or retrieved when scanned at multiple repair shops. •the issue happens intermittently, making it challenging to replicate on demand. •started noticing issues at 48k miles, but they became significantly worse around 50k miles when the wrench light began appearing. •I called Ford to reset the radio/computer software, after hearing it might help, but it did not resolve the issue. •the unpredictable transmission behavior causes severe anxiety while driving, as I never know when it will happen again. Attempts to fix: •I have taken my truck to multiple repair shops and Ford dealerships, but since no codes are present, they have been unable to diagnose or fix the issue. •mechanics have checked for transmission recalls or software updates, but no clear solution has been provided. •I contacted Ford for a radio/computer software reset, hoping it might help, but this did not fix the problem. Safety concerns: •the abrupt downshifting poses a serious safety hazard to myself and other drivers on the road, especially at high speeds. •there is an increased risk of accidents due to sudden deceleration and loss of control. •the problem occurs without warning, making it difficult to predict or prevent.

My vehicle shows that it has an electrical connection with the electronic power steering showing a u3000:49-8b code.

I was driving on [xxx] in georgia. I was going around 75 mph and my transmission dropped from 6th gear to 1st gear my speed dropped from around 75 mph to 25 mph in less than a second. My safety and the safety of other vehicles/people were put in danger, I almost lost control of my steering and hit somebody in the right lane next to me. Three vehicles behind me had to slam on their brakes and swerve around me to avoid rear ending me. When the vehicles transmission dropped gears rapidly, at the same time I got a gear wrench symbol across my cluster display, and I lost functionality of the vehicles mph gauge and gas gauge. The fasten seatbelt light was also on but no audible warning tone was heard. . The vehicle also lost acceleration power. I was able to get the vehicle home and turned the car on and off and everything went back to normal. This is an intermittent issue with no warning when it will happen. There was a recall from Ford for a programming issue with the tranny and currently a csp with campaign #19n01 for a transmission molded leadframe extended coverage. Basically the lead frame needs to be replaced to correct the problem which is 4,000 to 6,000 dollars. Ford will not fix my lead frame because I am past certain dates and over the mileage by 2,200 miles. I also needed to be displaying symptoms and the code for Ford to fix the issue if I was within dates and mileage. I didn’t display any codes or symptoms until I was 2,200 miles over the csp warranty coverage. I also just bought the truck in September of 2024 and was not aware of this issue. I can’t express enough how dangerous going from 75 mph to 25 mph in a second on a busy freeway is. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The vehicle had a complete loss of control of the power steering. Thankfully, it happened in the driveway and not on the highway. The message said power steering assist fault. Upon doing some research, I found that the NHTSA issued a recall in the past on some of the same vehicles in that model year (14v316000). We were hoping that this vehicle could added to that recall, due to the fact that it is a known issues for this particular model year. Thank you.

When braking steering wheel locked up and almost caused accident due to not being able to control vehicle with steering wheel.

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.

My F-150 has been a nightmare since I purchased it in April. Ford dealers are unwilling to even look into my complaints. It has now got to the point where I cant drive the vehicle on the interstate because it is too unstable at those speeds. As in the steering wheel moves one way and the truck steers another. The truck is on its 3rd set of tires with only 30k miles on the odometer, but Ford always comes up with some excuse to blame it on me. That is not the case though, I've had 3 4x4 F-150s prior to this one, so I know what to expect from and how to drive a truck.

The vehicle steering wheel turns by itself, without warning, causing me to fight the steering wheel to maintain proper control and direction. I reported the issue to my mechanic and had him inspect and paid $129 to have a full alignment. After a road test, the problem still exists. The mechanic deemed the problem as "dangerous to drive". After contacting Ford the recall referenced 24s45. Supposedly Ford has yet to come up with a fix.

The contact owns a 2014 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 55-60 mph, the vehicle lost power steering function intermittently. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring intermittently while driving at various speeds and while the vehicle was idling. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a related recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.

The contact owns a 2021 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact attempted to start the vehicle and the electric steering fault message was displayed. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where is was diagnosed that the steering gear assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 21v407000 (steering). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 38,008.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while driving at 60 mph, the vehicle lost power steering functionality, and the vehicle was difficult to maneuver. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the power steering electronic module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring increasingly. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA hotline. The contact related to the failure of the customer satisfaction program: 24s45. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.

See all problems of the 2017 Ford F-150 🔎.

This is a major issue with Ford f150s. I am not sure how this was never a recall. Ford issues a TSB for this but nothing is the TSB fixes the issue. There is a major fault in the iwe system that causes the 4x4 to engage randomly causing the truck to have major steering issues. It causes grinding, like metal on metal grinding, the steering wheel locks in place at times and I personally almost dies several times from this. The locking steering wheel caused me to crash into a ditch because I could not bring the steering wheel back to center. This has randomly happened to me several times while driving, the TSB claims the issue to be intermittent, which it is due to the fault in this iwe system. Ford needs to literally cover and replace the entire iwe system before someone gets hurt. Please look this up, this is a very known issue that deserves to be a recall and not a TSB. Please help save lives.