Power Steering Fluid problems of the 2010 Ford Fusion

The contact owns a 2010 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while his wife was driving down a mountain at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost power steering assist functionality. The steering warning light was illuminated. The contact's wife was able to drive down the mountain very slowly and then pulled into a parking lot. The contact picked up his wife and drive home. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 117,181.

Warning light appeared 3 days ago to service power steering. Within a couple of hours the power steering quit working - almost could not get it parked in my driveway. Dealer brought out computer got the steering unlocked, said to add some transmission fluid which we did. That was 2 days ago, the steering started acting up again and by the time we got home, it was locked up again. Got some transmission fluid but was unable to unlock the steering. It did look like some fluid had been leaking on the pavement. But this is a tremendous safety hazard - there was no warning between the message saying to service it and within minutes the power steering locked up and it took a lot of strength to get it home. Fortunatley, both times we were close to home and not on a freeway somewhere. The first time the car lot we purchased it from came out with a small computer and got it to working again, said to add some transmission fluid because the two worked together. We did that - worked only 2 days and steering went out today. It is my granddaughters car and she nor I really have the money to fix it or get a new one and she is expecting a baby.

According to the aaa repair facility (whom I trust), the hydraulic fluid within my 2010 Ford Fusion's electric rack and pinion assembly (a. K. A. , the steering gear) has leaked out of the unit, most likely the result of faulty seals. They indicate that the assembly must be replaced prior to complete failure of the existing unit that would ultimately result in the abrupt and complete loss of power steering, posing a potential catastrophic risk of life and limb. The observed symptoms thus far have been erratic behavior while braking (the trigger for the aaa analysis) - the result of the leaked hydraulic fluid spraying the front brakes. I've discovered that the previous recall investigation for this 2010 Ford Fusion issue resulted in the recall of 2011 and 2012 Ford Fusions, but not the 2010 Ford Fusion. I also discovered that the 2010 Ford Fusion investigation has been re-opened, and I would therefore ask that my complaint be added to the investigation. I will undoubtedly have to repair this prior to the conclusion of the NHTSA investigation, and would therefore like to know whether Ford will be required to refund me for the cost of the repairs if they are not performed in a Ford repair facility.

1. The power steering went bad in Dec. 2014/ cost $1600 to fix. Done at crossroads Ford in kearney ne. 2. Less than 1 month later in Jan. 2015, the transmission started leaking fluid and had other issues with shifting. Looks like now I'll have to put in a new transmission. 2010 Ford Fusion se with 109,000 miles.