general problems of the 2011 Ford Fusion - part 1

The electronic power steering failed.

My car has lost steering and idk what's wrong with it it's throwing a code on the dash that says steering assist fault code.

My daughter was at the gym with the car. She left to come home. Went to the car and started it. It starts fine, but then she got all these warning bells and flashing on the dash panel that power steering failure. Her wheel was so tight she couldn't drive. Luckily she was parked when this happened and not driving. We looked up that there is recall for this issue. We called Ford and had it towed there. I spoke with Ford the next day. They did acknowledge a recall but said since the car is past the 10 years or 150k miles the recall does not apply anymore and we'd be paying out of pocket. They quoted me around $2300 for the repair.

I am writing to file a complaint regarding a serious and potentially dangerous issue with my 2011 Ford Fusion. Recently, my vehicle completely lost power steering while in use. In the past, I had experienced intermittent problems where the power steering warning light would appear upon starting the car, and the steering would be stiff. Typically, turning the car off and restarting it temporarily resolved the issue. However, this time, the power steering has failed completely and restarting the vehicle does not fix it. Upon researching this issue, I discovered that Ford issued a customer satisfaction program (15n01), which extended the warranty on the power steering gear due to known defects. The extension covered up to 10 years or 150,000 miles from the original purchase date—whichever came first. Unfortunately, I only recently became aware of this program, well after my vehicle passed both the 10-year mark (August 2021) and 150,000 miles (I’m currently at 103,000). I never received any notification from Ford about this issue or the extended warranty. Had I known, I would have addressed the problem while within the eligibility window. Ford is now refusing to cover the cost of repairs, despite this being a well-documented issue caused by faulty components. I believe it is unacceptable for a manufacturer to acknowledge a defect, offer limited corrective action, and then leave customers to deal with costly and dangerous consequences when their notification system fails. This failure of power steering poses a serious safety risk, especially at higher speeds or in emergency maneuvers. I respectfully request that the NHTSA investigate this issue further and hold Ford accountable for properly notifying affected vehicle owners and ensuring this defect is repaired, regardless of arbitrary mileage or date limits—especially in cases where owners were never notified in the first place.

I was backing and the steering wheel was impossible to turn. The car was on the recall 15s18, was served and obviously still a safety issue. I requested today July 30,2025 for a goodwill repair and was denied.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. While the contact's daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction, and the steering wheel seized. The steering fault warning light was illuminated. The driver coasted the vehicle into a nearby parking space. The contact arrived at the location where the vehicle was parked, and the vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with electronic power steering module failure. The contact was informed that the electronic power steering module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact referenced an unknown recall however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the steering wheel seized. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle however, the steering wheel remained locked. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer to be diagnosed and the contact was informed that the eps system was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 187,000.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. The service power steering warning light illuminated, and the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The dealer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 15v340000 (steering); however, the contact was informed that the recall had expired. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA hotline and report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

The contact’s husband owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while her husband was driving 60 mph, the steering wheel seized. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact’s husband continued driving, and the vehicle was taken to a local dealer and the vehicle was diagnosed and the contact was informed that there was no fault found with the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 233,490.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. In addition, the power steering failure and the service advance track warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with the electronic power steering pump failure. The contact was informed that the electronic power steering pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was filed. In addition, the contact was informed that the electronic power steering pump was replaced in September 2023 with approximately 223,000 miles, under an unknown recall repair. The failure reoccurred. The contact was informed that the current repair was not covered under the recall. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 227,188.

Upon start up power steering failure. Code u2011 'service advancetrack' 'power steering assist fault'.

Took the vichicle in for recall of the airbag. Was informed byhe dealer they had reprogrammed the steering computer. After approximately 3 months I now have no power steering, almost all the warning lights on the dash are on. Dealer informed me they do not do repairs on a vehicle this old. My mechanic says repairs would be in excess of two thousand dollars at my expense. I found there are over 2700 other complaints similar in nature on this vehicle series.

Sudden power steering failure multiple times while on the road (at both higher speeds of ~55mph and lower speeds of ~20 mph). There was a warning light and notification on that dashboard about 10 seconds before it happened each time. The vehicle will be taken into the dealership tomorrow to be looked at, but after doing some online research this seems to be a very common issue for this year, make and model of Ford Fusion. Loss of power steering makes the vehicle very difficult to steer and pull off the road safety and puts both me and other drivers at risk.

Epas steering efforts campain #15n01 power steering goes out sometimes and the Ford dealership will not honor the recall to fix this and said it was past 10 years old?2011 Ford Fusion.

The power steering failed. The message display keeps indicating that there is a power steering system fault which results in a loss of my ability to steer the car, increasing the risk of being involved in a crash. The first time the message appeared was around the beginning of March. When I consulted the owners manual, it instructs the driver to stop the car, turn off the engine for at least ten seconds and reset the system to restart the engine. It happened infrequently a few more times, but functioned again each time until around April 24th. According to the manual, there should have been a message reading "service power steering now". I don't remember ever seeing that message, just the one that's still displayed (power steering assist fault). I haven't had the car towed to the dealership yet, but I have called to ask about a 2015 recall of 2011 Ford Fusions for such a defect. Both Ford company and the dealership tell me that there was no recall for such a hazard related to my specific VIN so the diagnosis and repair will be at my expense.

Problems with electric power steering, intermittent issues.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving 15-20 mph, the steering wheel became inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was like NHTSA campaign number: 15v340000 (steering). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000. The VIN was not available.

2airbagsrecall,epas-steering 15n01,nhtsarecall19v001000,.

Ihave?opntitle. 2011fordfusionseflexfuel1oftheexpensivemachanicalreplace ,torepair/electronicassistshutofftomanualsteer:fordwillreplaceairbagrepair:driveable'runs:electronicpowersteringassistanceshutoff':drivable;repairpalsayonwed'. Steeringassist/#VIN. Too15years,forddealer,servicetellsmemilagew/yearsoldnoapplybut$. 288. 00. Diagnosis{fordprocontactcenterofexcellence. /diagnosis288. 00-300. 00/serviceman/submittapproval. Phoneconversation/localfordcardiagnosis. ;payforsteeringuptoaffordingcomputer. Diagnosticshowscodes;heinhumournochargeduetocodefaults/{replace{fordrecalls;unsafetydrivingcarissues. ,parkd.

Steering wheel froze while driving, luckily light traffic, was able to turn car off then on again to park it in lot. Had it towed to Ford. Repair for power steering assist fault over $3000. I am a widow on ss disability, cannot begin to afford repair cost. I am very upset that this very issue was recalled on same model/year but not mine. I understand recalls are for specific VIN numbers, but I could have been killed, this issue should never happen, and now I am without transportation and no funds to pay for a repair this expensive.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. In addition, the contact was informed that a previous undisclosed recall repair was performed on the vehicle in 2015 for the power steering module. The failure mileage was approximately 250,000.

Started the vehicle and power steering did not work. Very difficult to turn the steering wheel and no longer able to drive the car safely on the road. Father drove car to the dealership where he was told it was not Ford's problem as the time frame was outside of 10 years. No diagnostic lights come on on the dashboard, and I believe this is related to the recalls on the Fusion but mine is "not affected" #15v340000 #15s18.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact shifted to neutral gear and was able to turn the steering wheel. The power steering warning light illuminated. On another occasion, the steering wheel became difficult to turn, and the contact moved the steering wheel around and was able to turn the steering wheel. On a separate occasion, the contact attempted to turn the steering wheel, and the steering wheel failed to respond. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and the independent mechanic informed the contact that it was a recall failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The local dealer was contacted, however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired because the VIN was not under recall. The dealer did not inform the contact of the active recall on the VIN. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,600.

Unknown.

Power steering assist fault message showed on display and the electric power steering assist stopped working. Oddly enough I found an article that low tire pressure may be common cause, I don't know how but since it was an easy attempt to fix, I tried. My tire pressure was at 16lbs psi. I inflated to 30 psi, hooked up scanner and cleared the dtc code c1277-20 on my scanner, shut off the car and restarted it. The power steering worked however, with each turn of the wheel to the right and left, there is a singular popping sound. The pop happens at the same steering wheel position while turning the wheels. The sound is coming more from under the hood and not the wheels. I will take to dealer to get estimate for repair.

Power steering assist failure. Attempted clearing code. Did not work. Can barely steer vehicle and while driving steering is very slow to respond. Will certainly cause an accident in the future if any steering input is required to avoid or swerve.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized with the check engine warning light illuminated, and the advanced track failure message displayed. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was able to restart however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering control module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer filed a claim for the contact and referred the contact to the manufacturer for further assistance. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the claim was denied. The contact was informed that the VIN was previously associated with NHTSA campaign number: 15v340000 (steering). The approximate failure mileage was 148,000.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring increased effort to maneuver the vehicle. The service power steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the electronic power steering column. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign number: 15v340000 (steering); but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 135,000.

The electric power steering system failed. This specific VIN number was included in the previous recall, although Ford corporate claims it was never a ‘recall’ and it was out of the ‘goodness’ of their hearts (a ‘customer satisfaction campaign’). The dealer out of new hampshire only ‘flashed’ the computer to ‘fix’ it. Which never addressed anything. Suddenly the car just starts spinning out of control all by itself. Says ‘service advancetrac’ then ‘service powersteering assist’ then right after, within seconds, ‘service powersteering now’ a local dealership discovered the part was never replaced only ‘flashed’. The local dealer said the rack is gone and needs to be replaced & Ford corporate claims ‘the vehicle is old’ so that means Ford corporate does not want to fund the cost of it. The dealer said that Ford corporate’s final answer is ‘if it was within the last 10 years of recall, we’d pay for it’ it is only slightly over the 10 year cut off. And millions of owners are still suffering. Yet, Ford motor company gets away with this. Ill “keep my receipts” like their overseas call center representative tells me to do. Like that will matter. The work is over $2,000 dollars.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while attempting to accelerate from a stop, the steering wheel seized. The contact turned on the hazard lights and parked on the side of the road. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the power steering was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the power steering failed intermittently. The contact had to restart the vehicle to regain power steering functionality. The failure became more persistent, and the vehicle lost complete power steering functionality. The message “loss of power steering” was displayed during the failure. Additionally, the tpms fault sensor message was displayed; however, all tires were properly inflated. The contact found information on NHTSA campaign number: 15v340000 (steering) and related the failure to the recall; however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

Was driving down a busy road with my [xxx] and [xxx] , when all of a sudden my steering wheel got super tight and the car shut down. A message stating "power steering assist fault" popped up on my dashboard. There was zero warning before it happened. I just bought this car 3 months ago from a facebook marketplace car dealer. When this incident happened 2 weeks ago, I googled 2011 Ford Fusion recalls and it says NHTSA recalled in 2015. When I'm not understanding is why a VIN number makes a difference, when I'm having the problem on the type of year/model that was recalled. I have been informed about the customer satisfaction program, which expired years before I purchased the vehicle. Again, why should that fall on me? thanks information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I recently purchased this car, on [xxx] I had an issue with a "power steering assist default" I noticed that there was an outstanding recall for this issue and took it to bill collins Ford in louisville ky for the recall repair, I picked the vehicle up and the next day I had the same alert on the dash with no power assist steering, I called the service writer hunter at bill collins Ford and was told that the steering gear was not covered and he would not be able to help me, I went by an additional dealer oxmore Ford, also in louisville ky and spoke with the service manager on 12/13/2024 and was also told, no that they would not be able to honor and remedy the issue, the same day I call Ford cooperate and spoke with a representative that gave me a case # [xxx], I explained to her that I had researched the and found a letter dated 05/17/2019 by director david j. Johnson as an update to recall 15n01 now 15s18 states that the recall is updated to unlimited mileage and unlimited to date that the steering gear will be replaced regardless of mileage or warranty start date and that any prior denials should be repaired or refunded if repairs are already made. A copy of this letter is provided along with a copy of the invoice where my vehicle was presented for service related to the recall in question. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the power steering became inoperable. The power steering failure warning light was illuminated. The service track error message was displayed. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA campaign number: 15v340000 (steering). The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who informed the contact there was no coverage for the repair. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 260,000.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering assist warning light illuminated, and the vehicle lost power steering functionality while his wife and minor children were inside the vehicle. The contact stated that the steering wheel was significantly difficult to turn. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to a safe location. The contact's family was provided alternative transportation. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The dealer was made aware of the failure and provided a diagnostic test fee. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.