general problems of the 2011 Ford Fusion - part 1

Am filing this complaint regarding a serious safety defect in my 2011 Ford Fusion. The vehicle’s electric power steering (epas) intermittently fails while driving, causing the steering to become extremely heavy and sometimes lock up. The dashboard displays a “power steering assist fault” warning. Restarting the car temporarily restores steering assist, but the problem recurs. This is a direct safety hazard. Driving the vehicle in this condition is dangerous, as the steering can fail at any time, including at highway speeds. They say the vehicle was previously repaired under recall but the issue has recurred. I have contacted Ford customer service and a Ford safety supervisor multiple times, and they refused to perform any further repair, citing that the recall occurred over 10 years ago and my VIN may not be in the current “recall bin. ” I am requesting that the national highway traffic safety administration investigate this issue and require Ford to repair the electric power steering under a recall reoccurrence / safety escalation program, at no cost to me. This is a critical safety issue, and the current refusal by Ford puts me at risk of serious injury or death while driving.

Electric power assisted steering failed while driving. There was no accident , but had to react quickly to avoid mishap. Back in 2015, there has been a recall for Ford Fusions (2010-2011) that were manufactured from the hermosillo facility. My vehicle was built at the same location and is a 2011, but does not qualify for a recall based on the records of Ford. I can’t find any record if the previous owner the vehicle serviced or if Ford ever sent me notifications. Between 2015-2017, I was deployed to afghanistan and then reassigned duty stations,in which I changed my registration to louisiana to arizona . Between being oversees and having different addresses, I am not sure if I was ever notified. Currently, I don’t qualify for the customer program due to being over 10’years and having over 150,000 miles. Please help me in any way possible and ensure this doesn’t happen to others.

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. The contact stated that the power steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the contact was informed that the repair was not covered under warranty and was above the 150,000-mileage limit. The contact referenced an unknown recall which had a similar failure description; however, the VIN was not associated. The contact stated that, fortunately, the vehicle was not being driven on the highway during the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 240,000.

Complete loss of electric power steering (eps) assist. This is a direct recurrence of the federal safety defect under recall 15s18 (NHTSA 15v-340), creating an immediate crash risk due to high steering effort at low speeds. Prior recall service (Feb 22, 2016) was only a software reprogram, which failed to correct the fundamental hardware defect. Current confirmed dtcs (u3000:49, u3000:72, u3000:96) mandate steering gear replacement. The replacement is covered under csp 15n01, specifically supplement #3, which requires a steering gear replacement, regardless of age/mileage limits, if replacement under recall 15s18 is still required, which it is. [xxx] ht approval using Ford corporate case: cxh-05687349-n3w2t6. Ford sssc denied the mandated repair, failing to remedy a safety defect. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6) 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 while attempting to reverse out of a parking space, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The power steering failed, and the "steering assist fault" warning light was illuminated. The contact previously received notification of warranty extended coverage, NHTSA id number: 10236689 (steering); however, at the time the notice was received, may 3, 2022, the dealer informed the contact that a failure had to occur before the repair could be made. After experiencing the failure, the contact called the dealer and was informed that the extended warranty coverage had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 168,958.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while her son was driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The driver was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact and her husband met her son on the side of the road, and the contact's husband drove the vehicle to the residence without power steering functionality. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 15v340000 (steering); however, the failure reoccurred. The dealer informed the contact that the repair was no longer covered because the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

About 6 months ago my steering failed then I cut the car off and restarted it and it was fine until about a month ago and now I have no power steering at all and I don’t understand why it can’t be covered under Fords recall warranty this is not supposed to happen and if I get in a wreck because of no power steering I will be filing a lawsuit because they still have 2744 complaints plus mine now that they have not fixed and I personally feel like it’s there fault and they should fix it and I can promise u I will never own another Ford and will tell everyone I know to do the same . I think ima paint lemons all over it and drive it like that.

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.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving 30 mph, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. The power steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with power steering failure. Additionally, the contact was informed that the failure was the result of a computer and sensor failure. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for assistance. The independent mechanic reset the fault codes; however, the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,020.

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.