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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
11 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
11 / 0
Average Mileage:
99,520 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2009 Ford Escape steering problems

steering problem

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2009 Ford Escape Owner Comments (Page 3 of 37)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #690

May 132022

Escape

  • 181,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated while reversing out of her driveway, the vehicle lost power steering functionality and locked. The contact could not turn the steering wheel to the left or right. The contact stated an unknown warning light illuminated and was flashing. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 181,000.

- Johnston, RI, USA

problem #689

Apr 282022

Escape

  • 178,000 miles
The contact's girlfriend owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated while his girlfriend was pulling out of a parking space, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact's girlfriend was able to drive to her residence by using excessive force to steer the vehicle. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 178,000.

- Black Creek, WI, USA

problem #688

Apr 172022

Escape 6-cyl

  • miles
I recently purchased this vehicle, have had it for about 3 to 4 weeks. The vehicle belonged to a gentleman whom deceased and vehicle came from Canada. The vehicle was running great and I was happy, however, on Easter 2022 my 1yr old daughter and I were leaving the emergency room due to us both being very ill and all of a sudden I was unable to steer the vehicle without having to use my entire body and all my strength. So, I immediately went to the auto part store and purchased steering fluid. Well, come to find out this vehicle has an electric steering system which I never heard of before in my life. Thankfully there was a mechanic on site and he told me about this along with changing a steering fuse"?? The new fuse did not fix the issue. This nice man looked up and seen this vehicle has a steering, air bag and few more recalls out there. So, I called a ford dealership to inquire about getting these recalls taken care of and replaced, she basically told me that they would charge me for the diagnostic test and charge me for any and all recall repairs. I seen that this vehicle has never had any of the recalls taken care of. Now, is there a time frame for replacing recalls, especially if safety related!" Thanks [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Denver, CO, USA

problem #687

Apr 162022

Escape

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Steering wheel shaking, while idling and driving. The next day total loss of power steering.

- Saint Joseph, MO, USA

problem #686

Apr 112022

Escape

  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse in a parking lot, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact pulled over and felt that the vehicle had lost power steering functionality. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and the power steering functionality returned. There were no warning lights that illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic who was able to diagnose the failure as a loss of power steering assist. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

- Oshkosh, WI, USA

problem #685

Mar 212022

Escape

  • 153,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the power steering failed and the steering wheel failed to turn in either direction. The message "power steering assist failure" was displayed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact was informed by the manufacturer that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The contacted stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 153,000.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #684

Mar 272022

Escape

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Steering intermittently locks up, sometimes at startup and sometimes while driving. Sometimes car steers normally without steering failure, but sometimes steering completely locks. Vehicle is not safe to drive.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #683

Mar 262022

Escape

  • miles
Steering wheel locked up without any warning while driving. Almost caused an accident. Now there is no power steering and.power steering assist fault warning is on.

- Winchester , KY, USA

problem #682

Feb 252022

Escape

  • 148,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the steering wheel would shake and vibrate before suddenly the message power steering sensor fault was displayed and the power steering failed causing the steering wheel to become very difficult to turn in either direction. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number 14V284000 (Steering). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 148,000.

- Taylor, MI, USA

problem #681

Mar 202022

Escape

  • miles
The electronic power steering goes out for no apparent reason. Making it very difficult to steer/maneuver vehicle while in traffic. This situation is very dangerous for a 17 year old driver, not knowing what is happening. Seems once he can get to a safe place to stop out of the way of traffic, the vehicle can be turned off and back on and this is reset to normal operation. Sometimes it may take several time of restarting the vehicle to get the electronic power steering to reset. I see numerous complaints concerning this same situation. This needs to be address by the manufacturer before some one is killed.

- Rockwall, TX, USA

problem #680

Mar 152022

Escape

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I purchased this car for my daughters to use in college in California. They report that it suddenly loses power steering. It is very hard to turn wheel at all. It is currently at a mechanic shop and he says it is showing a code and that the steering motor on the column is working off and on causing power steering at times. we checked all the electrical power and ground to the motor and control module. I see that there was a recall for this issue but now it is not showing as an active recall. Please advise me on this recall and why it is not active on this car at this time and yet the vehicle is having the exact problem listed in the recall. Recall #14v284000 is the one I am speaking of. Can you please help us with this safety issue?

- Center, TX, USA

problem #679

Mar 132022

Escape 4-cyl

  • 173,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact stated that there was an audio alarm with the power steering assist fault displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing or repair. The contact stated that he went to the local dealer and was informed that the vehicle was previously serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The manufacturer was notified and a case was opened. The approximate failure mileage was 173,000. Information stated consumer had not checked with mechanic. Since 3/17/22 consumer has checked with an independent mechanic and they have confirmed that the power assist steering fault is due to torque sensor and car is diagnosed as having error code B2278.

- Clovis, CA, USA

problem #678

Jul 292021

Escape

  • miles
I was driving in the middle of the highway when the steering wheel started to be hard to turn. Slowly I parked and turn the engine off and called the road assistance. They said they can-€™t do anything about that. We wait about an hour then turned the engine back on and everything seems to be normal. I was driving to work that day. From my way back home the same thing happened. I decided to take it to ford dealership and they checked and it came out that it-€™s the steering wheel column that has a problem and it-€™s not safe to drive it. They said it is safety issue and unfortunately my car is not recalled and I will be charged for over $2000 to fix it. That-€™s why I-€™m filling a claim to have it recall.

- Louisville , KY, USA

problem #677

Mar 152022

Escape

  • 177,876 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the steering wheel lost power steering functionality. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact attempted to refill the power steering fluid but became aware that the power steering was an electrical unit. The contact's father arrived and drove the vehicle using physical force to steer the vehicle. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist since the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 177,876.

- Detroit, MI, USA

problem #676

Mar 082022

Escape

  • 250,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering assist failed and the steering wheel was difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximately 250,000.

- Mcallen, TX, USA

problem #675

Mar 132022

Escape 6-cyl

  • 150,000 miles
The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon start of his vehicle, the "power steering assist fault" warning message appeared on the instrument panel. The contact then stated that excessive force was needed to steer the vehicle while driving at various speeds due to the failure. The dealer was notified and informed him that his vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and provided the same information as the dealer. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000. Vehicle is undergoing maintenance repairs because it is not listed under the recall.

- Englewood, CO, USA

problem #674

Nov 012021

Escape

  • miles
Power steering stopped while driving.

- Playa Del Rey, CA, USA

problem #673

Jan 232022

Escape

  • miles
Ford recall 14S05. Several years ago I had some work done on my vehicle. While in the shop, the dealer updated software on the vehicle, including for the power steering. I did not request the update. The update only turns on an indicator light if the power steering fails. On 1/23/22 at 9:00 am, I went to the grocery. Came out and got in the car. Backed up, narrowly missed a parked car, and nearly hit a telephone pole because the power steering had failed. Found out there was a recall for all components and software related to the issue. Took my vehicle to the local dealer. Failed torque sensor as mentioned in the recall. $1200 to repair. Called Ford customer service and was told the recall had been completed due to the software update. The update that was done without my knowledge to a vehicle that had no problem at the time. I argued and was told Ford would not honor the recall because it was closed for my vehicle. Who monitors these recalls?

- Anderson, IN, USA

problem #672

Jan 242022

Escape

  • miles
power steering assist is lost

- Pasadena, TX, USA

problem #671

Jan 212022

Escape

  • miles
Power steering assist fault came on in my Escape. I see there is recalls on so.e Escapes because of this, but not all of them. Why is that? This is a problem in all Escape from 2008-2011 and this is an expensive fix. Ford should be liable for this. They should not be allowed to pick which ones they feel like fixing. I will never buy another Ford because of this

- Centralia, IL, USA

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