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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
36,321 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.

2012 Ford Flex steering problems

steering problem

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2012 Ford Flex Owner Comments

problem #18

Jul 182023

Flex

  • miles

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

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Flex. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the steering wheel stiffened while attempting to steer the vehicle to the left. The power steering failure message was displayed. The contact used excessive force to steer the vehicle to the shoulder of the highway where the vehicle remained. The contact called the dealer and was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The contact was referred to the manufacturer who then referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Mount Carmel, PA, USA

problem #17

Mar 102023

Flex

  • miles
Vehicle power steering will stop working while driving and notification of (power steering assist failure) will appear. Vehicle becomes extremely unsafe to operate as the steering wheel is very difficult to move. I reached out to Ford and was advised that the recall for this was already repaired and a second recall was opened for vehicles that still had the issue. They advised that the recall only extended the warranty to 10 years and my vehicle is a few months past the 10 year mark with exceptions only made for mileage. My vehicle only has 48,000 miles.

- Eastvale, CA, USA

problem #16

Apr 212023

Flex

  • 110,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel started to wobble back and forth then up and down. The contact stated that the steering wheel started to shift upward and downward. No warning lights were illuminated. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

- Defiance, OH, USA

problem #15

Aug 012022

Flex

  • miles

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

Recall on power steering rack and pinion but my model didn't get covered in this recall and this the second time my service advance track came on and it's totally hard to turn my steering and I took it to Ford dealership in merced ca just to see if the cam turn off my service advance traction they said no because the rack and pinion is bad.......

- Merced,, CA, USA

problem #14

Mar 172023

Flex

  • miles
Complete loss of power steering and steering effectiveness. Warning message on display said -??power steering assist fault-??.

- Lyons, CO, USA

problem #13

Jul 072022

Flex

  • miles
I went to my local dealership on request of the campaign recall for my associated vin The vehicle has a EPAS STEERING EFFORTS Details Description EPAS STEERING EFFORTS Campaign# 15N01 I was driving and lost control because the power steering went out brought it to my local Ford grieco fort Lauderdale and they diagnosed it as a bad power steering rack pinion which was included in the vin report recall however they stated it's 5 months over expiration which it should of never expired since it's a really bad safety issue. I called Ford directly they told me to contact you in regards to adding a valid recall back onto my vin

- Oakland Park, FL, USA

problem #12

Sep 222020

Flex

  • 84,500 miles

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

Wife returned to her car after a day of driving to find the power steering had suddenly stopped working. She decided to drive it home and it had moments where the power steering functioned and luckily she got it home. I contacted Ford but they advised me that there is no active bulletin for this particular model so we would just need to fix it.

- Golden, CO, USA

problem #11

Aug 192020

Flex

  • 116,062 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Flex. The contact stated that after entering the vehicle, the steering wheel seized. The contact stated that the power steering assist warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to disengage and drive. The contact stated she continued to experience the failure. The vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle was towed to local dealer penske Ford located at 8970 la mesa blvd, la mesa, ca 91942, (619) 464-7777, where it was diagnosed with needing steering gear to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired as of yet. The manufacturer had been informed of failure. The failure mileage was 116,062.

- La Mesa, CA, USA

problem #10

Apr 202020

Flex

  • 85,868 miles
I've had problems with power steering faulting. I've called dealer and they said they didn't know anything about it. I would turn off car and it would work again but now it won't. there is no power steering. This happened at home when I first turn on car

- Santa Ana, CA, USA

problem #9

Jan 232020

Flex

  • 59,620 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Flex. The contact stated the steering wheel failed. The contact was unable to turn the steering wheel. There was no warning light before during or after the failure occurred. The contact waited a few minutes for the steering wheel to unlock. The contact spoke with (airport Ford dealer 8001 burlington pike, florence ky 41042, (859)371-4750 regarding the failure. The dealer advised that there was an extended warranty for the steering rack and the repair was not performed until the steering wheel had completely failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 59,620.

- Union, KY, USA

problem #8

Aug 022019

Flex

  • miles

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

My wife started having problems with her 2012 Ford Flex power steering last week. The mechanic installed a new pump but that did not fix the issue. The mechanic then searched the NHTSA database and found a recall notice for 2012 Ford Flex vehicles (steering power electric system). However, the local Ford dealer said our VIN was not included in the recall. I am hoping that enough other people have had a similar problem so Ford will address this issue. The Ford dealer and the local mechanic agreed that my wife should not be driving the vehicle due to the difficulty with making turns. Please let me know if others have reported this issue so we can address it with Ford.

- New Market, AL, USA

problem #7

Apr 162018

Flex

  • miles
I am not sure if I have takata air bags, however the air bag light has been on for over a year. The steering takes additional strength to turn at lower speeds. It does not matter where the car is driven for the steering issue, it happens on city streets, the highway if turning at slower speeds. The rack and pinion and power steering pump have been replaced did not fix the issue.

- Barberton, OH, USA

problem #6

Sep 082017

Flex

  • 50,000 miles
Power steering assist fails; driving and the power steering stops working, sometimes unexpectedly. Very dangerous! it is sporadic--sometimes it works and other times it does not work. Usually happens when stationary, and turning it on--power steering will not engage for several seconds. Once it happened when driving and I was lucky to pull over car. Turned it off and back on and it started working.

- Sunnyside, WA, USA

problem #5

Aug 242016

Flex

  • miles
I was backing my car into a parking space, turning my wheel all the way to the right when I hearo and felt a noise in the steering column and then all power steering assist completely ended making the car go into manual steering mode. Very difficult to steer and potentially hazardous being so sudden. There is a recall out for the power assist steering already and my Flex fits all the same criteria as the recall yet its not involved in the recall. Same plant, same building year, same model year, and same area affected as other cars in the recall but my VIN isn't included. This is nothing that I've done to the vehicle personally to make the power steering malfunction. I believe it's a manufacturer error that needs replaced in the recall. It could have been very dangerous as I was in an elementary school parking lot with alot of little kids walking around also have 3 in the car with me. My husband was lied to multiple times over the phone from fm employees about the nature of this recall and how or why our vehicle wasn't included. Our vehicle came out of the same plant during the same time the other affected vehicles did and is having the same issues as those affected and should be covered under the recall.

- Collinsville, OK, USA

problem #4

Jan 042016

Flex

  • 45,000 miles
While driving I experienced a total loss of power steering and the dashboard flashed "power assist failure". this happened four times over the course of two weeks. I've taken the car in to sound Ford in renton, wa and was told that this is a known recall issue (#15S18). My complaint is with regard to the part needed to repair the problem. Both the dealer and the Ford customer relationship center have told me that the part ( a steering gear) is on endless backorder due to manufacturing delays. Driving the car at this point is dangerous and I'm looking for support in getting the replacement part from Ford and having the repair done.

- Vashon, WA, USA

problem #3

Aug 302014

Flex 6-cyl

  • 56,100 miles
I was driving in traffic when a warning sounded and my dashboard displayed the message "power steering assist failure". steering became extremely difficult. I pulled into a service station and shut off the engine. When I restarted the engine, the steering problem had resolved itself. Approximately an hour later, the same problem repeated itself. An internet search revealed that many other drivers of Flex vehicles have experienced the same problem. I contacted Ford and they said, while other Ford models have been recalled for a similar problem, the Flex is not named in any of their notices. At this time they said they have no plan for any follow-up action. Because of the loss of steering control this is a safety issue that should be addressed before someone gets killed.

- Ipswich, MA, USA

problem #2

Aug 062014

Flex 6-cyl

  • 41,600 miles
Traveling straight down a main, 2 lane road, the vehicle chimed and I received two errors on the diagnostic screen. First was for power steering assist fault and the second was advance trac fault. The power steering assist was disabled and the steering wheel had gone stiff. I was able to do a rolling restart (neutral, key off, restart, back into drive) without incident, the warnings on the dash cleared, and the power steering was restored. Given any winding road or turning into or out of traffic scenario, this could have been much more treacherous. I felt I should bring this to your attention, as it appears this is a common situation, evidenced by an internet search.

- Wilmore, KY, USA

problem #1

Oct 292012

Flex 6-cyl

  • 5,020 miles
First incident happened while driving about 40 miles an hour. Idiot lights came on the dash and the cars engine turned off. Thankfully I was able to get car off to the side of road. Car cranked right back up. 5 days later while sitting in a fast food line, same thing happened and was able to crank car. Called dealership in town, brought car in and they said, "nothing is wrong with your car, come and get it" picked up car. 2 days later while driving it down our street, I stopped to get mail about 9pm and the car totally died. No power at all. Was stuck in park had to be towed. This is a very dangerous situation. The car shuts down while I am driving!!! thank god that it has not happened while going 65 miles an hour with my family in the car. Car is at dealership. Have only had the car several months. Not a good track record so far!

- Apex, NC, USA

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