Problems with 2011 Ford Fusion STEERING

5 incidents in total dating back to january 2014. description of first 4 incidents (all similar): *driving 25 - 35 mph down residential street *without warning the "power steering assist fault" dash light comes on - power steering shuts off *pulled over. turned off car. turned car on. power steering restored. on one of the instances it shut off again 30 minutes later but turning car on/off worked again. *this has happened at least 5 times. description of last incident (yesterday 6/26/14): *parked. turned car on. "power steering assist fault" dash light comes on - power steering shuts off *tried the same as the last 5 times. turned car on/off. still no power steering. still dash warning lit. did this approximately 20 times. no change. *waited overnight. tried again. warning light on. no power steering. turned on and off 5 times. no change. *currently car is parked as too dangerous to drive. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

Ran into the store left car running when i came out the traction light was on and an error code stating service advancetrac soon and service power steering soon was on. i drove less than a mile home at low speed and the power steering was seeming to get a bit tight. about an hour later i went back to the car started it up and the error code said service power steering now and i had complete loss of power steering. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. the contact stated that the steering wheel seized without warning. the failure was experienced several times. the vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the dealer stated that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 22,000 and current mileage was 94,189.

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. the contact was driving 20 mph when the power steering warning light illuminated simultaneously as the power steering failed. the vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic for inspection. the vehicle has not been repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the incident. the approximate failure mileage was 68,000.

I was driving down the road at about 35 mph ironically headed to an auto store when the warning light came on. the warning said "service advancetrac" and "service power steering now." i had my wife and kids with me at the time, and it could have been very dangerous if there was an accident. luckily i was driving at the time because the wheel was so hard to turn that my wife would not have been able to turn it. i then took it to the shop where only a ford mechanic can order the part to the price of $1,300 not including labor. i thought i was buying a reliable car but i was wrong. what car's power steering goes out shortly after the warranty does and has to be taken to the dealership where only a ford mechanic can fix it? a ford fusion. it looks like they wanted more money and made a cheap car that would break down so you had to take it back to them. *tr

Lost power steering. took it to the ford dealer the next day. was told the rack & pinion needed to be replaced. was told not covered under warranty and the dealer wanted to charge me $1136 for the part and $450 to install. had the error code erased and was able to drive it for about a week before losing power steering again. found the part at a local auto parts store for $476 and if i return the defective part i get $170 back. after researching this issue it seems other ford fusion owners are having the same problem & ford is recalling the 2013 for the same reason. *tr

I was turning and suddenly the steering became very stiff and hard to turn. the message on the dash is showing "service the power steering now". *tr

My wife was driving and lost power steering advance trac warning and service power steering now went on. she went into on coming traffic luckily no accident. took it to ford dealer est cost was 2800 dollars for new rack for steering. was told the internals were damaged. not happy and i wasn't sure that was the problem. argued with them and told them they were wrong and refused repair but was still charged a diagnosis fee. brought car home and took the wheels off and cleaned every thing that has to do with steering and traction. i now have power steering. bad design on this car the sensors will pick up a problem and turn items off to protect them from overheating. i hope this helps others don't trust your ford dealer they will take you for the most expensive item. *tr

Was pulling into drive way. as soon as straightened out the wheels, steering locked up. i could not turn the wheels none at all. they were locked in the last position they were in before the power steering locked up. it has happened again also. locked up and cannot budge the steering. looked on line and have seen where this is happening to a lot of ford fusions. needs to be looked into. someone is going to get killed if not already! *tr

I have owned this car for barely 2 years and all of a sudden i have no steering at all. if it is an extremely cold day it may work ok but other than that it doesn't work at all and is unsafe to drive. i did research and was told it is electric steering and will cost roughly $2000.00 to fix. this car is too new to have that kind of problem. during my search i have found many people are experiencing the exact same thing and there was an actual recall for the 2013 fusions with this problem. not sure why the 2011 hasn't also been recalled. i am still researching that because i definitely can't afford $2,000 out of pocket expense on my vehicle right now. *tr

I was going about 55 mph and lost all steering ability, the service powersteering now light came on and i lost all ability to steer. i almost crashed. also along with that message another message saying to service advance trac now. the power steering is a total lost. i tried turning the car off and there is nothing. also about 3000 miles ago the same message with the service advance trac with a message saying powersteering fault. then i turned the car off and it was fine up until the last incident. *tr

While driving my 2011 ford fusion i lost all power steering to the vehicle. i couldn't control the steering and immediately turned the vehicle off to see if this resolved it. this happened two other times, and the issue resolved itself after i turned off the vehicle and turned it back on. this last time was a different story. the power steering went completely out, and it has never come back. i was driving to a restaurant, and got my vehicle parked okay, and i thought that the problem would be resolved after i turned it off and back on. this time it didn't. i had to have my vehicle towed home! (this was the occurrence on october 28, 2014. i have had my battery checked to make sure that it is not losing power, but the power steering is still out! i've seen lots of reports about this, and am hoping for a recall. i cannot afford to get this fixed if it costs as much as some of the other posts say (upwards of $2,000.00 to fix it) ford needs to help all of these customers now! *tr

Began having problems with this vehicle the second month after purchase. the first incident was steering wheel locked and i could not control the direction of the car. i ended up on the left side of the road off the shoulder before i could stop it. it happened on several occasions. car dies for no reason. i end up having it towed or restarted by charging battery. the battery always has a full charge. also i have been shopping and get in the car to start it and it will not start. door handles would not work from inside. windows would not open. had to force window down enough to open from the outside. had front door handle assemble replaced had transfer case resealed horrible smell, new tires 3 times since it was purchased had rear drive shaft replaced, fuel pump replaced had taken it to ford just recently for what i deemed was computer problems, of course they could not find anything wrong. i was told by my mechanic the last time i had new tires put on the car that i would need new rims soon. the rims are eroding from the inside out. i have several invoices for work that was done and a few more i can't locate at this time. i would like to send them all to you. purchase car 12/1/12.

Power steering failure. *tr

Traveling at 55mph, when the service power steering now and advance trac light came on,, no power steering,,made it home,, tried it again in the morning still no power steering, had it towed to a ford dealer, who said they cleared the codes and cant duplicate the problem,, the 4 codes stored were p07ae, u0415,, c1277,, c1963,, we live a rural area with no guard rails and between 20 to 150 foot drop offs,, if this would have happened to the wife,, which is her car to drive,, she wouldn't be able to steer this vehicle,, took me all i had to get it home,, not very confidant on letting her drive this car,, ford needs to resolve this problem. *tr

Purchased the vehicle used apprx 3 months ago. twice in the 3500 miles we have put on it, the power steering has cut out while driving. after taking it to our local ford dealership, we were told the steering gears need replaced and will cost us almost $1500. none of which is covered under the warranty that came with the vehicle. after contacting ford customer assistance, we have been told that there are "not enough complaints" to warrant a recall. i do not think this is something we, the customer, should be held responsible for paying for as it is a manufacturers defect. how many complaints do they need? it's a safety issue and ford needs to step up and take care of it. *tr

I was going approximately 60 mph and the power steering went away. i pulled over and turned off the car and restarted and it was fine. *tr

Sudden loss of power steering. messages show power steering assist fault and service advancetrac. advantrac led is lit on console. this is an intermittent problem that started on 10/23/2013 at 69,000 miles until it finally failed completely on 7/14/2014 at 86,700 miles. between october, 2013 and july, 2014, it could fail at any moment at any speed. there were approximately 30 instances of power steering loss during this time. i found out that the problem would go away when i stopped the car, turned it off, and restarted. it would clear the messages and the power steering would work fine until the next incident. my ford dealer stated that they couldn't fix it until they got the fault code. i would have to bring in when it was in the failed state. needless to say, it didn't conveniently fail when i was near my ford dealer during business hours. this is a serious safety issue that many other ford fusion drivers have experienced. it was very stressful driving the car without power steering. the code fault is c200d. the steering rack (ae5z*3504*ce) needed to be replaced to fix the problem. i had to pay for the repair. my ford dealer provided some reimbursement, but i think this should have been a recall to cover all costs because it was a known a safety issue. there is a recall for sudden loss of power steering on explorer and escape, but not fusion. why not? it's okay for fusion owners to drive with an increase risk of crashing, but not explorer or escape owners? the car is awful to drive without power steering especially at low speeds. *tr

Driving on a surface street at approx 10-15 mph and the power steering goes out. "power steering assist fault" message on dash board. pulled car over to side and shut off engine. restarted and issue went away. this happened 5-6 times in the following 9 months. then on aug 6 (warranty expired), power steering would not work and message would not go away, even after restart. took it to the dealer and was charged $1827.88 to fix. (part installed - ae5z 3504 ce: gear assy - steering). *tr

I was driving on the interstate and about to exit off of the interstate when my power steering locked up. i was able to pull my steering wheel enough to get off of the interstate and onto the shoulder but could not turn my steering back and forth. i turned my car off and when i turned the car back on i was able to move my steering wheel. i have had this car since it was brand new and i have serviced it on a regular basis. the car is a 2011 with only 50,000 miles on the vehicle. i was able to get the car safely to the shoulder but could have ended had a very bad accident. i am now fearful to drive the car. *tr

While driving at about 45 mph the car chimed and posted a warning on the display. it told me to check the power steering. the power steering was still working so i continued driving. once i came upon a stop light i turned the vehicle off to try and clear the code. when i turned the vehicle back on it chimed again and then posted a service steering now warning. i proceeded from the traffic light and made a right hand turn onto another road. the power steering was gone and the vehicle was very hard to turn. i had the vehicle towed to the ford dealership and they claim the problem is a steering gear and will cost $1700 to replace it. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. the contact stated that the power steering failed. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the electric rack and pinion needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 125,000.

Was exiting highway and depressed the brake. car pulled to the left and power steering went out. advance trac failure message displayed on indicator panel. pulled off the road, turned off engine, then restarted the vehicle. all systems started normally. took vehicle to ford dealer for service on november 1st, 2013. they checked brakes and indicated all was fine. also indicated no error message was in memory of the service module. as history, car has always had issues with pulling when braking (and sometimes when accelerating). typically pulls to the left, but sometimes to the right. never had it thoroughly checked until this visit as symptom is not consistent. pulling is still occurring sporadically as of this date. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. while driving at 35 mph, the steering wheel seized. the vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the electronic power steering gears needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 72,000.

When starting my car the power steering assist warning was displayed. when i shut the car back off and restarted it the problem went away. this happened about 3 times in about 3000 miles. about the fourth time this happened, shutting it off did not correct the problem. service advancetrac was now also displayed. the car has no power steering or advancetrac at this time. the codes that were stored in the computer were for the pinion sensor failure. this sensor is used by both systems and is not replaceable by itself. the entire rack and pinion needs to be changed. the quote from my dealer was about $1400. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. while driving in reverse, the power steering failed. as a result, the contact had to use extreme force to turn the steering wheel. the vehicle had to be restarted in order to resume normal operation. the failure occurred several times. the dealer was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. the manufacturer was not notified. the approximate failure mileage was 25,000. updated 11/20/14*lj

While driving in town at approximately 35mph on 9/18/13, the following message appeared in the instrument cluster display "service advancetrak" and "power steering assist fault". at that moment, the car did not have power steering. i pulled over and shut off the car and restarted it and the car worked normally for a few blocks then did the same sequence again. as of this morning 9/19/13, the power steering is working fine. *tr

Backing out of my garage, started hearing warning sounds going off, message board scrolled the following: power steering system fault. i was unable to steer my vehicle at all. i had to have the car towed to a car repair shop. after a few days of trying to get the computer to read my car to see what was wrong, the car repair shop had to tow my car over to a ford dealer who was able to tell the mechanic that my entire steering system was out and needed to be replaced. not only that, this particular part can only be purchased from ford and the part alone cost $1105.26. this is very much a safety issue and this should be recalled. a couple of days prior to this incident i was driving down 24 hwy going between 40 and 45 mph when this first occurred and i finally found myself in the middle of a heavily traffic area not able to steer my vehicle to the left or right. i was concerned with getting off the road in a safe manor. thankfully i was able to coast my vehicle to a stopping point, read my manual and discover a resetting processing. it worked and i was able to make it home. unfortunately, the reset process did not work this last time. i contacted ford and they did not offer any help, only stated there was no recall on this device and that my warranty was no longer valid and i had no extra coverage. ford should be forced to recall this system since so many people around the country are having an issue with this system. there is no way the steering system should go out within 60 thousand miles. i would appreciate an investigation into this issue and a response to my complaint. *tr

While traveling at a speed of approx 35 mph, the i received a vehicle warning on the dash of "power steering assist fault/service advance trac system". the vehicle became hard to maneuver and appeared to revert back to manual steering. drove approximately another 2.5 miles and turned car off. upon restart steering returned to normal. drove vehicle to dealership and was told possible faulty electrical steering sensor and mayneed total steering system replaced. waiting for final diagnoses at this time. *tr

Power steering went out on the vehicle on several occasions, both while driving and sitting at a stop. the steering wheel would not be able to turn, thus the vehicle would not turn. "power steering assist failure" warning came on during all occasions. power steering would come back on after turning the car off, but eventually totally went out. the vehicle had to be towed to a local ford dealership so the electronic power steering rack could be replaced. luckily my wife was not in heavy traffic during occasions when power steering went out, otherwise the situations could have been very bad. our toddler was in the car during all occasions as well. i have seen countless other stories on online forums about the power steering failing in 2011 ford fusions. there has just been a massive recall for gm vehicles involving the electronic power steering, perhaps they are related. please help in this matter. ford needs to address this problem and issue a recall. hopefully ford isn't hiding and running from this problem due to money, as we had to pay $1,800 for the repair. thank you. *tr

The steering suddenly went out as i was in the middle of a curving driving about 58-60 mph. a chime sounded and the advancetrac service light came on. i was able to get to my destination within 7-8 minutes. i turned off the car and let it sit for about 20 minutes. i then restarted the car and drove home without any incident. *tr

Going around a curve at about 60 mph, the steering suddenly went out. a chime sounded and the advancetrac service light came on. i was able to get to my destination within 7-8 minutes. i turned off the car and let it sit for about 20 minutes. i then restarted the car and drove home without any incident.

Leaving work on my way home it was fine. i proceeded to get onto the express way, as i went to change lanes the steering got really hard to turn after 10 miles down the road the power steering assist light came on. i pulled to the side of the road to check any fuses but were all good. i then tried to figure out how to reset it. i tried a few but the one that work for me was turning the car off then turn the key to the on position put it in neutral while in neutral turn the key to the off position then put the car in park then start it up and it worked. then it started doing it again. i think this is a very dangerous component to put on a car, because it goes out while driving. *jb

Driving approx 25 mph and power steering shut down without warning. i narrowly missed hitting another car. pulled car over (with great difficulty). an error message appeared "power steering assist fault" and "service advance trac." i turned car off for a minute and restarted. message was gone and car seemed to drive ok. i was one minute away from a major arterial street (50 mph limit) and could have been killed if this happened there!!*jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. the contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph, the trac control and power steering warning indicators illuminated followed by a complete loss of the power steering. the steering wheel became extremely difficult to maneuver. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who informed the contact that the failure was contributed to the electronic steering gear. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 42,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford fusion. the contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the power steering warning light illuminated as the steering wheel failed and tightened. the vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. the approximate failure mileage was 53,000.

Vehicle was being driven to place of work. as the vehicle was attempted to be turned right into driveway the power steering completely failed and the driver nearly hit another vehicle which was exiting the business and the curb. brakes were applied sharply and every bit of the 120 lb female driver's strength was needed to manually steer the vehicle into the parking lot. the cluster desplayed two error messages; "power steering assist fault" and "service advancetrac." this was the fourth occurence of this type with this vehicle. in the three previous situations when the key was cycled off and back on after the steering failed it returned to operation upon restart. in this occurence multiple key cycles were completed without any change. dealer charge for repair was over $1600. *tt

I was turning when my steering locked up and steering failure light lit on my dash. i lost control of my steering and could have crashed. *tr

Vehicle's power steering failed when shifting vehicle into reverse. "power assist" and "advancetrac" notifications appeared on dash. fluid normal and no visual defects. turned off and restarted vehicle, and power steering returned. internet searches revealed this to be a common problem with no certain solution. *tr

While driving down the freeway at 70mph on a straight section of road the power steering assist fault and advance trac fault appeared on the dash and the steering wheel became very stiff (difficult to turn). this has happened a total of 4 times, once about a month ago, and twice on the 16th. 3 were on the freeway and the fourth upon starting the car later on the 16th. every time it was reset by turning the car off and letting it sit for a minute and restarting. *tr

Accelerating modestly from 4 way stop, the power steering just went out. there was a beeping noise and the dash read "power steering assist fault, service advancetrac". could be very dangerous on any sort of turn. very difficult to steer vehicle at that point. *tr

After several intermittent losses of power steering when driving the car the past year the power steering gear assembly failed on 8/12/14. cost to repair: $1987.73. it's a dangerous situation when you lose power steering while driving-especially for women or elderly people. i can't let my wife drive my car anymore in good conscience. *tr

I was driving about 40 mph when the service advance trac alarm came on. it said service power steering. when i came to a stop and turned off the vehicle, my fusion had no power steering whatsoever and i could not even turn the wheel. so i had it towed to the nearest ford dealership. they first replaced the steering gear assembly which three days later it went out again! i took it back to the dealer where they said it was a glitch in the sensor so they manually reset everything. well that fixed the problem for maybe 2 days, and it went out on me again. also, there was a piece of plastic that the dealership failed to put on correctly, thus resulting in the piece of plastic dragging the ground and broke off while i was driving. nearly scared me to death. they replaced the abs module and that also did not fix the problem. so i am now at a standstill and i refuse to be humiliated with this situation. ford has to fix my car or give me a new one because this is completely ridiculous. if this isn't a recall on this model then it should be because there is no way this car should have this problem in the three years i have had it. i am very frustrated with this dealership and also with ford. help! *jb

Bought the car on aug 06,2013. while driving home at 60 mph on expressway rpm went from 2 to 6 at 60. did not want to go over. suddenly the vehicle stalled on the middle lane. no other vehicles coming. the next day returned to dealership. they said it was not their prob anymore. they had added a extended warranty and said to take it to ford dealership. took it they said it was the throttle body. changed it. the next week it did the same thing again. took it back. said the extended warranty was void because problem was existing. stalled @ 8 times. car is parked at home. still paying $400 for 72 months. piece of junk. *tr

I was driving on the expressway early this morning traveling at ~70 miles an hour. without warning the power steering ceased to work and i got a warning that there was a power assist fault and to service advanctrac. if i would have been taking a curve at that exact moment the results could have been catastrophic. after making it off the expressway i was able to turn the car off and then back on and all was fine and the power steering was once again working. my concern at this point is that i never know, moving forward, if and when this issue may occur again. based on some online research i see many other fusion owners complaining of this exact issue. please don't wait for someone to die before taking action and forcing ford to analyze root cause. *tr

On three separate occasions within the last two weeks, (two while pulling out of my driveway, and once while leaving work), my steering has "locked" on me. the code that appeared on the dash was power steering assist fault. not being too sure of what this was about we took it to the dealer who told us it was the rack and pinion that had gone out. the dealer then stated in order to fix it the rocker arms as well as the rack and pinion would have to be replaced to the tune of 2700 in repairs, that was not including labor and tax. while our vehicle is still under warranty, i feel this should be part of the power train, as without steering you cannot drive. this is also a huge safety issue. i cannot imagine how this would have gone if i had been in traffic, let alone if my children had been in the car. i have seen how many complaints there is about this situation. when will there be results? *tr

Power steering failure makes the car steering control to be very hard. i tried many ways (turn off the car, disconnect battery) but did not work. *tr

I was driving and the car was running fine with no warning of any problems. i went through a toll booth, accelerated and all of the sudden the steering wheel locked up and became very difficult to turn the wheel. the power steering assist failure warning came on in the message center. if this were to occur on a corner there would be no way to save it. it is very dangerous and have no other way of getting around. now every time i get into my car, i am putting my life on the line. not safe there needs to be a recall on this vehicle as i see now many problems just like mine have occurred to thousands of people. i purchased my car only 8 months ago and have put around 9,000 miles on it. *tr

Twice in the last 3 weeks while driving and making a turn my power steering failed without warning. i had to pull over and restart the car and power steering returned to normal. *tr

Dash board reports power steering assist fault. difficulty steering. drive to parking place. turn car off. two hours later return to car. turn on car and the power steering is ok. second fault at 46045 miles. car was parked. turn car on. power steering assist fault. turn car off. turn car on. power steering ok. *tr