Problems with 2012 Ford Fusion STEERING

I was driving down the interstate when an alarm sounded and two warning messages appeared on the dash display. power steering assist fault and service advancetrac. at that time there was no power steering. the vehicle was extremely difficult to turn. had i been executing a turn at the time of the failure i likely would have run into something. the steering is extraordinarily stiff when the power assist is off. this has occurred several times over the past few months. in the past, restarting the vehicle cleared the error message and the power steering worked again. this time however the failure seems permanent. ford has examined the vehicle and said the failure is in a motor in the rack and pinion and the entire steering assembly will have to be replaced to the tune of $1900.00. this is a very dangerous problem as it occurs with no warning and at all different speeds. i have also noticed some "clunking" sounds when the steering wheel is turned while the vehicle is stationary.

We were driving the vehicle down the road at a speed of roughly 50 mph. with no advanced warning there were chimes going off and a message in the warning center telling me power steering assist failure service advancetec. with great effort we were able to get the car off of the road way, turned the engine off, let it sit for 5 minutes and restarted the vehicle with no issues. this is the second time it has done this the first time wasn't a great big deal since we were sitting in a parking lot with the car idle. *tr

After 20 min driving under normal conditions, power steering suddenly failed and warning light illuminated. steering wheel became difficult to turn, but with considerable effort was able to maneuver into parking lot (would have been dangerous on the highway). turned off engine and restarted car after 10 min, and steering began operating normally with no warning light. *tr

I was making a left turn on a dirt road when the power steering went out and my steering wheel jerked the opposite direction and i went off the side of the road and did damage to my fender. i took it to the ford dealer that i purchased it from for warranty fix and to fix my fender and they denied my work and wouldn't fix the power steering even though the code po7ae and u0415 clearly came up. this is a huge safety issue and ford needs to take responsibility. *tr

I was driving down the highway doing approximately 55 miles an hour.. conditions were clear.. all of a sudden there was some beeping noise.. then the wheel completely locked up on me.. i was thankful i was on a straight road.. i slowed down and the car had a warning stating the power steering had failed.. i put the car in park and shut off the vehicle.. since owning the vehicle (purchased brand new), there have been 5 power steering failures.. *tr

I drove to the bank to cash a check. vehicle is fine driving there when i went to leave and back out of my parking stall i had no power steering at all. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford fusion. the contact stated that while driving approximately 10 mph, the steering wheel seized as the advance track warning light illuminated. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 69,001. the vin was not available.

Driving one day had just took off so wasn't going that fast an was approaching a turn and found out that i had to hold the steering wheel real tight because i could not turn the car .tried to get my car fixed as a matter of fact i did take it to a ford dealership and got charged for something that i thought was going to take care of the problem but didn't the problem came back . my car is still saying get power steering rack advance trac serviced. tried 3 times to fix but nothing seems to work , i need your help ! *tr

I saw on news that you were investigating power steering issues on the ford fusion 2012. this is a problem i have been having with my fusion 2012 almost from the beginning. the vehicle was purchased with less than 10 miles on it and the issue started happening around the second month. i hear a ding and then the power steering goes out, the brakes paddle requires a lot of pressure to engage, and the accelerator paddle is not as responsive. two error messages appear on the display, "power steering assist fault" and "service advancetrac." i mentioned it to the service department at the ford dealer and he ask me to take a picture of the messages next time it happens and bring them in. i took pictures and brought them in, i'm then told that i have to bring the vehicle in while the error messages are showing in order for the mechanic to diagnose the problem. this will be almost impossible to do because after a restart the errors go away. i'm glad to see that this issue is finally being investigated. *tr

The electric power steering has failed about 6 times since i received the car new at the end of 2011. each time the power steering failed a message would appear on the dash stating that the power steering has failed, then the steering wheel becomes very, very hard to turn. shutting the car off and restarting it corrects the problem until the next time it happens - this could be 10 months or as short a 2 days. the failures have occurred in different driving environment - parking lots twice, town roads, and highways. when the power steering fails the forces required to steer the car are extreme. i'm an average person (5'8" 180lbs) and have barely enough strength to turn the wheel in a failure condition. my sister (5' 2" 105 lbs) will likely crash. took the car to the ford dealer today to have the problem repaired, and after $148.00 for a diagnostic charge they said they found no fault codes in the car computer indicating there had been any power steering failures, and there was nothing they could do about until they physically saw the problem. no fault code registration for such a serious problem is unbelievable - a serious defect in itself. i conceder this car unsafe to drive. *tr

I was driving my car and on the dash of my car displayed a power steering assist fault. which then it became very difficult to turn. i quickly put the car in neutral and turned it off and then back on. it fixed the problem and the message on my dash went away. the problem occurred twice more over the year and finally today as i got in my car the same message came up and wouldn't go away. so no i cant drive my own car and i live in a remote part of the u.s. *jb

Drove home normally and shut off the car. went to restart the car and the care indicated a "power steering failure - service advance trak" message. shutting off and restarting the car did not change the result. car had no power steering. drove the car to the dealer. the dealer indicated that the steering rack needed replaced. $1900.00 warranty repair. *jb

Driving down the road at a normal rate of speed between 35 and 65 mph the power steering just stops working. no warning of any kind. this happened several times in the past two years. luckily we were able to pull over to the side of the road without incident shut the car off , and when you restart the car all the lights in the dash would go out and power steering would presume. finally on aug. 9 2014 it stopped working all together and had to have the electronic steering rack replaced. the dealer told me the first time it happened that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. *tr

When exiting onto the access road of a major freeway, my 2012 ford fusion's power steering locked up and i could not maneuver the wheel (there was no advance warning of the impending failure)... immediately, i turned on hazard lights and reduced speed, then with great difficulty i was able to pull to the side of the road. the dashboard showed an error stating "power steering assist fault." i turned off the engine and upon restart of the engine, the power steering began working again. today, oct. 22, 2012, this same power steering failure has now occurred for the fourth time in less than a month. each occurrence was at speeds less than 25 mph, however on two of these occasions, i nearly had an accident with vehicles nearby because i had no control of the steering and could not maneuver out of the way of the neighboring vehicles... thankfully, the other drivers were able to swerve to avoid hitting my vehicle. i am very concerned that my vehicle will be involved in an accident in the near future due to this very serious malfunction of the ford fusion's power steering! the nhtsa needs to order a recall on this issue immediately because there are hundreds of complaints online of the exact same power steering failure on the ford fusion, ford focus, ford explorer and ford escape. i am highly upset with ford for not addressing this issue and continuing to sell new vehicles, such as mine, to unwitting and trusting customers... all the while knowing they were manufacturing the same damaged part and placing it into their new vehicles. please hold the ford motor company responsible for their dishonest and misleading practices.... make them issue a recall of all their vehicles with malfunctioning power steering and avoid an extremely hazardous condition on roads all across america. please do not wait for an innocent person to die because of ford's failure to act!! *tr

Power steering failure. has occurred four times. warning on the dash for "power steering assist failure" then power steering fails. nearly impossible to turn the wheel. happened in stop-and-go traffic on interstate as well as making a turn in a parking lot which nearly led to a collision with a parked car since i could not turn the wheel. since it happened twice before i know to put in neutral then turn off and turn on the ignition. however, previously ford dealer replaced lower front arm iaw ford tsb. this obviously did not fix the issue. most recent failures were within 150 miles of each other. i cannot let my wife drive this car as she would not be able to turn the steering wheel in the event of a failure. *tr

Was driving on freeway at 65mph. service power steering soon light came on then pulled to the side of the freeway. owners manual said i needed to turn vehicle off and back on. after i turned the vehicle back on the "service power steering system now" light came on. the vehicle had completely lost the power steering system. the steering become very difficult to use. it becomes very stiff and jerks hard to whichever side you turn it to. the vehicle was taken to the ford dealership the next day. after a week in the shop they replaced the lower control arms and reset the vehicle computer. many fusion forums say that this doesn't fix the problem and have returned the vehicle for more repairs. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford fusion. the contact stated that while in reverse, the vehicle violently jerked intermittently. the steering wheel seized with the illumination of the power steering assist failure light. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis but they were unable to duplicate the problem. the manufacturer was notified. the approximate failure mileage was 600. ..updated 12-05-13 *bf the consumer also stated the transmission did not shift correctly and it would slam into reverse.

3 different incidents. 1 on 8/8/12, 2 on 8/10/12. all driving at low speeds during short distance trips ( less than 15 miles ). for no apparent reason, car chimed, showed warning to service advancetrack, power steering failure ( do not recall exact wording of warning ). car was manueverable but very difficult to steer. able to reset power steering by stopping, turning off / restarting car. *tr

Power steering failure after car had been parked for 45 minutes in 102 degree outdoor weather heat. car operated normally for an hour before parking the car. after restarting the car, there was no functioning power steering assist. car was drivable, and steerable with great effort. repair made at ford dealership under warranty (car was 11 months old with 5140 miles on odometer). the electronic anti-lock control module was replaced. service staff said the electronic module also controlled the power steering and advancetrak vehicle stability control systems. *tr

Started the car, message center displayed power steering assist default.steering wheel completely tight. followed manual directions to turn of ignition,restart after 10 seconds,message returned. terribly frightened. in an effort to get to safe location, drove the car slowly using incredible upper arm strength to turn steering wheel. towed to dealer next day..informed that rack and pinion need replacing. defected from manufacture. just purchased the car, its only 90 days in my ownership. i do not trust this car at all. i had an 11 month old in the car, this could have been a major accident. *tr

Power steering went out on a number of occasions. after turning the car off and on it was able to reboot and the steering started working ok. on 8/26/14 the power steering went out and will not work. this is a major safety issue as the car is very hard to drive without it (it is much more difficult than old cars without power steering). took the care to goodyear who said they didn't want to try to fix it. then to elk river ford who explained the power steering gear needed replaced at a cost of $2200. the electronics went out and they have to replace the whole thing. that is way too much money for a relatively new car that has been well maintained. this started at approximately 45,000 miles (mostly highway miles). ford customer service said there was nothing they could do to help with the expense. after talking with them i noted there were many complaints out on the internet about this problem. it is hard to believe ford can get away with not taking care of a major safety issue like this without charging the customer. this does not meet reasonable expectations for what is supposed to be a good car. if not corrected by ford, this will be the last one i will ever purchase ... you can probably include any family member or anyone who's ear i can get. *tr

Multi function screen showed power steering malfunction at stop light. vehicle restarted and warning was gone and steering was normal. next day warning appeared while driving on a straight road, steering was very difficult. vehicle pulled over, restarted and warning was gone, normal steering. in one hour it happened again, vehicle was brought to local ford dealer, and the first diagnosis was unknown as "codes" did not indicate steering problem. today they called and stated the car needs an entire rack and pinion steering set replacement. unfortunately there is a national back log and no parts available. car is inoperable. working with ford customer care solutions center for resolution. *js

Early part of the year (2013) the service advance trac light will come on and off i contacted the dealer and he stated that it was the stability in the vehicle and also it wasn't nothing to be alarmed about unless the light just come on and stay on . finally it came on and wouldn't go off i took it to the dealership they said it would be $ 240 to repair the car and i had to wait until the parts come in by that time come to find out they was will to pay the $240. i picked the car up the same day which was the first day the car should have been repaired same problems took the car back on that monday they so called fixed the vehicle it seem to be okay drove the car for approximately 8 days the same service advanctrac light came back on next service power steering light came on about 15 mins later the service power steering now light came on lost all power and control of the vehicle had the car towed backed to the dealership they check the car and quoted me a job for $ 2,658.12 which was not covered under a warranty. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford fusion. the contact stated when he drove the vehicle the steering wheel was difficult to turn and was resistant when the contact attempted to make a left or right turn. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer for inspection and they stated that was normal. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 130. ...updated 08-10-12 *bf

After highway driving for about an hour and pulling off to city area, came to a stop and then released brake after stop sign and gliding thru intersection the power steering failed and a warning light came on something to the affect of "power steering malfunction". turned car off and restarted and car worked fine again. little scary though considering it could have happened in less safe circumstances. making appointment to have looked at by the dealer. *tr

Power steering failure. "power steering assist fault" warning on my dash, alternating with "service advancetrac" warning. power steering failure while driving on the interstate. extremely difficult to turn the steering wheel to change lanes and turn onto off-ramp. pulled over, turned off ignition, restarted car and fault went away and power steering worked again. if my wife had been driving she would not have been able to turn the wheel to pull out of traffic and into a safe area; i could barely turn the wheel. vehicle was purchased about three months ago and has less than 3,000 miles.

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford fusion. the contact stated that the steering warning light flashed once as the steering failed. the wrecker service towed the vehicle to the dealer where the steering rack was replaced. the dealer advised the contact that the electronic power assist failed. the failure mileage was 600 and the current mileage was 2,500. updated 02/15/12*bf updated 03/08/12

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford fusion. the contact stated the vehicle would experience an intermittent loss of power steering. the contact stated the service power steering light illuminates on the instrument panel when the failure occurs. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer and the steering rack will need to be replaced. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 300.

Power steering service track light came on during car start up and i had no power steering. i restarted the car and the power steering worked and the service light went off. i looked to check the power steering fluid and found the system is electronic. this problem repeated about every 2 weeks during startup and was resolved similarly. on august 23, 2013 the problem occurred again but restarting did not fix the problem. no other problems other than low air pressure service light. *jb