2012 Ford Escape Steering

Power steering was not working upon starting vehicle. Extremely hard to steer. If this had occurred at road speeds, particularly on curves it could have resulted in a loss of control and potentially life. Extremely frightening, especially as a quick search of the internet found it has occurred for many people and there was a recall for similar issue on prior years of Ford Escape. I am petrified to drive my car.

Shortly after start-up, the power steering stopped working and the steering wheel locked up. I attempted to turn the car off and back on (something I saw suggested online by other 2012 Ford Escape owners), but the power steering did not return. There were no warning lamps indicating a malfunction. When I researched the issue, I found a recall on previous models of the Ford Escape for the same issue. When I searched my car's VIN, it was not included in the recall.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH, the contact made a right turn, and the vehicle lost power steering functionality and the steering wheel became firm. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic, and it was determined that the steering torque sensor failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and determined that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.

Power steering randomly goes out while driving. They need to extend their recall from 2011 as they obviously have not fixed the issue.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Escape. The contact stated while making a left turn, the steering wheel seized. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the steering wheel operated as needed. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 147,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH and making a left turn into a parking lot, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated that after restarting the vehicle, the power steering functionality returned. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent; however, had become a recurring failure. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic however, the mechanic could not duplicate the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact pulled the vehicle off to the shoulder of the roadway. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed with a failure to the steering column. The contact had the ignition and steering column replaced; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The approximate failure mileage was 178,000.

Driving at lower speed power steering stopped working, turned off car and restart problem was gone. Drove home and happend again, now steering is sluggish and stickes at times.

I was driving in a 45-mph zone and was preparing to make a right turn and as I slowed down and made the turn, the wheel locked up with no warning light or other indication there was a power steering issue, and I nearly struck a car approaching the stop sign on the street that I was turning onto. I was able to drive my car to my destination that was right up the street. I turned off my car and turned it back on and the power steering was working again.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and attempting to turn the steering wheel, the steering wheel was difficult to maneuver. During the failure the traction control warning was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. There was no repair performed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 95,000.

I was driving on 169S and I lost steering. I was lucky to pull off to the side of the road. Found out it was the electric power steering assist torque sensor. I paid hundreds of dollars to get it fixed. I had to have a new steering column put in. I have to bring it back in to see if the computer is now affected by the replacement. The second incident involves losing the ability to accelerate on the highway when trying to pass. My child and I almost died! Why are all the models years not recalled??

On 2 different occasions now while I was driving my steering wheel has locked up and I could barley turn to get off the road. Once in the month of July and then again beginning of September. I don’t feel safe driving far distances for I have no idea if and when my wheel will lock up again, and if on a back or windy road there could be no way to get over or off the road causes and accident. My car is electrical and does not have liquid power steering and my steering torque sensor is not working correctly. My mechanic said the whole steering and frame needs to be replaced. I have done research and see. Other people with my make and year having the same issues. There was also already a recall out in for the same vehicle (Ford Escape) but the years 2008-2011, my car in one year ahead 2012 and has the same exact porblem. There was no warning of a problem it just all of a sudden locked up and I could hardly pull off the road.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Escape. While his wife was driving and making a left turn, the power steering suddenly failed, and the steering wheel would not turn in either direction, causing the vehicle to nearly crash into a telephone pole. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on multiple occasions. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 140,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Escape. The contact stated while approaching a stop sign to make a right turn, the steering wheel seized. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated she restarted the vehicle and was able to continue driving. The contact stated that she experienced the failure once a month since 9/1/2021. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.

My son was driving my 2012 Escape. While entering the Highway the steering became very stiff while making a left had turn. It felt like there was no power steering. the vehicle is at 135,970 miles. I was able to drive it to my parents and take another vehicle to work. Upon returning to the vehicle that evening the and starting it up, the steering had returned to normal. I looked online and saw that this is a common occurrence with the 2012 Escapes and that there was a recall for this for he 2011 Escapes.

TURNING THE VEHICLE BECOMES VERY STRENUOUS/HEAVY WHILE DRIVING AT LOWER SPEEDS (INTO PARKING LOTS, DRIVEWAYS, ETC). DIFFICULTY TURNING IS NOTICED MOSTLY DURING RIGHT HAND TURNS. THE STEERING WHEEL ALSO WILL NOT TURN ITSELF BACK AFTER MAKING A TURN. ALL OF THE ISSUES I HAVE EXPERIENCED WITH THE ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING SYSTEM IS CONSISTENT WITH THE POWER STEERING RECALL WHICH ONLY INCLUDED FORD ESCAPES UP TO 2011.

LOST POWER ASSIST FOR STEERING WHEN I TURNED LEFT AROUND AN ISLAND ON A BUSY STREET IN THE MIDDLE OF A CITY.

WHILE DRIVING ON A COLD DAY (20-30 DEGREES), THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING STOPPED WORKING. THE CAR COULD BE STEERED WITH SOME DIFFICULTY BUT THERE DIDN'T APPEAR TO BE ANY POWER ASSIST AT ALL. NO WARNINGS OR ERROR MESSAGE WAS DISPLAYED. SHUTTING OFF AND RESTARTING THE CAR CORRECTED THE PROBLEM, AT LEAST FOR NOW.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Escape. He stated that while his wife was driving 35 MPH, the steering wheel became inoperable without warning. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering column assembly and power assist steering unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering failed, and the steering wheel was stiff and difficult to turn. The failure almost caused a collision. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed as steering column failure and the steering column was replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer suggested that the contact take the vehicle to a dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was 175,000.

DRIVING CAR AND ALL OF A SUDDEN STEERING LOCKS UP, I PULLED OVER SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF AND LOOKED UNDERNEATH TO SEE IF POWER STEERING FLUID LEAKED OUT, FOUND NO VISIBLE EVIDENCE OF A LEAK , GOT BACK IN VEHICLE AND STARTED IT AND STEERING WAS FINE AGAIN, THAT WAS ABOUT A WEEK AGO, THIS MORNING I'M DRIVING TO WORK AND SAME THING HAPPENS AGAIN. WHEN I GET TO WORK I GO ONLINE AND NOTICE THAT THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO A LOT OF 2012 FORD ESCAPE OWNERS AND THAT THERE WAS A RECALL FOR THOSE VEHICLES MADE IN 2008 TO 2011 AND ASSEMBLED IN KANSAS CITY JUST LIKE MINE WAS. I CALLED FORD AND THEY TOLD THAT THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY VEHICLE. THERE ARE NO FAULT CODES OR CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS COMING ON.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Escape. The contact stated while his wife was driving at 35 MPH and attempting to make a turn, the electrical power steering became stiff. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact's wife was able to pull to the side of the road. The contact stated when his wife turned off the vehicle and restarted it, she noticed the electrical power steering had loosened up. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact stated the failure had been recurring. The failure reoccurred today while driving. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 167,000.

TOTAL LOSS OF STEERING WHILE DRIVING ON EXPRESSWAY. THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME STIFF. NO MAINTENANCE LIGHTS COME ON BUT MANAGED TO SLOWLY PULL OVER TO THE SHOULDER. TURNED OFF VEHICLE FOR 5 MINS, THEN TURN BACK ON AND STEERING WAS WORKING AGAIN. LUCKILY I WAS JUST 2 MILES AWAY FROM MY DESTINATION. CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID NO RECALLS HAVE BEEN MADE FOR THE YEAR/MAKE/MODEL. IT APPEARS THOUGH THE SAME MAKE AND MODEL BUT DIFFERENT YEARS 2008-2011 WERE RECALLED FOR SAME THING. I AM TOTALLY TERRIFIED TO DRIVE VEHICLE BECAUSE IT MIGHT HAPPEN AGAIN WITHOUT ANY WARNING.

LOST POWER STEERING WHILE GOING DOWN HIGHWAY. TURNED VEHICLE OFF AND BACK ON AND IT FIXED IT. RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM FOR THIS MAKE VEHICLE UP TO 2011 MODEL. SOME OF THE PARTS CARRIED OVER TO 2012. 2012 NEEDS RECALL ALSO. VERY DANGEROUS.

Operator of vehicle will be driving on the roadway, suddenly without warning, steering system locks up. Operator has to forcefully pull vehicle to the side of the roadway. completely shut off the vehicle, wait for a short period and restart the vehicle. This lockup may occur several times during a trip. Vehicle has been repaired. The Steering shaft torque sensor had to be replaced. The steering lockup has been occurring over a period of a year. There appeared to be no pattern in the frequency of occurrences.