122 complaints reported

2014 Ford Escape Steering

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
122
Crashes
2
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Aug 2026

I was driving on the road when the steering started to get stuck, it got hard to move it, I got the warning on the car about a steering fault, stop safely. fortunately I was able to pull over with no risk, I had to call tow, but it could have caused an accident.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Dec 2025
Dec 2025

Electronic power steering has stopped working, flashes a message on the dash, and vehicle is stuck with Armstrong steering without it's electronic assist.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Dec 2025
Jun 2025

-Electric power steering system. Yes, it is available for inspection. -My safety is high risk with this issue. -No. -No. -Yes. A message saying "Steering Assist Fault Service Required" few time would pop up and the steering wheel couldn't move. I would turn off the vehicle and turn it back on, the message would go away.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Oct 2025
Jun 2025

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became very difficult to turn in either direction. The contact stated that the message "Service Vehicle" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering rack was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 79,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Sep 2024
Jun 2025

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was an electrical buzzing sound coming from the steering column while turning the steering wheel in either direction. The contact stated that later while driving approximately 10 MPH, the message "Power Steering Off" was displayed and the steering wheel became difficult to turn, causing the vehicle to drive into the opposite lane while oncoming traffic was approaching. The vehicle was later examined by an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the steering rack was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was contacted regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 154,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2025
Dec 2024

The power steering assist has begun to randomly stop working. It has happened 3 times. The first time it happened was as soon as I started the car to move it. I turned the car off and turned it back on and it worked. 5 starts later the same problem occurred and I was able to restart the car and it worked. Approximately 7 starts after that the power steering assist stopped working again, but this time it was not as soon as the vehicle was started. This time it went out mid turn as I began turning onto the road. Each time the warning came up on the dash after the steering became difficult. The power steering assist randomly going out while driving puts the safety of myself, my passengers, and other cars at risk for a crash from the sudden change in ability to steer the vehicle. At this time the vehicle has not been taken into a service center because it is not a consistent problem and if they don't find the problem on the first try they will charge a diagnostic fee to tell me that "everything is fine" or "we can't find the problem" and I am not willing to pay them money for no work. Once was a fluke, twice was a coincidence, three times is a problem that makes this vehicle unsafe to drive. Ford has had a recall on previous model years for this same issue.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Apr 2024
Nov 2024

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality inadvertently. The contact was able to drive to the nearby residence. The contact stated that upon restarting the vehicle, a message indicating a power steering assist failure was displayed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 143,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Oct 2024
Sep 2024

Complete steering failure vehicle undriveable .

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2024
Sep 2024

Steering assist fault. Power steering freezes when car starts. Steering wheel is locked so you are stuck wherever you parked your car. Cannot turn wheels. Very finnicky youtube tutorials to get it “fixed” after 30+ minutes of restarting the vehicle. This is the second time this has happened to me in this car.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Aug 2024
Aug 2024

The contact's daughter owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the battery was drained. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the battery needed to be replaced. The battery was replaced. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at 35 MPH, the power steering became inoperable. The driver pulled over, turned the steering wheel to the right, and turned on the flasher. The power steering and engine warning lights became illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering gear assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that there was no recall coverage for the vehicle and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Aug 2024
Jun 2024

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became abnormally stiff, and the vehicle became difficult to maneuver. The contact was not aware of any warning lights being illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with steering mechanism failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating the failure to an unknown recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to call the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Apr 2024
Jun 2024

Power steering stopped working instantaneously while exiting the interstate. Narrowly avoided leaving the road thru maximum braking, which nearly resulted in being hit from behind. Vehicle displayed a message saying “Steering Assist Fault Service Required”.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2024
May 2024

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality, and the steering wheel seized. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the steering rack and pinion had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2024
Jan 2024

My power steering locks up on Frozen mornings and will not turn this has happened numerous times since 2023 and it is now January 21st 2024 and is becoming more frequent

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2024
Sep 2023

My daughter was backing out of driveway and said the steering was difficult to turn and felt locked. The steering assist fault came up on screen. She parked car and didn’t drive. My husband tried backing out of driveway as well and said the steering was hard to turn. He then put it in park and tried again and it drove fine.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Aug 2023
Aug 2023

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH and making a left turn, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact pulled over without power steering assist and turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted, and the power steering functionality resumed. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent but had occurred three times. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local 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 70,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Feb 2023
Jul 2023

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the steering wheel seized. Additionally, the steering assist fault warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who informed the contact that the ECU was defective, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jul 2023
Jun 2023

Powering steering assist fault. Loss of steering and car went into limp mode and needed to try to pull over immediately. I have reported this issue several. Times. Ford has not been able to fix this issue. This car is not safe to drive. Please hold Ford accountable before someone gets severely injured or dies in a car crash from this known problem with the steering issues.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jun 2023
May 2023

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering with the power steering assist fault warning light illuminated. The contact stated that he was able to continue driving; however, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering rack assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 56,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: May 2023
Apr 2023

on numerous ocassions recently the power steering has become disabled and/or unresponsive i am getting a steering assist light when it happens it is intermittent and i fear it will occur at high speed resulting in injury or death

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Apr 2023
Apr 2023

Power assist steering wheel failure. My power steering stop working suddenly and I was not able to move my car. There is a recall for power steering problems from 2008/2013 for the same issues as my SUV. My SUV only has 33,000 miles on it. I think Ford didn't stop using faulty parts in their 2014 models. I spend over $3200 for repairs. I would like to see if I have any recourse as I believe my Ford Should had been included in the recall.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2023
Mar 2023

While driving the vehicle randomly het steering assist fault service required and goes immediately into limp mode. This is very dangerous and you need to try to pull over immediately, because the car loses power immediately. This is my teenage drivers car and she can no longer drive it. We are to scared she will get into an accident. Please make Ford do something with a recall for the steering assist issues in these escapes

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Mar 2023
Feb 2023

Received a message on dashboard about a steering assist fault all of a sudden. The steering wheel is hard to move.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Feb 2023
Feb 2023

Car was in perfectly good condition around 75,000 miles. but the power steering gave out in the middle of driving on the highway. I first noticed it becoming a bit harder to turn the wheel but within an hour it became almost impossible to turn. Was charged $2,500 to fix since I was told it was an electrical problem. I did get a notification on the dashboard that there was a "power steering assist failure" or "steering fault."

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Jan 2020
Feb 2023

The electronic power steering system failed while driving. We were unable to steer the vehicle and barely avoided a collision. The vehicle is undriveable. We contacted Ford and they have refused to help with repairs even though Ford has issued recalls for other vehicles about the same problem.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2014 FORD ESCAPE, Manufacturer: Ford Motor Company
Incident: Nov 2023

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2014 Ford Escape has 122 Steering complaints on file. 2 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.