NHTSA Complaint #10564604 — 2008 FORD ESCAPE

TWICE THIS MORNING, WHILE AT A STOP LIGHT, THE STEERING WHEEL HAS BEGUN TO MOVE ON ITS OWN. THE MOVEMENTS ARE SMALL, RAPID ADJUSTMENTS TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT. WHILE INVESTIGATING THE CAUSE, I FOUND THIS TO BE A GROWING PROBLEM REPORTED WITH THIS 1ST YEAR MODEL FORD ESCAPE WITH "ELECTRIC POWER STEERING", AND HAS BEEN CITED, BY MANY, TO RESULT IN NUMEROUS, NO-WARNING, LOSSES OF POWER STEERING. THE PROBLEM REPORTED IS A MALFUNCTIONING STEERING TORQUE SENSOR, AND THE REPAIR IS THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN, PART #3C529 ($908.00) PLUS LABOR. I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AND THAT A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED. *TR