NHTSA Complaint #10566250 — 2009 FORD ESCAPE

OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS OR SO, UPON TURNING KEY, MY STEERING WHEEL WOULD NOT ENGAGE, STAYING LOCKED - AT FIRST WAS A RARE OCCURRENCE, BUT LATELY HAVE HAD TO RESTART VEHICLE 2-3 TIMES TO GET THE POWER STEERING. MY 2009 FORD ESCAPE IS ALSO LOSING STEERING IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING - ON ONE INSTANCE, JANUARY 3, 2014, I WAS TURNING LEFT IN AN INTERSECTION, AND MY STEERING WHEEL FROZE MID-TURN, WITH TRAFFIC COMING RIGHT AT ME! I WAS ABLE TO SPEED UP AND FORCE TURN, BARELY CLEARING A VEHICLE PARKED ON THE SIDE. I PULLED OVER AND SHUT OFF THE VEHICLE - UPON RESTARTING THE ENGINE, IT STEERED JUST FINE. I ASSUMED IT WAS A MINOR GLITCH IN STEERING, BUT THE INCIDENTS BECAME MORE FREQUENT, FINDING MYSELF UNABLE TO STEER TO TURN INTO/OUT OF DRIVEWAY, PARKING LOT AND EVEN TRAFFIC. YESTERDAY, 2-26-2014, TOPPED IT. I WAS DRIVING AROUND TOWN AT MAX.30 MPH, I LOST STEERING, 5 TIMES IN 15 MINUTES, NO WARNING OF ANY KIND ON MY DASHBOARD. I HAD TO FIGHT THE STEERING TO PULL OVER OUT OF TRAFFIC - THAT IS END OF SCHOOL DAY, PARENTS AND CHILDREN WALKING/RUNNING AROUND ALL OVER! THIS STEERING PROBLEM IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE. THIS MORNING I SET UP AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP - AND I BETTER NOT HAVE TO PAY WHAT I'M SEEING OTHER PEOPLE HAD TO PAY FOR EXACTLY THE SAME STEERING PROBLEM. THIS NEEDS TO BE TAKEN CARE OF/RECALLED BY FORD, AS IT APPEARS TO BE A FAILURE IN THEIR ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING, AND THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE AFFECTED BY IT, RISKING CRASHES AND LOSS OF LIVES. *TR