NHTSA Complaint #10967309 — 2013 FORD FOCUS

MY TEENAGE SON WAS OPERATING THE VEHICLE AT RELATIVELY LOW SPEED (BELOW 20MPH) IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC IN A BUSY CITY SHOPPING AREA, THE STEERING SUDDENLY LOCKED AND WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER LEFT OR RIGHT. HE WAS ABLE TO PULL THE CAR OFF THE ROAD INTO A PARKING LOT WITH TREMENDOUS EFFORT. WHEN TRYING TO TURN THE WHEEL LEFT OR RIGHT THE CAR SEEMED TO LOCK OR GRAB AT THE WHEEL AND MADE AN AWFUL SCREECHING SOUND. HE SAID THAT SEVERAL WARNINGS FLASHED ON THE MESSAGE CENTER BUT HE DID NOT CATCH THEM AS HE WAS TRYING TO GET OUT OF TRAFFIC SAFELY. ONCE HE CAME TO A STOP, HE NOTICED THAT THE ORANGE "I" IN A BOX REMAINED LIT WHILE THE CAR WAS RUNNING. I WENT TO PICK HIM UP AND VERIFIED THE LOCKED STEERING, NOISE, AND WARNING LIGHT. WE LEFT THE CAR OVERNIGHT AND RESEARCHED POTENTIAL PROBLEMS BEFORE HAVING IT TOWED TO A MECHANIC. I CAME ACROSS SEVERAL FORUMS AND COMPLAINTS THAT SOUNDED VERY SIMILAR TO MY CAR'S ISSUES. MANY OF THESE CARS HAD WORKED AFTER TURNING OFF THE VEHICLE AND RESTARTING. SO THE NEXT DAY I WENT AND STARTED THE CAR WITH NO ISSUES AND HAD NO WARNING LIGHTS OR INDICATORS. HOWEVER, AS I PULLED OUT THE STEERING WAS STILL VERY TIGHT AND JERKY BUT I WAS ABLE TO MAN-HANDLE THE CAR ENOUGH TO MAKE IT TO A LOCAL DEALER. NO WARNING LIGHTS EVER CAME ON THIS TIME. I WAS INFORMED THAT I MUST REPLACE THE POWER STEERING CONTROL MODULE AND HAVE IT REPROGRAMMED TO DETERMINE IF THIS IS THE ONLY PROBLEM AT A COST OF APPROXIMATELY $450. I HAVE AUTHORIZED THIS REPAIR. THE DEALER SAID THAT AFTER THIS REPAIR, I MAY ALSO NEED TO REPLACE THE STEERING GEAR AND HAVE THE CAR ALIGNED AT AN ADDITIONAL COST OF APPROXIMATELY $1500. MY CAR IS AT 89,700 MILES.