NHTSA Complaint #11030027 — 2009 FORD ESCAPE

SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST EVEN AFTER THE RECALL REPROGRAMMING. WE PREVIOUSLY TOOK THE VEHICLE IN FOR RECALL NUMBER 14S05 IN AUG. 2014. TROUBLE CODES WERE NOT FOUND AT THAT TIME SO THE DEALER ONLY DID A REPROGRAMMING WHICH WAS DESIGNED TO PREVENT THE LOSS OF POWER ASSIST AND ALERT THE DRIVER WITH A WARNING LIGHT AND CHIME IF IT DID OCCUR. OUR VEHICLE HAD A COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST WHILE DRIVING ON 9/24/17 BUT THERE WERE NO DRIVER ALERTS. WE HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO A FORD DEALER AND THEY FOUND TROUBLE CODE B1342 WHICH IF FOUND DURING OUR 2014 RECALL APPOINTMENT WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN THE STEERING COLUMN BEING REPLACED. WE WERE TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THE STEERING COLUMN NEEDS TO BE REPLACED BUT THAT OUR VEHICLE WAS NO LONGER ELIGIBLE FOR THE RECALL DUE TO THE PREVIOUS REPROGRAMMING, EVEN THOUGHT IT WAS COMPLETELY INEFFECTIVE IN RESOLVING THE CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUE OR ALERTING THE DRIVER. HAD WE NEVER TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR THE REPROGRAMMING, WE WOULD STILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE WARRANTY REPLACEMENT OF THE STEERING COLUMN. CLEARLY, OUR VEHICLE EXPERIENCED THE EXACT POWER STEERING LOSS AND FAILURE CODE THAT WAS RELATED TO THE RECALL. THE REPROGRAMMING DID NOT HAVE THE INTENDED RESULT WHATSOEVER - WE STILL EXPERIENCED THE POWER STEERING LOSS, THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT/MESSAGE AND THERE WAS NO CHIME TO ALERT THE DRIVER OF THE LOSS. I HAVE TRIED TO ESCALATE THIS ISSUE WITHIN FORD CUSTOMER SERVICE BUT THEY ARE DENYING ANY RESPONSIBILITY TO RESOLVE THIS KNOWN DEFECT UNDER THE RECALL WARRANTY DUE TO THE PREVIOUS REPROGRAMMING. I'M HOPING NHTSA CAN HELP RESOLVE THIS CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUE - I'M SURE WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES AFFECTED!