NHTSA Complaint #11259136 — 2015 FORD FOCUS

I TOOK A 3 HOUR TRIP UP TO MY MOTHER'S HOUSE THAT WEEKEND AND THEN DROVE BACK ANOTHER 3 HOURS AND PARKED IT FOR THE NIGHT. I HAD NO PROBLEMS UNTIL I STARTED MY CAR UP THE NEXT MORNING. A NOTICE CAME ON THE DASHBOARD SAYING "STEERING ASSIST FAULT SERVICE REQUIRED." THE STEERING WAS EXTREMELY STIFF AND MAY AS WELL HAVE BEEN LOCKED. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT OR ANYTHING. SO THAT WOULD MEAN THIS HAPPENED OVERNIGHT WHILE THE CAR WAS STATIONARY AND OFF. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AFTER UNSUCCESSFULLY TRYING TO FIND A BASIC FIX AND THEY SAID I NEEDED TO REPLACE THE WHOLE RACK AND PINION ASSEMBLY. I FIGURE IT HAPPENING OVERNIGHT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE WHOLE SYSTEM BEING EVENLY SOAKED WITH HEAT FROM THE LONG DRIVE AND COOLING VERY SLOWLY OVERNIGHT CAUSING CRACKS IN THE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS. IT WAS A $3000 REPAIR JOB FOR A CAR THAT HAD LESS THAN 37,000 MILES ON IT ALBEIT A 2015 MODEL YEAR. DUE TO THE WARRANTY BEING OUT, I HAD TO PAY FOR THIS REPAIR OUT OF POCKET. OTHER PEOPLE I'VE SEEN EXPERIENCE THIS HAD IT FIXED UNDER WARRANTY SO THEY HAD NO ISSUES. UNFORTUNATELY FOR ME THIS WAS A USED CAR AND HAD NO WARRANTY LEFT ON IT.