NHTSA Complaint #11454731 — 2010 FORD ESCAPE

The contact's mother owns a 2010 Ford Escape. The contact stated that on two separate occasions while his mother was driving, the power steering assist failed while in mid-turn. The "power assist fault" warning light had illuminated on the instrument panel during the failures. After the first failure, his mother had taken the vehicle to a dealer where the warning light was reset and the power steering returned. A year later while his mother was making a left turn, the power steering failed nearly causing the vehicle to strike several pedestrians on a busy sidewalk. The contact arrived at the scene and had to use excessive force to steer the vehicle home. The next day, the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where he was provided an estimate for a torque sensor replacement. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred him to NHTSA for assistance. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering) which he linked to the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.