NHTSA Complaint #11517465 — 2012 FORD EXPLORER

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the steering wheel seized. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred several times, and upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, the steering wheel responded as needed. The contact stated that the failure persisted after restarting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the power steering gear needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) software update was previously completed under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.