NHTSA Complaint #11575771 — 2014 FORD FLEX

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while her wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, she became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly after the steering wheel jerked in the right direction. As a result, the driver lost control of the vehicle and collided with a dividing wall on the side of the roadway. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The air bags did not deploy. No warning lights were illuminated. A police report was not filed, and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with both control arms. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, who was able to duplicate the failure but was unable to provide a diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Safety Recall 15S18. The contact also stated that before the control arm failure, upon entering the vehicle and attempting to start the ignition, the vehicle failed to start as intended. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The contact repaired the vehicle herself upon replacing the fuel pump control module. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Safety Recall 16S31. The manufacturer was notified of both failures but referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 138,000.