NHTSA Complaint #11677066 — 2011 FORD FUSION

I am writing to file a complaint regarding a serious and potentially dangerous issue with my 2011 Ford Fusion. Recently, my vehicle completely lost power steering while in use. In the past, I had experienced intermittent problems where the power steering warning light would appear upon starting the car, and the steering would be stiff. Typically, turning the car off and restarting it temporarily resolved the issue. However, this time, the power steering has failed completely and restarting the vehicle does not fix it. Upon researching this issue, I discovered that Ford issued a Customer Satisfaction Program (15N01), which extended the warranty on the power steering gear due to known defects. The extension covered up to 10 years or 150,000 miles from the original purchase date—whichever came first. Unfortunately, I only recently became aware of this program, well after my vehicle passed both the 10-year mark (August 2021) and 150,000 miles (I’m currently at 103,000). I never received any notification from Ford about this issue or the extended warranty. Had I known, I would have addressed the problem while within the eligibility window. Ford is now refusing to cover the cost of repairs, despite this being a well-documented issue caused by faulty components. I believe it is unacceptable for a manufacturer to acknowledge a defect, offer limited corrective action, and then leave customers to deal with costly and dangerous consequences when their notification system fails. This failure of power steering poses a serious safety risk, especially at higher speeds or in emergency maneuvers. I respectfully request that the NHTSA investigate this issue further and hold Ford accountable for properly notifying affected vehicle owners and ensuring this defect is repaired, regardless of arbitrary mileage or date limits—especially in cases where owners were never notified in the first place.