2009 FORD ESCAPE Steering Problems

SHORTLY AFTER ENTERING HIGHWAY ON DARK RAINY EVENING, WITH NO FORE WARNING, CAR BEGAN TO SHAKE AND LOSE POWER. WAS ABLE TO PULL TO SIDE OF HIGHWAY. EVEN THOUGH I WAS PRESSING ON THE GAS, CAR WOULD NOT GO FORWARD. WRENCH LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED ON THE DASHBOARD. CALLED FOR ASSISTANCE. WHEN HELP ARRIVED THEY SUGGESTED I TURN OFF VEHICLE. WHEN I TURNED BACK ON, CAR WAS FINE. THE NEXT DAY, WITH NO WARNING, SAME THING OCCURS ON NEIGHBORHOOD ROAD. WHEN WE TOOK TO FORD DEALER TODAY, THE PROBLEM DID NOT REPEAT SO THEY HAVE NO REPAIR CODE. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION....COULD LEAD TO ACCIDENT ON HIGHWAY...I HAVE TO DRIVE 17 MILES TO WORK ON HIGHWAY AND I AM SCARED. *TR

THIS PAST WINTER THE DRIVERS SIDE EXIT SHAFT SEAL FAILED. THE TRANSMISSION WAS SERVICED BY OUR LOCAL FORD DEALER. UPON RETURN MY WIFE NOTED THE STEERING COCKED TO THE LEFT SLIGHTLY BUT NO OTHER ISSUES, I TOLD HER THAT THEY PROBABLE WERE OFF A TOOTH ON THE PITMAN ARM AND THAT SHE NEEDED TO TAKE IT BACK, SHE HAD NOT. THE DAY IN QUESTION WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT I HAD WITNESSED THE MALFUNCTION. I HAD MADE A TURN OFF A SECONDARY STREET TO ENTER THE HIGHWAY. IT WAS ABOUT A 90 DEGREE TURN, AND WHEN I EXITED THE TURN, THE STEERING WHEEL WAS STILL AT A 45 DEGREE ANGLE OFF NEUTRAL. IT STAYED THIS WAY FOR A FEW SECONDS AS I ACCELERATED DOWN THE ON RAMP, THEN VIOLENTLY RETURNED TO NEUTRAL. I PULLED OFF TO THE SHOULDER AND CHECKED TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED. THIS HAPPENED TWO MORE TIMES THAT...

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN DRIVING, THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED. THE CONTACT REPLACED THE STEERING COLUMN TWICE BUT THE FAILURE PERSISTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED A THIRD TIME AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 176,000 AND THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 30,000.

ON SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 2011 I NOTICED THE STEERING WHEEL SHAKING AS MY 2009 FORD ESCAPE IDLED. THIS 'SHAKING' IS RANDOM; IT DOESN'T OCCUR ALL THE TIME. SINCE AROUND THE BEGINNING OF MARCH, THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES THAT, WHEN I START THE VEHICLE, THE POWER STEERING FREEZES. TO RECTIFY IT, I SHUT OFF THE VEHICLE, WAITED A FEW MOMENTS, RE-STARTED IT AND POWER STEERING WAS RESTORED. ONE TIME HOWEVER, THE 'FREEZING' OCCURRED WHEN I TURNED A CORNER. ON MARCH 29 THE POWER STEERING 'FROZE' AGAIN. I TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND THEN ON AGAIN A COUPLE OF TIMES TO RESTORE POWER STEERING BUT IT WAS STILL ABSENT. I DROVE ABOUT 60 MILES WITH NO POWER STEERING. I TOOK THE VEHICLE IN TO THE LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP MARCH 30 AND WAS TOLD I NEED A NEW STEERING COLUMN, AT A COST OF $1200 FOR PARTS ALONE. I WAS ALSO TOLD IN...

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 FORD ESCAPE. THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN A GRAVEL DRIVEWAY, THE CONTACT EXITED THE VEHICLE WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING AND THE GEAR SELECTOR SHIFTED IN THE NEUTRAL POSITION. UNEXPECTEDLY, THE VEHICLE ROLLED 50 FEET APPROXIMATELY BETWEEN 10 -15 MPH AND STRUCK A WOODEN FENCE POST CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO STOP. THE CONTACT THEN ENTERED THE VEHICLE AND OBSERVED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL WAS SPINNING 360 DEGREES. THE ENGINE WAS TURNED OFF. A MECHANIC STATED THAT THE STEERING COLUMN DETACHED FROM THE BASE AND THE STEERING WHEEL CLOCK SPRING EMERGED THROUGH THE DRIVER SIDE WINDSHIELD. IN ADDITION, THE AIRBAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE FRONT BUMPER SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE. THERE WAS NO POLICE REPORT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTO BODY REPIAR SHOP AND REPAIRED FOR THE DAMAGES. A FIELD ENGINEER INVESTIGATED THE VEHICLE AND THE CONTACT WAS WAITING ON THE OUTCOME OF THE INVESTIGATION....

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 FORD ESCAPE. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN THE PARK POSITION, THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED AND WOULD NOT TURN LEFT OR RIGHT. THE VEHICLE WAS SHUT OFF AND WHEN RESTARTING THE FOLLOWING DAY AND THE VEHICLE OPERATED AS NORMAL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE STEERING COLUMN WAS REPLACED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 23,389.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 FORD ESCAPE. HE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE NEW AND WITHIN THE FIRST WEEK WHILE DRIVING OUT OF THE DRIVE WAY HE NOTICED THAT WHEN HE TURNED THE STEERING TO THE RIGHT THERE WAS A LOUD NOISE AS IF METAL HITTING AGAINST METAL. HE TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER SEVERAL TIMES. THE DEALER STATED THAT NOTHING WAS WRONG WITH THE STEERING. THE DEALER STATED BECAUSE THE VEHICLE IS BLACK AND IT IS WARM, THAT IS WHY HE WAS HEARING THAT NOISE. HOWEVER THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALER. THE DEALER REPLACED SEVERAL PARTS. HE DOESN'T KNOW THE NAME OF THE PARTS THAT WERE REPLACED; HOWEVER THE FAILURE WAS NOT CORRECTED. THE DEALER ORDERED AN ENGINEER TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE. THE ENGINEER'S INVESTIGATION CONCLUDED THAT THE NOISE WAS NORMAL. HE CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER .THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THE DEALER WAS AN INDEPENDENT DEALER...

2009 FORD ESCAPE (RENTAL CAR) I RECEIVED THIS NEW RENTAL CAR FROM A MAJOR RENTAL CAR COMPANY AT THE SEATTLE/TACOMA AIRPORT WITH ONLY WITH 83 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. I RENTED THE CAR ON APPROXIMATELY 7-7-09. ON 7-13-09, WITH APPROXIMATELY 1,100 MILES ON IT, THE FRONT (PASSENGER SIDE) WHEEL SEPARATED FROM THE LOWER CONTROL ARM (I BELIEVE THAT IS WHAT IT IS CALLED). I DO KNOW IT CAME OFF THE SPINDLE. MY WIFE AND CHILDREN WERE ON VACATION WITH ME WHEN THE INCIDENT OCCURRED. I HAD EXITED THE HIGHWAY AND NEAR THE END OF THE EXIT LANE, I WAS DRIVING AROUND A SHARP, LEFT HAND, BANKED, HAIRPIN CORNER THAT CROSSES OVER THE HIGHWAY. THE EXIT LANE WAS EXTREMELY LONG AND I BELIEVE I WAS GOING ABOUT 20-25 MILES PER HOUR, WHEN THE WHEEL SEPARATED HALFWAY THROUGH THE HAIRPIN TURN. I HEARD A CLUNK CLUNK AND THE TIRE SKIDDING. IT WAS...