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Another Steering Failure

Here is my experience with the Power Steering Assist Fault:
2011 Explorer XLT with 55,000 miles.
Previously no problems with steering, but went in for the initial recall 14S06 in August 2014.
March of 2015, experience the fault 3 times (loss of steering ability). Fortunately each time was while I was in my garage attempting to back out. The first time it happened, I ended up shutting off the car. Started it back up, & as everyone else here has experienced, it seemed to be fine.
After the 2nd & 3rd time this happened (same experience each time - in my garage/driveway), I decided to do some research on it. I came here & found out that this fault can & does happen to the car while driving.
Immediately made an appointment & brought it to the Ford Dealer. Brought the car over last night.
Got a call from the dealer today saying they do not want me to drive it & that they will be replacing the rack at a cost to me of $1500.00. I'm thankful to have read all the posts in this thread, so this did not come as a shock. I spoke of the recall & if this expense should be included & they gave me a phone number to call to speak to someone at Ford.
I told them to go ahead & do the work, since either way, it needs to be done & I need my car. Part is on order & will most likely arrive tomorrow.

I called the 800 phone number & spoke to someone who gave me a case # & said they were going to escalate the case & that I should expect a call from the service manager at the dealer who will let me know if they will pay or not.


Very similar to my situation, except when my '11 Ex did not recover after restarting, and I took it to the dealer, they indicated they had never heard of this issue before, and would look into it. During that time I discovered this thread (thank you all!) and shared it with my dealer, who stuck by his story. I have filed the report, called Ford customer care, and did some more research. My build was Chicago, 5/25/11, dealer reports code U3000, PSCM control module failure, and EPAS power steering gear replacement necessary. $1700 + to repair. Mine has 57000 miles on it at this point.

I bought the Ex as a "Ford Certified" vehicle, from this Ford Dealer in late January 2015. Was informed during the sales process that it would be "pretty much bumper-to-bumper" coverage should anything go wrong, for 12Mo/12k Miles. Turns out, that is not the case. It was reported that "the insurance company did not consider this part of the steering mechanism, which they DO cover."

The Dealer got me in and out in two days. After reading all these stories, and hearing from Ford, and the Dealer as I have, I am concerns about Safety and reliability first, and the financial feasibility of owing this vehicle going forward.

Anyway, not very pleased so far with this experience.
 



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Welcome to the Forum DCG.:wavey:
How can the insurance company not consider the replacement of the steering rack as being part of the steering mechanism? You can't steer the vehicle without it. Something is definitely not right here.

Peter
 






Very similar to my situation, except when my '11 Ex did not recover after restarting, and I took it to the dealer, they indicated they had never heard of this issue before, and would look into it. During that time I discovered this thread (thank you all!) and shared it with my dealer, who stuck by his story. I have filed the report, called Ford customer care, and did some more research. My build was Chicago, 5/25/11, dealer reports code U3000, PSCM control module failure, and EPAS power steering gear replacement necessary. $1700 + to repair. Mine has 57000 miles on it at this point.

I bought the Ex as a "Ford Certified" vehicle, from this Ford Dealer in late January 2015. Was informed during the sales process that it would be "pretty much bumper-to-bumper" coverage should anything go wrong, for 12Mo/12k Miles. Turns out, that is not the case. It was reported that "the insurance company did not consider this part of the steering mechanism, which they DO cover."

The Dealer got me in and out in two days. After reading all these stories, and hearing from Ford, and the Dealer as I have, I am concerns about Safety and reliability first, and the financial feasibility of owing this vehicle going forward.

Anyway, not very pleased so far with this experience.

You need to do your research and not just trust what some dealer or salesman says.. "pretty much bumper to bumper" would send up red flags to me. Not sure why anyone doesn't ask for their warranty in writing.

Ford CPO warranty:

http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/global/pdf/cpo/CPO_Warranty.pdf

Page 2 lists the exact coverages... in it, it covers:

Steering: • Steering Gear Housing, Manual and Power (including all internal Parts)

Safety: • Steering Column


I fail to see how a steering column is not covered under either of those listed parts.
 






You need to do your research and not just trust what some dealer or salesman says.. "pretty much bumper to bumper" would send up red flags to me. Not sure why anyone doesn't ask for their warranty in writing.

Ford CPO warranty:

http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/global/pdf/cpo/CPO_Warranty.pdf

Page 2 lists the exact coverages... in it, it covers:

Steering: • Steering Gear Housing, Manual and Power (including all internal Parts)

Safety: • Steering Column


I fail to see how a steering column is not covered under either of those listed parts.

Excellent advice, to be sure. And it is my responsibility to get these things in writing, which i failed to do. Have not bought many cars from Dealers before, will be more careful in the future.
 






Welcome to the Forum DCG.:wavey:
How can the insurance company not consider the replacement of the steering rack as being part of the steering mechanism? You can't steer the vehicle without it. Something is definitely not right here.

Peter

thank you, and I couldn't agree more. Seems a pretty integral part of the whole mechanism. I am not ready to drop it yet, and appreciate your insight.
 






Welcome to the Forum DCG.:wavey:
How can the insurance company not consider the replacement of the steering rack as being part of the steering mechanism? You can't steer the vehicle without it. Something is definitely not right here.

Peter

thank you, and I couldn't agree more. Seems a pretty integral part of the whole mechanism. I am not ready to drop it yet, and appreciate your insight.
 






Hi Crystal,

I will PM you my case. I need help too for my "Power Steering" issue. It's been very frustrating....the software update didn’t fix the real problem.

Thanks!
Olina
 






Hi Crystal,

I will PM you my case. I need help too for my "Power Steering" issue. It's been very frustrating....the software update didn’t fix the real problem.

Thanks!
Olina
Welcome to the Forum Olina.:wavey:
It has been posted here several times that the software update will not fix the issue. The only way is to have them replace the entire steering rack. Good luck.:thumbsup:

Peter
 






Thank you Peter!

Yes I told the Ford Customer Service updating software didn't seem to fix my problem, I occasionally saw the power steering assist fault message before and after software updated, and until last week it stayed on. But Ford insisted that the software update was completed so it will not be covered to replace steering gear. The dealership asked for around $1800 to replace it plus $149 diagnosis fee. Don't know what to do.

Olina
 






I read through this thread and found out that my situation is very similar to OldSchoolDropout's. We both have 2011 Explorer, both did the Recall service and had the software updated in July 2014, both had Power steering fault message after that and later on the message stayed on. Luckily two week ago OldSchoolDropout had the Ford agreed to replace the gear under Recall 14S06 at no cost. And today my case was denied by Ford, saying that the software update is completed so my recall is closed. I don't quite understand.
 






Question for Olina Sunshine -

Are you just getting the Fault Message box or is your Power Steering actually going out at the same time? Every time we got the Fault Message there was a loss of Power Steering as well. It started out as an occasional problem, then would happen every day - right after starting vehicle at first. Stopping and restarting would "reset" everything.

Then it started to happen while driving, first while my wife was at a slow speed leaving our neighborhood (she was done with it at that point), then to me at night while going about 45 MPH (it flashed several Fault boxes at that time including traction control). I was done at that point, called the Service Director at my Dealership the next business day and told him what was going on and had been communicating with Crystal as well and had a Case #. They were able to reproduce the exact same problem while test driving which I'm sure helped them fix the issue and leave no room to NOT take care of it.

The 12 month / 12k warranty from Recall 140S6 still did apply I was told, which I was within.
 






I read through this thread and found out that my situation is very similar to OldSchoolDropout's. We both have 2011 Explorer, both did the Recall service and had the software updated in July 2014, both had Power steering fault message after that and later on the message stayed on. Luckily two week ago OldSchoolDropout had the Ford agreed to replace the gear under Recall 14S06 at no cost. And today my case was denied by Ford, saying that the software update is completed so my recall is closed. I don't quite understand.
The interesting thing in OldSchoolDropout's last post was this; The 12 month / 12k warranty from Recall 140S6 still did apply I was told, which I was within.
If there is this warranty it should apply to you as well unless you have exceeded the mileage.

Peter
 






Hi Crystal,

I will PM you my case. I need help too for my "Power Steering" issue. It's been very frustrating....the software update didn’t fix the real problem.

Thanks!
Olina

Hi Olina,

I got your PM and responded to you this morning. Check out your inbox for my message. :thumbsup:

Crystal
 






My power steering actually went out when the message appeared. Before I could restart the car and the message went away and it seemed to be fine. Now restarting can't clear it and power steering is lost completely.

As for the Recall Warranty...

A Ford Service supervisor called me and said my case was denied and it is final. . I asked him about the Recall’s 12 month/12k warranty since mine is still with the limit; he said yes it only covers the software that was updated. I believe the entire Recall is meant to address the problem of “Loss of Power Steering”, if the same problem occurs, the warranty should cover the fix, updating the software again or replacing the gear, whichever works. Anyway without any further explanation, he insisted that it is the final decision, no need to discuss any more. I was so frustrated.
 






It says in the Recall wording that if the Software reflash doesn't fix the problem that the "Steering Gear" may also need to be replaced to correct the problem at NO COST to the owner. The module that is causing the problem is part of the Steering Gear as I understand it.

Are you talking with the Service Dept. at the Dealership where you purchased the vehicle (not that it should matter, but it seems to help in most cases)? I'd go to the GM of the Dealership raising Hell about the safety issue that his Service Dept. is refusing to handle properly. Having a Case # from Ford CS seemed to help as well, shows you are on top of things and are not going to let
this go.
 






Olina, did you file a complaint with the NHTSA?

Clearly this reflash which does nothing to prevent the failures is just a way for Ford to weasel their way out of a $1,800 repair per vehicle recall.

As much as I love Ford and like to defend them (on my 6th Ford and will be 7th next year), this crap is ridiculous and customers should not have to pay for it.

Cooling fans, leaking roofs, power steering failures and exhaust smell!!! 4 things that are pure design/manufacturing defects.
-------

Crystal, loaded gun and I know you can't answer this.. but come on, this crap should not be happening on a 5th MY design. We as customers should not be paying for these failures. One customer should not get it covered and another get screwed with a repair bill.

We know there has to be a line drawn when one is out of warranty. But the rate of failure on this crap is not typical of a part failure. We should not be expected to have to replace our whole power steering system on a 3-4 year old vehicle. And I do not care what manufacturer it is.

It is crap like this that really pisses off loyal customers (which i am one).
 






I hate to say it, but it clearly looks like Ford is handling this particular problem on a case by case basis instead of doing the right thing and replacing all the "Steering Gear" assembly on every vehicle affected.

This is a safety issue - PERIOD. Owners should not have to jump through hoops to get it fixed. The longer Ford keeps this up they may very well be inviting a Class Action Lawsuit.
 






It says in the Recall wording that if the Software reflash doesn't fix the problem that the "Steering Gear" may also need to be replaced to correct the problem at NO COST to the owner. The module that is causing the problem is part of the Steering Gear as I understand it.

Are you talking with the Service Dept. at the Dealership where you purchased the vehicle (not that it should matter, but it seems to help in most cases)? I'd go to the GM of the Dealership raising Hell about the safety issue that his Service Dept. is refusing to handle properly. Having a Case # from Ford CS seemed to help as well, shows you are on top of things and are not going to let
this go.

Hi OldSchoolDropout,

Where can I find the Record wording as you mentioned "if the Software reflash doesn't fix the problem that the "Steering Gear" may also need to be replaced to correct the problem at NO COST to the owner. "

Thanks,
Olina
 






On the official *** IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL ***

Notice 14S06 that was sent out via US Mail in July 2014 -

Page 1

What will Ford and your dealer do? Ford Motor Company has authorized your dealer to update the Power Steering Control Module to prevent loss of steering assist while driving due to a motor position sensor fault. Alternatively, the dealer may need to replace the steering gear. This service will performed free of charge (parts and labor).
 



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Notice 14S06 that was sent out via US Mail in July 2014 -

Page 1

What will Ford and your dealer do? Ford Motor Company has authorized your dealer to update the Power Steering Control Module to prevent loss of steering assist while driving due to a motor position sensor fault. Alternatively, the dealer may need to replace the steering gear. This service will performed free of charge (parts and labor).

I PM you a message. Please check.

It really depends on the customer relationship rep to interprete the wording. In my case, one rep seemed very reasonable, then later the other rep said something different. Anyway it seems that I was given one ticket only, if I used it to update the software, then i can't use it to replace the gear even if the problem still exists.
 






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