Owner-reported complaints naming the steering system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming the steering system — racks, columns, power-steering assist and steering linkage. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2015 Ford Flex submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 19 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
Steering Service Fault and Avancetrac Service popped up while driving, vehicle has 110k miles. Lost all power steering, so we pulled off into the closest parking lot. Code U3000 pulled up with a code reader, waiting to have vehicle towed to Ford for a solution.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Flex. The contact state that while driving on two occasions at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle lost power steering functionality and the steering wheel became very stiff. The "Power Steering Assist Fault" message was displayed. During the first failure, the contact pulled over to the side of the road and the vehicle was towed to a dealer; however, failure was no duplicated. The contact stated that during the second failure, the vehicle was taken to the residence. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Flex. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the message "Steering Assist Loss - Service Now" was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle lost power steering functionality while driving 20 minutes later. The contact pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer for diagnosing testing. Additionally, the manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 183,000.
On [XXX] I was driving on the freeway when suddenly my car dash warning appeared “ no power steering assist, pull over safely. The power steering completely stopped working- on [XXX], took to Ford Dealership where it was confirmed with code U300:49 48. The steering gear was replaced . The car stopped functioning while driving on freeway and was dangerous to try to control and get to safety, car was not able to stay in lane due to no steering control whatsoever. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
I was exiting the interstate and an error message came up in mid turn and I lost my power assisted steering causing me to almost hit the concrete divider.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Flex. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact related the failure to a faulty steering control module; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.
My power steering failed with out warning while turning off of an off ramp. I have had the car repaired it needed and entire steering rack. It only had 60,000 miles on it at the time. I almost wiped out bad. It was all I had to continue to drive it to a safe place.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Flex. The contact stated that after restarting the vehicle, the "Steering Assist" and "Advance Track" messages were displayed and the steering wheel was very difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the rack and pinion was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 80,000.
A Ford Lincoln dealer installed a new Battery Cable Assembly (Part DA8Z*14300*BA) in my 2015 Ford Flex on 8/5/2021. After 20 miles of driving in two trips the power steering failed at the start of a third trip on 8/6/2021. I struggled to get the vehicle to a parking lot and turned it off. The yellow image of a car skidding had appeared on the information display. I turned the vehicle back on and the steering operated as normal. I drove the vehicle again on 8/8/2021 and it operated as normal. It is necessary for Ford to inform all owners of this issue as it could result in an accident if a driver is not aware of the potential for a power steering failure.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Flex. The contact stated while driving 25 mph, the power steering failed not allowing the contact to steer the vehicle. The contact stated that the power steering assist warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed with the power steering assist needing to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating the failure to an unknown recall. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.
THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM REVERTS TO MANUAL STEERING MODE DUE TO THE POWER STEERING CONTROL MODULE (PSCM) DETECTING A MOTOR POSITION SENSOR FAULT. IN MANUAL STEERING MODE THERE IS STILL A MECHANICAL LINKAGE BETWEEN THE STEERING WHEEL AND THE ROAD WHEELS, ALLOWING STEERING CONTROL TO BE MAINTAINED. WHEN THIS CONDITION OCCURS, A MESSAGE DISPLAYS IN THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER MESSAGE CENTER AND A CHIME SOUNDS TO INFORM THE DRIVER. LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST REQUIRES GREATER STEERING EFFORT, ESPECIALLY AT LOWER SPEEDS, WHICH MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF ACCIDENT. THIS HAS OCCURRED ON THREE OCCASIONS. ALSO SEE FORD RECALL 15S18.
VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON A HIGHWAY, SEVERAL WARNINGS QUICKLY APPEARED ON THE DASH THEN SIMULTANEOUSLY ALL POWER STEERING FUNCTIONS STOPPED WORKING AND VEHICLE WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO STEER. WHEN TRYING TO GUIDE THE VEHICLE TO A STOP, THE STEERING WHEEL WAS TRYING TO CORRECT ITSELF RESULTING IN THE VEHICLE BEING COMPLETELY INOPERABLE. THE DEALERSHIP FOUND THAT THE (PSCM) POWER STEERING CONTROL MODULE FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED RESULTING IN A $2,200 CHARGE ON A VEHICLE WITH 52,000 MILES.
MY WIFE WAS DRIVING STEERING FAULT SERVICE NOW WARNINGAPPEARED NEXT DAY I WAS LEAVING WORK & POWER STEERTNING WENT OUT WAS ON HYWAY ( NOT MANY TURN ) MADE HOME LUCKLY MY WIFE NOT DRIVING STEERING WENT OUT WITH NO WARNING TOWED TO FORD DEALER THEY REPLACED STEERING GEAR ASSMBLY $ 2600
MY CAR FORD FLEX 2015 LIMITED AWD (MADE IN CANADA) AND ITS OUT OF WARRANTY YESTERDAY ONLY WITHOUT ANY WARNING I USED MY CAR AT MORNING NORMALLY AND NO ISSUE I STOPED AT SUPERMARKET THE BACK TO CAR AND START THE ENGINE AND I SEE MESSAGE ALERT " STEERING ASSIST MALFUNCTION SERVICE REQUIRED" AND THE STEERING BECAME VERY HEAVY TOO MUCH POWER NEED TO MOVE IT RIGHT OR TO LEFT ..THEN AFTER THAT ONE WARNING MESSAGE CAME " SERVICE ADVANCETRAC"
WAS STOPPED AT LIGHT VEHICLE STEERING WOULD NOT TURN I PUT THE CAR IN PARK TURNED OFF ENGINE THEN ON. STEERING WORK OK FOR TIME BEING. DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE
I WAS DRIVING AT 70MPH AND STARTED RECEIVING WARNINGS ABOUT MY ADVANCE TRAC. I THAT POINT I SLOWED DOWN AND PULLED OVER AND LOST ALL POWER STEERING.
POWER STEERING SUDDENLY FAILED. SYSTEM WARNED OF VSC FAULT, THEN STEERING ASSIST FAULT, THEN THERE WAS NO POWER ASSIST, AT 50MPH. I WAS DRIVING STRAIGHT ON AN AIRPORT ACCESS ROAD. THE PROBLEM PERSISTED FOR A 2 MILES OR SO, WHEN I WAS ABLE TO GET IT OFF THE ROAD SAFELY. WHEN I TURNED OFF THE IGNITION AND RE-STARTED A FEW MINUTES LATER, THE PROBLEM WAS GONE, AS WERE THE WARNINGS.
ON JULY 5, 2018 I WAS DRIVING AT 35 MPH ON A CITY ROAD WHEN A WARNING LIGHT WITH THE WORDS "STEERING ASSIST FAULT, SERVICE REQUIRED" SUDDENLY CAME ON AND THE STEERING STOPPED WORKING ALMOST ENTIRELY. THERE WAS VERY LITTLE MANUAL ABILITY TO STEER THE CAR. FORTUNATELY WE WERE ON A VERY WIDE, EMPTY ROAD, SO I WAS ABLE TO USE BOTH LANES AND GET THE CAR TO MY HOUSE. IF THIS HAD OCCURRED ON A BUSY CITY STREET OR NARROW LANE, WITH ANY KIND OF TRAFFIC, WE COULD HAVE EASILY BEEN IN A SERIOUS, EVEN FATAL COLLISION. I HOPE THAT OTHER FORD OWNERS WILL REPORT THIS PROBLEM IF THEY EXPERIENCE IT, SO THAT A RECALL CAN BE INITIATED IF NEEDED. THIS WAS A DANGEROUS SYSTEM FAILURE THAT SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED.
MY POWER STEERING FAILURE INDICATOR CAME ON (WHILE I WAS DRIVING), INDICATING A NEED FOR IMMEDIATE SERVICE. UPON TESTING, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE STEERING GEAR WAS FAULTY...ON A 2015 VEHICLE!! THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT IF THE GEAR FAILED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. I WOULD NOT EXPECT SUCH A FAILURE IN A 2015 VEHICLE. IT LOOKS LIKE PREVIOUS FORD MODELS HAVE BEEN RECALLED DUE TO A SIMILAR ISSUE. I THINK THERE MUST BE A DESIGN OR MANUFACTURING FLAW. GIVEN THAT THIS IS RELATED TO STEERING AND CREATES A HIGH RISK OF INJURY IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT, I RECOMMEND THAT THIS BE FULLY INVESTIGATED.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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