2011 Ford Fusion Steering Problems

The power steering is messed up

NHTSA ID

11773941

Incident

Oct 15, 2026

My mom’s 2011 Ford Fusion SEL experienced a loss of electric power steering assistance. I cannot determine the exact moment the failure occurred. When I started the vehicle and attempted to drive away, I noticed that the steering wheel was extremely stiff. The dashboard displayed a “Power Steering Assist Fault” warning. The steering assistance has not returned, including after replacing the vehicle’s battery. I diagnosed the vehicle using FORScan, which identified the following diagnostic trouble codes in the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM): U3000:96-C8 — Control Module, Component Internal Failure. C200C:2F-48 — Steering Shaft Torque Sensor 2, Signal Erratic. Both codes were recorded as previously set and not present at the time of the diagnostic request. However, the power steering warning remains displayed and the steering wheel remains extremely difficult to turn with the engine running. This vehicle was previously included in Ford Safety Recall 15S18 / NHTSA Recall 15V340, addressing loss of electric power steering assistance. Ford confirmed that the recall was completed in 2015 through reprogramming the Power Steering Control Module only rather than replacing the steering gear. The current diagnostic codes are specifically identified in Ford’s original recall service instructions as codes associated with steering gear replacement under the recall procedure. I contacted Ford customer service regarding the recurrence of loss of steering assistance. Ford opened a case for internal review but did not confirm repair coverage or provide a decision timeline. I am reporting this because the vehicle has lost power steering assistance despite having previously received the recall remedy. I am concerned that the original safety-related condition may not have been permanently resolved.

NHTSA ID

11770975

Incident

Oct 9, 2026

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle suddenly lost power steering assist, nearly causing the contact to lose steering control as the steering locked up, and an audible warning chime sounded. The contact safely maintained control of the vehicle and observed that a power steering warning light was illuminated. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.

NHTSA ID

11770955

Incident

Sep 1, 2026

Mileage

100,000 mi

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving 35 MPH and making a turn, the vehicle almost crashed into the neighbor's lawn because the steering wheel had seized. The contact's daughter stated that the steering wheel was firm and required extra effort to turn the steering wheel. Additionally, at the time of the failure, the contact's daughter claimed that there were three dinging sounds, like when putting the keys into the ignition of the vehicle. An unknown warning light was illuminated. The failure was a recurring failure. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was contacted by phone and made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 211,000.

NHTSA ID

11770222

Incident

Mar 29, 2026

Mileage

211,000 mi

I am filing an official complaint against Grieco Ford of Fort Lauderdale regarding Safety Recall 15S18 (NHTSA Campaign 15V340) for my 2011 Ford Fusion. The official recall status is 'Recall Incomplete'. The dealership refused to perform the mandatory safety repair, claiming that the vehicle's factory warranty has expired. According to federal law, safety recalls do not expire and must be performed free of charge regardless of warranty status. Because of this unlawful refusal, my vehicle remains deactivated on Lyft, causing me immediate loss of income. Please investigate this dealership's failure to remedy a federal safety recall.

NHTSA ID

11770151

Incident

Oct 9, 2026

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became stiff and excessive force was needed to make a left or right turn. The power steering assist and Advancetrac warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and confirmed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously taken to a local independent mechanic; however, the failure was not duplicated. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

NHTSA ID

11770062

Incident

Oct 6, 2026

Mileage

56,000 mi

My steering got rough out of nowhere I just been driving regular I need help. Because I almost crashed

NHTSA ID

11769757

Incident

Sep 30, 2026

Turning on my car and the message power steering asstist fault comes on. Turning g off the car would work for awhile but not now. We got a new battery and that didn't help. I had the recall done in 7/30/2015. I called Ford 10/2/2026 and they said even tho I had very low miles the 10 years had passed first so the one time fix wouldn't apply. Someone may call me from Ford to ask further details. Also advised to save receipts on any repairs I do in case there is a chance down the road I can be reimbursed! I said that's absurd Ford isn't standing behind this issue, knowing it's an ongoing problem with many of the cars since the recall was done!

NHTSA ID

11768536

Incident

Oct 1, 2026

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering assist, making the steering wheel difficult to turn and causing the vehicle to wobble from side to side. The message "Power Steering Assist" was displayed, and an unknown warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure posed a safety risk to the contact and her children. The contact pulled over to the side of the road, and the vehicle was towed to her parent's residence. The contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure by phone.

NHTSA ID

11764337

Incident

Aug 20, 2026

Unknown

NHTSA ID

11762967

Incident

Sep 9, 2026

The vehicle experienced a sudden, complete failure of the electronic power steering assist while operating, resulting in a dangerous increase in steering effort and an immediate safety hazard. A professional OBD-II diagnostic scan retrieved active trouble codes C1277-20 (Steering Wheel Angle Sensor Signal Failure) and C1963-20 (Stability Control Inhibit Warning). This internal sensor failure matches the exact physical defect detailed in NHTSA Campaign Number 15V340000 (Ford Recall 15S18). Ford Corporate and the local dealership refuse to authorize a hardware replacement because they claim a software update completed in 2015 closed the recall on this VIN, despite the software patch failing to prevent the underlying physical hardware failure.

NHTSA ID

11751213

Incident

Jul 6, 2026

Yesterday evening, my power steering went out (EPAS), it did that when the car had been parked for the night and not in motion thankfully so nobodies safety was at risk, but I don’t know if and when it’ll happen again. According to Ford, it has been a recurring problem with ford fusion modules similar to mine, that the EPAS has been defective, and therefore making it dangerous to drive. My exact car has been inspected by a mechanic, and while it has been looked at, there were no warnings of this error happening, the vehicle was driving fine and all of a sudden, the error occurred.

NHTSA ID

11750620

Incident

Jul 14, 2026

See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA ID

11746482

Incident

Mar 22, 2026

Having loss of power steering assist the advanced trac peering steering says service now I feel it should fall under a recall cause I took it to a mechanic shop and they told me they ford fusion have issues with the power assist steering cause it goes out

NHTSA ID

11744954

Incident

Jun 17, 2026

The power steering keeps going out after it was brought in for recall years ago and the recall is up the the issue keeps goin on with the car I don't understand what to do because the shop i brought it to said the power steering is brand new they don't understand why it's even doin it and also they couldn't even reprogram the system I wanted to know why doesn't ford fix this and why wouldn't they want to help

NHTSA ID

11742395

Incident

Jun 4, 2026

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the power steering became inoperable. While reversing, the steering wheel became inoperable but corrected itself. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The local dealer was called, who confirmed there were only certain vehicles covered. The dealer informed there was no recall coverage for his VIN. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer referred him to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was contacted, but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 165,000.

NHTSA ID

11741256

Incident

Jun 1, 2026

Mileage

165,000 mi

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to steer in the intended direction. In addition, the power steering failure warning light illuminated. The contact had to apply all of her strength to turn the steering wheel in the intended direction. The vehicle was driven to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact referenced an unknown recall which had a similar failure description, however the contact's VIN was not associated. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11735496

Incident

May 3, 2026

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at a low speed, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was turned off and restarted, and the steering wheel started operating as intended. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.

NHTSA ID

11734391

Incident

Jan 21, 2026

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the message "Service Power Steering Now" was displayed and the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The vehicle was restarted and regained power steering functionality. The following day, the vehicle was taken to the dealer, and an appointment was scheduled for the vehicle to be diagnosed and repaired. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000.

NHTSA ID

11732676

Incident

Apr 19, 2026

Mileage

44,000 mi

On my 2011 Ford Fusion the power steering has failed and it seems to be covered by 15V340000 (15S18), specially supplement 3 but the dealership doesn't wish to acknowledge the warranty replacement. Currently the vehicle cannot be driven safely. I have had several mechanics look at the vehicle including a Ford authorized dealership. The suggested fix is as explained in the 15V340000 (15S18) and 15N01.

NHTSA ID

11732287

Incident

Apr 10, 2026

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn left or right. The contact stated that an unknown warning light was illuminated, and the message "Service Power Steering Now" was displayed. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the steering wheel failed to turn as needed. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

NHTSA ID

11730776

Incident

Apr 11, 2026

Mileage

120,000 mi

Power steering issue

NHTSA ID

11729219

Incident

Dec 3, 2025

I experienced a complete loss of power steering on my 2011 Ford Fusion. Luckily I managed to avoid an accident and had the vehicle towed to my mechanic. When he told me what caused the issue, I looked up all recalls on this vehicle using my VIN for the 2011 Ford Fusion on both Ford's website and the nhtsa.gov website. There was a recall in 2015 for Loss of Electric Power Steering Assist NHTSA ID Number: 15V340000. Ford's number for this recall is 15S18. I called Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 and they told me that this recall was no longer open. I bought this vehicle in 2020 and was not made aware of this recall at all, otherwise I would have gotten it fixed like I did for the airbag recalls. This was something that happened with no warning. The Ford customer service is refusing to acknowledge this recall or assist me on this.

NHTSA ID

11725033

Incident

Mar 14, 2026

Vehicle: Ford Fusion 2011 Component: Steering Mileage: 169600 Description: While driving, the steering suddenly became very heavy and difficult to turn. The steering wheel feels stiff, and in some situations the wheels do not respond properly when turning the wheel. The issue appears related to a worn or failing rack and pinion steering system. This creates a dangerous situation where the vehicle is difficult to control, especially at low speeds or when making turns. This problem increases the risk of losing control of the vehicle and could lead to an accident. There was no warning before the issue occurred. The vehicle has not been involved in any accident prior to this issue. This appears to be a mechanical failure.

NHTSA ID

11724829

Incident

Mar 11, 2026

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving approximately 3 MPH and turning left into a driveway, the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn. The contact stopped, turned off and restarted the vehicle, and drove back to the residence. The contact had researched online and associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). An appointment was scheduled with a local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the power steering assist had failed and needed to be replaced. The contact informed the service manager of the recall and was informed that the VIN was no longer covered under warranty, and that the vehicle was previously covered under Manufacturer Recall Number: 15N01. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

NHTSA ID

11720502

Incident

Feb 14, 2026

Mileage

82,000 mi