What 1,312 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Ford Escape Gas

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for a routine maintenance inspection, and he was informed by the mechanic that the front subframe engine cradle displayed rusted holes and corrosion located near the control bracket and the contact was concerned for his safety. The contact also stated that the rear wheel rails had started to rust. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that a fee would be charged for the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to call the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

NHTSA ODI 11520096

Discovered my car has electric power steering not seeing a reservoir did some research and seen that there were a lot of 2011 Ford Escapes with safety recalls three being the main problems I've had with my car since I began financing it almost 4 years ago my last payment is in 2 weeks. Went to leave a driveway and within a few seconds my steering wheel locked up and I thought it was strange that's when I found out I have electric power steering and that there has been recalls turned the car off turn to back on and it was just fine. Found out that is a common thing although it may not be considered a safety recall just yet but I would believe it is a major problem because anytime in my life if I was to believe my power steering was failing me I would still have control over the wheel but this thing locks up as if I ain't going nowhere. I seen that there has been recalls for fuel systems front wheel bearings and electric power steering. My engine light has been on for a very long time and people say it's because of the O2 sensor causing a misfire to appear random. My front wheels kind of knock making me think it could be between the rack axle and bearing. Other than that my radio face button stopped working one day as if they were possessed until they completely shut off and I have no access to it besides the steering wheel components. Rear wiper stuck in the up position one day was causing a tick I could hear with no power and no key in the ignition that caused my battery to die several times 2 years in a row. Realized unplugging my rear wiper made it quit but I can't use my front washer fluid without it being unplugged. And my AC Open Air Max AC and heating cooling climate control buttons work but the blower only works on high making me think yet another electrical issue being the blower speed regulator is bad. I would say these are safety issues package together. This website says I have 0unrepaired recalls. Might try fix it with a torque sensor/calling dealership.

NHTSA ODI 11517205

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that on three separate occasions, while driving at low speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The contact was able to turn off and restart the vehicle on each occasion. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and produced code: B1342. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 144,000.

NHTSA ODI 11516553

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds, the power steering functionality failed to remain operational. The steering wheel failed to turn with the wheels. The steering wheel was shaking. The steering wheel failed to turn. There was an unknown sound detected outside the vehicle. The tire warning light was illuminated. The navigation system was dimmed and not responding. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact about a recall. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 143,000.

NHTSA ODI 11515443

When starting the car the steering wheel shakes and it is hard to turn. Shutting the car off and restarting would sometimes fix it. But now it happens every time. Installed a new power steering torque sensor. That stopped the shaking, but it is still hard to steer. Taken it to a Ford Dealer but they just sit on the car and never get around to looking at it. THis happened at 155,000 miles.

NHTSA ODI 11513660

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality with the steering wheel shaking abnormally. The contact was able to pull over. The vehicle was taken to independent mechanic and the mechanic stated that the vehicle was experiencing the failure listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The dealer was contacted, and the dealer stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11513671

I have lost the ability to steer my car while driving several different times, able to pull over and turn car off. When car is restarted the steering electric power assist system kick in and I am able to continue driving. The recall was from vehicles from 20006 thru 2010/ My vehicle is a 2011 apparently there are still problems.

NHTSA ODI 11512633

Rust is happening at an increasing rate on the rear wheel wells and rear lift gate.

NHTSA ODI 11511819

Electric power steering fails while driving. Car is available for inspection. Power steering failure while driving is an extreme safety risk. Problem has been confirmed by an independent mechanic. Car goes to the Ford dealer in two weeks (earliest appointment). Vehicle has not yet been fully inspected. No warning lights or error codes were shown. It appears that this vehicle SHOULD HAVE been recalled by Ford but was not.

NHTSA ODI 11509913

STEERING MALFUNCTIONED WHILE I WAS DRIVING. MY SAFETY WAS AT RISK BECAUSE I WAS DRIVING IT. NO DEALER HAS NOT SEEN CAR YET HAD TO MAKE AN APPT FOR LATER DATE DUE TO AVAILABILITY. WHEN POWER STEERING FAILED LED MESSAGE CAME UP AT THE SAME TIME SO THERE WAS NO PRIOR WARNING.

NHTSA ODI 11509208

Escape was parked in driveway when I opened hatchback/lift to retrieve items. Suddenly the windshield shattered. No one was inside the vehicle at the time. There has been no reproduction/confirmation by a dealer. As new owner of the vehicle purchased from dealer, it has been inspected in both VA and in MD on 01/13/2023. There was no warning.

NHTSA ODI 11507389

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated while her husband was driving 70 MPH, the vehicle shuddered significantly and made abnormal knocking sounds. Additionally, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact's husband veered to the side road and turned off the vehicle. The contact stated upon restarting the vehicle, the power steering became operable. The contact's husband was able to drive to the residence; however, the failure reoccurred intermittently while driving. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The dealer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle could not be repaired under the recall due to the manufacture date. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

NHTSA ODI 11507243

Power steering goes on and off without warning, you will just hear a click sound. It appears that there is a short circuit somewhere as it also affects my temp control, radio and dash gauges. We almost had an accident as a family of 4 driving in i88.

NHTSA ODI 11506807

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering assist failed to operate as needed. The contact called the dealer and was informed that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The vehicle was diagnosed and repaired by the dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

NHTSA ODI 11506637

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH and making a left turn, the steering wheel became stiff and the vehicle momentarily lost power steering assist; the vehicle immediately regained power steering assist functionality. On another occasion, while driving 15 MPH and making a right turn, the failure recurred, and the steering wheel became stiff with an audible beeping sound and the steering assist failure warning light illuminated. The contact was able to drive the vehicle home. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent mechanic, and the contact was informed that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The contact was referred to the dealer for assistance. The independent mechanic reset the power steering assist fault code. The dealer was contacted but offered no assistance because the vehicle had a Salvage Title. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 100,000.

NHTSA ODI 11505022

electric power steering failed without warning while driving.

NHTSA ODI 11503100

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and transferred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 220,000.

NHTSA ODI 11502614

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that the front passenger’s side seat belt failed to operate properly, and the retractor malfunctioned. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.

NHTSA ODI 11502115

I was driving down the road a couple months ago and my steering would go out randomly and then kick back on and some times it would kick off and I would have to pull over and turn the car off and turn it back on and it would start working again. There has been a couple times I would be driving down the highway and it goes out. Now the power steering is out completely. I see that other vehicles like my are being recalled and my car doesn’t I’m confused. It’s very dangerous, considering I will have a child soon and won’t drive this vehicle with my child

NHTSA ODI 11500260

Power steering gave out while driving down highway. Checked out by mechanic and no cause found. This vehicle has a recall involving the steering torque sensor, specifically to vehicles manufactured in the Kansas plant....BUT only a specific group that were assembled during a specific time frame ending September 11, 2010. My vehicle was assembled in the Kansas plant in January 2011....4 months after the affected vehicles. I believe my vehicle is affected by this and my torque sensor is faulty

NHTSA ODI 11500109

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated while exiting a parking lot, the vehicle lost power steering functionality without any waring. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the power steering control module needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 115,000.

NHTSA ODI 11499142

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering malfunctioned, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. The contact stated that after restarting the vehicle, the power steering operated as needed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the power steering module was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 150,000.

NHTSA ODI 11498517

I have lost power steering x 2 on the freeway, 70 mph. I had it in for repair at a Ford dealership, they said it was the alternator and repaired with new alternator. Started to loose power steering again, same situation. Now I read that there are hundreds of other people with similar problems, Ford has done a limited recall but has left the rest of us with no recourse. How can all of us get this information in mass before someone does get killed. There have been accidents and some injuries to those recalled, but nothing for the rest of us. Are we just to keep driving these unsafe cars? This is reportedly the EPS system. Ford says there should be a warning light, but mine has had no such warning lamps.

NHTSA ODI 11497936

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH from a stop light, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled off the road and stopped the vehicle. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and the power steering functionality returned. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the power steering assist needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.

NHTSA ODI 11497568

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle would not properly accelerate. Additionally, while the vehicle was idling, the vehicle was shaking abnormally, with an abnormal burning metallic odor outside the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the ignition coil for cylinder #2 had melted and a computer failure also occurred. No further information was available. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 85,000.

NHTSA ODI 11494731