What 598 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Ford Escape Phev

The steering wheel came off in my hands. I pushed it back on and went to Ford to get it fixed, they couldn't help me because they had no techs employed that work on my year vehicle, they never told me it was a safety issue and sent me on my way to look for outside mechanic not a FORD specialist. I was driving and the airbag exploded while I was backing up. It caused me injury and could have caused an accident because there was no warning, it suddenly exploded with a loud noise, if this happened when I was on the highway it would have caused severe accident, luckily I was backing the car up when it happened. I didn't hit anything to cause the airbag to deploy. When the steering wheel came off in my hands it was when I was parked, it could have happened when I was driving causing severe injury to myself and those around me. I keep my vehicle maintained by FORD and the steering wheel was never touched or repaired. But when I bought the vehicle brand new from FORD it was missing the Sirius satellite radio it was advertised as coming with, when I brought it back to Ford the seller told me they take it out for import reasons and I could buy it from them for $150 plus installation. I don't know if they touched the steering wheel when they removed the Sirius radio parts. I have the Sirius button on my vehicle and it was advertised with 6 months free Sirius, but the dealership said it's common practice in Puerto Rico for them to remove it because of import fees. I'm the only owner of this vehicle and it was sold to me as brand new. The steering wheel gave me no warning it was about to come off in my hands, it was not loose, it had no play in it, I was parked in my driveway and had just gotten into the car when it came off in my hands. I have the car for inspection and need to alert people of this danger and get the vehicle steering wheel recalled to prevent severe injury to another person.

NHTSA ODI 11527085

AT RANDOM POINTS IN TIME WHEN CAR IS ON, DOESNT MATTER WHAT SPEED, STEERING WHEEL LOCKS AND IS UNABLE TO BE MOVED UNTILL CAR IS TURNED OFF AND BACK ON AGAIN. I JUST GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT YESTERDAY IN BRATTLEBORO VT WHILE I WAS DRIVING HOME FOR XMAS FROM COLLEGE WHEN I WENT RIGHT OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND INTO A SNOWBANK. AIRBAGS WENT OFF AND NOBODY WAS HURT AND LUCKLY I DIDNT HIT ANY OTHER CARS OR PROPERTY. CAR IS BEING TOWED BACK HOME TO A MECHANIC. I HAD GONE TO A FORD DEALERSHIP A FEW WEEKS AGO WHEN I FIRST NOTICED THE ISSUE, IN MY DRIVEWAY AT LOW SPEEDS, AND AFTER PAYING A $100 DIAGNOSIS FEE, THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR AND THAT I WAS IMAGINING THINGS. I'VE DONE A LOT OF RESEARCH SINCE THEN AND THERE ARE A LOT OF RECALLS WITH SIMILAR ISSUES BUT NOT ON THE 2012 MODEL.

NHTSA ODI 11055453

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2012 FORD ESCAPE. WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL INDEPENDENTLY STEERED LEFT. THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO AN EMBANKMENT AND FLIPPED SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE COMING TO A COMPLETE STOP. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE DRIVER SIDE CURTAIN AIR BAG DEPLOYED. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED SEVERE NECK INJURIES, BROKEN RIBS, A BROKEN LEFT HAND, AND FRACTURES TO THE SKULL. MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS REQUIRED. THE LOCAL DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THERE WERE NO RECALLS FOR THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 40,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. *TT *TR

NHTSA ODI 11046580

JUST AFTER LEAVING A 4 WAY STOP, AS I TRIED TO ROUND THE CURVE THE STEERING IN OUR 2012 ESCAPE STOPPED WORKING AND I COULD NOT TURN THE STEERING WHEEL AT ALL. I JUST KEPT GOING STRAIGHT. LUCKILY, I SLOWED DOWN WITH THE BRAKES BUT THE ESCAPE CONTINUED STRAIGHT AND WENT OVER THE CURB AND DOWN A 50+ FT EMBANKMENT. EVEN WITH ALL OF THIS IMPACT, NO AIRBAGS WERE DEPLOYED THROUGHOUT THE CAR ANYWHERE! THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKING UP WAS BAD ENOUGH, BUT AFTER THE ACCIDENT AND THE CONDITION OF THE CAR AND THEN NO AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT- THAT WAS WAY TOO MUCH! *TR

NHTSA ODI 10671678