What 228 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Ford Cmax Energi

While driving car, power steering will fail and deactivate leaving the steering extremely heavy and manual. Can happen at any speed, and has happened on the interstate at highway speeds. Information cluster states, "power steering fault - service power steering immediately" When this happens it is highly unsafe and happens instantly without warning. Makes getting the car off the road and stopped safely very difficult and dangerous. Stopping the car, turning it off fully and restarting seems to clear the fault and makes the car power steering operate as normal again. But this has happened many times since owning the car and I can find no reason when or why it gets triggered. Online searches find many other owners of this car describing the exact same issue and they share the same concerns about it being unsafe.

NHTSA ODI 11662849

Got a “Power steering assist fault” message on the screen. It was very hard to steer the wheel. The case on the wheel was turning around it. Managed to drive 3 more miles to the dealership. A lot of other ford models have same issues, even under 50.000 miles. And many of the are in recall program, but not 2013 ford c-max. Can’t afford 3.400$ price for fixing it at the dealership. I’m a second owner, bought it for 5.000 , 3 years ago. At least it didn’t stuck completely, and I didn’t Die

NHTSA ODI 11628031

On the morning of 12/13/23 I got in my car to go to work. Upon starting my car the warning light for service power steering came on. I noticed the car was very hard to steer when existing my drive way. I drove the car back into my neighborhood to see if it was safe to drive in traffic. The steering was so tight and steering wheel would fight me wanting to return to center. With the fault code still present I went home and inspected the steering system and hooked up my scan tool to the OBD port. I had a fault code of 3000-53 and 3000-49. The 3000-53 would not clear. I have found online other Fford vehicles with recalls for the same steering system setup, but not on the Ford C Max. If this had happened when I was driving on the road at a high rate of speed it would have caused a serious accident, as the steering was very unresponsive and actually fighting my input of direction.

NHTSA ODI 11559895

I went to change lanes and all of a sudden the steering became difficult. I thought the car had lost power, but it was only the steering. The sudden loss came as a surprise and did cause me to loose control momentarily during the lane change. Shortly thereafter a warning light came on indicating the power steering needed to be serviced. I was able to arrive at my destination safely, but power steering was completely out. Upon restarting the car the problem went away. Returning home later that evening the problem returned about 5 miles into my trip. I returned home and shortly after brought the car to the auto parts store to see if there was a code on their scan tool. No codes, but this time when the car was started the warning light came on immediately and power steering has quit working 100% of the time.

NHTSA ODI 11513341

I started the car and could not move the steering wheel without great great effort. “Power steering failure” notice appeared on dashboard.

NHTSA ODI 11493138

The contact owns a 2013 Ford C-Max Energi. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the steering wheel locked up. The contact stated that it was difficult to turn the steering wheel. The contact received help from her passenger to pull off the road. The contact stopped and turned off and restarted the vehicle and the power steering functionality returned. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact stated that she had stopped driving the vehicle. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle had not been diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

NHTSA ODI 11493088

Steering warning light came on after driving away from home. Power Steering failed, no possible way to move steering wheel. Powered vehicle off. Next day, steering worked and took vehicle to Ford Dealer. Upon inspection by Dealer, the steering gear failed and needs to be replaced. Vehicle has less than 50,000 miles driven. In my opinion, this is a manufacturing issue that Ford needs to review and possibly recall. This could have been very serious had the failure occurred while I was driving the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11491415

I started my car & put in reverse the service power steering light came on & my steering wheel locked so I put it back in park turned the car off waited a moment & started it again the problem stopped. I then got online to troubleshoot & see that there is many complaints about this happening but it worse situations when they were actually driving & almost had an accident due to not being able to steer the vehicle. Now I'm scared it will happen when I'm driving next time. This is a life threatening problem & the fact that its a know issue should be fixed by ford at no charge or you will end up with class action lawsuits for putting peoples lives in danger !!!!!

NHTSA ODI 11454274

The message to service the power steering suddenly appeared and the steering wheel could not be rotated, when we were at our drive way. I felt to be very lucky for not being on the road when the loss of power steering occurred. After I turned off the engine and restarted the car one minute later, the power steering problem disappeared and I was able to drive the car again. About one week later, I sent the car to a Ford dealer for inspection. The test result showed the error code U300-49:08 and the internal electronic failure type. The dealer recommended replacing the steering gear at a cost of over $3000. We have just completed a 7-year service contract with the same dealer. Thus, the car should have been well maintained.

NHTSA ODI 11445775

Was driving my 2013 Ford CMax and heard a noise in the front. I took it to the local Belle Tire and they replaced the upper inner front tirod. Still had issues and heard noise. Took it to a repair facility and they claimed they heard no noise. Two weeks later my Steering assist warning light came on and I lost all steering capabilities. Luckily I was not injured. Ford has recalls for this same issue on other years and models. Due to the severity of this problem and possible casuality Ford should issue a recall for this part. I had to pay $2100.00 to repair this problem

NHTSA ODI 11443946

After making a stop at a rest stop traveling from Portland, OR to The Dalles, OR, when we got back into the car and started it, a warning light came on saying “service power steering. See your dealer.” From that point forward, we had no power steering and had to drive home that way. We know after doing research that Ford has a recall (15S18) for this exact problem but because there weren’t as many CMax vehicles sold, they did not include it. We had to drive home almost 60 miles at highway speed to get home.

NHTSA ODI 11430558

TURNED THE CAR ON IN A PARKING LOT AND SAW THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON. HAD TOTALLY LOST POWER STEERING AND ACCELERATION, AND BRAKING WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. ROLLED DOWN THE PARKING LOT AND WAS ABLE TO STOP THE CAR WITH THE PARKING BRAKE AND TURN IT OFF. TURNED IT BACK ON AND THE POWER STEERING AND BRAKES AND ACCELERATOR WERE BACK. DROVE THE CAR HOME AND TRIED TURNING IT ON AND OFF A FEW MORE TIMES. POWER STEERING SEEMS TO BE COMPLETELY GONE. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON.

NHTSA ODI 11406320

POWER STEERING FAILS WITHOUT WARNING MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT TO STEER THAN MANUAL STEERING. TURNING CAR OFF RESETS ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE BUT THAT IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THE POWER STEERING WON'T FAIL AGAIN WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY.

NHTSA ODI 11397307

TOTAL POWER STEERING LOSS. ISSUE HAPPENED TWICE SINCE OWNING THE CAR . ONCE AT 30,000 MILES AND THE SECOND AT 80,000 MILES.FORD DEALER SAID IT NEEDED A ELECTRIC POWER STEERING RACK & PINION.

NHTSA ODI 11365259

ELECTRIC STEERING RACK FAILED CAUSING NO POWER STEERING. SYMPTOMS STARTED WITH INTERMITTENT LOCKING. LUCKILY THE VEHICLE WAS AT THE DEALERSHIP TO REPLACE FAULTY HIGH ENERGY BATTERY PACK STILL UNDER WARRANTY. REPROGRAMMING DID NOT CORRECT THE ISSUE. IT APPEARS FORD HAD A RECALL FOR HIGHER PRODUCTION MODELS USING THE SAME RACK BUT NOT FOR C-MAX WHICH HAD LOW PRODUCTION. MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD TO LOSE STEERING CAPABILITY.

NHTSA ODI 11355556

AS WITH MANY COMPLAINTS LISTED IN FORUMS OUTSIDE OF THE NHTSA MY 2013 C MAX IS EXPERIENCING THE SAME STEERING ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN RESOLVED IN OTHER FORD MODELS UNDER RECALL 15S18. THE ELECTRIC STEERING RACK NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AT AN APPROXIMATE COST OF $2,000. ISSUES ARE SCRAPING AND MINOR SEIZING STEERING INTERMITTENTLY WHEN TURNING AND PROGRESSIVELY WORSENING. CURRENTLY NOTING NOISE WHEN LEAVING TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL. NO ISSUES DRIVING STRAIGHT, AT THIS TIME. MANY STATE THEIR STEERING SEIZES COMPLETELY AND CLEARLY I DO NOT WISH THIS TO HAPPEN, PARTICULARLY WITH KIDS IN THE CAR. I HAVE NO ON BOARD SCREEN ERRORS ILLUMINATING AT THIS POINT AND HAVE VALID FEAR OF DRIVING THE VEHICLE. THIS CAR AND OTHERS SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER THE 15S18 RECALL AND WHY OTHERS ARE COMPLAINING OUTSIDE OF NHTSA I DON'T KNOW BUT THIS AFFECTS MANY MORE CARS THAN LISTED IN THE ORIGINAL RECALL. I AM REQUESTING THIS VEHICLE BE INCLUDED IN RECALL 15S18 BEFORE DEATH OCCURS. THIS ISSUE BEGAN IN WINTER AND HAS PROGRESSED. 40,000 MILES ON CAR.

NHTSA ODI 11353318

BACKED OUT OF DRIVEWAY TO DRIVE TO A SPOT ON THE CUL DE SAC. STARTED TO PULL UP TO THE CURB AND COULD NOT TURN THE WHEEL. SAW A LIGHT THAT SAID SERVICE POWER STEERING SOON. NO WARNING UNTIL POWER STEERING STOPPED COMPLETELY. GOT STOPPED JUST A COUPLE OF FEET FROM THE LIGHT POST. FORD CHARGED $2200.00 TO FIX. CAR HAS JUST OVER 50,000 MILES.

NHTSA ODI 11343238

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 FORD C-MAX. THE CONTACT STATED AT START-UP, THE STEERING CEASED WITH THE POWER STEERING ASSIST FAILURE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED HONOLULU FORD LOCATED AT 1370 N KING ST, HONOLULU, HI 96817, (808) 824-3981 AND THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE POWER STEERING NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THE POWER STEERING WAS REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN INFORMED OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 177,000. *BF CONSUMER STATED MANUFACTURER IS AWARE OF FAULTY POWER STEERING IN THEIR ENTIRE PRODUCT LINE BUT HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL.*JB

NHTSA ODI 11327859

MY VEHICLE HAS APPROXIMATELY 105,000 MILES ON IT. I GOT IN MY VEHICLE TO LEAVE AND A RED MESSAGE APPEARED SAYING, "SERVICE POWER STEERING SYSTEM". THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME VERY HARD TO TURN LEFT OR RIGHT. IN FACT, I WASN'T ABLE TO TURN IT AT ALL. I SHUT OFF THE CAR AND THEN RESTARTED IT. IT APPEARED TO BE WORKING AGAIN AND I DROVE IT FOR AN HOUR WITHOUT ANY ISSUE. WHEN I RETURNED HOME I LOOKED ON A FEW FORUMS AND THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM IN THE CMAX AND OTHER FORD EPAS SYSTEMS. A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE FORUMS SAY IT HAPPENED IN THE MIDDLE OF THEM DRIVING. APPARENTLY THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE FOR FORD. BECAUSE OF WHAT I READ, I AM SCARED TO CONTINUE DRIVING, BUT NEED THE VEHICLE TO GET OT WORK. I WANT TO GET IT FIXED, BUT DO NOT HAVE THE APPROXIMATELY $2000 IT COSTS TO DO SO. I DO NOT WANT TO RISK MY LIFE OR THE LIVES OF OTHERS. FORD, IF THIS IS HAPPENING IN THIS MODEL AND IN SIMILAR MODELS, AND YOU KNOW ABOUT IT, WILL YOU PLEASE COVER THE COST?

NHTSA ODI 11324890

WHILE VEHICLE MOVING AT ~15MILES PER HOUR IN A LEFT TURN AT A T INTERSECTION POWER STEERING TURNED VIOLENTLY THE STEERING WHEEL TO THE RIGHT, WITHOUT A POSSIBILITY FOR ME TO KEEP IT IN MY BOTH HANDS. ROTATION RATE OF THE STEERING WHEEL WAS VERY RAPID AND REQUIRED IMMEDIATE AND HEAVY BRAKING SO AS NOT TO HIT PARKED VEHICLE ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE TURN. MY WIFE DESCRIBED TWO OTHER INSTANCE WHEN IT HAPPENED TO HER IN HER WORK PARKING LOT WHERE SHE LOST CONTROL OF THE STEERING WHEEL AND HAD TO IMMEDIATELY SLAM THE BRAKES TO PREVENT THE CAR FROM HITTING ANOTHER VEHICLE. THIS HAPPENED TO HER WHILE TURNING TO THE RIGHT. THIS ISSUE IS NEW. WE HAD THE GEAR BOX CHANGED AT 75,000 MILES AND THE 3 INSTANCES HAVE HAPPENED SINCE THEN. WE ARE BRINGING THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIR HOPING THEY CAN FIX THIS ISSUE.

NHTSA ODI 11306571

MY CAR WOULD NOT TURN. A NOTIFICATION TO CHECK POWER STEERING APPEARED. I WAS PARKED AND COULD NOT GET OUT OF THE SPACE BECAUSE THE WHEELS WOULD NOT TURN. THERE ARE MULTIPLE REPORTS ON LINE ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE WITH CMAX CARS. THE REPAIR WILL COST ME $ 2,600 TO FIX

NHTSA ODI 11291684

I WAS PULLING OUT OF MY DRIVE WAY AND TURNED MY STEERING WHEEL WHEN MY CAR'S POWER STEERING STOPPED WORKING INSTANTLY AND IT BECAME IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER, THERE WAS ALSO A MESSAGE THAT DISPLAYED SAYING "SERVICE POWER STEERING". WHEN I STOPPED AN RESTARTED THE CAR, THE MESSAGE AND STEERING WERE FINE, HOWEVER THIS REPEATED A FEW DAYS LATER. WHEN I TOOK IT TO FORD TO BE SERVICED, THEY SAID IT WAS 'PROBABLY A BATTERY ISSUE", WHICH WAS REPLACED, HOWEVER THE NEXT DAY, THE SAME ISSUES OCCURRED.

NHTSA ODI 11288877

ON MY 2013 CMAX ENERGI OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, POWER STEERING INTERMITTENTLY STOPS WORKING, WHICH MAKES HIT HARD TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL. "POWER STEERING REQUIRES SERVICE" WARNING COMES ON. IT GENERLLY OCCURS JUST AFTER STARTING THE CAR. AFTER RE-STARTING SEVERAL TIMES, POWER STEERING WILL TYPICALLY KICK BACK IN. DEALER INDICATED NEED TO REPLACE STEERING COLUMN. PARTS COST IS AROUND $2000 AND LABOR $1000.

NHTSA ODI 11283190

RECEIVED WARNING "POWER STEERING REQUIRES SERVICE" WHILE DRIVING. SHORTLY AFTER, WE PULLED OVER AND TURNED OFF THE ENGINE FOR SEVERAL MINUTES. UPON RESTARTING THE CAR THE POWER STEERING WAS GONE--ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL AND THE MESSAGE SAID "POWER STEERING FAULT". OUR LOCAL DEALER SAID THIS WAS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY OR RECALL. RESEARCH SHOWS MULTIPLE RECALLS ON 2013 FORD VEHICLES FOR THIS PROBLEM, BUT NOT FOR THE CMAX ENERGI (PERHAPS BECAUSE IT'S NOT A VERY POPULAR CAR AND THERE WEREN'T ENOUGH SOLD TO TRIGGER THE RECALL THRESHOLD).

NHTSA ODI 11278541

WE BEGAN TO HAVE DIFFICULTY STEERING OUR WELL-MAINTAINED FORD C-MAX JUST AFTER STARTING WHEN BACKING UP IN OUR DRIVEWAY AT AROUND 63,000 MILES. WE REPORTED IT TO FORD AND THEY SAID IT JUST WAS THAT THE ELECTRICAL SIGNAL TAKES AWHILE TO GET TO THE STEERING. BEFORE 70,000 MILES THE 'CHECK STEERING' LIGHT WENT ON. BEFORE WE COULD GET IT TO THE DEALER, THE POWER STEERING FAILED COMPLETELY. FORTUNATELY THIS HAPPENED WHILE WE WERE BACKING OUT OF OUR DRIVEWAY. WE HAVE READ THAT THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS FREQUENTLY AND THERE WAS A RECALL OF OTHER 2013 FORD MODELS FOR THIS SAME ISSUE. THE DEALER SAYS THE REPAIR WILL COST US APPROXIMATELY $3,500. WE BELIEVE THE FORD C-MAX SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE RECALL.

NHTSA ODI 11234332