What 2,743 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Ford Escape Gas

WAS DRIVING THE CAR PARKED WENT INTO THE STORE AND CAME BACK OUT I STARTED THE CAR AND IT WAS DRIVING FINE THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN I HAD TO GRAB THE WHEEL TIGHT BECAUSE IT FLASHED SAYING STEERING LOSS PULL OVER. i HAD MY CHILDREN IN THE CAR IT WAS SO UNSAFE AND SCARY AND I SEE MANY PEOPLE WITH THIS ISSUE AND I AM NOT UNDERSTANDING WHY THERE IS NO RECALL

NHTSA ODI 11585570

Power steering completely failed mid drive about 15 mph in a turn, no codes. Worked briefly after restart. Now completely has failed regardless of restart.

NHTSA ODI 11584244

Power steering out and I am unable to afford the repairs. There is a recall for my make and model my van is not included in. I have already paid for a new transmission when the transmission recall was out and the Gilley Hyde Ford local dealership was dishonest with me and replaced almost $2000 of extra things and gave it back to me broken.

NHTSA ODI 11583116

The steering became hard as I turned into a parking space at the doctor's office. It has happened 4 or 5 times since then usually at low speeds. i have been extremely cautious since the first time. It is my mother vehicle, but I was driving it at the times the steering became hard/stiff.

NHTSA ODI 11582834

I was turning right and as I pulled out my power steering totally went out causing g me to loose control for a second but then it came back on almost causing an accident. This isn't the 1st time just the most recent. There's a recall on other years of the same vehicle with Ford for the same problem but not for 2013.

NHTSA ODI 11581864

Steering assist fault light has come on randomly since I bought the car in February of 2022 and just 2 days ago on March 30th 2024 my power steering in my vehicle is starting to go making a God awful sound like someone threw gravel into a wood chipper. I see ford has had a recall out for this once before but ultimately are wiping their hands clean of it. This is ridiculous owning a car that has had this many safety recalls on it.

NHTSA ODI 11580529

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, an abnormal squeaking sound was coming from the steering wheel while turning. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and was diagnosed with a defective steering gear. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11574766

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the message "Steering Assist Unavailable" displayed and the steering wheel seized. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and the message disappeared and the steering wheel regained functionality. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed that the power steering module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired but was in the process of being repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a complaint was filed. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 60,000. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA ODI 11574298

Power steering has gone out. There is a recall, but it is not attached to my Vin number.

NHTSA ODI 11574028

I own a 2013 ford Escape sel. While driving on the road a message appears and states steering assist fault. When this happens the steering becomes very hard to steer. I feel like I can’t even pull over because it is very hard to steer. I feel is very unsafe. Another msg that appears is hill start assist not available and then with that massage 911 assist fault. All of these messages to me seem very unsafe and need to be looked at. I looked online and there are thousands of people complaining about these problems.

NHTSA ODI 11572637

Started my car and had no steering with no warning. Thank God I wasn’t driving the car when this happened. Spoke with Ford Dealership and they knew exactly what the issue was. They said it was a malfunction of the rack and pinion steering which they said was common on the 2013 Ford Escape. Cost for Ford Dealership to repair was $2,700.

NHTSA ODI 11566086

Since we bought the car we have always had problems with the steering locking up. Was told the whole rack and pinion which is electric needed to be changed. I have read that this is a huge problem with FORDS. My wife was driving on the highway and it locks up and she can’t steer. Please check into how many ford vehicles have this problem. Someone is going to get killed

NHTSA ODI 11565380

I received an alert on the dash that says "steering assist fault service req'd" I have received this alert in the past, in the middle of driving. When the alert comes on, the power steering completely goes out, making it impossible to turn the wheel. It's scary knowing that I can be driving and the power steering can go out at anytime, due to evident poor engineering on Ford's behalf. There have been a plethora of other Escape's that had reported this exact issue. For whatever reason, Ford decided to not recall the 2013 model, even though it experiences the same issue that the other year models were recalled for. This is putting myself and others' at danger and currently the vehicle is stuck and I am not able to turn the wheel at all. Ford is unwilling to cooperate. This is easily something Ford should be willing to look at and FIX for zero cost. An engineering issue within the electrical components of the car is not something I should be held responsible for. I didn't build the car. Nor was I given any sort of warning when the steering just all of a sudden went out, while I'm driving on a busy highway. What can we do to get Ford to cooperate to FIX the issue at no cost on my end? Thank you in advance.

NHTSA ODI 11564370

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed, and the steering wheel was difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the steering rack was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 104,000.

NHTSA ODI 11561499

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while accelerating at slower speeds, the steering wheel would severely shake and vibrate. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 45,000.

NHTSA ODI 11559546

Steering Assist Fault - Contact Dealer is what appears on my vehicle screen. No power steering in vehicle - unable to drive, have to have it towed to dealer. Vehicle worked perfectly fine one hour before going back out to vehicle to start and run an errand. Vehicle on has 84,500 miles. There are recalls on 914,000 Escapes and Explorers up to 2012. The same component is in my 2013 vehicle that is in the vehicles in the recall. Ford needs to be responsible for these components in their vehicles that could cause a major accident, injury or death. This component should be paid for in full by Ford, not the customer.

NHTSA ODI 11558298

My power steering motor went and there’s no recalls!

NHTSA ODI 11557301

Steering Assist Fault shows on dash. Unable to turn the steering wheel. Appears to be a recall on Ford Escapes up to 2012. Need to include additional years into this recall - major problem and safety issue.

NHTSA ODI 11557328

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH and making a turn, the power steering assist became inoperable. The power steering assist failure message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact contacted two unknown dealers who provided the same information. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

NHTSA ODI 11556971

Electric Power Steering Fault. Could not turn steering wheel. Service Technician stated the Power Steering module failed.

NHTSA ODI 11555293

Power steering malfunctioned while driving out of my driveway. Vehicle is undrivable and is available for inspection. Unable to steer the vehicle. The problem has not been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center. The vehicle has not been inspected at this time. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure which occurred on Saturday, October 21, 2023 at 9:00 am.

NHTSA ODI 11551329

Power steering assist fault warning displayed on the dash of 2013 Ford Escape Titanium. Can’t turn wheel. Wheel was so hard to turn if my wife had been driving she would have wrecked and potentially seriously hurt thr two of us and our 3 grandchildren. Car has 92k miles and we’ve already replaced the transmission $5k. From what I’ve read this will be a minimum of $1.2k. It’s sad when their profitability is more important than people’s week being, potentially lives.

NHTSA ODI 11551247

First: A steering assist fault "service vehicle" started to appear on my dashboard of my 2013 Ford Escape Titanium 2.0 L . Steering is very hard and will not turn when in park and ready to drive, i can change gears, but steering is locked. I turn the ignition (push button) off, then it unlocks. I thought it was because I was putting in gear too quick after starting, but it does it even when I wait a couple of seconds to engage the gears. I don't want to encounter this problem while driving for obvious reasons. I have not confirmed it with a dealer since it doesn't do it all the time. Problem has not been inspected by anyone yet, but I've seen other posts of the expensive costs to repair. No other warning lamps of messages and this started a week ago (o/a 1 Oct 23). Second: I am getting very poor fuel consumption (about 17-18 MPG). A check with my FIXD device confirmed what I thought was the problem - "Fuel Pressure Sensor 'B' Circuit Low and Low Pressure Fuel System Pressure Too High". I don't see any safety concerns other than I might be left stranded in the desert one day. Dealer tell me that if I see no warning lamps on my dashboard, I shouldn't worry too much (hello?). I now have 115,800 miles on this vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11549278

Steering system fault. Rack and pinion replaced 1 year ago. Already starting to lock up again.

NHTSA ODI 11545206

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Escape. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the steering wheel failed to respond as needed. After restarting the vehicle, the steering wheel moved and worked as designed. The steering wheel defect message was displayed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 151,000.

NHTSA ODI 11544549