2012 Ford Escape Complaints

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized, and the vehicle became difficult to turn to the left or right. The contact stated that as a temporary repair, the vehicle was restarted. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the steering column assembly needed to be replaced due to the steering wheel seizing. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to an unknown Ford Recall; however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was scheduled to be repaired at the owner's expense. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 158,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at 5 MPH, the steering wheel failed to respond as needed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was attempting to straighten the steering wheel and the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start, and the gear shifter failed to move or operate as intended. The local dealer was not contacted, and the vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.

My sub frame on the right-side front has rusted completely out and needs to be replaced to drive it safely. It is available for inspection, it has been inspected by three different mechanics, all came to the same conclusion, the sub frame needs replacing ASAP. The car has not been inspected by anyone else. No warning lights are on, this is not a part that would activate a warning light.

Steering wheel locked while turning into a parking lot traveling about 10 MPH. No amount of force on the steering wheel would turn the front wheels. It was total steering failure. Braking failed at the same time. Car coasted to a stop. No warning lamps or dashboard indication of failure. There would have been total loss of vehicle control had this happened at highway speed with catastrophic results. By luck there was not an accident or collision as a result of the failure. The engine was turned off then restarted a few minutes later. Steering and brake function returned after restarting the engine. Researching similar incidents regarding model 2012 Ford Escape shows this is a common problem judging from the number of complaints filed by other owners of this model Ford. A recall was issued for Escape model years up to 2011 but not for the 2012 or later. Problem description for model years prior to 2012 seem to be an identical match for the 2012 model. This car is unsafe to drive. Hopefu...

I was driving this morning and the steering wheel became very hard to turn. I slowed down because I didn’t know what was happening, tried to turn into my workplace and had to use all of my strength to turn the steering wheel. No dashboard warning lights. It was sudden and was a scary situation.