Ford Steering: Electric Power Assist System

Ford is recalling about 393,623 vehicles over a problem with the steering. If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

Campaign
15V340000
Manufacturer
Ford Motor Company
Reported
2 June 2015
Vehicles
393,623
Built between
Sep 2010 – Feb 2012
Models
7
Recall type
Vehicle
Initiated by
NHTSA investigation
Owners notified
21 July 2015
Repaired
69%
Unrepaired
111,807

Does this affect my vehicle?

This recall covers vehicles built between September 2010 and February 2012. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.

  • 2011-2013 Ford FlexBuilt September 2010 to February 2012
  • 2011-2012 Ford FusionBuilt September 2010 to February 2012
  • 2011-2013 Ford TaurusBuilt September 2010 to February 2012
  • 2011-2013 Lincoln MKSBuilt September 2010 to February 2012
  • 2011-2013 Lincoln MKTBuilt September 2010 to February 2012
  • 2011-2012 Lincoln MKZBuilt September 2010 to February 2012
  • 2011 Mercury MilanBuilt September 2010 to December 2010

Repair progress

111,807 of 393,623 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q4 2016.

69% repaired — 272,633 of 393,623 reported

Owners not reachable
8,714
Scrapped or exported
469

Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.

What the defect is

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford Fusion vehicles without a 3.5L engine and Lincoln MKZ hybrid electric vehicles, 2011 Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with a 3.5L GTDI engine and 2013 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with any available engine. The affected vehicles have electric power steering assist systems that may shut down as a result of a steering motor sensor fault.

What could happen

If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

What gets fixed

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC). If dealers find any loss of steering assist DTCs, the steering gear will be replaced, free of charge. If, no codes are found during the PSCM inspection, the PSCM software will be updated, free of charge. The recall began on July 21, 2015.

Timeline

  1. Vehicles builtSeptember 2010 to February 2012
  2. Recall reported to NHTSA2 June 2015
  3. Owners notified21 July 2015
  4. Latest repair reportQ4 2016 — 69% repaired

Your rights

A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.

That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 2 June 2015.

To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.

Manufacturer contact

Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S18.

Official source

Manufacturer's recall number
15S18
Recalling manufacturer
Ford Motor Company
Recall initiated by
ODI

Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

Additional notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Check your own vehicle

This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.

A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.

Same component

Same brand