2015 Ford Focus steering problems

“I’m writing about my 2015 Ford Focus (VIN: [XXX] ), which has under 38,500 miles. While heading to work, I suddenly lost power steering—no warning, just stiff steering out of nowhere. The repair cost me over $5,000 to replace the electric power steering rack, which only a Ford dealer could handle due to software restrictions. This follows a TCM replacement that Ford covered under recall. I contacted Ford for goodwill assistance, but they refused. At this mileage, these failures are unacceptable.”

“The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while attempting to turn the steering wheel, the steering wheel was sticking and jerked abnormally, making it more difficult to maneuver the vehicle. The contact experienced resistance while turning the steering wheel to the left or the right. The contact stated that there was a rubbing, grinding, and scratching sound coming from the steering wheel. The contact stated that the jerking had gotten progressively worse and occurred while accelerating from being idle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the steering gear and rack and pinion had failed. The contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V514000 (Steering); that was related to the 2014 model vehicles. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.”

“The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. Additionally, the contact stated that there was an abnormal sound while turning the steering wheel. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed rack and pinion. The contact was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The dealer was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.”

“The contact owns a 2015 Ford Focus. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the steering wheel seized momentarily, due to a sudden loss of power steering functionality, causing the vehicle to cross over to the other side of the road, eventually stopping in a patch of grass on the side of the road. The contact continued to drive the vehicle with manual steering. The dealer was contacted and informed of the failure. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The dealer confirmed that the VIN was not under recall for the steering. The contact used a diagnostic tool and retrieved a power steering fault code. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 64,000.”

“I was driving on the freeway approaching a curve at about 45mph when I first experienced the wheel locking up. As I was trying to cut the wheel to the right, the steering wouldn't allow me to turn any further. Upon noticing this I immediately hit my breaks to avoid slamming into the median and hit the hazards lights to avoid have a rear end collision with the many cars driving behind me. Extremely terrifying experience and thankfully I avoided collision by acting fast, however someone else may not be as quick to avoid a potentially fatal event. Someone could have died, I could have died by losing the ability to control my steering. I thank god that total steering loss didn't happen while I was doing 60mph, I can only imagine how differently this could've ended. No lights or warnings popped up while that happened until I got off at my exit. Maybe about 3 miles later a warning stating "steering fault" popped up disappeared and then "total steering loss" appears across the dashboard. This was once I was in a residential area to stop the car while I am going down the road at 25mph. This left me unable to make any turns so I had to come to a complete stop. I have…”

“Power Steering loss of function.. Power steering module and motor failure.. Inoperable Steering Rack.. This is a documented problem in the 2014 Focus models, why not the 2015 Focus models.. My Power Steering is dead, my Steering Rack is Inoperable, and my Power Steering Module and Motor are dead.. My problems started happening in January 2024”