I have a 2012 V6 with 16,000 miles.
Today, while pulling into my driveway, the power steering stopped working. I looked it over and everything looked ok, mechanically. Turned the car off and on again and the steering worked. I turned the wheel back and forth a couple times and it made a few random clicks and pops and then was completely gone again. Now it doesnt work at all, and even the adjustable setting on the dash has disappeared.

There is no CEL, and no codes according to my Actron scanner, but the message screen says "Service Power Steering Now".

A short test drive showed no power steering at all. You have to really CRANK the wheel to turn at all, regardless of speed. Also, turning the wheel sends small clicks through the accelerator pedal.

This car has never been in an accident and is still under warranty. I will call the dealer as soon as they open.

Has anyone else experienced this or have any idea what might be wrong?

 

Sounds like the EPAS module has a few broken teeth. Take it to your dealer, should be fixed under warranty. But that's my guess. Could be something wrong with the EPAS motor too.

If it is the teeth, they teeth are plastic, but it usually takes some trauma to brake them. Any major potholes or curb strikes?

 

No. no major potholes, curbs, or collisions. There was no warning or sign of any damage or problems, no squeeks, rattles, clicks or pops. If was working perfectly, and then just stopped working all together. The car was stored all winter and hasn't seen snow or ice.

It simply stopped working. Restaring the car made it work again... Then I cycled through the steering settings, gave it a couple turns left and right while stationary, and then it stopped working again. Restaring once more brought the power back, then a couple turns left and right and it made some random clicks and was out again. further restarts have not brought it back.

 

Ok, there is something wrong with EPAS. Not sure what, but might be an internal fault which gets detected (and system shuts off), but when you re-key it clears the failure memory and initializes again. Then after a few turns it re-detects the fault and shuts down again. Your Ford dealer is in the best position to diagnose and fix it. Keep us posted, and good luck resolving it.

It's a bit strange you see no fault codes. But each ECU usually has it's own internal memory which may be queried for internal fault codes.

 

My wife barely hit a curb of snow and took out the PS. They don't make em like they used to.

 

Yes it is weird. No CEL, no codes, no pending codes.

This is a very dangerous situation. In older cars, when the power steering goes out, you can still steer with more effort, which is a bit easier to do while rolling. In this car, the loss of power steering takes an incredible effort that does not ease while rolling. A weaker driver, such as my wife, would not be able to recover in a turning situation if this happened to her.

 

Codes would only be in the PSCM. You can only read those with IDS. There are codes, otherwise you wouldn't get that message. But none of them are stored in the PCM.

LEXiiON

 

Yup. Welcome to Electrical Power Steering. In the Hydraulic assist day it got easier with speed. But now, thanks to fuel efficiency regulations it makes more sense to have a 12V electric motor than hydraulic assist, which ads far more parasitic drag to the engine (thus less fuel efficiency).
Electric motors are great for one other thing: Torque. Which human beings have a hard time with sometimes.
The system is designed to fail in a way where you still have limited control. But the point if when it fails, you pull over and you get towed.

 

Before I bought the car, I had read about the electric steering, and this was actually a concern I had about the system. But I figured the odds of it happening to me were slim to none. I'm just very glad it didnt happen in a situation that could have caused a major accident, or while my wife was driving the car, or something even worse.

 

Wait.. *plastic* gears?

That's... insane. To me, anyway. You're steering a *car*.. that's not insignificant on stress...

Maybe I just don't understand...

 

"Plastic" is a VERY broad term, and may not even accurately describe what the parts are made out of. There are plenty of non metal materials that are extraordinarily durable, often times even more so then steel in certain aspects.

There is little reason to believe at this point that any (potential) broken parts are due to choice of material.

 

A google search shows that this is becoming a problem affecting several newer model Fords equipped with the EPAS.

The more I read about this, the angrier I am getting.

Steering and brakes are the 2 most important safety feature in ANY car. It is unacceptable for ANY manufacturer to engineer a vehicle that doesnt have an adequate steering bypass system, especially after introducing a new mechanical method to control such function.

This is a MAJOR safety issue that needs to be addressed by Ford, quickly.

It means that Ford has knowingly engineered a vital safety function with an acceptable amount of failure. But ANY casualties from faulty safety features is UNACCEPTABLE!

I hope that Ford addresses this issue, before someone has to die to open their eyes.

If Ford doesnt get ahead of this, they are going to be in a worse situation then GM is currently in.

 

I agree. Like most companies out there Ford probably sent out their specs for the EPAS, then took the lowest cost supplier. Bad thing is contracting the lowest cost supplier for a system like this just doesn't seem to be the best idea. Cheap doesn't equate to reliable in my book.

 

I think you may be getting a bit bent out of shape. Many other OEMs use the same exact technology, not just Ford.

 

Bent out of shape about not being able to steer my car? That is not something to be taken lightly. A 3500 pound car with 300 HP traveling down roads and parking lots that have pedestrians walking around and not being able to steer is a deadly weapon. I dont think im bent out of shape by being concerned about that.

To be fair, i stressed that it is unacceptable for ANY car and ANY manufacturer.....I just happen to own a Ford that is experiencing this problem.

As a 250 pound man, I can probably recover from the EPAS going out, but replace me with a teenage girl and things could get very ugly, very quickly.

 

As an any pound human, if teeth are missing, ain't nobody steerin' that car, sounds like.

 

still have a warranty? take it in.

Don't have a warranty? take it in.

 

Our 2011 had the same issue this weekend, except it total stopped working and never came back at all. 20,xxx miles, 3 yr warranty expires Wednesday, taking to dealer when they open in morning. It is showing Power Steering Assist Fault in the message center.

 

Mine totally stopped as well. My local dealer is only a mile away on 30 mph streets. I took it to the dealer yesterday, but the service department was closed. The sales guys let me park it in the shop anyway to be looked sometime soon i hope.

 

If you search the internet for any vehicle problem you'll find people that have it. You won't find the millions of others chiming in to say "My power steering is still working just fine today". This is mass production. To think that there will be no defects ever is just naive. At least the power steering system didn't **** a few quarts of fluid all over your driveway, as the old setup could have done.

Everyone seems to love the selectable effort EPAS and the efficiency gained from the setup, but as soon as there is a failure it's the end of the world.

**** breaks. You're still under warranty. Get it towed.