Hello all,


I have an '11 GT/CS with only about 17 K mileage, in immaculate condition, and have enjoyed upgrading much of the entire vehicle with over 26 mods. One thing we have not done was to change the steering or front end (except for new wheels/tires, front suspension for car is slammed or lowered) at all. Last week I had the MOST unfortunate scenario occur: traveling solo and doing the posted speed of 45 MPH, I safely (viewed blind spots, over shoulder, blinker) like we all should, changed from the right lane to the left lane. Nice 8 AM time frame on a Saturday morning, sunny, 40's for temps, no wind or rain or ice or etc. Within a second of entering the left lane to continue straight, my car 'strongly' locked the steering wheel to the left as if somebody grasped it and held it tight, and appeared to accelerate. Luckily, no oncoming traffic. Quickly shot across the turning lane plus both lanes of the opposite direction. Hit the curb violently and instantly engaged the e-brake and began to somewhat drift; left rear over curb onto grass/parking lot to business, front end & right side of vehicle on road. Did this to avoid telephone pole and more obstacles while trying to stay in control and not panic, and obviously hoping to stop safely. Did hit that speed sign held up by 2 thin metal posts; removing only one of the posts. Brakes, which were badly damaged via the curb, also did not hold me very well for I left many feet of rubber on the road. Shot back across and ended up in right lane of correct side of road. My "pride & joy" received MUCH damage. Insurance is handling corrective issues with body shop; no ticket received by police. All mods had been installed many days prior, by a very professional/highly regarded Ford Dealership and no indication of any kind of problem/issue was indicated at all prior to that disaster. My person was not physically hurt except for feelings, pride, future insurance money maybe, etc.


Now with the event described comes my main question: has anyone out there become aware of an exact or similar situation involving this type of car and if so, any specifics that would be beneficial for me to evaluate or research into? Specifically pertaining to the steering wheel locking to the left direction only and not responding normally? There was no operator error in this scenario of causation but rather a mechanical failure of some sort for an unknown reason at this time, but I need to find out what could have or more so factually happened so as to make sure once I get my car back it does not arbitrally happen again.


Again please, all I ask is if we could keep the opinions limited and provide straight facts or documentation to me for that would be most helpful.


Thank you one and all.

 

That's a scary scenario! We're a three GT/CS family (Wife, Son & me) and none of us have seen this thankfully. Any chance you ran over something that got jammed into the steering linkage? Unlikely, I agree but possible. Only other thing I can think of and I wouldn't necessarily take the dealers word for it would be an issue with the electronic steering assist or drive by wire. I'm not 100% sure which our cars have, but I did have an issue with a Suburban pulling to one side in pulses because of a faulty steering assist. I could see where this could have been worse and seriously pulled the wheel to one side or another. Ask to speak to a regional Ford rep and make a formal complaint about what happened. At least that way if there ends up being a 'known' problem down the road you'll have documentation. Good luck.


Jim

 

I have heard of throdel bodies sticking wide open due to a computer problem. As for the steering. One place that I could think of would be the rack or broken tie rod. Hopefully the computer in the car may tell more as what went on. Very scary thought. Please keep us posted as to what they deemed to be the problem.

 

"Steering or front end issues that would cause an accident?"

Usually it's the nut behind the wheel.

 

 

The 2011 Mustang has the EPAS system. Sometimes they fail. The steering wheel will lock full left, or full right, or just get locked, but lots wind up flailing about, either shaking, or in extreme cases violently thrashing the wheel about.

The throttle issue is maybe you were on the cruise control, and the car got confused by the full left condition. Similar to when I take the clutch off while in cruise control on my '06, the throttle goes up before it figures out "oh, wait, he pushed the clutch in." That's my guess on the throttle, but I'm sure I'm wrong.

Anyway, regarding the steering, you can search for it, and it shows up enough that it's a thing(tm).

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...s+locking+left

You can also see some videos with possessed steering wheels from this system.

Scary stuff, really.

Really rare though, this kind of failure. As many EPAS units are installed on all kinds of cars everywhere... just a fluke in your case, I'd say.

But I would *definitely* demand the EPAS be completely replaced with new units for all pieces, because that's what's failed... near as I can guess.

 

I agree with this line of thinking.