I was heading to work one morning, and I started the car up and didn't have power steering. I shut the car off, and the steering came back. (at the beginning, shutting the car off would fix the problem right way.) I pulled out of my driveway and drove down the road with the steering wheel shaking. There was also a quiet grinding noise coming from the steering column. As the car slowed down (at stop lights etc.), the steering wheel shook more and the noise grew a little louder. As the days went on (3-4 days later), the shaking and noise got worse until it was an uncontrollable, constant shaking of the steering wheel and the noise became so loud and horrid that I thought the car might break down. Within that week, as I started my car, the power steering went out about a total of 10 times, and I had to shut off the car and restart it. Unlike at the beginning, by the end of the week, I had to shut my car off 4-5 times before the steering would come back. The last day of driving the car, the steering wheel was so loose that it was hard to control on the back roads/highways/freeways and over pot holes. At one point, I made a right hand turn, and I almost thought I was not going to be able to bring the steering wheel/car back. Thankfully, I (and no one else) has died from this manufacturer defect in the 2008 Ford Escapes, but is that what it is going to take in order for something to be done?

- Three Rivers, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30mph, a loud grinding noise emitted under the front and the steering wheel failed without warning. The contact was able to exit traffic by turning the steering wheel with force. The local mechanic inspected the vehicle and located the failure at the power steering column and advised that the power steering system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 125,000. Updated 11/20/14 the consumer stated the vehicle was repaired. Updated 5/5/2015

- Montpelier , VA, USA

On Feb 4 2014 our daughter called very upset stating while making left hand turn steering froze up stopped car no oncoming traffic forced steering back came clear later that afternoon steering froze 2 more times on my wife had to turn engine off and restart steering wheel also had a slight vibration Ford has to know they have a problem echlon Ford stratford NJ knows and had no problem handing me a bill for $1431.06 im just glad there were no injuries or accidents or much worse my wife and I have owned 5 Ford vehicles over the yrs will now buy a GMC terrain if Ford does not address this problem.

- Sicklerville, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 50 mph, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was shut off and restarted several times before the vehicle functioned normally. The vehicle was taken the dealer for inspection where they stated that the steering torque sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but was unable to produce a remedy. The failure mileage was 171,979.

- Rising Star, TX, USA

Upon starting my car, I realized I could not turn the steering wheel without great effort. Tried it the next day, and the power steering was working, although the steering wheel was vibrating strangely. Have had the same problem 2 additional times. After reading numerous other entries on NHTSA website on this same issue, I learned that if I turned the car off and then turned it on, power steering resumed. This worked for me this morning after 3 attempts. Brought into mechanic and they could not assess issue. Will be bringing into dealer this week. Very concerned about what happens if I'm driving and this outage recurs.

- Minneapolis, MN, USA

Electric power steering went out without zero warning signs and zero warning signifiers from vehicle dash. Was driving on I-10 at 75 mph - steering has always shook at speeds over 70 mph - steering just locked up in the middle of driving, and went into manual mode. There is no recall on this item with Ford, but the same issue, at about the same mileage has been reported all over North America (up into Canada as well. Canada has opened an investigation on this matter for their citizens. A report has been submitted to Ford and I have been told to contact the dealership - it is my perception that all owners of this vehicle have been told the same thing. However, a resolution must be made - and not at the cost of the owners because this seems chronically defective. The 2008 Ford Escape was the first to have this specific power steering placed in it.

- El Paso, TX, USA

After driving on the freeway for approximately 45 miles, I was unable to steer the wheel without a lot of force. I was unable to stay on the road and came very close to hitting another vehicle before coming to a stop along side the freeway. In the past 6 months I have had to replace the transmission (at 69000 miles) and now this. I am not an aggressive driver and feel these problems should be addressed. The steering is a very serious safety issue and should have a recall!

- Gowen, MI, USA

Steering wheel started to shake from side to side then lost power to steering wheel like it went from easy to very hard to steer. Turned car off the restarted and it was ok. Now it happens all the time. When I start car up no power, while I'm driving and I loss power.

- Manchester, NJ, USA

I was driving to parking lot at local store and the power steering quit workingso I stopped in a safe area to investigate the problem shut the vehicle off to look under the hood did not find anything started the vehicle back up problem went away then it happened again at home upon startup no power steering turn vehicle back off has to do this a couple of times then problem went away.now this problem is more constant of no power steering and now the steering wheel sits and chatters back and forth at idle and driving down the road so I took it to the dealer ship and talked to the guys in the parts department and they said this is an ongoing problem and Ford can get it figured out as to what there going to do they said as of right now they can't order any power assist columns right yet so I guess Ford is dragging there feet on this one I guess until someone dies maybe all the Ford CEO's need get into one of they problem vehicles and drive for awhile and see what all of us are talking about??

- Adrian, MI, USA

While driving, the steering wheel would shimmy as if a wheel was out of alignment. The steering wheel locked up and was extremely difficult to turn. I pull off into a service road and turned the car off. I started the car back up after about 5 minutes and I was able to steer again. It happens repeatedly when after the car has been parked and I start the car up, the steering freezes. I'll restart the car 3 or 4 times before the steering unfreezes.

- Greenbelt, MD, USA

The steering wheel locked in position and the vehicle could not be turn in any direction. This was a potentially deadly situation. The driver had no way of knowing when it might occur.

- Macomb, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph, the steering wheel became very difficult to turn without warning. The vehicle was driven onto the emergency lane; however, the contact continued to drive the vehicle as the failure occurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who indicated that the power steering module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.

- Oshkosh, WI, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while traveling various speeds, steering became extremely difficult. The contact also mentioned that the vehicle vibrated excessively. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 84,000.

- Long Branch, NH, USA

While driving the vehicle in a parking lot the powersteering cut out. I was able to stop the vehicle and after shutting the car off and turning it back on power steering was restored. When the vehicle is stopped the steering wheel has started to ratchet back and forth. After looking at a few forum I found that the steering wheel position sensor fails and causes these problems regularly.

- Oakhurst, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the steering wheel started to shake and vibrate. The vehicle was shut off and restarted however, the failure recurred sporadically. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for a diagnostic. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure and current mileage was 84,000.

- Columbia , MO, USA

While in motion, the steering wheel was a like a dead weight dropped on it and was very hard to steer and drive the vehicle. Making it very unsafe to operate. I researched my issue and found other complains regarding the same model and year.

- Ashland, MA, USA

I turned my car on and started driving straight forward. Shortly after I realized I had no power steering. The only way I could turn was to muscle the wheel. Backed up and parked the car for the night. Next morning started it and had no issues. The week before I had noticed some knocking and ticking in the wheel. So figured I'd get it checked out after loosing it completely. Stopped to get gas and as I was pulling out onto the busy highway lost it again had to muscle the wheel to avoid being T-boned. Immediately took it to the dealership. They knew the problem immediately and gave me high estimates which was a red flag for me that it might be a common issue if the receptionist can diagnose it. Did some research to check other options like fluid or belts. Saw 1000's of similar complaints online and 100's here. Something needs to be done to make Ford recall this before someone dies.even if someone dies it probably won't get fixed because they aren't around to tell that they lost steering. Plus the problem fixes itself after being turned off so it may not show in investigations of a fatality. Also the issue seems to happen after the car reaches 100,000 miles. So complaints and incidents will only go up as more cars hit that 100K mile mark. Now it the time to attack the problem.

- Holden, MA, USA

My wife was driving my 9 year old daughter to her karate class when there was suddenly a lot of vibration in the wheel.the steering wheel suddenly locked up causing my wife to lose power steering on a small turn. My wife was able to get our car off the road as there was a dirt pulloff to the side. We took it to a garage and they said this is a common problem. After doing research I found other car manufacturers will honor a recall for this same problem. Ford is not honoring any recalls and is making money off of this dangerous defect. It is sad to see a car manufacturer who is willing to put families lives at risk to make extra cash. After talking around my mother also had the same problem with her Escape of the same year. I had always been a fan of Ford products, however I will never buy another Ford product again.

- Warren, PA, USA

I was going to drive home from work, upon going to back out of my parking space I realized I had no power steering. I had no choice but to drive the vehicle home, 25minutes on the freeway. After getting home and going to take the vehicle to the mechanic the steering was fine. Mechanic said it was electronic and had to be repaired at the dealer. While researching the part this evening I found hundreds to thousands of the same complaint. Just emailed Ford from their website, will also try calling on Monday. This part failure is going to cause serious injury, accident or death and needs to be investigated and recalled.

- Lincoln Park, MI, USA

Power steering stopped working pulled over stopped engine restarted steering working again google problem when I returned home found many angry people with same problem. Seems to be a problem that is not an easy fix and common to the steering of the 2008 Ford Escapes.

- Saint Clair Shores, MI, USA