While backing out of my driveway the power steering failed, placed the Escape back in the driveway. Will call the Ford dealer on Monday.

- Carol Stream, IL, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The contact turned the engine off and after restarting the vehicle, the steering wheel returned to normal function without failure. The manufacturer was made aware of failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 117,000.

- Cement City, MI, USA

I purchased my 2008 Ford Escape at 71,000 miles, now at 122,000 miles my steering appears to be locking up. Or losing power steering. While the vehicle is in park idling, the steering wheel will move from side to side on its own making noise that sounds as if it is coming from the steering column. There have been thousands of complaints on this. Ford needs to recall this before someone gets hurt. Driving down the highway at 70 mph, and steering locks up. This is an accident waiting to happen. I called Ford and they have yet to do anything about it. As many complaints they have out there with this issue, you think they would take this into consideration and the safety concerns for this.

- Heath, OH, USA

In Feb. 2013, the power steering went out on our 2008 Ford Escape. After shutting down the engine, I restarted the engine and the problem was gone. I took the vehicle to the Ford dealer where I purchased the SUV, they told me it was only an anomaly, and probably would never happen again. At that time the vehicle was under an extended warranty. On Nov. 3rd, my wife was driving around a turn when the steering went out again. She narrowly missed hitting 2 cars. I took the vehicle in to the same garage, and once again the problem was gone after re-starting. After several days I was told that the problem had been located, and it was a sensor attached to the steering column, which necessitated a $957.14 repair bill. Unfortunately, the extended warranty had now expired. The dealership said there existed no relief as there hadn't been a recall for said problem. I have now discovered that this has been a common and ongoing occurrence with this vehicle. There are multiple websites which attest to said problem including www.aboutautomobile.com/complaint/2008/Ford/Escape/steering, which lists 155 complaints for this problem. There have been literally thousands of such complaints yet no recall. This is an ongoing safety problem, and who knows how many accidents and/or deaths have been attributed to this defect. I am told that this electrical steering feature was first utilized on the 2008 Ford Escape, whether it was used on other models, I am not aware. Hard to believe Ford allowed us to drive this vehicle when they were aware of the defect I certainly hope you can save others from suffering negative consequences in the future.

- Elyria, OH, USA

The contact owes a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph, the steering wheel suddenly malfunctioned and became difficult to turn. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed that the electronic power steering needed to be replaced. The contact stated that no repairs were performed to the vehicle. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 160,000.

- Quincy , FL, USA

I was driving down the road and loss power steering, luckily I was only going 45 miles per hour and was able to maintain control of the car. Surprised to see so many complaints and Ford not standing behind their products. This will be the last Ford our family will own. How in the world can they say this is not a safety issue is unbelievable. What will it take a fatality to get Ford attention?

- Acworth, GA, USA

While sitting at a light in detroit, the epas (steering) failed. I am a grown man and it took all my strength to steer the car to safety, holding up traffic all around me. Once it was turned off, it reset itself and worked again. It has happened 3 times since and am taking it to the dealership, all at zero or low speeds. If a weaker person were to experience this it could result in a real problem as it is almost impossible to steer.

- Clinton Twp, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the automatic power steering failed. The vehicle engaged in manual steering mode without warning. The failure was recurring. The vehicle was taken to a independent mechanic, who was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 97,000.

- Mecca, IN, USA

Just starting to make a left turn from a stop sign. Steering seemed to be locked up, very hard to move wheel. Car almost went off road as it was a T intersection. Speed on cross road is 40 mph and luckily I was able to back up prior to being hit. Once the car was back behind stop sign the engine was restarted and steering started functioning again. This is the second time the steering went out. The first time was approximately 6 months ago, speed approximately 20 mph and was attempting to turn into school parking lot to drop off children. I was able to get car to curb and restarted the engine. There was no warning or idiot light prior to steering going out on either time. This seems to be a common problem with this year and make. I am surprised no one has been killed or seriously injured. There are quite a large number of incidents recorded online of this very problem. Not much word from Ford though...

- Beavercreek, OH, USA

While driving, the steering column locks up and will not turn. Dealership has confirmed many similar occurrences have occurred yet will not fix the know problem as a recall. One day soon this will be major accident which could have fatal outcome. My daughter is a mother of one and another due early next year, such an accident could have major injuries or worth. This needs attention even more than the health care plan which would have to take care of the injuries which could occur.

- Mint Hill, NC, USA

While driving the steering column began to shake and I lost all power steering. I was also informed this has caused wear on my tie rods and they are now in need of replacing.

- Laplace , LA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving 10 mph and attempting a turn, the steering wheel failed to operate normally. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the technician stated that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 160,000.

- Covington, LA, USA

While my wife was driving our 2008 Ford Escape the power steering failed without warning and it became difficult to turn the steering wheel. Luckily, she was not going that fast so she was able to pull over and stop. She shut the vehicle off and restarted it and the power steering was working. The same thing happened a second time about two to three weeks later. We brought the vehicle to our mechanic and he did some research and was able to locate hundreds of 08 Escape owners who have experienced the same problem. This is a huge safety concern and needs to be addressed before someone is seriously injured.

- Lynn, MA, USA

While driving at 45 mph, the electric power steering (eps or epas) failed. The car instantly lost all ability for power steering, without alerting the driver. The problem is intermittent, and may fail at any time. The epas can sometimes be re-instituted by stopping the car (in the middle of the road at times, or freeway), turning off the car completely... waiting 10 seconds, and restarting the car. But this does not mean that the problem will not occur again at any time within the same driving incident. The epas continues to fail at inopportune times, without alerting the driver until failure has occured.

- Romulus, MI, USA

While attempting to back out of my driveway, the steering wheel locked and the car wouldn't move. I registered the complaint with aboutautombile, .com on that very same day. The # is 10489579. The car was taken in last year and no one could find a problem as it is intermittent. 3 days ago, my 16 year old son was driving to school and as he was turning right at a corner (20mpg), the wheel locked. Since I was not with him, we said we would keep an eye on it. Today, again he was turning (this time left at 20 mpg) the wheel locked again. He was able to get it across the road and park it in a plaza. I picked him up and drove him to school. I have been waiting on service to call me to get the vehicle looked at. At this point, even though his school is lose to home there is no was I want my son to drive this Ford product. I work at henry Ford hospital and I am bewildered as to why this has not been recalled as it is an obvious safety issue. Looking on-line, there have been a large number of customers with the same complaint.

- Clinton Township, MI, USA

I placed a message on the NHTSA database on 11/04/13 concerning the power steering on my 2008 Ford Escape. I called the Ford corporate center at 800/392-3673 - the Ford center stated that by calling their number they will have a record of the problem and the more people that call the center is how the recalls are initiated and not by simply using the NHTSA database. If you are having power steering issues with your Ford Escape, please call the Ford corporate center and get you name on the list and hopefully we can have this vehicle recalled before someone gets terribly hurt.

- Roanoke, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering failed to operate normally without warning. The contact also mentioned that the power steering motor would engage and disengage sporadically. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician stated that the power steering power assist unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 42,000. The VIN was not available.

- Georgetown, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while turning at various speeds, the vehicle stalled. The contact also mentioned that the power steering assist failed several times and the failures were intermittent. The vehicle was restarted and resumed normal function. The vehicle was taken to an authorized mechanic who test drove the vehicle but was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 63,000 and the current mileage was 65,600.

- Lexington , KY, USA

While sitting in the parking lot I went to drive and I had no power steering. Nothing seemed to be wrong but I turned off the ignition and restarted then power steering worked fine. This has since happened again on 11/4/2013 with my wife driving. She was able to pull over and shut off the vehicle then restart and everything began to work again. Investigating this problem there are many others with the same problem and Ford doesn't seem to be doing anything about this problem. It's a huge safety issue because if your driving down the highway you cannot turn the steering wheel.

- Garland, TX, USA

My daughter has her car on a college campus and driving around the drill field at 20 mph the power steering locked up. She was able to pull over, turn the car off and restart. The date listed was the first time that the steering locked up but has done it a several times since. I myself was in a kroger parking lot and put the car in park and it locked up. In the past 3 weeks the power steering has locked up on my daughter 3 times while on campus - nearly causing a 10 car pileup behind her. As a college student, on a college campus this is a huge concern for us. I have read many many many complaints to Ford on the power steering issue and can not believe they are continuing to put peoples lives in danger by not recalling and fixing this power steering problem.

- Roanoke, VA, USA