With no warning, the electric power steering stopped working on the vehicle. It was an intermittent failure as it took 2 days for the dealership to replicate it. When it failed for me/us, luckily I was pulling out of a parking lot, very close to the dealership, and not traveling at high speeds or in significant traffic. It was so difficult to turn the steering wheel that my arm muscles were sore. Looking at some online forums, this does not appear to be an isolated failure to our vehicle. My/our concern is 1) why is there no warning/indication that the power steering is/will be failing? it is electric, so there is no fluid to check or maintain. 2) what if I hadn't been in a parking lot and had been traveling at a higher speed? the effort required to maneuver the vehicle was extreme, and had I needed to change direction quickly, I would not have been able to.

- Kalamazoo, MI, USA

I'm a teacher and on my way home from school, the power steering went out while the car was in motion. It returned approximately a mile later and then went out again. When my wife came home from work, she followed me to a mechanic, and on the drive there, the power steering went out again. There is no indication or warning light to indicate when it's about to happen and the situation is incredibly dangerous to us and surrounding drivers. We're seeing online that this is a common issue with Ford Escapes especially in 2008 and 2009 models.

- Swansboro, NC, USA

Steering assist went out and had to turn manually.... could not imagine what may have happened had my daughter been driving at the time. About 4 months before this the tailgate would not open either....apparently the actuator went out. You know sometimes you can over engineer something and make it so much worse. I will not own another Escape ever and probably not any other Ford.

- Columbia, TN, USA

Upon start up, the car has issues with power steering, locking the wheel and preventing it from steering or moving. After a few minutes with the car turned off, the power steering has returned thus far, but we've had 4 incidents of this within the past week. We've read of others having similar issues while driving and we're fearful of the same happening to us. We're fearful of our safety and the safety of others but are fearful that we can't afford the cost of repair. Until we have issues while the car is in motion, we'll continue to drive it small distances.

- Swansboro, NC, USA

The contact owns 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated the power steering assist would fail when the vehicle was started. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The dealer stated there was a service bulletin for the power steering control module; however, it would need to be replaced at the owner's expense. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure; however, declined to provide further assistance. The failure mileage was 59,071.

- Ecorse, MI, USA

Power steering has turned off while driving.going 45 miles a hour and turning on interstate and almost ran off road. Stopped and turn off car and restarted, which made it start working again. Next time pulling out of store parking lot and went out again, hit curb before I was able to turn back to street.this electric steering is a death trap and should be fixed before somebody dies.now im at 90,000 miles and it is gotten real bad. I have to stop and restart many times to get it to come on and even then it starts to vibrate after a while. Took it to Ford they said even before looking at it most likely would need to replace the whole steering column, since the sensors are what is going bad and not sensing. I would of took it to them back when it first started, but I thought it only had something to do with there anti theft not sensing the key and thought the key might be the problem since it turned on each time before and didn't think to take it to Ford if it was working..just thought it was a glitch. After paying 1400 dollars which Ford is the only one that can fix it and reset system it works again, but with only a 24000 mile warranty. Heard electric steering last about 90,000 before needing replaced. I wouldn't be out of 1400 if I had the regular powersteering with fluid and wouldn't have had near misses with wrecks.when I pick up my Escape even the service manager said the electric steering isn't very good, but did say the F150 truck has fluid not electric steering I got..

- Omaha, NE, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated that the vehicle was difficult to steer while traveling at various speeds. The contact also mentioned that the steering wheel seized several times. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that the steering wheel position sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was being repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,500.

- West Bloomfield Township, MI, USA

We have a 2009 Escape and so far within the year and four months of having it we sadly have had non-stop problems. Our steering has locked up completely.it started back in 11/13 and has continued to now 4/14. It use to be when we started the car it would lock up and shut the car off and restart and it would unlock and if it did not unlock we drove it that way. The one day I was literally sitting in a parking lot for 1 1/2 hours waiting for it to unlock. Finally after 1 1.2 hours I tried again and it unlocked and I drove straight home and waited for my husband. Then it started to lock up while driving down the road with my kids in the car with me and scared the crap out of me. Then in Jan. 2014 the steering became permanently locked and we drive it that way just because 1.)the part is too expensive and 2.)nobody will let us trade out the vehicle just because there is no value to it is what the dealerships told us. So here we are today with a vehicle that we basically (flintstone) it. We can not afford the part while making car payments on it and trying to pay bills. There should be a recall on it if there are many more complaints because it can cause severe accidents with others. Imagine driving down the highway and it locks you can lose control go off the road and crash. Whose fault would that be"??"

- Naples, FL, USA

Loss of power steering. Steering wheel has been shaking recently (notice while idle). Today I started my car, I had 0 power steering. Apparently if you shut off the engine and start it again it again you may be lucky and have power steering. I learned this with a simple google search. Many who have Escapes with high mileage have the same experience. This should be a recall, seems very dangerous since from all I have read it happens while driving. "a sudden loss of power steering". this also is a very expensive part, 1,400.00-1,700.00 to fix. Please look into this.

- Ann Arbor, MI, USA

I left work and everything was ok. I made 1 stop after about an hour of driving. After getting back in the car to back out of a driveway, there was no power steering. I drove the vehicle home like this. When I got home, I turned the car off then back on and the power steering came back. Since the first occurrence, this has happened about everyday since then. Most recently, while the car is sitting still and idling, like at a stop light, the steering wheel will move a little on its own. It wiggles back and forth. I believe that if this were to happen while driving that this would be a major safety concern. I have read of quite a few people experiencing the same problems, maybe even a little worse. I feel that this should definitely be looked into.

- Newport, MI, USA

The power steering has become very erratic. When I turn the vehicle on, about half the time when I try to turn the steering wheel it is very hard to turn. I have to shut off the vehicle and restart it, until the wheel moves so I can drive the vehicle. And then, the steering wheel shakes when the engine is idling, and it seems very free moving. I went to my mechanic and he stated the part to fix it was over $900 plus the labor to put it in. Needless to say, am very nervous about operating the vehicle, plus am pretty disappointed in Ford that they haven't recalled and fixed this very expensive, dangerous, and prevalent problem.

- Cedar Rapids, IA, USA

My power steering went out on Friday. It came back after work after the car was restarted. Then it went out again on Saturday. It sometimes works sometimes doesn't it hasn't flipped on and off while in operation. But I am afraid that it might.

- Bay City, MI, USA

While at an idle my steering wheel would shake. Then while driving down the road going around a corner my power steering stopped working and caused me to go off to the side of the road. I was able to get back on and keep going but was very difficult to steer.

- Howell, MI, USA

For a few days my power steering would grind and the wheel would twitch while idling. Then while on the highway all the power steering shut off as I was moving in lanes. If I had been making a sharp turn into oncoming traffic I could have died. I'm a personal trainer and it took alot to turn that wheel.

- Gibbstown , NJ, USA

Power assist to steering failed. Resulted in very difficult to turn/steer vehicle. Very fortunate this happened at low speed.

- Huron , OH, USA

Loss of power steering. Turned car off it returned now it twitches shakes and goes off once and while. Need to replace steering column epas shot. Cost$$$ major safety issue this system needs to be looked at the car is dangerous to drive.

- Richfield, MN, USA

When I start my vehicle, the power steering fails, does not matter the temperature outside. Restarting the vehicle restores the power steering. Steering jerks and makes sounds like a gear mechanism is catching constantly while driving. While it has not failed while driving yet, it feels like it is always on the verge of failing.

- Lake Orion, MI, USA

I was driving down a side road about 5 min after leaving my house when I lost power steering and had to pull over. I shut the car off and restarted it and the steering worked but the steering wheel shakes when it is in the center position. Now everytime I start the car I have no power steering. I tried turning the car off and letting the electrical system to reset. But that does nothing. When I took the car to the dealership they said I would need to replace the steering culumn and they would charge about $1300. Now as I am starting the car if I pull the steering wheel to the left I have power steering but the steering wheel still shakes if it is in the center positing. If I just start the car like normal the power steering never works. This has only happened once while going down the road but could be very dangerous for any driver and the cars around them. Many other Ford Escape owners seem to be having the same problem.

- Forest Lake, MN, USA

Power steering cuts out of its own Accord. However when the steering works the steering wheel shakes and twitches, pulling the steering while it moves a little each time. I have to use both hands to steady the wheel as I drive on the highway everyday. I also noticed that the power steering will cut out mid turn, resulting in many pothole strikes, I am surprised this hasn't been recalled due to the fact that I would never be able to swerve around another car in time or heaven forbid a person or animal and that is a major safety issue.

- Westfield, MA, USA

Over the past couple of months or so, upon turning key, my steering wheel would not engage, staying locked - at first was a rare occurrence, but lately have had to restart vehicle 2-3 times to get the power steering. My 2009 Ford Escape is also losing steering in the middle of driving - on one instance, January 3, 2014, I was turning left in an intersection, and my steering wheel froze mid-turn, with traffic coming right at me! I was able to speed up and force turn, barely clearing a vehicle parked on the side. I pulled over and shut off the vehicle - upon restarting the engine, it steered just fine. I assumed it was a minor glitch in steering, but the incidents became more frequent, finding myself unable to steer to turn into/out of driveway, parking lot and even traffic. Yesterday, 2-26-2014, topped it. I was driving around town at max.30 mph, I lost steering, 5 times in 15 minutes, no warning of any kind on my dashboard. I had to fight the steering to pull over out of traffic - that is end of school day, parents and children walking/running around all over! this steering problem is a huge safety issue. This morning I set up an appointment with the local Ford dealership - and I better not have to pay what I'm seeing other people had to pay for exactly the same steering problem. This needs to be taken care of/recalled by Ford, as it appears to be a failure in their electronic power steering, and there are way too many people affected by it, risking crashes and loss of lives.

- Pine River, MN, USA