My 2011 Ford F150 -with only 39000 miles- had a complete failure of the rack mounted electric power assisted steering module which prohibited it from being driven. The failure caused an increase in steering effort (no power assist) of the vehicle which needed to be towed to the dealer for repair. Fortunately, the vehicle was not being driven at that time and was parked at the time of the failure. In addition, a driver alert was observed that indicated that the power steering rack had failed and warned to service the power steering system. An attempt was made to reset the system but the message returned again after restart and the power steering assist was not functioning. The vehicle was towed to the Ford dealer who indicated that the power steering rack had failed and would need to be replaced. Total replacement cost was in excess of $1500. The vehicle only had 39000 miles indicated on the odometer. This is very similar to reports of the failures on sedan vehicles installed with similarly designed power steering racks. It is recommended to NHTSA, that the recall/investigation of this issue with sedans be expanded to include Ford light trucks.

- Ridgecrest, CA, USA

Loud sound and popping when turning wheels sharp. Has been happening for a while and has gotten worse. Service advance trac message displays and then turn signals no longer work. Eventually warning would disappear but would come back on when turning sharp again. Took in for service and problem became so bad that vehicle would not turn. Having to replace rack and pinion.

- Ash, NC, USA

The first time this happened I was driving on a highway on ramp turning left and my steering wheel stayed stuck in the turned position. My truck felt like it was going to flip and the wheels would not straighten out until I turned them back. It has also caused my truck to put up warning about my stability control. This has happened to me a number of times and seems to happen when it is warm outside. I feel this needs to be looked at because it could be a serious risk of rolling over.

- Mauldin, SC, USA

While driving on the highway at approximately 65 mph as I steered into a left hand curve in the road with the steering wheel in about the 10 O'clock position the steering "locked" into that position. The vehicle felt as if the wheels had entered a rut in the road. The automatic return to center function did not work and I hand to manually apply force to bring the steering wheel back to center. This malfuntion continued to occur whenever the above conditions were met. I brought the vehicle to the dealer and they had to replace the electric power assist steering system "rack". Ford is aware of this problem and has a tsb (#11-08-18) in effect to address it. The tsb has the problem narrowed down the the year, model, place of manufacure, and date of manufacture. I do not understand how a well documented problem such as this that has been fully researched and identified is not the subject of a safety recall. This problem could easily cause a vehicle to drift out of its lane on a divided highway, into oncoming traffic on on undivided road or off the roadway entirely.

- Lake Grove, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. While driving approximately 50 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The contact stated that the failure occurred on six occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 46,000. Updated 10/24/14

- Owings, MD, USA

When maneuvering in the parking lot, the epas unit failed creating the steering wheel to be extremely hard to move. This issue was so bad I could no longer drive the truck back due to safety concerns. I am having the truck towed to the Ford dealer to see what they can do about this issue. The service advancedtrac information display appeared on my dash as well as electronic powersteering assist system failure. When turning as far right as possible the truck would make a really loud metal to metal noise. This truck is no longer able to drive safely, hopefully Ford will take action to fix this issue before its too late. Otherwise, I am still going to have to pay out of pocket around $1200-1500 to have this fixed.

- Urbana, OH, USA

Service advance trac light comes on when reversing with wheel fully turned, slight grinding noise heard. Called dealership and told not a concern -- the new systems "do that". mentioned at next service appointment and told nothing is wrong. Noise gets intermittently worse, but dealership is "unable to replicate problem" before the warranty expires in March 2014. In July 2014 (26,000 miles), the sat light comes on whenever the wheel is fully turned in forward, reverse, and park, and a loud grinding metal on metal sound occurs. The dealership could hear it this time and diagnosed steering gear assembly failure. The service representative stated on July 18, 2014 that the service advance trac light indicates this problem and that the vehicle is not safe to drive. This should be a recall before injuries or deaths occur due to steering failure.

- Northville, MI, USA

Luckily, there was not an incident in my case. I had a rear sliding window switch replaced under warranty. I also had an oil change and my battery terminals cleaned by the dealers service department. When I went to pick up my vehicle and began to drive off, I noticed a warning displaying the message "service advancetrac". I then left the vehicle with the service department again. When the service advisor contacted me to tell me what the technicians diagnosed, he said that the truck needed a new electric steering rack. He also told me that this part is on national backorder. After doing some research, I found that this is a vital part in steering functionality. I also read that if this part fails while you are driving, there is a serious risk of accident. I'm thankful that my truck wasn't moving when this steering rack went bad. But it concerns me that so many Ford owners have had this happen to them and that this is not a recall. I also think that if this part is on national backorder, there must be many people who are having this issue as well. I want to do my part to make the public aware that this part also went bad on my vehicle. I want to contribute to the numbers so that this can become a recall if the data shows it's necessary.

- Belleville, IL, USA

The steering on my truck has started to stick and is getting worse all of the time. It started happening at low speeds and has since started to stick on the highway. It is bad enough that I have to pull the wheel to get the truck back in line.

- Omaha, NE, USA

Lack of steering wheel return ability on left turns. Must be manually corrected.

- Quarryville, PA, USA

Power steering became inoperable without warning causing vehicle to become difficult to steer or control. Vehicle was taken to Ford dealer where problem was diagnosed as a failed steering rack, rack was replaced and vehicle now operates normally. The sudden power steering failure could cause loss of control and a crash.

- Edmond , OK, USA

Vehicle has just over 40,000 miles all highway. Vehicle is 4WD. Vehicle has never towed, hauled or been off road. Took vehicle to Ford dealership to have A/C serviced (which was noted having problems during warranty, but techs never found issue nor ran diagnostics) during the diagnostics the service tech stated there was a noise coming from the steering gear. *note the vehicle had been out of owner's possession and at the dealership awaiting A/C service for 4 days. Owner stated that there had been no steering issues or warnings displayed in the vehicle and had been operating without any problems. Dealership states that when they finished the A/C service that the steering ceased upon backing the vehicle out of the service area. Owner asked why the steering gear is not covered under the drive train warranty. The dealership advised that this issue is a common issue that is being encountered with the new Ford epas system and is not covered under the drivetrain warranty even though the vehicle's low mileage. Owner requesting that Ford pay for replacement due to it being commonly defective. Vehicle still in dealership's possession.

- Tomball, TX, USA

On the night of Dec 20, 2013, I was traveling South on I81 North of syracuse NY. Road conditions were not very good. A block of ice fell off a truck ahead of me, evasive action was not possible due to ice and traffic volume. The ice struck the alternator which is cleverly positioned about 10" off the ground on the lower left front of the vehicle. The vehicle began to lose electrical power system by system. I cant recall the exact sequence, as it was all happening pretty fast. Eventually, the electric power steering system lost power. When this happens on this vehicle, you lose all steering capability. Its not like its just manual steering, there is no steering other than the ability to slightly alter course by pulling extremely hard on the wheel. The vehicle had no lights, the shoulders were unplowed, stopping wasn't a good idea. As good fortune would have it, the cicero NY exit presented itself at that moment. I was able to pull extremely hard on the wheel and was able to steer the slight curve. At the bottom, I discovered I had no breaks. I shot across the usually busy NY 31 and into a kwikstop, where I stomped on the emergency brake and came to a stop. We shortly discovered a fire underneath the engine and were able to extinguish it with snow. I cannot believe a steering system like this is permitted. Had I known it had this system and its limitations, id never have bought the car. If my son and I had been killed that night, it would have all been chalked up to road conditions. In furious about this system. It needs to be recalled.....now.

- Ogdensburg, NY, USA

Steering locks when making right turns and then straightening out.

- Washington, DC, USA

The subject pick up truck was southbound on I405 between orange ave and cherry ave in long beach California. The vehicle was in the fast lane or the lane adjacent to the fast lane. Speed at the time of the incident was approximately 65 mph and the cruise control was engaged. Traffic was moderate with all lanes moving at freeway speed. Without warning, and simultaneously with the sound of a skidding tire, the vehicle pulled violently and abruptly to the right, out of control, and crossed all traffic lanes of the freeway and the shoulder of the freeway. Just prior to departing the roadway, enough control was regained to avoid hitting a freeway directional sign in the landscape median. The truck entered the landscape median and came to rest facing South, parallel to the freeway. Approximately 10 minutes passed before the California highway patrol responded to the accident site. The officer said he was responding to an accident that was reported. The vehicle was towed to a local Ford dealer for investigation. Five to ten minutes prior to the loss of control, the driver noticed a fluctuation in the speedometer from approximately 65 mph to 50 mph with no change in vehicle speed, engine RPM or performance. Several weeks prior to the accident, the driver experienced an event at moderate speed which was described as feeling though the vehicle was hit from behind at slow speed although there was no one behind the truck. Simultaneously, the speedometer and tachometer both failed to 0 and the dashboard display went blank. Shortly thereafter, a "wrench" icon appeared momentarily on the display. The driver continued driving to a gas station and refueled. When the engine was started after refueling, all instruments appeared normal with no icons present. No icons re-appeared at any time up to and including the date of the accident. Updated 06/16/14

- Villa Park, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated that the power steering assist failed during cold weather. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was found that the steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 43,000. The VIN was not available.

- Mconnellsville, OH, USA

When turning left sometimes the steering locks up. When this is happening if I were to take my hands off the steering wheel the truck would continue locked in a left turn. When this happens I must force the steering wheel back to neutral position. If on an uneven surface this appears to happen more often. Have taken truck to dealership to determine the cause. But nothing was done. The dealership said there was no problem. This happens at all speeds and has occurred at highway speeds as well as at slower speed.

- Tomball, TX, USA

While driving with a 5,500 pound camp trailer in tow the vehicle developed significant vibration and feed back from the road. The problem came about after approximately 20K miles on the truck. I would notice it primarily over joints in the road and any road imperfections also notice it and hear a clunking when off road on dirt roads. The clunking is intermittant but is there. It feels as if there is a loose component in the steering assembly which then can be felt in the steering wheel. I can notice both with trailer and without more when temperatures are higher such as 80 degrees or more. Not so much when cold but I am still able to get road feedback in the steering wheel at lower temps just not as bad. You can especially notice the vibration/feedback in colder temps if holding the steering wheel at its lowest point (bottom of wheel) while driving. I took the vehicle to the dealer several times and they allege they could not duplicate the problem. I have taken the vehicle back now 4 separate times and on the last time I showed the service adviser how I can grasp the steering shaft in the engine compartment and manually by hand turn the shaft back and forth as if in a steering motion and you can hear a loud clicking noise coming from somewhere either in the rack unit itself or the steering shafts. I am not sure where the noise is actually coming from but clearly in the steering assembly somewhere. I have great concern over safety and have now read many similar complaints including complete steering failure. Sounds like Ford does not exactly know how to go about repairs and so reluctant to replace any parts in case that does not fix issue. I understand that theory but wish they would at least try something for safety. If there is not a safety issue it is still an eerie feeling driving a truck at highway speed with looseness and vibration in the steering assembly.

- Morrison, CO, USA

Slowed down to make a left turn when power steering quit working. It is gradually getting worse and now it is stopping working at various speeds and turning either right or left. The last event I was making a right turn pulling our of a parking place and the steering wheel snapped back while I was turning it hurting my arm.

- Quartzsite, AZ, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Ford F-150. The contact stated while driving 60 mph, the power steering system malfunctioned as the contact lost control of the vehicle. The contact was able to pull over and shut the vehicle off. The contact restarted the vehicle and the power steering system worked momentarily. The failure recurred three miles later. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing which determined that the gear in the power system needed to be replaced. The contact did not have the gear replaced. The failure mileage was 24,000. The VIN was not available.

- Benton , LA, USA