I was backing out of a parking space in a parking garage when the steering locked up on the vehicle. I was unable to turn the steering wheel to drive the car. There was no message or alert on the vehicle dash. I had to wrestle the steering wheel with great difficulty to get the car in position to be towed, as the vehicle was undriveable. The dealership determined that the electric assist power steering rack had failed and needed to be replaced. Since the vehicle was 2 months out of warranty, I had to pay for the repair ($2,840). If the steering failed while driving on an interstate, an accident could have occurred.

- Wylie, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated while making right turn, he heard an abnormal sound and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact drove to his daughter's residence where he replaced the steering fuse. The contact then drove to his residence. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and was informed that the electric motor and the steering gear needed to be replaced. The contact called walt sweeney Ford (5400 glenway ave, cincinnati, oh 45238, (513) 922-4500) and was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,100.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

The contact's wife owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at 45 mph, the power steering ceased with the power steering assist warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to gary yeomans Ford Lincoln (1420 N tomoka farms rd, daytona beach, fl 32124) where the vehicle was diagnosed with power steering failure and repaired. Several months later while driving at 45 mph, the steering ceased with the power steering assist warning light illuminated. Gary yeomans Ford was contacted and it was suggested to remove the negative battery terminal for approximately twenty minutes and then reconnect the terminal to reset the system. The instructions were followed however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed back to the same dealer however, the repair was still pending. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Ormond Beach, FL, USA

Drove the car for about an hour, then stopped at a gas station. When the car was started again, the power steering failure warning light came on, and power steering assist was nonoperational. Even after cooling down the engine, the power steering still did not work. Took to a Ford service center, and was told that the rack and pinion system had failed, and it would cost about $2,000 to fix.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

The 2018 Ford Focus has been in the repair shop four times for a check engine light relating to the vaper/vacuum hose, sensor over the past couple of months. In addition, the Focus now has a broken steering gear. I was driving on the city street when it went out, and thankfully no other vehicles were near.

- Weiner, AR, USA

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Focus. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 mph, the steering wheel suddenly became very difficult to turn in either direction causing the driver to loose control of vehicle and crash into a ditch. During the crash, the air bags did not deploy. No injuries were reported. A police report was taken at the scene and the vehicle was towed away. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer long lewis Ford(2551 john hawkins pkwy, hoover al.) who was unable to determined cause of failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 21,043. The VIN was invalid.

- Alabaster, AL, USA

Steering wheel locked up and would not turn. Vehicle would go into all gears and could be driven forward and backward. Vehicle was parked in drive at the time. Ford dealer had to replace the steering gear assembly.

- Plano, TX, USA

The steering started making a grinding noise and the vehicle became hard to steer. After parking the car and coming back to it after a meeting it was not possible to steer the car and it was towed to a dealership for repair. The car only had 55248 miles on it. Diagnosed as the steering gear assembly.the steering should not fail making the car unsafe to drive, especially with low mileage. This is not the first quality issue with this car to affect its drivability.

- Findlay, OH, USA