My 2012 Ford Fusion sel/3.0L V6 was being driven on busy highway at 55+ mph. Power steering fault/service autotrac warning came on suddenly. Power steering failed; driver had very difficult time controlling car on highway. Steering was very difficult for remainder of drive. After it was shut off and turned back on, fault cleared, warning light was gone, and steering was fine. Drove approximately 200 miles with no issues. Next time car was turned on and put into gear, fault came back. Shut off, turned back on, it cleared again. $1600+ quoted to fix issue with steering gear. Car has 45,000 miles on it.

- Detroit Lakes, MN, USA

Drove home normally and shut off the car. Went to restart the car and the care indicated a "power steering failure - service advance trak" message. Shutting off and restarting the car did not change the result. Car had no power steering. Drove the car to the dealer. The dealer indicated that the steering rack needed replaced. $1900 warranty repair.

- Stow, OH, USA

Power steering service track light came on during car start up and I had no power steering. I restarted the car and the power steering worked and the service light went off. I looked to check the power steering fluid and found the system is electronic. This problem repeated about every 2 weeks during startup and was resolved similarly. On August 23, 2013 the problem occurred again but restarting did not fix the problem. No other problems other than low air pressure service light.

- Grand Rapids, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the power steering failed as the steering wheel tightened with the illumination of the power steering light. The failure recurred on several occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where it was advised to the contact that the power steering gear needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 34,000. Updated 03/18/14 the consumer stated failure occured 3 other times but have since been fixed and running perfectly.

- Topeka , KS, USA

I was driving my car and on the dash of my car displayed a power steering assist fault. Which then it became very difficult to turn. I quickly put the car in neutral and turned it off and then back on. It fixed the problem and the message on my dash went away. The problem occurred twice more over the year and finally today as I got in my car the same message came up and wouldn't go away. So no I cant drive my own car and I live in a remote part of the U.S.

- Barstow, CA, USA

For several months, my 2012 Ford Fusion would occasionally have a power steering failure. Restarting the vehicle would solve this. However, today, the power steering failure is not going away. My hud reads "power steering assist fault" and "service advancetrac" I will be taking it to get serviced at my first opportunity. Searching the internet implies that this is a nearly ubiquitous problem.

- Warner Robins, GA, USA

I was driving down the interstate when an alarm sounded and two warning messages appeared on the dash display. Power steering assist fault and service advancetrac. At that time there was no power steering. The vehicle was extremely difficult to turn. Had I been executing a turn at the time of the failure I likely would have run into something. The steering is extraordinarily stiff when the power assist is off. This has occurred several times over the past few months. In the past, restarting the vehicle cleared the error message and the power steering worked again. This time however the failure seems permanent. Ford has examined the vehicle and said the failure is in a motor in the rack and pinion and the entire steering assembly will have to be replaced to the tune of $1900. This is a very dangerous problem as it occurs with no warning and at all different speeds. I have also noticed some "clunking" sounds when the steering wheel is turned while the vehicle is stationary.

- Loganville, GA, USA

Twice in one week the power steering went out. The power steering failure, service advance track light came on and the steering was difficult. Ford dealer is possibly going to replace the power steering assembly, they are waiting on an ok email since the code that they found is different from the one they are "familiar" with. The first time it occurred was with my son who has a learners permit. Very scary for a first time driver in a not even 2 yr old vehicle!

- Holland, MI, USA

Driving at approx. 62 mph on highway when warning light for "service advancetrac system and power steering assist failure. Very dangerous issue, lucky I did not hit another car as was changing lanes with concrete barrier to my left and fast moving vehicles to my right. I have researched this car and found numerous complaints similar to mine. Ford has car today and says steering gear bad, lucky I bought extended warranty. Ford should be required to replace these. This is a serious issue totally safety related. This vehicles has only 41,000 miles.

- Rowlett, TX, USA

Traveling at 65 mph on interstate when service advanced trac light came on and power steering was lost.

- West Jordan, UT, USA

The steering has play and is starting to lock. There is thud noise as I turn the steering wheel right to left and left to right.

- Cave Creek, AZ, USA

I was driving down the highway doing approximately 55 miles an hour.. conditions were clear.. all of a sudden there was some beeping noise.. then the wheel completely locked up on me.. I was thankful I was on a straight road.. I slowed down and the car had a warning stating the power steering had failed.. I put the car in park and shut off the vehicle.. since owning the vehicle (purchased brand new), there have been 5 power steering failures..

- Waldorf, MD, USA

After making a left turn and driving on a dry road at 35mph, I heard a signal and an image of a car & tracks appeared on upper left corner of dashboard along with words power steering, etc. I did not see the complete message since I had to concentrate on trying to steer into a parking space. I am an 84 year old woman and it was next to impossible to steer. The car was towed to dealer and they told me they were able to drive it without a problem. They will check it out tomorrow. Definitely power steering failure.

- Nags Head, NC, USA

Power steering failed when driving in rush hour traffic. Driver got the car into a parking lot and turned off engine and restarted. Power steering was restored. The next day while driving approximately 25 miles an hour power steering quit again. Warning message appeared on display "power steering assist fault. Service advancetrac". restarted vehicle and power steering restored. Drove approximately 4 miles and the power steering failed again. Drove vehicle to a Ford dealership where the steering gear assembly was replaced.potentially dangerous situation. Wife was driving the first time and she didn't have the strength to steer the vehicle very well. If it had occurred on the freeway, could have been catastrophic. Hope Ford deals with this issue.

- West Linn, OR, USA

Waiting to turn left, as I started to go about mid-turn the power steering just stopped working? there was like a rubbing noise as this happened ( very loud) the indicator light came on about servicing the advance trac. I shut the car down and the problem went away for now.

- La Porte, IN, USA

While driving less than 20 mph, I slowed down to pull up next to my mailbox when the power steering failed, nearly causing me to hit the mailbox. The car warning light and dinging sound went off and the instrument panel display said "power steering failure" then changed to "service advancetrac." Took vehicle to dealer the next day, was told some kind of gearbox failed in the power steering and it was replaced under warranty.

- Star, ID, USA

My daughter was driving the car when the power steering quit and a warning dash light turned on. This is a very dangerous situation because it is difficult to control the car without power steering. She drove the car to a friends house and called me. I told her to come home and have her boy friend drive the car. When the car was started the failure cleared. I took it to the dealer and the car drove fine. After the dealer inspection, I was told that the car needed a new rack and pinion at a cost of $2400. If the rack and pinion are bad, why would the code clear? something else is going on.

- Alta Loma, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 mph there was a complete loss of power steering without warning. The steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road where the engine was turned off. Upon restarting, the power steering resumed in normal operation. The failure recurred multiple times before reaching the driver's destination. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 42,000.

- Forney, TX, USA

Was stuck in traffic for over three hours in about 25mph. At about 20 mins left in traffic, info light came on and stated power assist needs servicing and advance trac needs service. Then I was unable to turn easily onto the next few streets. We tried all different things to fix problem. Had to take it to the dealership where they replaced the steering rack but could not isolate the problem. Luckily for me the problem was covered under the warranty. Seems to be driving fine now but I am lucky this was at low speeds and did not cause an accident because I had both my young children and husband in the car. My husband had to drive the car home for two hours after this problem because we were out of town.

- Norfolk , VA, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while in reverse, the vehicle violently jerked intermittently. The steering wheel seized with the illumination of the power steering assist failure light. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis but they were unable to duplicate the problem. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 600...updated 12-05-13 the consumer also stated the transmission did not shift correctly and it would slam into reverse.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA