I had stopped by my apartment complex office to pick up a package. I started the motor and began to back out. I then put it in drive and the steering wheel wouldn't turn. I tried to drive it slowly towards my apartment to park it. I restarted the car. Once I did this, the steering was behaving normally except when idling there was a thunking vibration to where the steering wheel was moving. I had remembered I received a recall notice which was for power steering. The technician looked up the VIN # and yes it was a recall item. I took it in yesterday and they are currently replacing the part. After doing some research, I have found that a lot of the vibration I have felt recently can be contributed to the issue with the power steering unit. Thankfully I was near home. I have made several trips between Washington and northern California. In addition, I have had a problem in the mornings especially in the colder months where I am at a stop light or stop sign and step on the gas, the motor will rev up but I don't move, then a sudden kick in of the transmission. This is scary when trying to turn into traffic.

- Vacaville, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated that the power steering sensor illuminated intermittently and the power steering failed several times. The contact experienced extreme difficulty maneuvering the steering wheel every time the failure occurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician verified the failure but indicated that the remedy was not available. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was repaired under recall NHTSA campaign id number: 14V284000 (steering). However, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who diagnosed that the steering column assembly needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was not available.

- Indian Lake, NY, USA

Over the past 2 years, the 2008 Mercury Mariner my wife drives, the power steering has ceased to work. Fortunately she was able to shut the car of, restart it and the power steering would resume. Brought vehicle in for recall still having power steering back in Aug, 2014, and dealer checked for codes and only reprogrammed module. Approx in the last 2 weeks of Sept 2014, power steering once again quit and has not returned. Brought into Ford due to an issue involving a matter which cause a recall and was told the torque sensor was bad. Service contacted Ford and was told they will not cover the repair due to the fact that the vehicle has already had a recall service performed, satisfying the obligation of the recall. Due to the issue being part of the original recall notice, Ford should due the honorable thing and cover the repair and parts needed. My wife can no longer drive the vehicle and it is a major safety issue having someone else (I.e. myself) drive the vehicle.

- Newmarket, NH, USA

Unable to turn key to start vehicle, had to manually move steering wheel. Replaced ignition switch in May 2012, then replaced steering column ignition lock assembly in July 2013. Received a safety recall notice from Ford regarding power steering system reverting to manual steering mode. I spoke with the service manager at the local Ford dealership and was told that my previous repairs were covered under the recall. I submitted the paperwork to Ford for reimbursement and was denied.

- Franklinville,, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Mariner. After the dealer reset the computer on the vehicle, the contact experienced steering and electrical issues. When the contact started the vehicle, the steering wheel seized. The contact had to wait several minutes before the steering returned to normal. In addition, the contact had to turn the ignition from on to off several times in order to start the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 170,000.

- Simpson, AL, USA

The contact owns a 2009 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the power steering failed causing her to lose control of the vehicle. As a result, the contact crashed into another vehicle. The contact sustained unknown injuries. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.

- Kennewick, WA, USA

December, 2013, I was exiting parking lot onto a main street that had 2 lanes of oncoming traffic. Halfway into the street, lost power steering but was able to drift to side of road. January, 2014 car would not go over 25 miles per hour, lost power steering. Fortunately I was near the garage that does my repairs, oil changes, etc.. March, 2014, steering wheel locked, no power steering, had to wait about a half hour until power steering returned...kept turning car off and on every 10 minutes. Contacted Ford customer service 3 times by email (Jan-Mar). My last 3 cars have been Ford products but apparently brand loyalty is not valued. Replies were--sorry you are having issues-no follow up from Ford even when hey knew they were issuing a power steering recall as of April-may, 2014. I paid $2,500 in repairs from Dec'13-Mar'14.

- Weymouth, MA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle started to make a loud popping sound from the steering wheel which became very hard to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 97,410 and the current mileage was 97,443.

- Fulton, MD, USA

Power steering went out at 106000 miles. Cost to repair was $900.

- Joliet, IL, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 mph, a popping noise emitted from the steering column and then there was an immediate loss of power steering. The steering wheel required force in order to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that the electronic steering assist would need to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage 159,000. Updated 6/24/14 updated 06/26/2014

- Oscoda, MI, USA

Going down highway and the steering went out which could of resulted in a very bad accident on a slippery road condition, causing a accident because of uncontrolled steering or hard to steer vehicle. Doing 55 mph. I know that there has been many problems with steering in this particular vehicle, when I have tried to get the module or whole lower steering from a used auto parts business they claim that they can not keep them that there has been a great demand for that particular part. Still driving with out safe steering, have no other choice in the matter unless I pay over $1000 to the Ford dealer ship to have it replaced and I can not afford to do that on disability and need my car to get back and fourth to doctors. Are there any recalls on this vehicle concerning steering?

- Oscoda, MI, USA

Steering wheel shaking. Vibrating, as if quickly turning on and off between settinga. Tonight my power searing went out on my way home from work.I work 60 hrs a week. In a bad neighborhood. I can't afford for this vehicle to go out on me. And now it is. And Mercury wont help me. They will play dumb and stand by while the whole vehicle falls apart as I write the last check of the $24,000 car note next month. How convenient. Just after the warranty ends.

- Baton Rouge, LA, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated that while driving in reverse, the power steering assist suddenly malfunctioned and caused the steering wheel to become difficult to turn. The contact indicated that the failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the torque sensor kit was faulty. The torque sensor was replaced and the defect was remedied. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 110,786.

- Jamesville, WI, USA

Came to a stop, began to turn left, steering wheel jerked to one side then power steering gave out mid turn, on a busy street, crossing over two lanes of traffic. It is nearly impossible to steer the vehicle when this happens. This has actually happened a handful of times at this point. Ford dealer can't figure it out, so I'm stuck with an unsafe vehicle to drive. How has this vehicle not been recalled!? it's not like it's small issue like radio problems, this is a safety issue!!!!! if you park the vehicle and shut it off, then restart it, the sterling will then work again (until next time it gives out) it's almost like restarting the car is rebooting the system. Either way, very scary when you're driving and you have no warning that your power steering is going to fail.

- Rochdale , MA, USA

The steering wheel made a pop/cracking noise on start-up at first. The wheel would oscillate in place and only stop if I put pressure on it to turn it off center. The power steering would intermittently go out on start-up. I would turn the car off and on again until it returned. This was fine for a week or so, but then the power steering went out while driving. When the power steering fails, the car is nearly impossible to turn.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

I had just made a right turn and was proceeding down the block when I heard a sudden "click" and lost power. I couldn't steer and there was no power. I managed to get the car over to the curb and turn off the engine. I restarted it a few minutes later and it started up ok. However, the rsc warning light stayed on even though I had never pressed that button. This is not the first time this has happened. The first time it happened I was told it was a battery problem so I got a new battery. That was less than a year ago and I can't imagine I need a new battery that often - that simply needing a new battery will cause my car to fail! in doing some research I've come across several instances of the same issue necessitating replacement of the throttle body module with trouble codes P2111 and P2112 and, in fact, the North Carolina consumers council (nccc) has officially petitioned the national highway safety administration (NHTSA) for a defect investigation of alleged throttle body failures in 2005-2012 Ford escape vehicles sharing the same or substantially similar part. Luckily I was only on surface streets and not the freeway. It's only a matter of time before this happens on the freeway! is there going to be a recall?

- Lake Balboa, CA, USA

While driving on multiple occasions the power steering in my 2008 Mercury Mariner turns off. When the steering turns off it is nearly impossible to steer the car safely. It does not react like a vehicle that does not have power steering, it almost seems like you are steering the wheels through cement. You need to put all of your force and energy into turning the wheel even the slightest bit and when the car hits a bump the car wants to go out of control. I will not allow my wife to drive the car because I know that she will not be able turn the wheel if this happens to her. I cannot understand how this isn't a safety hazard and hasn't been recalled sooner. Something needs to be done because the repair for this is almost $2,000 dollars.

- Peckville, PA, USA

Driving the truck through a drive thru at a mcdonalds with my 2 year old son in backseat and the power steering stopped working as proceeding thru drive thru, almost hitting the building having no control over truck. Very dangerous problem with this make and model/this is a safety hazard and someone will end up as a casualty if this problem with steering not recalled by Ford. I am a 280 guy and could barely steer the truck until I shut it of and restarted it. Also oil leak on engine for most of these V6 Mariners and escapes is above oil pan by harmonic balancer, Ford refuses to admit they did a horrible job putting together the bottom end of these engines.overall Ford needs to reconsider what should be a recall on their vehicles before someone gets seriously injured or killed. I am a ase certified mechanic and have never encountered such problems with a vehicle.

- Toms River, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2008 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated that the steering wheel would shake vigorously until the wheel was turned. The failure would recur once the wheel returned to the straight position. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who could not diagnose the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.

- Canton, OH, USA

I too, have experienced a loss of power steering and an increasingly severe "shaking" of my steering wheel when it is working. I took the car to the mechanic and was told that I need to replace the entire steering column due to a failure of the electronic power steering. The garage told me after calling Ford dealer that it would cost me $1500 - $2000 with labor. After doing some research online it appears as though this is quite a common issue for '08 escapes and Mariners (www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/escape/2008/steering/power_steering_failure.shtml). it is extremely dangerous because I cannot turn the wheel at all when the power steering goes out. When I turn the vehicle on, there will be no power steering and I have to turn the ignition off and back on several times before the power steering will work. Sometimes the steering wheel will shake violently and make a loud vibrating noise while standing still. This also occurs while driving at normal speeds. Having read the vast amount of complaints addressing this steering problem and the fact that the NHTSA is aware of the defective electronic power steering problem. I am surprised that there has not been a recall for this very unsafe problem. I cannot afford to repair, what should be Ford responsibility!!!!!!! yikes......

- Schenectady, NY, USA