Car almost killed me today- Power Steering Failure

[Laser411]

Hello all,

Yesterday my power steering went out and brought up a warning that said Power Steering Assist Failure. I stopped, turned the car off, turned it back on and all was fine.

Today, I was hitting an off ramp when my power steering went out again. Luckily, I was weary of it since yesterday and I was somewhat expecting it. Had it not occurred yesterday, I would have totally been unsuspecting and I probably would have totaled the car.

Now, the power steering does not seem to be coming back it seems and I was hoping someone had some information on what this could be and what to look for. Any ideas? Any recalls?

2013 Taurus Sho, non-pp
Made in April of 2012

 

[krewat]

I seem to remember some TSB or something about corrosion on the connectors. That'd be my first place to look.

 

[SM105K]

I seem to remember some TSB or something about corrosion on the connectors. That'd be my first place to look.

Yeah my car had a TSB about the power steering assist. 13 pp SHO here.

 

[Laser411]

TSB or recall? If I can get it replaced for free, that would be great. Otherwise, I got tons of crap failing on this car.

Sunshade is knocking (failed limit switch)
Back up cam doesnt work
Something wrong with a seatbelt sensor
Exhaust is rattling where the mesh is
False tripping of the blind spot monitor
And more.

 

[SM105K]

Go on Ford Owners and register and see everything that is up with your car there.

 

[Laser411]

I did a few weeks ago, unless it halpened super recent, there isn't a recall

 

[SHOdded]

https://www.ecoboostperformanceforum.com/index.php/topic,3836.msg84212.html#msg84212

15S18/15V340/15V340000: Loss of Electric Power Steering Assist

Failure Of Electric Power Steering Assist

Affected Cars:
Ford Flex 2011, 2012, 2013;
Fusion 2011, 2012;
Taurus 2011, 2012, 2013
Lincoln MKS 2011, 2012, 2013;
MKT 2011, 2012, 2013;
MKZ 2011, 2012
Mercury Milan 2011

 

[Laser411]

Thank you for that, I saw elsewhere that itbwas limited to a date range of manufacturing and that February was the cutoff. Is that true or is it any 2013 taurus?

Also, I have a torn inner boot, will that affect anything? Should I get that fixed first?

 

[SHOdded]

Can't say if the torn boot affects the repair or not ... but it does not seem like it. The boot is for the inner tie rod, or are you referring to the steering gear itself?

Even if your vehicle does not fall within the date range, it does no harm to call up Ford and ask for coverage of the repair, especially if the prod date of your SHO is close to the specified range. Or goodwill assistance at the least. Sometimes dealers can be helpful in this regard, in getting coverage, but if you do not already have a good one in the pocket, it is a roll of the dice. Maybe a Lincoln dealer would be better in this regard, but IDK.

 

[Laser411]

I think it's the same boot as on Scott's post here https://shoforum.com/index.php?threads/engine-coming-out-again.139169/#post-1512456.

Here is the picture from his post.

 

[Laser411]

The boot was not torn, the clamp just popped off and judging by the lack of dirt/corosion, it looks really recent.

Update (Warning, ranting ahead!):
I have called Ford and they are not willing to assist me in this matter. They say my VIN is not a part of the recall and, even though I am having the same symptoms and it being a massive safety issue, it will not be covered. For Ford to not stand by their $50,000 car that has the same problem that is on other 2011-2013 models is disheartening and has destroyed my faith in them. This car has a new problem every few months and, while I have enjoyed the car, I am starting to regret purchasing it:

• Sunshade is knocking every time I put the car in reverse(failed limit switch)
• Back up cam doesnt work
• Seatbelt sensor has failed
• Sunroof drain clogged and flooded the inside of my car
• Differential whines
• Exhaust is rattling where the mesh is, near the cat.
• Caliper boot on both rear brakes have torn
• Passenger rear hub failure
• False tripping of the blind spot monitor
• Hoses popping off under boost
• Cooled portion of the seats stopped working
• The heated cooled settings only hits 2 blips now instead of being able to go to all 3 (anyone got a clue here?)
• Sync freezes all the time and I have to pull over and turn the car off, open the door, and restart the car to fix.
• Nav randomly stops working for long periods of time and shows me extremely far from where I actually am.
• Rough idle when cold
• This just started but the key stopped being recognized from inside the vehicle (still works outside and the remote has plenty of range). I have to put the key in the console slot to start the car.

...and now the power steering is not functional.

I could deal with all of that and chalk it up to owning a performance car that they put more effort into the powertrain design than the rest of it. However, when there's a known and major safety issue that effects other models in the same year and Ford is not willing to investigate or assist in any way, it comes off as callous and that Ford has no love for its fans. I have owned so many Fords (see below) and they have been relatively good to me but this one has left quite the sour taste in my mouth. Don't even get me started about the known yet ignored PTU issues.

1997 Explorer
1999 Ranger (Aka, the danger ranger)
2000 Explorer
2003 Focus SVT
2007 Escape
2013 Escape


***Rant over***

What is involved with swapping out the steering rack and how hard is it? I found a whole new rack for $750. Is there an updated part number for the rack that was replaced in the recall? I want to avoid getting the same one.

 

[SM105K]

I find it so weird some cars have such problems....

• Sunshade is knocking every time I put the car in reverse(failed limit switch). I never use mine. I have limo tint. Unplug it or changed the switch? Do you keep it up all the time?
• Back up cam doesnt work. Mine flipped upside and became rainbowed. I competely hard reset mytouch and fixed it.
• Seatbelt sensor has failed. No issues. Replace the sensor.
• Sunroof drain clogged and flooded the inside of my car. Unclog the drains and check them, esp if you live in a rainy area.
• Differential whines. This is literally the second RDU at I have heard about whining.
• Exhaust is rattling where the mesh is, near the cat. Fix it.
• Caliper boot on both rear brakes have torn. Replace them.
• Passenger rear hub failure. How many miles?
• False tripping of the blind spot monitor. Mine does that sometimes.
• Hoses popping off under boost. Happened to me, secure the line with a zip tie.
• Cooled portion of the seats stopped working. Have you checked the seat filters?
• The heated cooled settings only hits 2 blips now instead of being able to go to all 3 (anyone got a clue here?) Check the seat filters.
• Sync freezes all the time and I have to pull over and turn the car off, open the door, and restart the car to fix. Hard reset fixed mine.
• Nav randomly stops working for long periods of time and shows me extremely far from where I actually am. Hard reset fixed mine.
• Rough idle when cold. When the was the last time you did a tune up? Tune up, plugs, oil change, air filter, ect.
• This just started but the key stopped being recognized from inside the vehicle (still works outside and the remote has plenty of range). I have to put the key in the console slot to start the car. I would change the battery first.

...and now the power steering is not functional. Ford should fix this.

I have a 13 PP with 72K miles on it. Yeah mytouch can be goofy, remember it is Windows based. Honestly your laundry list of issues seems like a lot of neglect to me for a performance sedan.

 

[SHOdded]

When you say Ford, do you mean the dealer or Ford corporate? Too many use the term interchangeably, and inaccurately.

Does seem there is more pushback from corporate than in recent years. But sometimes calling back, speaking to a different advisor, or asking to speak with their supervisor, while remaining polite can create some luck.

 

[Laser411]

I find it so weird some cars have such problems....

• Sunshade is knocking every time I put the car in reverse(failed limit switch). I never use mine. I have limo tint. Unplug it or changed the switch? Do you keep it up all the time?
• Back up cam doesnt work. Mine flipped upside and became rainbowed. I competely hard reset mytouch and fixed it.
• Seatbelt sensor has failed. No issues. Replace the sensor.
• Sunroof drain clogged and flooded the inside of my car. Unclog the drains and check them, esp if you live in a rainy area.
• Differential whines. This is literally the second RDU at I have heard about whining.
• Exhaust is rattling where the mesh is, near the cat. Fix it.
• Caliper boot on both rear brakes have torn. Replace them.
• Passenger rear hub failure. How many miles?
• False tripping of the blind spot monitor. Mine does that sometimes.
• Hoses popping off under boost. Happened to me, secure the line with a zip tie.
• Cooled portion of the seats stopped working. Have you checked the seat filters?
• The heated cooled settings only hits 2 blips now instead of being able to go to all 3 (anyone got a clue here?) Check the seat filters.
• Sync freezes all the time and I have to pull over and turn the car off, open the door, and restart the car to fix. Hard reset fixed mine.
• Nav randomly stops working for long periods of time and shows me extremely far from where I actually am. Hard reset fixed mine.
• Rough idle when cold. When the was the last time you did a tune up? Tune up, plugs, oil change, air filter, ect.
• This just started but the key stopped being recognized from inside the vehicle (still works outside and the remote has plenty of range). I have to put the key in the console slot to start the car. I would change the battery first.

...and now the power steering is not functional. Ford should fix this.

I have a 13 PP with 72K miles on it. Yeah mytouch can be goofy, remember it is Windows based. Honestly your laundry list of issues seems like a lot of neglect to me for a performance sedan.

• I never use mine either, just one day it start knocking (scared the crap out of me too). I just unplugged it
• I have tried the hard reset, didn't resolve it, but I haven't had time to try to fix it and I do fine without the camera.
• I am not sure which sensor it is, this started a couple months ago and started out as an intermittent issue and now it's constantly on. I'm about to make a post about it as I am coming up on my inspection.
• Already unclogged and resolved, this happened about a month into my ownership of the car
• Yeah, it's unfortunate, I replaced the RDU's fluid when I first heard it and the old fluid didn't seem bad/gunky.
• I'm not sure how to resolve this one, is there a way to fix that mesh or can it just be removed totally? It only rattles at dead idle.
• I only discovered this about 3-4 months ago when I put new rotors/pads on. I was hoping to locate a big brake kit and upgrade instead of fixing the current caliper. Know of any BBK's?
• 112k when it occurred.
• .
• Yeah, after the second time, I zip tied mine too.
• I did not know there were seat filters, I shall check that, but I don't hear the fan motor like I used to.
• Same as above
• I have tried both removing the battery as well as resetting the module through forscan. It still happens though luckily it's like once a week.
• Same as above.
• The Plugs were changed at 110k miles, very shortly after I bought the car. The air filter was changed at 110k Miles, and 130k miles. Oil changed every ~2900 miles with full synthetic. Transmission flush was done at 125k miles.
• The battery is starting to get somewhat weak, it will not start if it has sat for more than 4 days without being started (I have a dash cam that the screen stays on though).

I also missed a couple other issues:

• Windshield Washer pump gave out (replaced)
• Rust on trunk lid (like everyone else >_> )
• Seal failed in the passenger right LED driving lamp and subsequently failed (replaced)
• and I have slow fluid seepage from a few places. The timing chain cover being one, haven't located the transmission leak yet but I have been monitoring the fluids closely 2x-3x a week.

 

[Laser411]

When you say Ford, do you mean the dealer or Ford corporate? Too many use the term interchangeably, and inaccurately.

Does seem there is more pushback from corporate than in recent years. But sometimes calling back, speaking to a different advisor, or asking to speak with their supervisor, while remaining polite can create some luck.

I spoke to Ford corporate through one of their recall phone numbers. I have not tried calling back for someone else or escalating it. Does that ever actually work with ford?

 

[SM105K]

So your SHO is a 13 with more then 130K miles on it? That is roughly 18.5k a year. You seem to have only owned the car for 20K if I a reading correctly?

Honestly I would be looking to get out of that car in a hurry. That is alot of miles for a performance sedan, and it seems like the previous owner wasn't the best to it.

I personally never would have even looked twice at it. Even being a newer owner, I diligently looked for mine over a period of five or so months, before I finally pulled the trigger on a lower mileage 13. I paid a little more, but I am very happy, even after I knocked the transmission out of it.

I would drop that car like a bad habit.

 

[Laser411]

Yeah, I got it 2 years ago at about 106-108k miles and since it had a lot of miles in such a short time, I figured it was all highway miles and probably didn't get a chance to get beat on. Most of the issues that are occurring are highly unlikely to be from abuse. I got the car for about $10k (Fully loaded with everything but PP package, $49,500 sticker) and I paid $2k extra for a powertrain warranty. I am hoping that this issue will be covered under that if Ford doesn't step up, but when I had the bearing failure, they caught me on a technicality as the contract said that "Locking" rear wheel hubs and bearings (separate not built in and without hubs) were covered but my specific part was not. So I am expecting that the warranty will say that power steering pump is covered but this is not a power steering pump since it's electric.....

I was saving up for a newer model (but maybe not anymore) and ultimately had plans to gut this one, build the motor up, and turn it into a track car. This car was meant to be my introduction into sport sedans and I was always a fan of the SHO. I got what I could afford at the time.

 

[Laser411]

Also, since it had the warranty. I have been meticulous about maintenance as the contract leaves no room for error. I can't even change my own oil, I am spending $50-60 more than I would it I did it myself, and I have to change it every 3k miles.

 

[SM105K]

I get that. I had a unpleasant experience with a my 1993 SHO when I was younger. I loved the car, but it was killing my wallet.

I just hope you follow through and get a newer one with less miles. They truly are remarkable cars. My SHO is probably my favorite car that I have ever owned, and I would not hesitate to pick up a 2019 in a couple of years to replace my daily driver ST.

 

[Laser411]

Yeah, I love the car, even with the pre-power steering issues. I love the car, but starting to hate Ford. I was in the budgeting and planning stages of getting a newer SHO as a DD and tuning the 2013.

My choices at the time, were between this car and a 2011 Camaro SS. I just loved the incognito performance aspect of the SHO, no-one expects it.

 

[SM105K]

Yeah, I love the car, even with the pre-power steering issues. I love the car, but starting to hate Ford. I was in the budgeting and planning stages of getting a newer SHO as a DD and tuning the 2013.

My choices at the time, were between this car and a 2011 Camaro SS. I just loved the incognito performance aspect of the SHO, no-one expects it.

I will flat out state, I am not a Ford Fan. I am a twin turbo, AWD, 4 door sedan fan. It just happens that Ford makes it. Everything blue oval is covered on my SHO for a reason. Same thing on my ST. I wanted something quick, 6 speed, turbo, with 4 doors that got good (30.5 mpg) gas mileage. Once again Ford made it. Once again, I covered it up lol.