The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ vehicles manufactured February 3, 2012, to March 20, 2015, and 2015 Ford Edge vehicles manufactured February 26, 2015, to February 28, 2015, and originally sold, or currently registered in, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. In the affected vehicles, snow or water containing road salt or other contaminants may corrode the electric power steering gear motor attachment bolts.
The risk
If the bolts corrode, the steering gear motor may detach from the gear housing resulting in a loss of power steering assist. Loss of power steering assist would require a higher steering effort, especially at lower speeds, which may increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will apply sealer and replace the steering gear motor bolts as required. If one or more of the steering gear motor attachment bolts are broken or missing, a new steering gear will be installed in the vehicle. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on June 24, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S14.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Ford Edge | 2015 |
| Ford Fusion | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2013, 2014, 2015 |
Components: STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Edge | 2015 | 731 | 7 |
| Ford Fusion | 2013 | 1,792 | 19 |
| Ford Fusion | 2014 | 1,333 | 19 |
| Ford Fusion | 2015 | 997 | 13 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2013 | 109 | 12 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2014 | 97 | 13 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2015 | 84 | 10 |
Other steering recalls in 2015
41 of the 863 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2015 concerned the steering; Ford Motor Company filed 737 campaigns in all.
| 15V887000 30 Dec 2015 | BMW of North America, LLC |
| 15V885000 29 Dec 2015 | Temsa Global Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S. |
| 15V878000 23 Dec 2015 | Chrysler (FCA US LLC) |
| 15V845000 16 Dec 2015 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 15V829000 9 Dec 2015 | Newmar Corporation |
| 15V703000 26 Oct 2015 | Terex Advance |
| 15V687000 21 Oct 2015 | Spartan Motors USA |
| 15V679000 20 Oct 2015 | Fontaine Modification |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2015