The defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Ford Fusion vehicles without a 3.5L engine and Lincoln MKZ hybrid electric vehicles, 2011 Mercury Milan vehicles, 2011-2012 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with a 3.5L GTDI engine and 2013 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with any available engine. The affected vehicles have electric power steering assist systems that may shut down as a result of a steering motor sensor fault.
The risk
If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
The remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will check the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC). If dealers find any loss of steering assist DTCs, the steering gear will be replaced, free of charge. If, no codes are found during the PSCM inspection, the PSCM software will be updated, free of charge. The recall began on July 21, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15S18.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Ford Flex | 2011, 2012, 2013 |
| Ford Fusion | 2011, 2012 |
| Ford Taurus | 2011, 2012, 2013 |
| Lincoln MKS | 2011, 2012, 2013 |
| Lincoln MKT | 2011, 2012, 2013 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2011, 2012 |
| Mercury Milan | 2011 |
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 Flex | 2011 | 144 | 2 |
| Ford Flex | 2012 | 64 | 2 |
| Ford Flex | 2013 | 580 | 6 |
| Ford Fusion | 2011 | 2,794 | 7 |
| Ford Fusion | 2012 | 2,517 | 5 |
| Ford Taurus | 2011 | 187 | 4 |
| Ford Taurus | 2012 | 79 | 5 |
| Ford Taurus | 2013 | 585 | 9 |
| Lincoln MKS | 2011 | 43 | 3 |
| Lincoln MKS | 2012 | 17 | 3 |
| Lincoln MKS | 2013 | 142 | 7 |
| Lincoln MKT | 2011 | 19 | 1 |
| Lincoln MKT | 2012 | 28 | 1 |
| Lincoln MKT | 2013 | 70 | 7 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2011 | 145 | 5 |
| Lincoln MKZ | 2012 | 146 | 5 |
| Mercury Milan | 2011 | 192 | 7 |
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