Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2013 Ford C-Max owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
On the morning of 12/13/23 I got in my car to go to work. Upon starting my car the warning light for service power steering came on. I noticed the car was very hard to steer when existing my drive way. I drove the car back into my neighborhood to see if it was safe to drive in traffic. The steering was so tight and steering wheel would fight me wanting to return to center. With the fault code still present I went home and inspected the steering system and hooked up my scan tool to the OBD port. I had a fault code of 3000-53 and 3000-49. The 3000-53 would not clear. I have found online other Fford vehicles with recalls for the same steering system setup, but not on the Ford C Max. If this had happened when I was driving on the road at a high rate of speed it would have caused a serious accident, as the steering was very unresponsive and actually fighting my input of direction.
While driving car, power steering will fail and deactivate leaving the steering extremely heavy and manual. Can happen at any speed, and has happened on the interstate at highway speeds. Information cluster states, "power steering fault - service power steering immediately" When this happens it is highly unsafe and happens instantly without warning. Makes getting the car off the road and stopped safely very difficult and dangerous. Stopping the car, turning it off fully and restarting seems to clear the fault and makes the car power steering operate as normal again. But this has happened many times since owning the car and I can find no reason when or why it gets triggered. Online searches find many other owners of this car describing the exact same issue and they share the same concerns about it being unsafe.
I went to change lanes and all of a sudden the steering became difficult. I thought the car had lost power, but it was only the steering. The sudden loss came as a surprise and did cause me to loose control momentarily during the lane change. Shortly thereafter a warning light came on indicating the power steering needed to be serviced. I was able to arrive at my destination safely, but power steering was completely out. Upon restarting the car the problem went away. Returning home later that evening the problem returned about 5 miles into my trip. I returned home and shortly after brought the car to the auto parts store to see if there was a code on their scan tool. No codes, but this time when the car was started the warning light came on immediately and power steering has quit working 100% of the time.
The message to service the power steering suddenly appeared and the steering wheel could not be rotated, when we were at our drive way. I felt to be very lucky for not being on the road when the loss of power steering occurred. After I turned off the engine and restarted the car one minute later, the power steering problem disappeared and I was able to drive the car again. About one week later, I sent the car to a Ford dealer for inspection. The test result showed the error code U300-49:08 and the internal electronic failure type. The dealer recommended replacing the steering gear at a cost of over $3000. We have just completed a 7-year service contract with the same dealer. Thus, the car should have been well maintained.
I started my car & put in reverse the service power steering light came on & my steering wheel locked so I put it back in park turned the car off waited a moment & started it again the problem stopped. I then got online to troubleshoot & see that there is many complaints about this happening but it worse situations when they were actually driving & almost had an accident due to not being able to steer the vehicle. Now I'm scared it will happen when I'm driving next time. This is a life threatening problem & the fact that its a know issue should be fixed by ford at no charge or you will end up with class action lawsuits for putting peoples lives in danger !!!!!
Was driving my 2013 Ford CMax and heard a noise in the front. I took it to the local Belle Tire and they replaced the upper inner front tirod. Still had issues and heard noise. Took it to a repair facility and they claimed they heard no noise. Two weeks later my Steering assist warning light came on and I lost all steering capabilities. Luckily I was not injured. Ford has recalls for this same issue on other years and models. Due to the severity of this problem and possible casuality Ford should issue a recall for this part. I had to pay $2100.00 to repair this problem
After making a stop at a rest stop traveling from Portland, OR to The Dalles, OR, when we got back into the car and started it, a warning light came on saying "service power steering. See your dealer." From that point forward, we had no power steering and had to drive home that way. We know after doing research that Ford has a recall (15S18) for this exact problem but because there weren't as many CMax vehicles sold, they did not include it. We had to drive home almost 60 miles at highway speed to get home.
Steering warning light came on after driving away from home. Power Steering failed, no possible way to move steering wheel. Powered vehicle off. Next day, steering worked and took vehicle to Ford Dealer. Upon inspection by Dealer, the steering gear failed and needs to be replaced. Vehicle has less than 50,000 miles driven. In my opinion, this is a manufacturing issue that Ford needs to review and possibly recall. This could have been very serious had the failure occurred while I was driving the vehicle.
Got a "Power steering assist fault" message on the screen. It was very hard to steer the wheel. The case on the wheel was turning around it. Managed to drive 3 more miles to the dealership. A lot of other ford models have same issues, even under 50.000 miles. And many of the are in recall program, but not 2013 ford c-max. Can't afford 3.400$ price for fixing it at the dealership. I'm a second owner, bought it for 5.000 , 3 years ago. At least it didn't stuck completely, and I didn't Die
My vehicle has approximately 105,000 miles on it. I got in my vehicle to leave and a red message appeared saying, "service power steering system". The steering wheel became very hard to turn left or right. In fact, I wasn't able to turn it at all. I shut off the car and then restarted it. It appeared to be working again and I drove it for an hour without any issue. When I returned home I looked on a few forums and this is a very common problem in the cmax and other Ford epas systems. A lot of people in the forums say it happened in the middle of them driving. Apparently this is a known issue for Ford. Because of what I read, I am scared to continue driving, but need the vehicle to get ot work. I want to get it fixed, but do not have the approximately $2000 it costs to do so. I do not want to risk my life or the lives of others. …
Steering complaints in other C-Max years
Frequently asked questions
How common are steering problems on the 2013 Ford C-Max?
NHTSA has 39 complaints about the steering of the 2013 Ford C-Max, 21% of the model year's 187 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2013 Ford C-Max steering problems?
No. NHTSA lists no steering recall for the 2013 Ford C-Max, though it has 8 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2013 Ford C-Max steering problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 60,000 miles, and 8% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 2 injuries to steering problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.