Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2018 Ford Escape owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owned a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 12 MPH while approaching a speed bump, the vehicle lost the power steering and the hill assist warning light illuminated. The steering wheel became stiff causing the vehicle to flip completely over onto the roof of the vehicle. The contact stuffed minor injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a towed lot and was deemed totally lost. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 53,086.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 40-50 MPH, the "Power Steering Loss" message was displayed. The contact pulled to the side of the road until someone associated with the contact could drive the vehicle. The steering had become difficult to maneuver and required an excessive amount of strength to drive the vehicle. The failure recurred after the first repair was completed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the power steering rack and pinion failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had been repaired after the first failure; however, the vehicle was not repaired after the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was transferred to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 111,053.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. The contact stated that the steering wheel was turned to the left; however, the steering wheel independently turned to the right. The contact stated that the steering wheel had seized. In addition, the contact stated that two days later several warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 69,470.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the message "Steering Assist Fault - Seek Service" was displayed , and the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact's husband assisted the contact in driving the vehicle to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed that the electric steering rack had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 15,108.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving at 60-65 MPH in a straight forward lane, the steering wheel would independently steer to the right with resistance. There was no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that there was resistance while attempting to readjust the steering wheel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that no issues were found. However, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact stated that the steering wheel seized, with the steering warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 117,000.
The contact owns a 2018 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering assist and the steering wheel became firm. The power steering assist warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 56,000.
I bought the vehicle in July of 2019 with approximately 20,000 mi on it. I have never touched or adjusted the steering wheel, and I'm the only one to drive the vehicle. My daughter has gotten her temps and I allowed her to drive the vehicle last night. She adjusted the steering column as she is a bit shorter than I am. When I got back into the driver seat, and move the steering wheel back into the position that I keep it in, and then proceeded to turn out of the driveway And it felt as if all the tires were flat and it was very hard to steer. I assume I lost my power steering abilities. Also the windshield wipers started going off and the washer fluid just started flying out onto the windshield and would not stop. I immediately put the car into park and turn the vehicle off. I turned on the car, proceeded to make the turn again, and the car did the same thing. …
The power steering suddenly stopped working on my 2018 Ford Escape when I turned my car on, with an odometer reading of under 26,000 miles. A "Steering fault" message suddenly appeared. If I had been driving on the highway or interstate at the time, this could have resulted in a serious and deadly accident. I called the Ford dealership and the representative told me it was safe to drive the car, and said that if I wanted to, I could just drive it without the power steering until they had the part in to fix it. I asked if that was safe and they said yes. I asked if they were sure it was safe. Then they went and checked with a tech person and told me it wasn't safe. The dealership confirmed the steering fault message and found codes U3000:49 and U3000:53. …
While traveling from Massachusetts to South Carolina we stopped at a rest area for a break. when we re-started the S.U.V., a message was displayed that the power steering assist was no longer working. No warning and it was running fine before stop. Because the same thing happened on my other Ford Edge, I knew what I needed to do. We had to have the car towed off highway to a local Ford dealership, were they confirmed that the rack and pinion steering system FAILED. It took the dealer 2 weeks to repair it at a cost of $3,171.45. Because this as happened on two different FORD products I believe that Ford has a problem with the steering system and that the N.H.T.S.A. dept should look into this?? I filed a complaint with N.H.T.S.A. dept on my first S.U.V.
Steering complaints in other Escape years
Frequently asked questions
How common are steering problems on the 2018 Ford Escape?
NHTSA has 32 complaints about the steering of the 2018 Ford Escape, 2% of the model year's 1,820 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2018 Ford Escape steering problems?
No. NHTSA lists no steering recall for the 2018 Ford Escape, though it has 4 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 2018 Ford Escape steering problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 35,000 miles, and 50% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 3 crashes, 0 fires and 3 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.