Hello guys,

I bought a 2011 ford escape 4wd 6cyl and it is doing something really weird. With the vehicle turned off, if you turn the steering wheel all the way right (or in any position actually) then start the vehicle the steering wheel turns itself all the way left to the stop without touching it. If you try to turn the wheel right it struggles to pull back left and takes a lot and I mean a lot of force. Let go and the wheel go all the way left again. I am guessing it is a sensor in the steering column for the power assist steering gone bad. Would anyone here have an idea where to start checking or would it mean replacing the whole column?

Thanks guys.

 

Does your vehicle have Ford's Lane Keeping System in it? If yes, that will need to be checked out with some special equip.

If no, there could be a problem within the rack and pinion steering unit. If there is a torque sensor in the steering column that could be involved.

Until some special checks are done , it is difficult to speculate just what may be causing the problem.

 

Just for anyone who might look at this thread in the future with a similar problem, I pulled the power steering (just behind the steering column) and replaced the whole unit with a used one to fix it. It was the sensor located in the power steering unit that was gone bad. Kind of a dangerous failure. Not liking the design of the electric power assist very much right now.