# 2006 FORD ESCAPE — STEERING
> NHTSA complaint `1219426` · 2015-09-16 · Ford Motor Company
## Severity
- **Deaths:** 0
- **Injured:** 1
- **Fire:** No
- **Crash:** No
- **Police report:** No
- **Medical attention:** No
- **Vehicle towed:** No
## Vehicle
- **Make:** FORD
- **Model:** ESCAPE
- **Year:** 2006
- **Manufacturer:** Ford Motor Company
- **Component:** STEERING
- **Miles at failure:** 126,466
- **Speed:** 25 mph
## Narrative
ON JULY 24, 2015 MY WIFE AND 2 KIDS, 6 AND 2 YEARS OLD WERE ALMOST KILLED WHEN THE POWERED STEERING SYSTEM FAILED, THE CAR WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO CONTROL AND HIT THE CURVE GOING OVER THE SIDEWALK. MY 6 YEAR OLD GOT A BRUISE ON HIS HEAD FROM HITTING THE WINDOW AND A WALKING PEDESTRIAN ALMOST GOT KILLED. IF MY WIFE WAS GOING A LITTLE FASTER, WE WOULD BE DEALING WITH A MURDER BY NEGLIGENCE CASE. THE POWER STEERING IN THIS MODEL IS ELECTRICAL, NOT HYDRAULIC; I HAVE ATTACHED PICTURES OF THESE PARTS. IVE NEVER SEEN THIS SYSTEM BEFORE; AS AN ELECTRICAL ENGINEER I KNOW THIS SYSTEM IS UNRELIABLE FOR ANY OF THE CRITICAL SAFETY SYSTEMS IN A VEHICLE, SUCH AS STEERING OR BRAKES. THE MOTOR COULD SHORT OR THE BRUSHES MAY WEAR, MOTOR DRIVES MAY BURN, AND EVEN A LOW BATTERY COULD TURN THESE STEERING ASSISTANCE INTO A LOAD, MAKING MANEUVERS EVEN MORE DIFFICULT. ALSO A COMPUTER CODE COULD CREATE PROBLEMS THAT CAN CAUSE FATALITIES MAKING SHARP TURNS AT HIGH VELOCITIES. A HYDRAULIC SYSTEM MAY GO LOW ON FLUID AND MAKE SOUNDS; IT MAY GET A LITTLE HARDER TO TURN BUT NEVER WILL GET TOTALLY STUCK. THIS SYSTEM IS NOT SAFE FOR SOMETHING AS CRITICAL AS THE STEERING TRAIN!
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*Source: [NHTSA ODI](https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/) · AI Analytics · CC0 1.0*