Power Steering and Advance trac errors

[punkmanmatthew]

I've had my 2011 for a few months now. It's in very good condition with 40k miles.

 

Since I've had it when I start the car a red error message shows up saying something about a power steering failure and it's almost impossible to turn the wheel. I then turn the car off then back on and it goes away and everything is fine for a while then randomly it will do the same thing again.

It only does this on start up and goes away when I turn the car off and back on. I've never had the power steering go out while driving.

 

The other error that has popped up about three times since owning it is this advance trac error and the traction control and some other light comes on in yellow. Usually turning the car off for a little bit and back on makes this go away. This one starting happening recently but has happened a few times.

 

Does anyone know if I should try something to fix this? Does it sound just like a sensor issue or is there another major underlying issue that is common with these errors. It seems like it if was major it would cause some issue while I'm driving but the car drives great with no issues.

 

One other error I've gotten in a yellow big wrench symbol when I was going about 78mph on the highway. It went away when I turned the car off and on and I haven't seen it since. I drove all day today on the highway and haven't seen this again.

 

Just worried with all these little errors popping up and going away that something bad might be wrong?

[murphy]

Monitor your 12 volt battery voltage. The steering is electric and if the battery voltage is too low it isn't going to work. When the car is turned on the DC to DC convertor starts charging the 12 volt battery. You can buy a voltmeter on Amazon that plugs into a the power port.

 

Did you replace the 12 volt battery when you got the car? If it's the original battery it is long overdue for replacement.

[lolder]

Go ahead and change the 12 vdc battery anyway. It's the cheapest next step before any diagnosis including checking the 12 vdc battery. They're about $120 only available from Ford last time I checked. You need to move the air intake tube back to get at the battery tie down bolt. It's very hard to twist the air tube rubber seal loose. There's another bolt holding an odd shaped plastic resonator connected to the intake tube that you have to remove also. You need a socket and extension to get to the tie down bolt. With the proper tools it's a 15 minute job.

 

Testing the 12 vdc battery may not discover problems with it that the car's computers don't like. Multiple unconnected advisory lights are almost always due to the 12 vdc battery.

[aschulz261]

uh......the battery is in the trunk. there are no air intake tubes to remove. You DO have to disassemble about half the trunk to get the thing out. The battery hold down is no issue at all.

[murphy]

uh......the battery is in the trunk. there are no air intake tubes to remove. You DO have to disassemble about half the trunk to get the thing out. The battery hold down is no issue at all.

The battery in a 2010-2012 model is not in the trunk. That started with the 2013 model. It's tightly squeezed into the engine compartment.

[aschulz261]

Sorry about that. my mistake. I didn't see the year.

[punkmanmatthew]

I haven't bought the battery yet but I've gotten the Power steering error and the advancetrac error today.

 

I plugged in my fixd reader and it said an eror that states "Steering angle position sensor invalid"

 

Seems I remember the carfax saying that the 12v battery was replaced last year but I don't have it to look at it anymore.

 

Should I still spend a lot on a battery?

Thanks for your help.

[lolder]

I'd change the battery first but if it is the sensor it's going to cost you a lot more at the Ford dealer which is the only place that can fix it.

[punkmanmatthew]

I checked the battery and it was change in January of this year.

 

The power steering went completely out today. I'm driving with muscle arms right now and both errors won't go away no matter what I do.

 

I checked the fuses and they are all good. I also hooked up my OBD reader with Forscan and got some results but I don't know what they mean.

 

Ford can't see the car until Monday so I hope this isn't a costly fix. I just purchased the car a few months ago.

Edited October 18, 2019 by punkmanmatthew

[punkmanmatthew]

https://flic.kr/p/2hwzDK7

 

https://flic.kr/p/2hwAGNF

 

https://flic.kr/p/2hwzDKN

 

 

Here are some pictures of what forscan shows but I have no idea on what it means and the PSCM error I can't find any info. on google for that code.

Edited October 18, 2019 by punkmanmatthew

[punkmanmatthew]

I had Ford look at it and they said it needs a new Steering Gear which is going to cost $1975. $1450 for the part and labor and tax makes it $1975.

 

So much for this low mileage Ford Fusion I got myself into.

 

Also I've read this issue is very common and the dealer told me this as well. I don't understand why mine can't be under recall when it has the same issue as all of the other ones in this time.

 

Thanks for all the help guys.

Edited October 18, 2019 by punkmanmatthew

[dragnet]

Have the same issue. Comes and goes intermittently every 6 months or so. I've read that it isn't always the steering column/rack. These cars are very sensitive to suspension setup and conditioning. Friend is a mechanic. We've brought up numerous TSBs that have indicated anything from an alignment to a complete suspension rebuild has fixed the problem. Many people have been told to replace the steering rack and the error returns because there is wear and tear in the control arm bushings and ball joints. One owner just replaced the tires, as one tire had a defect, and the code went away permanently. None of this is heresy. These are solutions posted online by numerous mechanics around the globe. Start with the simple stuff and go from there. Have your mechanic ensure that the bushings, ball joints, alignment and tires are all within spec before going nuts on the repair. It seems the first response from the dealer is always replace the biggest most expensive part! They don't enjoy doing research or investigative procedures for the most part. Ultimately it might be the electric steering rack but it might be something much easier and cheaper too.

 

If you need a rack check out amazon. Much cheaper than the 'stealers'...

[mmtphoto]

our 2010 FFH has 110.000 on it and we bought it with about 90.000 on it in 2015 or 2016 I think, but the first thing I did was replace the 390 CCA battery (original) with a 96R battery rated at 590 CCA. You have to modify the battery tray (it's plastic so fairly easy to modify) as the case is slightly larger than the OEM battery. From research, the 12 volt battery is very important to the health of the entire system, so I even leave a trickle charger on when parked in the garage. Between oil changes, the battery and the GREAT Forscan Year One fix, it is getting great mileage and works flawlessly. I have kept up with cleaning the throttle body periodically, and did change the rear pads around 100,000 miles even though it probably would have passed inspection.

 

This car needs a good 12 volt battery, and it has to be maintained probably more than a normal ICE-only car IMO.

[dalesql]

I had the power steering error on startup that would go away with a restart. FInally a couple weeks ago, power steering went out along with advance trak error. I was taking it in for the airbag recall anyway, so I did some research on the NHSTA website and found two recalls on the power steering. One relating to some rusty mounting bolts that didn't apply, and another that only applied if there were specific error codes from the power steering. I got lucky? and when I took it in, it was covered by that recall.

 

about a $2000 repair I got covered on the recall. Win.

 

It appears that pretty much all the first generation all electric power steering units are suffering from some kind of design fault, for my model about 3/4 of the total complaints were about power steering failure. Even if they don't cover it under the recall now, save your paperwork and bills, and keep checking back. When they extend the recall, you can get refunds on repair costs.

[suprs05]

Having same power steering assist fault message.  Same u3000 internal failure.   Dealer appointment in couple weeks.   Not under recall.   Not happy 

[eisbaer]

7 hours ago, suprs05 said:

Having same power steering assist fault message.  Same u3000 internal failure.   Dealer appointment in couple weeks.   Not under recall.   Not happy 

The dealer would be the last place I would take it for this issue. Youre going to pay more than the worth of the car to have it fixed.

If you have a local mechanic that is reasonable see what the cost is to have the rack replaced.

Order one on ebay that has the lowest miles or a refurbed one from somewhere like CARID and you can have it tested for functionality before the actual process of replacement.

[itsjustme]

Hi to all!  I'm new here – I joined after finding this forum when googling about the power steering assist fault.  So, before I ask a question I’d like to provide a bit of background so hopefully anyone who may have answers for me will have all the info they may require. 

     I purchased my 2010 FFH in early November last year through CarMax.  It had an absolutely clean title and was in pristine condition with only 72.5K miles.  Really loved the car – it drove/rode great, has all the bells and whistles, and was just overall totally clean. 

     Just one month later, sitting at a red light waiting to turn right, I was rear-ended with a fair amount of impact by an older Jeep Cherokee (FFH:  $5K; Jeep Cherokee: $0; uninsured motorist coverage: priceless).  Forty-five days later I had my car back looking good, but the cross traffic sensors and rear parking aide were throwing faults.  The Ford dealer that the body shop took it to said that the sensor faults were not impact related, but they worked fine before the accident, but immediately after the accident I had to turn off the parking aide so it wouldn’t scream incessantly.

Then in early March, again sitting still at a red light (this time to turn left) I was hit by a man in a big ½ ton pickup who was later determined to be drunk-driving when he cut the turn too hard taking out the front end of my car and the sign post in the meridian next to me.

     Three weeks later I have my car back again.  Everything seems fine until the weather began to change and I began using the air conditioner more.  This is when I first noticed that the EV battery was not maintaining a charge as well and that my gas mileage, which had been averaging about 35, was now tanking at around 24.7 (yes, I have a lead foot).  After this, I started to get the occasional “power steering assist fault” on start up, but if I turned the car off, let it sit for 15-30 seconds then restarted, the fault would go away.  I would also occasionally get a warning that the Advance Trac needed service.  Once I even had a brake failure at start up.  I had to actually turn the car off and then on again 2 times before that cleared. 

     Skip forward to 4 days ago.  When working about 60 miles away from home, the power steering assist fault came on again, but would not go off, no matter how many times I tried restarting or how long I let it sit in between.  And I now have no power steering.  It was an interesting drive home mostly on the freeway with lots of big trucks and me worrying the whole time that my brakes would do the same thing as the power steering. Currently the red “Power Steering Assist Fault” and the yellow “Service Advance Trac” warnings show constantly while driving, first one then the other, then back, and on and on…

     When the EV battery first started showing signs of a problem, I started doing some research on how much replacing it would cost.  That’s when I ran across a Technical Service Bulletin from Ford dated April of 2020 that addressed the issue of Reduced Electric Vehicle Operation (Technical Service Bulletin 20-2142, 24 April, 2020). 

     This TSB is for FFH (and a couple of other vehicles) model years 2010-2012 details the procedure for vehicles with reduced electric vehicle operation and/or increased gasoline engine operations.  The issue, it explains, is that “some Fusion hybrid electric vehicles may experience reduced electric vehicle operation and increased gasoline engine operation around 10 years of vehicle age and beyond.  This may be due to software in the battery energy control module (BECM) and the powertrain control module (PCM).  To correct the condition, follow the service procedure to reprogram the BECM and PCM.”  In searching for more information about the power steering assist fault, I remember reading in one post that the state of the battery is critical for proper vehicle and systems operations.

     Finally, now the question(s):  Could this be the cause of the rear parking aide, cross traffic, power steering, Advance Trac and brake faults?  Meaning that in fact those systems are fine, its just the battery is not programmed right?  Or is it more likely that the accidents caused a problem with the wiring, maybe jiggled something loose?  Or, is it that the vehicle is 10 years old and these kinds of things just start to fail about now?

     I called the Ford dealer closest to me yesterday, and when I explained the issues and mentioned the TSB, the first thing he did is say that I should probably have them replace the rack.  Wow, really?!  When I told him that I wasn’t going there first, lets start small with the cheap easy fixes and see where we are, he suddenly had no open appointments for 2 weeks (currently no power steering: a little worrisome, but good for building upper body strength; chance that the brakes could go the same way: very scary; knowing that I have excellent auto insurance coverage: priceless).

    For the following, I really don’t know if it is pertinent, but I’ll go ahead and throw it out there:  the car has developed a vibration that is severe enough that the rear-view mirror on the windshield is vibrating so hard that objects are not clearly defined.  It does not seem to effect the external rear-view mirrors.  Any idea on why this could be happening would be appreciated.

     Thanks for taking the time to read this unfortunately long post, and thank you in advance to anyone taking the time to reply. 

[lolder]

Time to junk this car. None of the problems are common. It's been wrecked twice.