The 2009 Ford Escape has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 740,878 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 2,348 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the steering. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
STEERING14V2840002014-05-29740,878 affected
Defect
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner vehicles manufactured August 18, 2006, through September 11, 2010. The affected vehicles have a steering torque sensor that may not be able to properly detect driver steering input. As a result, the system could…
Consequence
If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power steering control module (PSCM) and the instrument cluster module, free of charge. If a vehicle shows a history of a loss of the torque sensor signal or fault codes relating to the PSCM when the vehicle is brought in for the recall remedy,…
Complaints by component
STEERING
817
16crashes15injuries
POWER TRAIN
279
1crashes
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
277
7crashes
ENGINE
254
3crashes
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
142
2crashes1fires8injuries
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
115
2crashes
SERVICE BRAKES
94
8crashes2injuries
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
85
2crashes
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
55
1crashes9injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
34
Total complaints2,348
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Hi! I [xxx] [xxx] my vehicle streeing wheel struck or lock when the vehicle slow down or stopped. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)”
“I was driving down the road about 35 mph and it jerked me clean off the right side of the road. Here the driver side and passenger side subframe/engine cratle is completely rotted out bad . This needs fixed before someone dies.”
“I was driving down the road about 35 mph and it jerked me clean off the right side of the road. Here the driver side and passenger side subframe/engine cratle is completely rotted out bad . This needs fixed before someone dies.”
“I was driving down the road about 35 mph and it jerked me clean off the right side of the road. Here the driver side and passenger side subframe/engine cratle is completely rotted out bad . This needs fixed before someone dies.”
“The contact owns a 2009 ford escape. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle lost power steering functionality, and only manual steering was available. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road, and the vehicle was towed to the residence. When the…”
“The contact owns a 2009 ford escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to steer in the intended direction. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the failure occurred while making a left turn, and the steering wheel was…”
“Yesterday I went to the ford dealership and asked if my 2009 ford escape could have the power steering repaired under recall as the code from the obd2 data is b2278 and that falls under a recall for pscm power steering control module - steering shaft torque sensor malfunction campaign id:…”
“This is a follow up complaint because I would like to attach more files that are pertinent”
Defect investigations
InvestigationDP12006 Opened 2012-10-02 · closed 2013-02-21
Electronic Throttle Body Malfunction
In a letter dated August 30, 2012, The North Carolina Consumers Council (NCCC) petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to initiate a defect investigation of alleged electronic throttle body failures resulting in engine stall or surge while driving in model year (MY) 2005 through 2012…
InvestigationDP15001 Opened 2015-04-01 · closed 2018-06-14
Loss of power steering while driving
On May 27, 2014, amended June 2, 2014, Ford Motor Company (Ford) submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA describing a safety defect that may result in a sudden loss of power steering assist while driving in approximately 746,067 model year (MY) 2008 through 2011 Ford Escape vehicles equipped with…
InvestigationPE13003 Opened 2013-02-21 · closed 2014-02-28
Electronic Throttle Body Malfunction
On February 21, 2013, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE13-003 to investigate allegations of electronic throttle body (ETB) failures resulting in sudden reduction of engine power in model year (MY) 2009-2013 Ford Escape, Fusion, Mariner and Milan vehicles. During this…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2009 Ford Escape as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.