My 2017 Ford Focus with 24,500 miles displayed Steering Assist Fault, Service Required. I brought it in to dealer I bought from but 36 mth warranty expired, they want $3,400 to rebuild entire steering system. Seems that is design defect? Is this a recall issue? Or a defect that Ford should cover considering I am under 36000 miles?
You can put your VIN in here to see if you have any active recalls:
https://www.ford.com/support/recalls/
If not covered, consider finding a good independent mechanic who will charge less than the dealer.
What you have described sounds to me like the dealer saying "We have no clue what's wrong so let's replace everything and hope that it works"
Electric Power Steering is known to fail on the Ford Focus MK3.
I do not know if Ford has a diagnosis procedure, most manufacturers do.
I couldn't find any publicly available service bulletins.
First I'd check the battery and inspect the wiring, it could be something as simple as that.
If that all checks out, According to the internet, your symptoms are usually caused by EPS ECU electrical failures, both due to internal faults and due to water intrusion into the EPS unit.
Generally, a mechanic who knows this system can repair it.
Before trying to replace parts, first we should check what is the detected fault.
To do so connect a good all systems scanner, read the EPS fault codes, and post them so that we'll be able try and help...
(When you do so, please use mentions so that the relevant forum members will get a notification)
Ford is famous for not standing behind their warranty by saying they warranty the part but not the part "design." So when a part fails, they claim the part design is not covered by the warranty. Found On Road Dead. Quality is Job nOne.
would like to know if many others had the same issue
https://www.carcomplaints.com/
so I can complain
Report a Safety Problem
Have you experienced a vehicle, tire, car seat, or equipment safety problem that could be a safety defect?
If so, you can file a complaint that we will carefully review — like we do with every safety problem submitted to NHTSA.
- What is a safety-related defect?
- Generally, a safety defect is a problem that poses a risk to motor vehicle safety, and may exist in a group of vehicles or equipment of the same design and/or manufacturer. An example of a safety-related defect is a steering component that breaks, causing a driver to lose control. However, an air conditioner that does not work properly isn't considered a safety-related defect, because it does not pose a risk to motor vehicle safety.
- https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem
see if it is a design fault and a recall needs to be done.
See our recall page (in the FAQ) to see if your vehicle was recalled.
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/recall/
Unless you hire engineers to prove it's a design fault, launch an investigation into thousands of vehicles, and hire a team of lawyers to pursue this for you, you won't be issuing any recalls. These are only launched by manufacturers or forced by government.
The part that failed was, Gear Assembly, Part No HV6Z-3504-EP167 cost about $2,000.00 but as it can be rebuilt they gave me a $400.00 credit. Labor $1,500. I also had to have tire aligned for $150.00.The alignment was because the steering went out and I had to dive it to the shop.The dash steering fault light went on I stopped, then. it went off I drove on about 10 mts, it went on again. I stopped it went off. Seemed if the car cooled it went off. Was never on all the time. So drove on.I paid the dealer but would like to know if many others had the same issue so I can complain to see if it is a design fault and a recall needs to be done. I had previously had the transmission redone by the dealer. I feel the design of the Focus was bad and its problems concealed by Ford. I am now looking for a used Toyota Camry following Scotty's advice.
All in all the repairs I have paid on this car matches almost the cost new. Fix or repair daily.