I was driving down a main road going 45 MPH when my steering wheel locked up and I got a message on my dash to service advanced steering. I was unable to turn my steering wheel in any direction and had to pull over in order to not be involved in a collision.
2014 Ford Flex
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2014 Ford Flex do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 139.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Flex years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
163 reports with mileage · 86 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Steering. Review the 66 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 57 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 46 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Steering complaints
66 reportsAuto “steering assist failure” occurred, very difficult to steer, very dangerous and could have caused wreak if actively driving when it failed. Dash light indicates steering assist failure. Appears this is an ungoing problem with ford flex vehicles since 2010 I do not see recall for my 2014 flex but same issues had recalls …
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Auto “steering assist failure” occurred, very difficult to steer, very dangerous and could have caused wreak if actively driving when it failed. Dash light indicates steering assist failure. Appears this is an ungoing problem with ford flex vehicles since 2010 I do not see recall for my 2014 flex but same issues had recalls for flex up to 2013. I am reporting due that I believe this is a very serious issue on ford flex vehicles and has great potential to cause severe accident if occurring while driving. I believe there should be recalls for this issue requiring Ford to repair the safety risk.
Without warning, the vehicle's power steering stopped working in an intersection while turning. The hazard lights came on automatically and I used my full body strength to steer the car out of the intersection. Inspection showed a computer module failure within the steering rack. Because the computer module is built into the ste…
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Without warning, the vehicle's power steering stopped working in an intersection while turning. The hazard lights came on automatically and I used my full body strength to steer the car out of the intersection. Inspection showed a computer module failure within the steering rack. Because the computer module is built into the steering rack, the whole steering rack needed to be replaced. This was a critical repair and cost over $3500.
The power steering system failed and requires brute force to turn the wheel. The software system was reflashed but this did not fix the problem. There was a recall for this issue from 2011-2013, but not for our year. There is not a warning light on.
I have a 2014 Ford Flex. My axle shaft came undone while driving. My Ford flex was manufactured 07 of 13 my mechanic said that there's a recall for your front axle shaft on the passenger side and it falls within the guidelines of the affected vehicles but Ford says that it's not covered. My vin was never added to the recall and …
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I have a 2014 Ford Flex. My axle shaft came undone while driving. My Ford flex was manufactured 07 of 13 my mechanic said that there's a recall for your front axle shaft on the passenger side and it falls within the guidelines of the affected vehicles but Ford says that it's not covered. My vin was never added to the recall and it’s the same exact issue that the others had for that year.
Driving along and all of a sudden steering will be very difficult to turn - and there is play in the steering wheel. Not being able to turn safely, puts my family at risk. There are no warning lights or alarms that have shown up.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds; the vehicle lost automotive power and the steering wheel was pulling to the left and was difficult to turn in either direction. No warning light was illuminated. An appointment with the local independent dealer was scheduled to inspect th…
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The contact owns a 2014 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds; the vehicle lost automotive power and the steering wheel was pulling to the left and was difficult to turn in either direction. No warning light was illuminated. An appointment with the local independent dealer was scheduled to inspect the vehicle. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired due to the Year, Make, and Model being outside the selected VIN range. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to an unidentified NHTSA Campaign; however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 130,400.
2 times now within 6 months my power steering has gone out. This is not power steering that makes it hard to steer. This is power steering going out which locks the steering wheel and leaves it impossible to steer the car. Fortunately I have been at home when this has happened and not on the road. I have managed to get it ba…
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2 times now within 6 months my power steering has gone out. This is not power steering that makes it hard to steer. This is power steering going out which locks the steering wheel and leaves it impossible to steer the car. Fortunately I have been at home when this has happened and not on the road. I have managed to get it back after restarting the car several times, but I did not want to chance it. The first time I had it repaired at the dealer and thought it would no longer be an issue. I was so surprised and scared that it happened again. I was planning a long distance trip next week. I am so glad it didn't happen on the road. I paid just under 1000 dollars last time and thought it was fixed. The dealer said it is a different code this time and it will now be 3500 to fix the power assist failure. I looked online and I see others with Fords have this issue. My vehicle type was recalled for 2011-2013, but not my year - 2014. I am hoping you will look at this see there are safey issues. Thank you.
I was pulling out of my work parking lot and my power steering cut out completely. A warning came up on my dash saying something along the lines of steering assist system fault. I was able to get it back into the parking lot but had to really force the steering wheel. After turning the flex off and back on again everything wo…
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I was pulling out of my work parking lot and my power steering cut out completely. A warning came up on my dash saying something along the lines of steering assist system fault. I was able to get it back into the parking lot but had to really force the steering wheel. After turning the flex off and back on again everything worked fine. I was very fortunate to be driving at low speed at the time. Most of my driving is on a highway or the turnpike and could have been extremely dangerous. I had a shop look everything over and they weren't able to find any issues which has be constantly concerned that it could happen again at any time.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH and making a right turn, the power steering malfunctioned, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the steering rack…
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The contact owns a 2014 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH and making a right turn, the power steering malfunctioned, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the steering rack was faulty and needed to be replaced and programmed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 182,438.
Official recalls
420V072000 · Suspension:rear
Feb 10, 2020
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2018 Lincoln MKT and Ford Flex and Taurus vehicles with the Police Interceptor or SHO Performance Pack. The rear suspension toe links may fracture due to stress on the rear suspension.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A fractured rear toe link will cause a sudden change in vehicle handling and increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links, free of charge. Remedy parts are not currently available. Owners were notified about the recall on March 3, 2020. A second notice will be mailed when remedy parts become available, which is currently expected to be the end of September 2020. The recall began October 28, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 or Lincoln customer service at 1-800-521-4140. Ford's number for this recall is 20S04.
16V621000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump
Aug 25, 2016
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Lincoln MKS and Lincoln MKT vehicles equipped with 3.5L GTDI Ecoboost engines and 2013-2015 Ford Taurus Police Interceptor vehicles. A component within the fuel pump electric module (PEM) may overheat causing a loss of electrical power to the fuel pump.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A loss of power to the fuel pump will cause the engine to stall or prevent the vehicle from starting, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the fuel PEM part number and replace the fuel PEM, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 1, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S31.
14V710000 · Seats
Nov 7, 2014
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2014 Ford F-150 and Flex vehicles manufactured March 1, 2014, to May 31, 2014. The affected vehicles were manufactured with a reduced clearance between the seat frame and the seat track assembly. This can cause the Occupant Classification System (OCS) to inaccurately register passenger weight and improperly suppress the passenger front airbag when the passenger seat is occupied by an adult passenger. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Improper suppression of the passenger airbag increases the risk of an injury to the seat occupant in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the front passenger airbag.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will widen the gap between the seat frame and seat track assembly and recalibrate the seat OCS, free of charge. The recall began November 25, 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 14C10.
14V393000 · Power Train:axle Assembly:axle Shaft
Jul 2, 2014
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2012-2014 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX vehicles manufactured September 2, 2010, to November 30, 2013; 2013-2014 Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS vehicles manufactured August 25, 2011, to November 30, 2013; and 2013-2014 Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT vehicles manufactured September 12, 2011, to November 30, 2013. In the affected vehicles, the halfshaft retention circlip may not have been properly installed, and as a result, the halfshaft may move outward and disengage from the linkshaft while driving and without prior warning.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the halfshaft and linkshaft become disengaged while driving, power will no longer be transmitted to the wheels, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. Additionally, if the parking brake is not applied before exiting the vehicle, the vehicle may roll away despite the transmission being placed in 'Park', increasing the risk of injury to exiting occupants and bystanders.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicles to make sure that the halfshaft is properly retained. If it is not, dealers will replace the linkshaft and also replace the halfshaft if it shows evidence of spline damage, free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-392-3673. Ford's number for this recall is 14S10.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.
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