A Ford Escape Recall Gotcha — Recall 14S05, Transport Canada #201413

Depiction of defective Ford Escape Power Steering Column, Torque Sensor — by FordProblems.com

Just a few days ago my sister’s power steering stopped working in her Ford Escape. A terrible start to the day. Fortunately, it didn't result in an accident.

As a family, we consider ourselves very lucky that it didn't happen just two days prior while on the highway.

She was making a five hour trip to Halifax with a baby for a medical appointment. Of course, she also drives daily with her baby son, always thinking everything was safe, not realizing the risk that was being silently imposed on herself and her precious sidekick.

Lloyd MacDonald Ford Reveals the Ford Escape Power Steering Recall Issue

When she arrived at Lloyd MacDonald Ford dealership in Sydney, Nova Scotia, she expected that there was a reasonable chance she had finally run into bad luck with her SUV… though it had been quite reliable up until the power steering failure, for the most part.

The Lloyd MacDonald service rep delivered some good news immediately followed by some very bad news.

Transport Canada records of the Ford 14S05 recall.

Good news → It’ll be replaced at Ford’s cost as a part of a recall.

The service rep explained that the failure of the power steering was due to faulty components that were a part of a recall.

Bad news → Oops. Ford “closed out” the recall after only updating software and won’t pay for the replacement…

When the service rep entered the VIN # into his system he learned that my sister had already been in for service back in August 2014 to have the recall work done. That was a no brainer… The letter she received indicated that it could cause an accident.

Then the apparent gotcha was revealed.

The rep said “You're not going to like this” before explaining further.

If the Ford dealership only updates the software and doesn’t replace the parts (torque sensor/steering column) during the recall visit… when the part later fails… they will NOT replace it unless the owner pays for it.

He explained that if her power steering had failed before she was in for the recall, they would have replaced it at their cost.

And, yes, these power steering parts are failing. The service rep says multiple customers are being impacted in the same way.

A Facebook group exists entirely about Ford not “honoring” recall #14S05

This isn't too hard to imagine. After all, they recalled these components for 1.1 million Ford SUVs for a good reason.

They tell you the recall has already been closed and you must pay for it yourself.

What does the software update actually include?

Is the solution really only adding some additional warning indicators to the instrument cluster, but not fixing defective parts?

According the Customer Information Sheet included in the 14S05 instructions package Ford distributed to dealers, it’s simply limited to showing a warning on the instrument cluster when there is an issue with the defective parts.

I do not foresee a simple instrument cluster update providing much in terms of increased safety when there is a chance that a defective torque sensor may fail and cause an accident. However, it’s certainly the cheapest fix possible when Ford is trying to satisfy the recall.

Is a Billion Dollars Impacting the Recall Handling Decision?

If the total for parts and service was only $1,000, that would be over a $1 Billion dollars cost to Ford to replace all of these faulty vehicle components in the the recall. In reality, costs are probably significantly higher on average.

You can start to understand why there could be some incentive to only update software and close out the recall afterwards, effectively pushing future costs of replacing the recalled components onto the customer.

The 30% Off Deal → Is Ford Canada Really Making Customers Pay the Full Cost of Replacement?

Ford Canada Service responds on Twitter, offering to get my sister in contact with Ford’s “Regional Customer Service Manager”.

The local dealership service rep told my sister several important tidbits of information:

1. He says their dealership manager has called Ford Canada trying to advocate on behalf of their customers.
2. He says that several customers have been offered 30% off the cost of parts and service to do the fix.
3. He suggests calling Ford like others and effectively “losing it” in order to try to get the 30% deal.

Therefore, the information coming directly from the dealership is that not all customers are being treated the same.

Some are getting stuck with full price for the repair. Others are arguing enough to be granted 30%. Should they really have to argue for a part that was noted in the recall for its potential for failure — and causing accidents?

Those who call Ford and put up a fuss are getting offered 30% off.

But why is Ford offering ANY incentive for these parts and repair services to the power steering?

Expert identified as a Ford Senior Master Technician gives advice on how to get help including having the 14S05 “safety” recall costs covered by another dealership.

If our local dealer in a small region like Cape Breton acknowledges that several customers locally have had the recall processed only later to have their power steering fail… with over 900,000 Ford Escapes affected by the recall… this must be occurring with a similar frequency everywhere Ford Escapes are sold in Canada and the United States.

If Ford sold the Escapes with faulty torque sensors and/or steering columns, as per Transport Canada Recall #201413, they should be responsible for the full costs of repair.

“Closing out” a recall after updating software and then refusing to cover the cost of replacement when the parts later fail is very unfair.

Is Ford’s granting of 30% to some customers an acknowledgement of responsibility?

However, by granting some customers 30%, in my opinion, they are effectively acknowledging some level of financial responsibility for these recall based repairs even after the recall is conveniently closed out by simply updating the instrument cluster to turn a warning light on.

I suggest Ford’s responsibility should right be 100% of the repair.

If the parts are failing because of a defect, and that defect is acknowledged in the recall, Ford should be repairing them at their cost when the failure occurs.

A Call From Ford Canada’s “President’s Office” Offers Zero Help

The @FordServiceCA (Ford Service Canada) Twitter account sent a private DM (direct message) indicating that they would have the Regional Customer Service Manager (CSM) call and request contact information.

A call did come in on March 17th, 2015 from someone identifying herself as Rachel, on a first name basis only.

Rachel claimed that she was calling from the “President’s office”, though she didn't specifically acknowledge her own title.

Cape Breton being a mecca for call centers, and knowing how such internal processes are managed, my sister certainly wasn't left with the impression that she was speaking with anyone with any level of significant authority. In fact, she felt that she was getting more of the “No Man” handling.

What did Rachel offer on behalf of Ford Canada?

Rachel tried to close out the conversation by saying that she was sorry that they were not able to find a suitable resolution.

My sister was quick to remind her that she had offered no resolution. Instead, Rachel suggested that the processing of the recall was the right way to handle it:

• They would not be offering to do the repair at their cost, nor would they be offering any discount.
• The use of a rental car while awaiting the parts to be delivered to the dealership was emphasized as notable gesture of their assistance.
• The customers who received 30% off the cost of repair received it only because the parts failed shortly after they updated the instrument cluster and closed out the recall.

Ford Acknowledges a Discount is Possible After the Recall 14S05 is Closed Out

Rachel attempt to rationalize other customers getting a 30% discount on the repair as being because the power steering failure happened soon after the dealer performed the instrument cluster software close out of 14S05.

In so doing, she acknowledged two things:

1. Ford Canada has been granting some customers a discount (30%).
2. The discount has been granted after 14S05 recall was already closed out when the power steering later fails.

So Ford has set a precedent for both giving a refund on these repairs and accepting partial responsibility after the recall was already closed out.

Why is my sister being treated differently?

Is my sister being penalized because her power steering did not fail quickly enough after the Ford dealership performed the 14S05 recall with only a basic software upgrade to display a warning indicator — instead of actually repairing the defective parts (torque sensor/steering column)?

What are the next steps?

Transport Canada offers a Defect Complaints and Recalls Hotline.

Ford Canada ranked as the 47th highest revenue company in Canada in 2013, taking in over $9 Billion in revenue. My sister is just a member of middle class family.

What can you possibly do when you feel that you are being treated unfairly by a large corporation?

Next step is to get in touch with Transport Canada, to speak with a Recalls Officer, and find out what assistance they can provide.

If Transport Canada is not able to intervene, it leaves very few options:

• Better Business Bureau complaint filing.
• Reaching out to other local and national Ford Escape owners impacted by the recall to find out the details of their experience.
• Sharing details of the experience so that others may use it as a resource to help them in the future.
• Keeping a watchful eye for class action lawsuit notices in the future if enough Ford Escape owners involved in the recall are organized to pursue legal action.

The End of the Line for My Sister’s Ford Escape and Ford Mustang

It was a good run. My sister’s Escape was a reliable work and family vehicle up until the power steering failure predicted by the recall.

Her shiny red Mustang convertible sits in the garage waiting for the snow to subside and the start of summer drying up the roads for a top down cruise.

But she asked Rachel a very important question as a Ford owner:

How can I have any confidence in Ford in the future with either of the cars I have now, or the ones I trade them in for in the years to come, if this recall is being handled in this way?

Rachel kept saying that she “understood”.

I understand and absolutely agree with my sister’s loss in confidence in Ford Canada after this experience. So far, it looks like Ford is not going to offer anything although they have with other customers.

Whatever the final outcome becomes, during our discussion today we agreed that her days as a Ford owner should now come to an expedient end.

Did you have a similar Ford Escape recall experience?

If you are a Ford Escape owner (years 2008–2010) and were impacted by recall # 14S05, please contact me to share your experience. You can find me on Twitter at @joewardpr.

Update: March 18th, 2015

A telephone conversation with Transport Canada regarding the matter resulted in the following:

• They logged an official complaint on record within their system against Ford Canada regarding recall #14S05. Presumably these reports would be valuable later if a legal firm begins a class action lawsuit.
• They stated that they were no longer actively investigating this recall as Ford Canada has taken the position that they are not providing “lifetime guarantee” on the recall.
• They said they are aware that some dealers are offering between 30 and 50% off the cost of parts and repair to customers impacted by the recall handling.

Their reference to “No Lifetime Guarantee” is really a false characterization.

If they did not replace the part during the recall, there is nothing to guarantee.

The original part impacted by the recall stayed in the affected Ford Escapes — and many will fail with predictability.

A bandaid fix of applying a software update that displays a wrench icon on the instrument cluster isn't going to stop the torque sensor or steering column from failing. Therefore, customers purchased a vehicle with a dangerous safety defect, acknowledged by Ford, and yet they are having to pay for parts and repair themselves when it fails.

This is quite obvious from the fact that the local dealer acknowledges that several customers who had the software update done to “satisfy” the recall #14S05 are now returning with failed power steering.

Update: March 19th, 2015

Dealership offers reduction of price on part only. They claim that several vehicles have power steering fail only weeks after 14S05 recall is “closed” (i.e. a software update to tell you when your power steering is failing).

The service representative from the local Lloyd MacDonald Ford dealership called to check on the status. When my sister was in the dealership the first time (when the power steering failed), the rep had recommended that she complain directly to Ford Canada about the recall issue — as he noted that several other customers were also impacted. He had previously suggested that she may be given a 30% discount by Ford Canada and encouraged her to call.

When my sister informed him of the status of speaking with Rachel, supposedly from Ford Canada’s “President Office” (though more likely a call center specialist for Ford, TBD) — he passed her on to the service manager.

The service manager attempted to describe why my sister’s failed power steering due to the recall was different than the others who received a discount.

He told her that the people getting the discount received it because their power steering failed within a week or two after the recall software update was done.

Once again, that is obviously concerning information for Ford Escape owners.

Isn't the dealership service manager effectively telling us that many Ford Escapes are having their power steering fail just weeks after having the so called recall “fix” closed?

In my sister’s case, it failed 6 months after having the software updated. For those in which it fails faster, they are apparently being offered a 30–50% discount.

Both the dealership and Transport Canada have confirmed these discount rates.

From the research I have done so far, it appears that the only thing the recall “software update” accomplishes is giving you a little warning light when your power steering fails.

It apparently does NOT successfully fix the defective components covered in the recall. This is demonstrated by the fact that the dealership is telling us that these parts not only fail, but also fail sometimes only weeks after having the software updated.

The software fix is not apparently fixing the faulty components. Is Ford Canada volunteering ONLY to place an alert on your dashboard to tell you when you have to replace and pay for faulty power steering components?

So the effective difference BEFORE and AFTER the recall is whether or not a wrench icon displays on your instrument clusters when your power steering fails?

It might as well be a $ sign icon. In my opinion, that would be a more accurate depiction of what that indicator means for Ford customers and their bank accounts.

In the information package Ford provided dealerships (Q&A section) here is how they make the distinction:

Ford’s Q&A section for dealers on how to communication recall information with customers.

• Highlight 1: They say the replacement torque sensor and steering column have “improved durability”.
• First point to note is that this implies that the parts are new versions of the previous parts being replaced (i.e. with faults fixed).
• Second point to note is that this implies the previous parts were of lesser “durability”, a very careful way to describing them as essentially faulty — as they are proven to be when they fail and/or cause accidents.
• Highlight 2: The software update does not fix the faulty parts.
• It is only designed to “increase driver awareness by sounding a chime” and supposedly delaying sudden failure by some short amount of time (seconds or microseconds?).
• Highlight #3: This Q&A provided by Ford indicates their anticipation that power steering may fail after the recall has closed — even though they acknowledge that power steering failure while driving is a safety risk and may lead to accidents.
• Highlight #4: They instruct that they will not cover the cost of replacing the parts (those considered “less durable”, i.e. faulty) after the software update.
• Highlight #5: They are instructing the dealers what to say when a customer comes in and finds out that the software update in the recall didn't actually prevent their power steering from failing — just gave them a supposed warning chime. And of course, they re-enforce that the customer has to pay for these repairs themselves.
• This is the “gotcha” strategy that this blog is describing.

Are the Ford Escape’s error codes not working?

The dealership service manager says that unless the Escape had thrown a code when it was in for the recall, they could not have replaced the torque sensor or steering column. This is by specific instruction in the information Ford sent to dealers on how to handle the recall. So let’s take a look at what it actually says below.

Instructions given by Ford to dealerships indicating how to process recall # 14S05.

Let’s look at several key insights we may be able to extrapolate from this information:

• Paragraph 1: This was a safety recall and Ford acknowledges that the faulty torque sensor (when it fails) creates an accident risk for Ford Escape drivers. Note: They indicate this risk is due to a fault in the “torque sensor”.
• They did NOT say the issue was because of the software on the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM).
• Paragraph 3 (“NOTE” section): Their instructions underline the word “only” providing very specific instructions that dealers are not to repair a customer’s Ford Escape unless they are already having issues with their power steering.
• When customers are experiencing issues with power steering those components are to be replaced at “no charge”. This is not just a software update at no charge. It’s the parts and service at no charge.
• Paragraph 5 (“Dealership service…”): They indicate that customers must be provided with a “Customer Information Sheet”. They specifically indicate that this is required to be given to all customers who did not get parts replacement. Once again, the word “not” is underlined for emphasis.
• It goes on to indicate that the Customer Information Sheet describes the warnings. These are the warnings that will be anticipated when the torque sensor or power steering column components later fail. Isn't this an anticipated part failure?

Why would Ford ever offer to replace any part(s) free of charge unless those parts were actually faulty?

This recall was never ONLY about a software update with an indicator light — in terms of how and why the powering steering failure happens.

Here is what Transport Canada should be asking Ford Canada on behalf of owners impacted by Recall #14S05:

• Question 1: Is it actually possible for the PSCM (Power Steering Control Module) to throw diagnostic codes DTC B2278, DTC B1342, or DTC B2277 (all those that require parts replacement) BEFORE the software is updated in the recall?
• If the software update actually includes these new codes as a part of the update, then it would be impossible for them to be thrown prior to the update. The result, in that scenario, would be that no owners would ever get those codes to come up and the recall would only cover a software update — UNLESS their power steering had already failed before they went in for the recall.
• Question 2: How many customers (who did not have a power steering failure prior to arriving) actually experienced codes DTC B2278, DTC B1342, or DTC B2277 and had the parts replaced at no cost?
• Did Ford contact and reimburse customers eligible for the recall that had their power steering fail and repaired at their own cost PRIOR to the recall being issued?
• What percentage of those in for the recall actually have had their parts replaced?
• Question 3: What is the average length of time on a Ford Escape (years/mileage) before a torque sensor or steering column require replacement? NOTE: This is for parts that were NOT defective and not a part of a recall. It will demonstrate the comparable lifetime of defective versus non-defective power steering parts.
• Question 4: What percentage of Ford Escape owners impacted by 14S05 have had their power steering fail (either torque sensor or steering column) AFTER having the software update added and the recall closed?
• Question 5: What percentage of Ford Escape customers with power steering failure after a 14S05 software update (see previous question) fail in 30, 90, 180, 365, 365+ days afterwards?
• Question 6: What percentage of customers have been given discounted (or free) parts and repair service for the failure in each of the 30, 90, 180, 365, 365+ groups of “time to failure after recall”?
• Question 7: Does replacing the software decrease the likelihood that the torque sensor or steering column will fail — or is is simply limited to only provide a chime when it does?
• Question 8: Can the software chime prevent power steering loss?
• Question 9: Does having software update only mean that Ford is requiring customers to keep a faulty part, known for its potential to fail and cause power steering loss, potentially leading to an accident, in their vehicle?
• Question 10: When the replacement parts for the torque sensor or steering column are installed, does the customer have a reduced chance of their power steering failing due to the fault the previous versions of these parts had?
• Question 11: If the new parts have a lower probability of failing and leading to a loss of power steering than the old versions of the parts, does that mean customers have a lower chance of getting in an accident because of the power steering loss?
• Question 12: When Ford diagnostic codes indicate that only the software update is required, does Ford inform customers that the torque sensor/steering column parts they are leaving in their vehicles are less durable than other parts that are available and give customers the option of having them replaced ?
• Or do they allow the customers to leave unaware that there may be increased risk of the parts failing EVEN AFTER the recall was closed with a software update only?

In order to reduce the risk that the power steering will fail (placing them at risk for an accident) shouldn't customers be informed that the faulty or “less durable” parts that necessitated the recall are still in their vehicle?

Ford’s “Customer Information Sheet” for the Ford Escape Recall #14S05 makes no indication that the faulty or “less durable” parts are still in their vehicles and increase their likelihood of power steering failure and risk of accident.

• The “Customer Information Sheet” given to customers after the software is updated in the recall does NOT make any indication that the “less durable” or faulty torque sensor/steering column are still in their vehicle.
• Doesn't that therefore mean that Ford Escape owners leave with the SAME RISK of power steering failure as before the software update- and yet it is not acknowledged in the information sheet they are provided with after having the recall closed with a software update only?

If there was a choice, which of these two options do you think customers would choose?

• Option 1: Your power steering may still fail like before, but we can add a chime to try to give you a few seconds warning.
• Option 2: We can put in a new part that will make it much less likely that your power steering will fail.

Issues of who pays aside, is there anyone that would rationally choose Option 1?

• Option 1 tries to make the dangerous loss of steering less dangerous.
• Option 2 tries to make the dangerous loss of steering NOT HAPPEN at all.

Customers are being given Option 1 and not being informed that Option 2 would be a good idea. The Customer Information Sheet demonstrates this clearly.

Second Update: March 19th, 2015

Local Ford dealership offers my sister a reduced cost of just over $400.

More details to follow shortly.