2011 FORD FUSION — Complaint #1651310
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about STEERING:RACK AND PINION filed March 3, 2020
NHTSA complaint #1651310 (ODI reference 11315787) concerns a 2011 FORD FUSION and was filed on March 3, 2020. The owner reports the failure occurred on November 15, 2019. The vehicle had 98,947 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Maryland based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as steering:rack and pinion, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same FORD FUSION cohort independently describe similar steering:rack and pinion failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2011 FORD FUSION shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
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
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1651310 |
| ODI Number | 11315787 |
| Date Filed | March 3, 2020 |
| Failure Date | November 15, 2019 |
| VIN | 3FAHP0KC6BR |
Similar STEERING:RACK AND PINION Complaints for 2011 FORD FUSION
See attached document for complaint
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fusion. The contact stated that while the vehicle was started, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was towed to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that
The rack and pinion went out on the vehicle while driving down the highway... Luckily we made it home safely.. made it very hard to turn... Just like that it went out with no warning.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 FORD FUSION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME VERY DIFFICULT TO TURN IN EITHER DIRECTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPEND
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 FORD FUSION. AFTER REFUELING AT A FUEL STATION, THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED AND THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT T
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.