2009 FORD ESCAPE — Complaint #1850857
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about STEERING:STEERING CONTROL MODULE filed October 31, 2022
NHTSA complaint #1850857 (ODI reference 11491569) concerns a 2009 FORD ESCAPE and was filed on October 31, 2022. The owner reports the failure occurred on October 17, 2022. The vehicle had 270,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Tennessee based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as steering:steering control module, 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 ESCAPE cohort independently describe similar steering:steering control module 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 2009 FORD ESCAPE shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2009 Ford Escape. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the steering wheel became stiff with the power steering assist warning light illuminated. The contact that while accelerating, the steering wheel started operating normally. An independent mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and stated that the power steering control module (PSCM) needed to be replaced; and advised the contact to contact the dealer for assistance. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The manufacturer was contacted and also stated that the vehicle was not under recall. The failure mileage was 270,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1850857 |
| ODI Number | 11491569 |
| Date Filed | October 31, 2022 |
| Failure Date | October 17, 2022 |
| VIN | 1FMCU03719K |
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.