334 of the
3,220 complaints filed about the Mercury Milan
are about the steering —
10% of everything owners reported.
The worst model year for it is 2010.
On XXX My 2011 Milan, experienced a total loss of steering assist. Am original owner & have original invoice from former dealer (Vista Ford )dated XXX, Invoice #XXX shows the dealer only did a software patch under 15N01 because there were no error codes at the time. My physical defective steering gear was never replaced, and now suffers a total mechanical electrical failure. The manufacturers software recall patch failed to prevent the component from failing. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11750411 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2011 Mercury Milan. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the electronic power steering failure warning light illuminated. Additionally, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. The contact's family member attached the ODS monitor to the vehicle, and fault codes: C1277 (Steering Wheel Angle Sensor), UL3000 (Power Steering Control Modular) and several other failure codes associated with the electronic power steering were retrieved. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact referenced an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not associated with a recall related to the failure. The dealer was not made aware of the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 91,430.
NHTSA complaint #11743808 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
While driving at low speed performing a turn in a residential area, the vehicle suddenly displayed a “Steering Assist Fault” warning message and the steering wheel became completely locked with essentially no movement possible. I attempted to turn the wheel with extreme force but it would barely move, creating a serious safety hazard. I was fortunately driving slowly at the time. If this had occurred at higher speed or in traffic, it could have caused a crash, serious injury, or even death. Prior to the incident, there had occasionally been a slight amount of unusual tension/resistance felt while turning the steering wheel, although it was minor and inconsistent before the complete failure occurred. The failure happened suddenly while driving normally. The issue appears related to the electronic power steering (EPAS) / steering assist system. Similar steering assist failure complaints and recalls/investigations have existed on related Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan vehicles involving sudden loss of steering assist and steering control concerns. The vehicle is also currently affected by brake recall 19S54/19V904 involving braking performance concerns, increasing overall safety concerns regarding the vehicle. At the time of filing this complaint, the steering issue has not yet received a complete repair or confirmed diagnosis because the manufacturer and dealer stated the VIN is not currently included under steering recall coverage.
NHTSA complaint #11738608 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
1) The electric power steering system failed. The dashboard displayed the message “Service Power Steering Now,” and the steering assist stopped working, making the steering extremely stiff. The vehicle also lost reverse gear, where the engine revs but the vehicle does not move when shifted into reverse. The vehicle is still in my possession and available for inspection upon request. 2) When the power steering assist failed, the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn, which made the vehicle harder to control. This created a safety risk when attempting to turn or maneuver the vehicle in traffic or parking areas. Additionally, the inability to use reverse gear could create a hazardous situation if the driver cannot back out of traffic, parking spaces, or other areas. 3) The problem has not yet been inspected or confirmed by a dealership or independent service center. 4) No, the vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives, or other parties. 5) The dashboard displayed the message “Service Power Steering Now,” and the steering assist stopped working. The problem appeared suddenly when the vehicle was started. The steering immediately became extremely stiff, and the warning message appeared at that time. This failure created a serious safety hazard because the steering assist stopped working without warning, making the vehicle extremely difficult to control. A sudden loss of steering assist can increase the risk of a crash, especially when turning, parking, or driving in traffic. I am concerned that other drivers could experience the same sudden steering failure. The vehicle displayed the message “Service Power Steering Now,” and the steering immediately became extremely stiff. The vehicle is currently undriveable in reverse and difficult to steer safely.
NHTSA complaint #11722674 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I was driving on the freeway and the steering began to stiffen. I got to my destination and decided to check the tires for any ice or snow, thinking that might be why it was difficult to drive but there was no buildup. I made it home and parked the car. The next day, I can't even turn the steering and a warning comes up that says service power steering and advancetrac.
NHTSA complaint #11717622 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Bought this car less then a year ago with 38k miles and just last week after coming back from vacation my power steering system went while on the expressway. The advancetrac warning light came on and then the service power steering now. The steering wheel was impossible to turn and to make matters worse it was snowing out.
NHTSA complaint #11704889 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
on 10/27/25 my son was driving car (2011 Mercury Milan) and light came on dash and car suddenly lost all power steering. Luckily car was able to be driven to side of the road when steering went out. I went to the Ford recalls website and it indicated "Epas steering efforts" was on the website as requiring free service. This recall is specifically for loss of power steering in car. Electronic Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) systems provide variable steering assistance but can experience issues leading to increased steering effort and loss of control. Upon checking with dealer, this was to be fixed under safety recall bulletin 15S18. This was initially repaired in 2015 under that recall bulletin. This did not fix the issue as the car requires a power steering gear replacement for same issue. Warranties on this recall are not being honored and this is deceptive as the final repair did not correct the problem. Federal law dicates warrenties do not expire on safety recalls. Upon checking the ford recall website, Ford is now indicating it can be fixed under a "Customer Satisfaction Program" to cover the original safety recall which has already expired. Now I am faced with almost a $3k repair on a safety recall which was never fixed and not being honored by Ford.
NHTSA complaint #11696096 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The electric power steering has failed again this will make it twice in 18 months the last time it cost 1800 dollars to fix it know that only some of the 2010 Mercury Milans are on a recall list unfortunately mine is not on that list why because it is absurd that I should I have to make this repair for 1800 dollars again you cant safely drive this car it takes everything I have to turn the steering wheel
NHTSA complaint #11689597 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2010 Mercury Milan. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the "Service Traction Control" and “Power Steering Sensor” warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn to the left or the right. The contact was able to drive the vehicle back to the residence. The local dealer was contacted and sent an agent to the residence to drive the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the power steering assist had failed, and the steering gears and rack, and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 60,562.
NHTSA complaint #11679284 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My car was recalled for the steering control module issue in 2016, Recall 15S18 and 15N01. Brought it into my Ford dealer in 2016 and Ford declined to fix the steering control module repair. In 2016, car was well within the 10 year window and mileage restriction. Now, my car still is under 150K miles, is at 124,000. The power steering stopped working last week. The error message on dashboard states, power steering control error. Brought it into shop and mechanic diagnosed it as error with power steering control module and loss of power steering assist. Mechanic advised me to return to Ford as this problem was under recall 15V34. Ford refuses to repair my car as it is past the 10 year warranty window. If Ford would not have denied this repair in 2016, my car power steering control module would not have failed last week. Now my car is unsafe to drive. Ford should have fixed my car and now it is undrivable. They know that 2011 Mercury Milans have this issue and have abdicated responsibility for the safety of my car.
NHTSA complaint #11646548 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2011 Mercury Milan. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the power steering assist intermittently failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that the "Service Power Steering Now" message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The vehicle was then taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not under recall or warranty. The contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 124,000.
NHTSA complaint #11645325 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
I experienced a loss of power steering while driving and a dash display "Service Power Steering Now" and "Service Advancetrac". The messages started just before the failure. The lack of power steering was a risk to everyone as the car could only be turned with significant effort and not respond to quick movement. The dash messages are still on after a restart and the car cannot be driven because of safety. My independent mechanic confirmed the issue and fix to be a bad rack. He noted the rack part number is the same as the 2011 Milan, currently under recall for this issue. However, the 2010 is not included.
NHTSA complaint #11640467 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Steering went out on vehicle, very difficult to steer. Got it to the dealership, they say it is not in the recall. The power steering assist fault light came on and service advance trac. Is costing almost $1500 to fix.
NHTSA complaint #11637194 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2010 Mercury Milan. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 30-35 MPH, the steering wheel seized inadvertently. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contacted depressed the brake pedal and pulled over to the side of the road and parked the vehicle. The contact stated that upon returning to the vehicle, the vehicle was restarted, and the steering wheel was no longer seized, but the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact was able to drive the vehicle; however, the failure recurred while driving. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
NHTSA complaint #11625230 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2010 Mercury Milan. The contact stated while driving at approximately 45 MPH while turning the steering wheel to the right, the steering warning illuminated, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stopped and turned off the vehicle and the power steering function returned. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 126,000.
NHTSA complaint #11623168 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
started vehicle, "power steering assist fault" message appeared on dash message center, unable to turn steering wheel. Turn car off, waited, turn back on, message appeared again. tried an additional 3 times, same results. Had to leave the car where i was visiting.
NHTSA complaint #11617343 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
My power steering light came on and then immediately the wheel got tight. I was unable to turn the wheel and then eventually the car is un drivable. There is a lot of complaints about this happening to thousands of cars and it is still under investigation. Imagin someone jumps out in front of you and you are stopping and unable to maneuver your car out of the way. By the grace of God I was able to do so. Please advise me when this recall is open.
NHTSA complaint #11614194 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2011 Mercury Milan. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering functionality. A message indicating power steering failure was displayed. The vehicle was taken to several independent mechanics, where it was determined that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the repair of Ford Campaign Number: 15N01 could not be completed due to the vehicle's mileage. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
NHTSA complaint #11612496 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The contact owns a 2010 Mercury Milan. The contact stated that the power steering assist became inoperable. The driver was unable to turn the steering wheel. The contact stated that the steering wheel had seized. The vehicle was restarted, and the steering wheel operated as designed. The power steering assist fault and service power steering soon messages were displayed. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The local dealer was contacted, and the contact was referred to the Ford Warranty Department for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.
NHTSA complaint #11610808 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.