Hey everyone, so on my drive in to work on Tuesday I was going down Highway 290 near Austin, TX when I got a warning message saying "Service AdvanceTrac" and then "Service Power Steering". My engine was still running fine, but I had no power steering. I was able to drive it off of the highway and park it nearby and then had it towed.

Now my frustrations begin, where it broke down I had the option between 3 dealerships that were all 10-20 miles away. I called all three and two of them said they wouldn't be able to look at it until the following day, the third said they could look at it the same day, but they were the furthest away (Double the cost of the tow fee). So I called the nearest dealership (Maxwell Ford in Austin) back and took their 11 am appointment on Wednesday (Yesterday). Had it towed there, met with the service adviser (Hunter) and he said they would try to look at it Tuesday but they were super busy and it probably wouldn't be until the appointment I had on Wednesday, No problem I could see they were in fact really busy.

So 11 o'clock comes and goes, no news. I call for an update at 1 pm and was told it hadn't been diagnosed yet and that Hunter would call me back. Called again at 3, still had not been looked at, and now they think it's an F-250? Called at 5 pm to find out what's going on, this time I'm told they can't find my truck and once again they think it' an F-250. I'm also now told that they shouldn't have given me an 11 am appointment because they knew they were 3-5 days backlogged with a ton of recall cars they have to work on.

Meanwhile, I can't get a loaner car or warranty covered rental until they diagnose the issue, but they won't diagnose the issue for another few days. Fortunately my boss is cool with me working from home, but this would have been great to know when I made my decision on where to tow it, I would of had my truck back by now if I hadn't taken it to Maxwell Ford.

So we finally talk to our service adviser last night (We actually asked for a manager and they gave us Hunter instead) and he said that he think's it's probably going to be an issue with the throttle body. I'm really not that knowledgeable about how vehicles work so I could be way off here, but can someone explain how a throttle body would cause only the power steering to not work? I get that if there was a bad throttle body and my engine dies that I will lose power steering, but in my case only the power steering stopped working. Hunter also said that he never agreed to an 11 am appointment for the truck to be diagnosed, that appointment was for us to talk with Hunter. What? An appointment to talk with the person that we talked to the day before when we dropped the truck off, signed all the paper work, and explained the issue? What were we going to do at this appointment that hadn't already been done?

Anyways, now we're hoping they look at it today so we can at least get a loaner car. I'm hoping someone on here knows more about this and can tell me that I'm wrong and that there is some way a throttle body could cause only the power steering to stop working? Also, if there's anybody from the Austin area I'm curious if any of you have had a good experience with one of the other dealerships service department?

Thanks y'all!

Rob

 

Power steering is electric on these trucks. No more hydraulic power assist. Did you try shutting off the truck and restarting it? I've never heard yet of a failed electric steering on an F150.

It's like you have to have a complete electrical system failure! Could you still steer? What did it feel like?

Even though the throttle is electronic I don't see how that would prevent the steering from working.

 

Question for the dealer: Have you validated the EPAS rack is good?

EPAS steering racks on our trucks are prone to failure more so than standard hydraulically racks it would appear.

 

Sounds like an EPAS failure to me. unfortunately, it is more common than it should be considering the cost of repair. Good thing your under warranty.

 

beaker80, I could still steer but it was like trying to turn a cruise ship. Before I had it towed I did try restarting it and even pulled the battery off for 10 minutes, no such luck.

Just heard back from the dealer, they say that they have to replace the steering gear which is going to run me just under $1600. Tried to see if a local mechanic could do it any cheaper but his cost was about the same so it is what it is I guess. We had the CPO warranty but that has expired so all that we have left is the power train which does not cover this. Oh well, wish I knew how to fix it but this one is beyond my mechanical abilities.

 

Oh man. That sucks. I have a 2011 and I hope it doesn't go out on me.

joedotmac; scary video if it does go!!!

 

Hey Rob,

What's the mileage on your truck? Please send me a PM with your full name, phone number, and VIN; I'll check out available options.

Rachel