Power Steering Failure

[paramaniac]

Recently I've noticed an error and warning light appearing on my dash which reads "Assited steering failure". However the steering felt fine on every ocassion and I drove off normally. After a couple of seconds, the light and error went away. On full steering wheel lock whilst manouvering, I can also hear a slight whining noise.

Last night I started the car up and the same light and error was flashing on and off. At the same time I could hear and feel a knocking through the steering wheel which was in time with the light flashing. The steering was definitely not power assisted and was pretty much locked up. I turned off the ignition and restarted the car and the error/light were gone and the steering was normal.

I've read a couple of posts about the power steering pump becoming knackered and wondered if this was a likely culprit? Or could it be more?

Any info or experiences would be much appreciated.

Alex.

PS: It's a 2006 MK2 Focus 1.8 TDCI Zetec

[stef123]

Recently I've noticed an error and warning light appearing on my dash which reads "Assited steering failure". However the steering felt fine on every ocassion and I drove off normally. After a couple of seconds, the light and error went away. On full steering wheel lock whilst manouvering, I can also hear a slight whining noise.

Last night I started the car up and the same light and error was flashing on and off. At the same time I could hear and feel a knocking through the steering wheel which was in time with the light flashing. The steering was definitely not power assisted and was pretty much locked up. I turned off the ignition and restarted the car and the error/light were gone and the steering was normal.

I've read a couple of posts about the power steering pump becoming knackered and wondered if this was a likely culprit? Or could it be more?

Any info or experiences would be much appreciated.

Alex.

IIRC its electric power steering your car has? i.e, there is no power steering fluid resevoir?

[paramaniac]

(It's a fairly new vehicle for me so please pardon my ignorance!)

Yes just checked and their is no power steering fluid reservoir. The one I thought it was, is actually for brake/clutch fluid.

I take it that being an electric power steering system, there is no PAS Pump?

[stef123]

(It's a fairly new vehicle for me so please pardon my ignorance!)

Yes just checked and their is no power steering fluid reservoir. The one I thought it was, is actually for brake/clutch fluid.

I take it that being an electric power steering system, there is no PAS Pump?

no PAS pump but there will be an electric motor to assist the steering column/rack (not sure where it is tbh)

[H3lly]

There is a power steering reservoir on the mk2 focus. It went on one of ours last year. Keep checking the level of the power steering fluid level each you use the car and check for any leaks from the hose underneath. There was a burning electrical type smell in the car when this happened to ours and fluid all over the timing belt cover along with the gurgling type noise from the power steering pump. It will need a new power steering hose and clasp fitting to put right. There's a modified one available from ford when they where made aware of this fault.

[stef123]

There is a power steering reservoir on the mk2 focus. It went on one of ours last year. Keep checking the level of the power steering fluid level each you use the car and check for any leaks from the hose underneath. There was a burning electrical type smell in the car when this happened to ours and fluid all over the timing belt cover along with the gurgling type noise from the power steering pump. It will need a new power steering hose and clasp fitting to put right. There's a modified one available from ford when they where made aware of this fault.

yes there is, on the petrol variants

[paramaniac]

OK, so still likely to be an EPS system. I'm going to find out how much these motors cost.... gulp....

[stef123]

OK, so still likely to be an EPS system. I'm going to find out how much these motors cost.... gulp....

ouch, going by second hand ones on eBay they are not cheap. EPS motors

[stef123]

O/T for a second, i would love to be sad enough to spend the time disagreeing with every one of my posts on this thread but i would much rather try and help someone out..

a slight error is hardly the end of the world now is it? to some it is i guess

[poshpawsfiesta]

im my experience it could be one of two things , 1 wich happened on my dads 2009 focus was about 1 times out of 9 the steering light came on ( and the steering went rock solid) but the steering fluid and pump was fine its was just a fault with the electronics , it went into ford and got plugged in and reset or reprogramed.

or it could be what happened on my cousins 2006 focus a complete falure of the pump due to the pipes leaking steerring fluid and the pump over heated and seizing, and it needed a brand new system , so please check ur power steering fluid, ur car does have it as the steering is half hydralic and half eletric.

also my cousins car has always whined and squeled on full lock since the day he got it we got told thats normall :)

[paramaniac]

I've not really found any results for EPS motors. I just keep finding PAS pumps. I've come to the conclusion that the electric motor is actually built into the steering rack. See this link.

[poshpawsfiesta]

There is a power steering reservoir on the mk2 focus. It went on one of ours last year. Keep checking the level of the power steering fluid level each you use the car and check for any leaks from the hose underneath. There was a burning electrical type smell in the car when this happened to ours and fluid all over the timing belt cover along with the gurgling type noise from the power steering pump. It will need a new power steering hose and clasp fitting to put right. There's a modified one available from ford when they where made aware of this fault.

yup that to the letter is exactly wat happened to my cousins mk 2 focus and when we lifted the bonnet there was smoke everywhere, his whole engine bag was covered in fluid !!!

[paramaniac]

yup that to the letter is exactly wat happened to my cousins mk 2 focus and when we lifted the bonnet there was smoke everywhere, his whole engine bag was covered in fluid !!!

Were these petrol versions though? I can't find a steering fluid reservoir on mine which is a diesel. Where should it be situated if it has one?

[stef123]

i have only heard of hydraulic failures on the petrol models, hence why i thought the diesel was just an electric motor assisted type.

my brother who has a mk2 1.6 petrol has suffered the usual pipe/pump failure on his, covering the engine bay and half the road under his car in fluid.

[poshpawsfiesta]

Were these petrol versions though? I can't find a steering fluid reservoir on mine which is a diesel. Where should it be situated if it has one?

i have been looking on google for a pic but cant find one , but yes it was a 1.6 tivct , can u change your steering i.e sport normall comfort ??

[paramaniac]

i have been looking on google for a pic but cant find one , but yes it was a 1.6 tivct , can u change your steering i.e sport normall comfort ??

Yes one of the settings on the trip computer is for the steering setting.

[paramaniac]

Well I took the car into a local garage (not dealer) today and they had a look at it. As far as they could see there was nothing wrong and the fault didn't even show up, despite the fault showing up at least 10 times when starting the car on Saturday.

I've done a bit of research and it seems like it's a fairly common problem, especially with the C-Max. But annoyingly no-one seems to have a definitive answer as to what caused the fault, what was replaced and the outcome.

Apparently the car has part electric and part hydraulic power steering and no fluid reservoir. One garage said that if the pump has to be replaced, it has to be programmed into the car!?

I might get an auto electrician to look at it, short of taking it to the local Ford dealer.

[artscot79]

Well I took the car into a local garage (not dealer) today and they had a look at it. As far as they could see there was nothing wrong and the fault didn't even show up, despite the fault showing up at least 10 times when starting the car on Saturday.

I've done a bit of research and it seems like it's a fairly common problem, especially with the C-Max. But annoyingly no-one seems to have a definitive answer as to what caused the fault, what was replaced and the outcome.

Apparently the car has part electric and part hydraulic power steering and no fluid reservoir. One garage said that if the pump has to be replaced, it has to be programmed into the car!?

I might get an auto electrician to look at it, short of taking it to the local Ford dealer.

persoanlly the dealers if they have had this issue before will know where to look and will have a better idea than a non ford garage an auto electrivcian im afraid will be of little use as the electrics and hydraulics work together so he will only partially understand whats going on as he tests it i think the dealers the place to go and explain theres no codes showing but the light has been coming on with a knocking sound when i drove forklifts a hydraulic fluid leak would cauuse similer knocking sometimes even a kinked cable.

i havent found a post yet where anyone with youre issue has had a fix hopefully you get it sorted

[craigy]

Were these petrol versions though? I can't find a steering fluid reservoir on mine which is a diesel. Where should it be situated if it has one?

if you pull the drivers headlight out theres one behind there but you dont need to service or top up hth ive had same problem and mines 2006 tdci only happened once never done again i did read there was a recall on similar issue but i think it was for 2007 onwards something to do with replacing pipes i would give ford a ring and see if there was a recall on that issue for your model

[paramaniac]

Well it drove fine to work and back today, but tonight when I just wanted to nip out, same fault and this time no matter how many times I started the car, it wouldn't go away.

So it's now parked outside the local Ford dealership waiting for someone to look at it in the morning... gulp!

[craigy]

Well it drove fine to work and back today, but tonight when I just wanted to nip out, same fault and this time no matter how many times I started the car, it wouldn't go away.

So it's now parked outside the local Ford dealership waiting for someone to look at it in the morning... gulp!

let us know how you get on did you ask if there was a recall on this issue at all

[paramaniac]

Well I took the car to the local Ford dealership last week and they did a diagnosis which concluded that the electric power steering pump had a fault and needed replacing. They quoted me £600(!!!!!!!) all in to replace it. The diagnosis itself was £80.

However instead of getting Ford to do it, I've bought a 2nd-hand electric pump from a breakers yard and I'm getting a mate to fit it. I got the pump for £120 delivered and I'll let you know how much it cost to fit.

There has been some confusion as to whether my model of Focus has fluid or electric power steering because there's no fluid reservoir. Well it turns out that it has fluid contained in a reservoir that is actually attached to the electric motor. The motor pumps the fluid in and out which goes down to the steering rack and actually turns the wheels.

Looks like this:

[paramaniac]

Well it's finally sorted (for now.) I bought a 2nd-hand electric pump from a 2007 Focus at a breaker's yard and got a mate to fit it. £170 all-in instead of the £600 quoted by the Ford dealer.

[Ian R]

It will need a new power steering hose and clasp fitting to put right. There's a modified one available from ford when they where made aware of this fault.

Was there a service bulletin on this issue?

I just had to have a new pump and hose on my mk2 Focus and was wondering if I had any recourse with Ford :)

[emsyb77]

i have a focus 55 plate climate and my power steering pump failed on me the other day ,it started making a noise as i was steering looked under the bonnet and there was fluid all over the place its in the garage at the moment and have been told the bill is going to be approx £900!! cant believe this i only bought the car 10 months ago and it has 43000 on the clock,as well as the pump ,the pipes and the belts that have to be replaced also the alternator is full of oil so thats being done as well.this is the first time have owned a ford and i chose the focus because i thought it would be reliable!i have noticed a lot of you have had the same problem with the same year,has anyone ever been in touch with ford regarding this if so what was the reply?