2009 Mercury Mariner Steering Problems

My vehicle was returned to me following a torque sensor replacement on 4/9/2026 in poor condition (locked steering and a catastrophic gash in the driver-side tire) rendering it undrivable and unsafe. Crossroads Ford of Prince George shop's inspection report claims the tire damage was pre-existing, I have conclusive evidence to the contrary: Virginia State Inspection: My vehicle passed a Virginia state safety inspection on 2/27/2026. Per state law, any tire with a gash or sidewall crack is an automatic failure. This legally certifies the tire was intact immediately prior to their service. Recent Tire Service: I replaced my rear tires at OK Tire and Auto on 3/30/2026. At that time, a full tread and sidewall inspection of my front tires confirmed they were in good condition. The timing of the dealership's communication confirms the damage occurred while in their care: I arrived for my 9:30a appointment around 9:25a. No damage was noted during the initial intake. I was in their facility when I watched a mechanic drive to the other side of the service parking lot without being informed of a "catastrophic" safety issue. I was only notified of the gash at the end of the day when the vehicle was scheduled for return. Their staff now deems the vehicle "unsafe to drive" for their own employees. If this gash were present at 9:30am, it would have been told to me before I left the dealership. The locked steering is a direct result of an improper torque sensor installation (which is the reason why I was dropping my car off to be serviced). My car was in driving condition as I drove it to the dealership for my appointment with no issues. I received a call from advisor Sade Gregory at 11:03 informing me that I would need a steering column now that is on backorder. At 11:13am I received a confirmation for car delivery to me then at 1:06pm confirmation that my car will arrive at my house at 1:15. At 1:20 Sade Gregory says my car can't be delivered now because its unsafe for them.

The contact owns a 2009 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds on several occasions, the steering wheel started shaking abnormally. The contact added that on several occasions while driving at undisclosed speeds, the vehicle lost power steering functionality, but the vehicle regained power steering functionality shortly afterwards. The "Power Steering Assist Fault" message was displayed on one occasion. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 117,900.

The power steering stopped working. A note did appear to let me know it wasn’t working. I took it in to the mechanic and he confirmed the power steering wasn’t working.

My steering has been locking while I am driving and causing loss of steering and control of car. I have contacted crossroads dealer and I have not gotten a response as I am now aware there has been a safety recall on this vehicle.

Vehicle notification stating Power Steering Assist Fault. Power steering locked up on highway going 60 mph while a child was in vehicle and vehicle was extremely hard to get off the highway. Parkway Ford of Pampa, Tx would not honor recall as VIN was not pulling up a recall. But a different auto mechanic repair shop did verify it was a recall.

Power steering failure on may 26th and 27th upon start up. Had to disconnect battery terminal to reset torque sensor

The contact owns a 2009 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring an increased effort to maneuver the vehicle. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering); but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

Unknown

Power steering stopped working completely.... was taking a turn and the steering became stiff and shook a little and went back to normal. Parked the car. started the car 2 hours later and steering completely stiff... no power steering. a quick google search of this common issue will tell you : Ford owners forum groups with the same issue, complain that Ford apparently only did reprogramming and did not replace the actual part causing the issue, when checking the codes, it did not show the failure yet, so they reprogrammed the unit to check the box Ford completed the safety recall. Recall 14V284000: Loss Of Power Steering Assist NHTSA Campaign ID Number: 14V284000 "STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM" (5/28/2014) Summary: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner vehicles manufactured August 18, 2006, through September 11, 2010. The affected vehicles have a steering torque sensor that may not be able to properly detect driver steering input. As a result, the system could remove the Electric Power Steering (EPS) assist. Consequence: If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash. Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will update the software for the power steering control module (PSCM) and the instrument cluster module, free of charge. If a vehicle shows a history of a loss of the torque sensor signal or fault codes relating to the PSCM when the vehicle is brought in for the recall remedy, the affected components will be replaced, free of charge. The recall began on July 18, 2014. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-800-392-3673. Ford’s number for this recall is 14S05. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

This is an update to the complaint from June- Because I have to compensate manually for the electric power steering, I’ve aggravated upper back injuries and strained hip muscles I incurred from work. I have to attend physical therapy for those injuries now, but it’s useless if my only mode of transportation prolongs my recovery.—— My 2009 Mercury Mariner’s steering wheel started locking up 3 months ago, and it’s hard to get the steering wheel and the tires to agree on one direction. I looked up the make and model to see if there was a safety recall for it and there was, but my VIN wasn’t included in the recall campaign, even though it fits the criteria exactly. ///Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner vehicles manufactured August 18, 2006, through September 11, 2010. The affected vehicles have a steering torque sensor that may not be able to properly detect driver steering input. As a result, the system could remove the Electric Power Steering (EPS) assist.

The contact owns a 2009 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated that while her son was driving at various speeds, the vehicle intermittently experienced a loss of power steering assist. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

The power steering on my vehicle has failed and the repair shop stated there is an expired recall for the steering on this vehicle from 2014. I bought my vehicle (2009 Mercury Mariner) 1 year ago. VIN: [XXX] . INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2009 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated while driving 30-35 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle after 15-20 minutes, and the power steering became functional. The contact was able to continue driving. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times while driving. The dealer was contacted and charged a fee for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 131,000.

My 2009 Mercury Mariner’s steering wheel started locking up 3 months ago, making it impossible to drive. I looked up the make and model to see if there was a safety recall on it, and there was, but my VIN wasn’t included in the recall campaign, even though it fits the criteria exactly. ///////////Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2008-2011 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner vehicles manufactured August 18, 2006, through September 11, 2010. The affected vehicles have a steering torque sensor that may not be able to properly detect driver steering input. As a result, the system could remove the Electric Power Steering (EPS) assist.////

Months back there were times the power steering would go out, it would be for short amount of times and always came back. As of 40+ days ago the power steering has totally gone out and has not once come back. The dash says "power steering assist fault" The other issue is the wrench on the dash. It's normally after driving for quite some time. Even if there has been a break on the car while grocery shopping etc. when it comes on the car goes into limp mode. VERY DANGEROUS as we cannot tell when it'll happen. There has been multiple times the light turns green we take off, get to about 15-20MPH and she just stops. The dash reads to safetly pull over and I believe it says to shut off the car. This has been happening for 5+ months. There is also random over heating when that happens. This is based on how I remember it. Because of the safety issues I have not driven the vehicle. My husband drives it because he can handle no power steering better then me... Not that it's better for anyone to use..

The contact owns a 2009 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated that the steering wheel was locked. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed. The dealer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer for assistance. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering) however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

The contact owns a 2009 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the steering wheel was jerking independently. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the power steering assist failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that the power steering warning light was illuminated. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

The contact owns a 2009 Mercury Mariner. The contact stated while driving around a traffic circle and making a left turn at approximately 20 MPH, the power steering failed to function as intended. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact stopped the vehicle and turned off and restarted the vehicle however, the vehicle failed to regain power steering functionality. The contact drove the vehicle to the residence. The vehicle had not been diagnosed by the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V284000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 175,000.

Purchased used car in what appeared to be very good condition. Within a few months, Power Steering Failure. Very difficult and dangerous to drive without power steering. Need car for work.

About 3 months ago, my power steering started to fail. After researching to find out the problem, we learned that my car does not have a power steering pump, as it is electronic. I learned that my car had a recall from Ford pertaining to the power steering failing. I called Ford and they told me that my car was part of the recall and was "fixed" in 2015. A month ago I took it to a Ford dealership to have them do a diagnostic on my car and they informed me that it was my power steering torque sensor, which I already knew this by researching the issue. The issue now lies in the fact that the part is on back order and there is no available date. I believe that Ford should have replaced the parts needed instead of doing a "bandaid fix" by doing a software update, which they knew would not be the fix to the problem. Ford got away with not fixing something that is very dangerous to those who drive the Mercury Mariners. Mine is an 2009 and it is now dangerous on the highways to drive. I would like to add that while driving my car now with this issue, my battery light comes on, which is also a known issue to Ford.