FORD FLEX Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Flex. The contact stated while his granddaughter was driving 10 MPH and attempting to leave a parking lot, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. After the failure occurred, the "Power Steering Assist Fault" message was displayed. The vehicle was parked, and then the contact drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic. The contact was awaiting a diagnostic test from the independent mechanic but was informed that the rack and pinion might need to be replaced and the power train control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact researched online and became aware of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 15V340000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000.

I was driving around 55 and suddenly lost control and fish tailed to the right, then to the left over the center line, then back to the right. Luckily no other vehicles on the road. The rear driver side toe link broke. I discovered there's a recall for this exact problem with the exact possible worst case scenario that I went through. [FORD RECALL CODE: 2oSo4] This recall includes "2013-18 Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT vehicles built at Oakville Assembly Plant, Sept. 12, 2011, to June 1, 2017" My vehicle was manufactured at the same plant in 02/12 but for some reason is not qualified. I think my 2012 model needs to be included in this recall, obviously. I talked with Ford Dealer and Ford Customer Service and they said they would pass this info to NHTSA. I had both links replaced at a local mechanic and hope to get reimbursed in the future.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Flex. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, the steering wheel stiffened while attempting to steer the vehicle to the left. The power steering failure message was displayed. The contact used excessive force to steer the vehicle to the shoulder of the highway where the vehicle remained. The contact called the dealer and was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V340000 (Steering). The contact was referred to the manufacturer who then referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

Vehicle power steering will stop working while driving and notification of (power steering assist failure) will appear. Vehicle becomes extremely unsafe to operate as the steering wheel is very difficult to move. I reached out to Ford and was advised that the recall for this was already repaired and a second recall was opened for vehicles that still had the issue. They advised that the recall only extended the warranty to 10 years and my vehicle is a few months past the 10 year mark with exceptions only made for mileage. My vehicle only has 48,000 miles.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Flex. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel started to wobble back and forth then up and down. The contact stated that the steering wheel started to shift upward and downward. No warning lights were illuminated. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

Recall on power steering rack and pinion but my model didn't get covered in this recall and this the second time my service advance track came on and it's totally hard to turn my steering and I took it to Ford dealership in merced ca just to see if the cam turn off my service advance traction they said no because the rack and pinion is bad. . .....

Complete loss of power steering and steering effectiveness. Warning message on display said “power steering assist fault”.

Bad design of water pump , under parts would fail one day , but the water pump is a bad design. It failed too soon and hurt the engine. Also lots of work to fix it. But even if it get fixed the problem is still there...bad water pump

I am writing you in regards to NHTSA # 20V-072, Ford Recall # 20S04. I own a 2012 Ford Flex. It was not included in this recall. The recall included Ford Flex years 2013 through 2018. Though my SUV wasn’t included in the recall for the defective toe links, my SUV’s toe links were found to be defective on June 1, 2015 at Taylor Ford in Michigan. At that time my vehicle had 56,071 miles on it and was still under warranty. My toe links were replaced with part 5A972 which is the same part that is now the cause of Ford Recall 20S04. On 11-6-21 we took my SUV, with 96,930 miles, into Belle Tire for brake work and tire rotation. At that time we were told that the toe links were defective and needed to be replaced and that my tires were bad and needed replacement too. The tires and toe links had been replaced at Ford 40,859 miles prior! At this point we investigated and found the recall for the toe links. We had never been notified by Ford even though part 5A972 which was later found to be defective, had been put on our SUV in 2015. A Ford Part Employee has confirmed that this part is defective. The defective part is a welded part and the part Ford is using to replace this part is a forged part. Defective toe links are very dangerous. The defect can cause loss of steering/control of SUV. I have contacted multiple levels of Ford Customer Care with no response and no assistance offered. My SUV is currently at a Ford Service Center waiting for Ford to respond so that my SUV can be repaired. I'm unable to drive while waiting because this is very dangerous. It is also very expensive to repair.

The water pump has faliure and is causing expensive repair. It seems to be a know defect. We some pending law suits.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Flex. The contact stated while rolling down the driver’s side window, she noticed some resistance and black marks at the bottom of the window. The contact stated that the seal around the window was deteriorating. The contact also stated that the failure was occurring on all the windows. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 170,000.

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Flex. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed and repaired however, the failure recurred and persisted. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was informed of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 126,828.

MY VEHICLE WAS MANUFACTURED JUST A FEW MONTHS SHY OF A RECALL FOR BAD TOE LINKS IN THIS MAKE AND MODEL. I HAVE HAD MY CAR DIAGNOSED WITH HAVING BAD TOE LINKS AND WOULD LIKE TO SEE ABOUT GETTING MY VEHICLE INCLUDED IN THE RECALL SINCE IT WAS MANUFACTURED AROUND THE SAME TIME AS THE VEHICLES INCLUDED IN THE RECALL.