Wanting the opinion of the guys on here. My wife has a 2013 Ford Escape with ~130k miles on it. The power steering just went out and local dealership told us it would be $3200-3300 to get it fixed. Based on KBB that is more than the car is worth for trade in (~$2400). And who knows what else may go wrong with it next...

Would you put the money into it to maintain no car payment or would you take the $3500 + a little on trade in to go towards a down payment? I know it is very dependent on our own financial situation but given the facts here, would you keep it? Buy certified used? New?

Anything else I'm not considering here? Any and all opinions are equally appreciated!

dtkprowler said:

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Wanting the opinion of the guys on here. My wife has a 2013 Ford Escape with ~130k miles on it. The power steering just went out and local dealership told us it would be $3200-3300 to get it fixed. Based on KBB that is more than the car is worth for trade in (~$2400). And who knows what else may go wrong with it next...

Would you put the money into it to maintain no car payment or would you take the $3500 + a little on trade in to go towards a down payment? I know it is very dependent on our own financial situation but given the facts here, would you keep it? Buy certified used? New?

Anything else I'm not considering here? Any and all opinions are equally appreciated!

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Bank the $3500. The down payment would save you... what... $35 a month on the payment?

Sell the car and go get a new/used ride for your wife.

If the car otherwise is in good shape... screw KBB (I'm not a fan) and have an independant get the car roadworthy, again.

Visiting a dealer after the warranty runs out? I'll stop there.

Thank y'all for the suggestions!

If I went and picked it up and it was working fine.... What would y'all make of that? It definitely was not working yesterday morning with check engine light on too. Now it's steering fine and no light

Did it throw a code?

Knowing why the light was turned on may help explain what the real issue is.

If it was a communication loss for example, you may have a wiring issue, possibly at a connection or module and not necessarily in the rack itself.

dtkprowler said:

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If I went and picked it up and it was working fine.... What would y'all make of that? It definitely was not working yesterday morning with check engine light on too. Now it's steering fine and no light

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It means you have a power steering leak. All the old fluid leaked out and you lost steering. The mechanic put fluid in to check things out. You'll have steering until the fluid runs out again.

Make of that info what you will.

except it is electric.

What code is it throwing?

It's a $500-900 part after core charge reimbursement. Definitely get a 2nd opinion from a legit independent shop.

Flaith said:

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What code is it throwing?

It's a $500-900 part after core charge reimbursement. Definitely get a 2nd opinion from a legit independent shop.

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Also, an independent shop will use an aftermarket part where the dealership is probably throwing in a genuine Ford part. Not necessary on a $2500 car.

Not a hard job with a lift and some tools. You will need an alignment after.

Could end up being 1/2 the price you were quoted, or less. Just parts if you have a gearhead friend.

At some point every repair is worth more than the vehicle is worth. I never use that as a guide. I have a 25 year old truck that has almost 500,000 miles. When I change the headlights, it exceeds its value. But I also know that I can't get another one and the same shape for what it's worth and I'd probably be spending 7-10k for one that is as mechanically sound.


Just evaluate if the vehicle is one you like, if so, fix it. Most local shops I've been to charge as much or more than dealers so get a second opinion but if the price is about the same, I always prefer OEM parts. On mine, most is discontinued so it's not a concern fit for a 2013 that may not be the case.

TexAg1987 said:

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except it is electric.

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I'm not familiar with this specific truck, but there are some electric PS systems that still run fluid. They just have an electric pump and a standard hydraulic rack.


If its a pure electric setup with no fluid I'd look at grounds, fuses, circuit breakers, and just plain old corroded or frayed cables as a first step.

Because it was bugging me I googled it and this was in the top responses.

https://www.fordescape.org/threads/2013-ford-escape-steering-failure.123261/

So could be a bad fuse (which would be good) or could be a fried module in the rack (which would be bad).