U3000 fault code: what 83 owners reported

My 2014 Ford Explorer experienced a serious electric power steering failure. While driving, the vehicle displayed “Power Steering Assist Fault” and the steering became extremely difficult to turn due to loss of steering assistance. I was driving with my child in the vehicle when this occurred. I believe this created a potentially life-threatening situation. If I had needed to make an emergency maneuver or avoid another vehicle or obstacle, I may not have been able to control the vehicle normally. I could have been killed and my child could have been seriously injured or killed. The Power Steering Control Module was scanned and produced these DTCs: U3000-96 – Control Module: Component…

Failed part: Electronic Steering Gear Assembly. Starting January 15th 2026 this car began having steering problems, since then it has occurred 2 more times. I immediately determined this car was undrivable because it seemed to be locked but in each situation (1) I was parked along side a curb in (2) a parking lot (3) or in other non-dangerous locations. Had I been driving on a street or highway I am certain I would have crashed. The first time this occurred I stopped turned off the engine, restarted it which unlocked it so I was able to continue safely, in the following 2 incidents this action did not work. On one occasion I stopped at a Ford Dealership & Service Center, described the issue…

Our 2012 Fusion suffered a sudden loss of power steering, was diagnosed with code U3000 at a Ford dealer, and that the dealer confirmed it matches the 15S18 recall symptoms despite being built two months outside the window. Our vehicle was manufactured at the Hermosillo plant in 2012, just two months outside the 15S18 recall window. It suffered an identical, sudden loss of power steering assist while driving, indicating Ford's recall parameters failed to capture all vehicles fitted with the defective component.

I lost power steering while driving. The wheel is locked up and will not steer at all. I was placed in a dangerous situation that could have led to the harm of myself and others. There was not any warning lights or previous issues it just stopped working all together. I took the car to shop and the diagnostic said the steering angle sensor needed to be replaced it was and the issue was not fixed. The code still read internal steering module failure. Code: U3000-96

On 10-20-2026 while driving at highway speed of approximately 65 mph on a mountainous curving road, the steering became noticeably hard and the vehicle gave a Steering Assist Fault Service Required warning. Slowing down to a stop to park the steering was very hard. The Warning was dismissed, but reappeared on the dash withing 5-10 miles of driving. After shutting off the Truck for 30 minutes, I drove directly to a Ford Dealership. On the way there, the Steering Assist Fault warning came back on. The truck has 39,206 miles and is just barely out of warranty. The Dealership checked for weak failing 12 volt battery, loose or corroded ground/terminals and software updates and found none of these…

Steering Service Fault and Avancetrac Service popped up while driving, vehicle has 110k miles. Lost all power steering, so we pulled off into the closest parking lot. Code U3000 pulled up with a code reader, waiting to have vehicle towed to Ford for a solution.

The power steering system is continually giving Power Steering Assist Failure and Service Advance Trac. The code U3000 was identified by Ford technician. This code is found in a Ford recall 15S18, my VIN is not included in this recall. The power steering quits working while the car is driving. The problem was confirmed through codes U3000 and Coo51 by Ed Morse Ford in Lebanon, MO. There was no accident to involve police or insurance representatives. Warning messages are mentioned above.

As I was driving I lost power steering and almost crashed the car. A red alert and sound on the dashboard told me “steering assist failure service vehicle”. Also the light on the dashboard for steering was illuminated. I was able to barely drive the car home (approx 3 miles). Took to my local mechanic and had the error code: u3000 49-08 Driving the car by my husband in our neighborhood resulted in the same problem including the warning sounds and message. He was able to restart the car and the steering was fine and was able to drive it back to its parking spot. Took the car to the Sheehy Ford dealer today and am being told it is a 3k repair to replace the rack and pinion.

The forward-facing camera module and related Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), including Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist. The system has failed repeatedly, with the camera replaced three previous times. On XXX, the vehicle performed unintended hard braking at approximately 70 mph on the interstate, after which Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keep Assist became inoperative. Similar hard-braking events followed by system failure also occurred approximately one month prior to the most recent previous failure. The dealership (Confidence Chevrolet Buick GMC in [XXX]) has confirmed the forward-facing camera and ADAS failures on multiple occasions. The camera module has been…

Components: rear vision camera display, front camera module/lane keep assist, and the center infotainment/navigation screen. The vehicle is currently with the dealership. Failures: The rear camera image intermittently distorts into a severe fisheye view, so I cannot judge distance or what is behind the truck when backing. Lane keep assist intermittently will not activate. The center screen freezes, becomes unresponsive, makes phantom inputs, overheats, goes black, and reboots on its own, cutting off navigation while driving. Safety risk: A distorted backup camera creates a risk of striking pedestrians, children, or objects when reversing a full-size pickup. Losing lane keep assist removes a…