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Highway lane drifting

81K views 233 replies 74 participants last post by  Some Guy From NY 
#1 ·
Hey all,

My new Focus only has about 350 miles on it, about half of which are highway. I was wondering if anyone else has the following problem.

When driving on the highway, I feel it's a bit hard to keep the car in its lane. It seems like the electric steering "locks" the car into a "straight" line, but often times that "straight" path heads toward the lane divider. So I'll be going towards the left lane divider, then correct right, then head towards the right lane divider, then correct left, etc. etc. It never seems to just want to go straight ahead.

I wish car manufacturers would just keep electric crap out of cars. Unfortunately that's where the demand is. I ordered the base focus with the base radio because I'm a purist and like things simpler, way less problems. Reading all the MFT problems people are having seems to justify my decision. Unfortunately electric steering is not an option I can uncheck.

Hoping Ford will be able to troubleshoot this. But I was wondering if anyone else has noticed this yet.

Other than that I love this car.
 
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#2 ·
I've done quite a lot of highway driving and did not notice this at all. Pretty much always stays dead center and I don't even need to do the usual knee driving to move stuff around quickly. It could just be road conditions causing it to seem like it's pulling left or right.

I'm taking a 900 mile road trip next week, so I guess if it's there I'll notice it then, but I've already put like 1k miles on the car since getting it and I haven't seen this issue.

I do have the titanium with the sports package, maybe it has to do with the less stiff suspension?
 
#5 ·
I had the same situation when making a 4k trip a couple of wks ago. It seemed like the type road and wind conditions factored in. With light winds it seemed less noticeable. You're right..... the steering seems much more sensitive, At this point it doesn't seem significant but will mention it when taking it in for service. Will appreciate your feedback also.
 
#23 ·
4K trip?! Unless you drove to California and back that seems excessive.


Also, I have 3700 miles on my Titanium 5-door and I've never experienced a single problem like this, OP. My car keeps moving straight even when I gun it on the highway. It doesn't "lock" itself into any direction at all. Hit the dealer and complain.
 
#7 ·
Hey all,

My new Focus only has about 350 miles on it, about half of which are highway. I was wondering if anyone else has the following problem.

When driving on the highway, I feel it's a bit hard to keep the car in its lane. It seems like the electric steering "locks" the car into a "straight" line, but often times that "straight" path heads toward the lane divider. So I'll be going towards the left lane divider, then correct right, then head towards the right lane divider, then correct left, etc. etc. It never seems to just want to go straight ahead.
The EPAS steering gear has drift/pull compensation that is intended to mitigate some of this. Most roads have a crown so driving down a 2 lane road w/ a crown your vehicle will drift to the right, same thing in left lane of a highway.

Next time you sense the condition take note of the road crown to see if that explains what is happening. Switch lanes if you are on freeway to see if that changes condition. The drift/pull compensation should sense the slight steering input and null it out so you don't feel the pull on the wheel but only to an extent. Check your tire pressures to make sure that is not it, can also swap LF & RF tires to see if that resolves issue, tire conicity (one side bigger diam than other) can also cause a pull.
 
#8 ·
I'm not sure its alignment out youre pressure our uneven diameter if the car is pulling left and right... Its probably just more sensitive than youre used to. I'd give it more time so you and the car are more used to each other. If the problem persists then sew if the dealer can reprogram the EPAS.
 
#9 ·
I'm kinda glad I'm not the only one! Mine does it too & it's going back to the dealer on Friday. It's definiately something in the electric power steering because it doesn't do it all the time. It seems to start happening about a half hour or more into a long drive. The steering seems to lock in one position and when you go to move the wheel (either way) to make a slight adjustment, it resists until you put enough force into it to, and then it moves too much sending you to towards the other lane, it immmediately locks into that position and you can't make a minor adjustment to get back to center. You end up zigzaging in your lane for miles and miles. It's exhausting! We went on 1200 mile trip this weekend and had to change drivers every hour or so because of this. We pulled off at at rest area and I pulled the fuse for the steering module and it actually steered perfect (better than normal) for about a half hour and then it started up again. With my luck it won't do it when I take it to the dealer and they'll think I'm nuts!
 
#12 ·
I'm not sure what "15 feed" is, but you can't disable EPAS all together and drive the car. What's causing this something Ford Engineers programmed in as part of the EPAS called "Drift-Pull Compensation".

"The technology detects road conditions – such as a crowned road surface or crosswinds – and adjusts the EPAS steering system to help the driver compensate for pulling and drifting."

In a nutshell - another technological gimmick that tries to drive the car for you. And low and behold - it doesn't work - makes the car basically undriveable on the highway.

I guess our only option is to bring it up with the dealer and see what they say about it -- I may go straight to Ford on this issue - might be a more effective option at this point. Dealer probably has no clue this technology even exists -lol.
 
#13 ·
Mine does it too, to a degree. It has a somewhat 'notchy' feeling to it, like if I move the steering wheel just a bit one way it wants to move too much, as if the steering was done with large gears. Everyone once in a while I do find it difficult to keep it going straight, other times it's very smooth.

Guess it could be wind or something causing that drift whatever to kick in...it's been rather windy around here lately.
 
#15 ·
So my salesman called to "check up" and make sure I liked the car and I mentioned this problem to him. I'm going to take it in to the dealership on Monday. This weekend I'll do some extensive highway driving to make sure I can replicate it when I go for a drive with the technician.

The annoying thing about this problem is that it's not constant. My worry is that I'll go for a drive with the technician and it won't occur.
 
#17 ·
Ok so I've just driven another 100 miles on the highway. I've come to the conclusioon that the issue was pretty much in my head. But I will say this: the highway steering feels much different than driving around town. I have never driven a car that has electric steering like this, and am not accustomed to it yet.

I tried hard to keep the car in its lane and I was pretty much able to for the most part. The electric steering just feels funny some time but its actually not that big of an issue once you get used to it.

As of now I'm thinking that its not even an issue. Hope I didn't worry anyone too bad, lol.
 
#18 ·
Ok so I took my car out on the highway this weekend... This is what I noticed. Around 35mph or below the steering wheel is loose almost like no resistance. As I approached 60mph it got tighter and I could feel resistance. Imo it drove great, I could feel the steering more and gave me or felt like I had more control at faster speeds.

I thought it felt natural. Like how a steering wheel should feel. I would not want a loose wheel going 60mph+ and a stiff wheel around town.

If this was Ford's intention on the steering design they get a+ from me.
 
#20 ·
I was experiencing all of these things as well, but once I stopped over-thinking and just DROVE I didn't even notice it. :) My previous (and first) car was a 2000 Dodge Caravan handed down from my mother and it had an alignment problem that made it pull to the right. So I would automatically start pulling left, then correct myself, and I'd do that zig-zagging thing that other folks here were talking about, lol. I tricked myself into thinking that something was wrong, when really *I* was the problem.
 
#21 ·
So is there anything more to this? Anyone find anything to 'fix' this? This is quite possibly the most annoying thing I've experienced with a car...it's literally a chore to drive after 30 minutes or so. Plus I look like an idiot driving down the freeway like someone bowling with the gutter guards down.
 
#22 ·
Well my car now has over 800 miles on it. Most of it highway. I came from a car with hydraulic steering and there was definetley an adjustment period to the electronic steering. Especially on the highway.

While it can be annoying sometimes I basically have realized that is just the way the car behaves on the highway.

I've found ways to make it a non-issue.. namely:

-Drive with 2 hands on the wheel, 10 and 2.
-Make VERY slight adjustments to the steering wheel. It is very easy to "overcorrect" (thus causing the "drifting" effect) and I've found that very slightly nudging the wheel is the best way to correct the right amount. It's much easier to do this with 2 hands on the wheel.
-Don't overthink it. I think adjusting to the electric steering got me overthinking the way the car drives on the highway.

Granted maybe you do really have a problem, but ever since I stopped over thinking it, I've found it quite enjoyable to drive on the highway, for the most part.

I'd much rather prefer hydraulic, but what can you do. The world is moving to electric-assisted everything, so we will work with what you got.

That's the best advice I can give. Hope it helps.
 
#26 ·
Yes it was 4K miles by the time we visited relatives in iowa and ill plus trips to Grand Canyon, Mt Rushmore along with two visits to Col Springs.

For the most part no major problems but the steering took some getting used to. Much different than the hydraulics I was familiar with. Also we are having the dealer look into an annoying front end rattle which is most obvious at slow speeds over rough roads. It sounded at first like it was coming from the center console but after removing the side cover couldn't find anything significant other than some shoddy ductwork installation which didn't fit together that well. While talking about the hvac ductwork it was noted that the offset fittings under the front seat that direct air to the rear don't fit that well either and mine came loose on the passenger side when the seat was adjusted.

On the plus side the overall mpg was very good at over 40. average. There were times when we were running in the mid forties.

If anyone is experiencing or has resolved the front end rattling issue would appreciate hearing from you.
 
#27 ·
I'm still having issues, the dealer had my car for a week! I picked it up Friday and within 30 minutes the problem arose again, and I was only doing about 45mph this time on a regular road. I drove it all weekend to see if it was any better and it was not. It took 3 techs test driving it before one of them finally had it happen to them. Ford told him to check for binding in the steering column, all clear, so then tech was told to re-attach a ground wire somewhere and that was it. He took it for a test drive and all was fine, whick I believe, beacuse it is so intermitten. 95% of time it steers beautifully! Other times its just a minor notchy feeling, but once in a while it gets a little scary, to the point where I won't keep the car if they cant find a fix for it. I'll be calling the dealer again today to let them know the issue is still there and to see what the next step is. I'll keep you posted.
 
#28 ·
I assume this is not happening to everyone here but the fact that you keep saying "within 30 minutes" has me puzzled. Does it sometimes happen right away or does it always take close to 30 minutes? Once you reach the 30 minute mark, does it happen more frequently? If it were programing then everyone would have the exact same problem so that leaves whatever sensors that are used to detect an off center pull or some weird mechanical issue.
 
#29 ·
I would say it happens about 50% of the time around the 30 minute mark of a continuous drive. Sometimes it lasts a long time, sometimes it comes and goes. It's a very distinctive change in the way the steering feels. I've had friends in the car notice the jerky driving and then hold the wheel so they can feel it too. Sunday it didn't happen at all (which is rare), usuaually it happens everyday. But it rarely seems to happen right away after you've come to stop, and then take back off. I love everything else about this car and I hope that this is something that is fixable. One of these days I'm get a officer of the law behind me and he's gonna pull me over, it is that noticable when its going bad. lol.
 
#30 ·
Yes, it always happens for me after 30 minutes of freeway driving. Don't have too many roads by me that offer similar straight line/no stopping driving outside of freeways. 30 min isn't exact, but close to. Might be a bit longer.

But it NEVER happens right away.
 
#33 ·
Never had any drifting issue, but I definitely notice that this steering wheel has a lot less play in it than any car I've ever driven. Usually you can turn the wheel about a half an inch and it doesn't effect the car. With the Focus, every little movement can be felt for sure.
 
#37 ·
I've noticed this from the day I first bought the car and after watching my girlfriend drive it from the passanger seat I have come to the conclusion that all the electronic nanny's keep the car straight, so there is no need to physically adjust and compensate for bumps in the roads, cross winds, road elevation changes etc... The car makes corrections for us, no need to make small adjustments, just point it in the direction you want to go.
 
#38 ·
So was you girl friend able to keep it straight or was she snaking? I don't think it would bother me if the car corrected itself as long as the corrections resulted in a straight line.
 
#39 ·
I think it's a major placebo affect going on.. people are seeing people complain about things on this forum and then starting to think they are encountering the "same problem."

To be honest, I never noticed any highway lane drifting until I read this thread complaining about it then I started noticing that my car did drift but then I thought if I never noticed it before why all of a sudden now?

I'm sure the majority of the complaints are legitimate but like Engineer said, stop trying to oversteer and let it do it's work. I'd be curious to know how many people are driving with one hand and complaining about drifting.
 
#41 ·
I understand what you mean cappa, I guess it all depends on what type of roads you drive on. You won't notice it much if you're driving on smooth pavement. I'm up in New England where we have horrible roads due to the climate change. I definitley notice a big difference, especially since my car before this had no driver aids.
 
#43 ·
I noticed the lane drifting on the way home from picking up the car at the dealer.
It would drift left and as I made the correction I would feel a resistance in the wheel to my correction then the resistance would give but it would be difficult or impossible to not overcorrect. so then the car goes too far in the other direction. same thing again now, try to correct but there is a distinct resistance in the wheel that then gives way to another overcorrection. It's as if the wheel is preventing me from holding steady in a straight line. I have now put about 500 miles on the car and it is doing it less and less. Each time I drive it has less of that resistance to light input.
I am still however, feeling the engine stutter when pulling away from a stop. This too is getting better but it still has my attention as it (goes for the drifting as well) really ruins the driving experience of what seems like a great car.
 
#46 ·
I am having the same experience but now only sometimes. When it's not acting up you can literally drive with two fingers and the slightest pressure will center the car back in the center of the lane.
When it acts up, you get resistance which then sends you further towards the center line which you try to correct and then sends you to the edge of the road. The result is a ping pong effect and it gets tiring after 300 miles.

I've driven up north and back to the Twin Cities three times and it happened on the second trip going up and coming back. The only thing I think that was different was there was a good cross wind during that trip. What is strange was the resistance happens while correcting towards the left and the right regardless to the direction the cross wind is coming from.

When it does happen, it's usually begins 15 to 20 minutes and then seems to stop while I go through a town and then strange again it starts back up again after 15 minutes on the highway.
 
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