2011 Mercury Milan Problems

What owners report

Owners of the 2011 Mercury Milan most often describe losing power steering assist while driving — the wheel suddenly becomes hard to turn and a "Service Power Steering" message appears — with many saying their vehicle was not covered by the related recall. A second common theme is sudden loss of throttle response, where the car drops to a limp mode, a wrench light comes on, and restarting sometimes restores normal operation. Rear tail and brake light failures are also frequently mentioned, along with air bag recall parts that owners say were never made available.

1. 1
   Steering

   Power steering assist cuts out

   • 61 complaints (32%)
   • median 110,000 mi at 8.0 yrs old (47 state mileage)
   • owner-quoted repair $1,600 (median of 8 quotes)
   • filed 2013–2026

   Owners describe the electric power steering assist dropping out without warning, sometimes at highway speed and sometimes on startup, leaving the wheel very hard to turn. A "Service Power Steering" or "Power Steering Assist Fault" message is usually displayed, often along with a traction-control message. Complaints say the assist sometimes returns after restarting the car, while other times it stays off; dealers reportedly quoted steering gear or rack replacement, and several owners say their vehicle was not included in the related steering recall. Reported across a wide mileage range, from under 40,000 miles to well past 150,000 miles, at both low and highway speeds.

   Recall 15V3400003 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask whether the steering recall was performed and whether the steering gear has been replaced; on a test drive, listen for unusual steering noises and confirm the power steering warning does not appear on startup.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “While driving the vehicle a warning came on stating power assist failure. Car had manual steering only. The first time it happened it went away when the car was restarted. No such luck this time, warning stays on and no power steering. Luckily I was on straight roads both times. I see there was a recall on this but the dealership says there is none??”

   NHTSA complaint #11323895, filed 2020-05, 35,700 miles

   “2011 Mercury Milan with eps steering. We had partial then full loss of power steering in vehicle when driving, luckily we were not traveling at high speeds and were able to control. After bringing to the dealership we are told that the entire eps power steering needs replacement. There was confusion at first because the service department thought it was a recall item. But after some checks, the date of manufacture was not covered. …”

   NHTSA complaint #11101223, filed 2018-06, 130,000 miles
2. 2
   Vehicle speed control

   Sudden loss of throttle / limp mode

   • 46 complaints (24%)
   • median 45,700 mi at 2.8 yrs old (40 state mileage)
   • owner-quoted repair $430 (median of 5 quotes)
   • filed 2012–2017

   Complaints describe the accelerator suddenly going unresponsive while driving, often with a wrench or engine light appearing and the vehicle slowing on its own. Owners commonly say turning the car off and restarting restores normal driving, at least temporarily, and some had the throttle body replaced or cleaned. Several report dealers could not duplicate the problem or find stored codes. Mostly reported between roughly 35,000 and 55,000 miles, often at steady speeds around 35-65 mph.

   4 related service bulletins

   What to check: Ask whether the throttle body has been replaced or cleaned and whether any wrench light or throttle-related codes were stored; a scan tool check for pending codes is worth doing.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “Driving down a busy road and car went into limp mode, gas pedal not responding. Almost got rearended because the car slowed down and I had my 8 month old granddaughter in the vehicle. Took it to autozone and they ran a diagnostic said it was the electronic throttle sensor problem. Read online where this is a recurrent thing going on but no recall yet. What is it going to take someone or alot of people dying for this to be recalled? …”

   NHTSA complaint #10536568, filed 2013-08, 37,102 miles

   “I was driving down a local road at about 35 MPH. All of a sudden, without warning, I could not get my gas pedal to do anything, like it was out of gear, and the engine seemed to be sputtering. I pulled off the road, shut the car off and after a few seconds, restarted the car, it restarted and drove fine. It did the same thing again the next day. It has happened a number of times since the first time... Happening about once per day. …”

   NHTSA complaint #10551242, filed 2013-11, 41,000 miles
3. 3
   Exterior lighting

   Rear tail/brake light assembly failure

   • 26 complaints (14%)
   • median 48,156 mi at 4.0 yrs old (23 state mileage)
   • owner-quoted repair $400 (median of 15 quotes)
   • filed 2013–2025

   Owners report that a rear tail or brake light stops working or flickers on and off, and later may stay lit continuously. Complaints describe the lights as sealed LED assemblies that cannot be serviced with a bulb, so the fix is replacing the whole unit, which owners say dealers quoted at several hundred dollars each. Several mention checking with the dealer or the manufacturer and being told it was not covered. Reported from around 30,000 to over 140,000 miles, usually appearing as intermittent flickering before full failure.

   2 related service bulletins

   What to check: With the lights on and the brake pedal pressed, check both rear lamps for flickering, staying lit, or not working, and ask whether any coverage or replacement of the tail lamp assemblies has been done.

   2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

   “The driver's side brake light began flickering after the car was parked. I was also informed after this was noticed that it flickers (gets brighter) while driving. The passenger brake light also stayed brightly illuminated last year, and I was told it would be over $500 to replace the light assembly. Fortunately, my vehicle sustained an accident and the passenger light was damaged further and replaced. Now a defect is occurring on the driver's side.”

   NHTSA complaint #10745042, filed 2015-07, 93,000 miles

   “Right rear brake light doesn't work at all now. Had been working off and on for several months but every time I had it looked at, it worked. Now completely inop. Took car to harold zigler ford in elkhart for recall 19s01 and they looked at brake light and said I needed the complete housing replaced for over $400???? Looked up recall 14m03 for this very problem. This is a safety hazard and I need it fixed under this recall asap. Why didn't dealership offer this fix? Thank you I. Advance for your help”

   NHTSA complaint #11191116, filed 2019-03, 131,500 miles

Buying note. A 2011 Milan is worth checking carefully on steering operation and any stored power-steering or throttle codes before purchase, and confirming air bag recall status by VIN. Budget for possible rear lamp assembly and brake hydraulic repairs given the ages and mileages in these complaints.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.