2013 c max sel Happened to me on a road trip from Vegas to Park City, Utah. Dealer in Pk City is replacing the rack. Fault code was c102d excessive friction in steering rack. Here is how the steering assist system works - if a fault develops you will get a steering assist service message. The pwr steering will still work. On the next key cycle, I.e. Switch off and on again, the pwr assist will be disabled. Your best option is to keep driving to the nearest Ford dealer without switching off. The car can be driven without pwr assist but it takes a fair amount of strength to steer at low speed. Women may find that bit too challenging.
