B1342: owner reports and bulletins
Got B1342 on your scanner? Tell the mechanic your year, make, model and any symptoms and you'll get the likely cause and what to check first. Ask about this code.
What owners report to NHTSA
29 complaints filed with NHTSA mention B1342, 26 of them since 2015, across 10 different models. The component owners most often filed it under: steering.
Most-reported models
| Vehicle | Complaints | Model years reported |
|---|---|---|
| FORD ESCAPE | 15 | 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
| MERCURY MARINER | 4 | 2008, 2009 |
| FORD FUSION | 3 | 2010, 2011 |
Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaint database and manufacturer communications file, snapshots September 2026. A complaint or bulletin that mentions a code is a report about that vehicle, not a statement that the code has one cause.