I was driving the vehicle down the highway when the steering went stiff and several lights on the dash came on. I immediately slowed down and struggled to steer the vehicle of the side of the road. Once to the side of the road, I called the dealer they acknowledged this a common problem in the new Explorer and that if I turned the vehicle off and restarted it would reset the system and to bring it to dealer immediately. I arrived at the dealer (after it happened a second time) where they informed I would need a new rack and pinion. I don't mind paying for the replacement part but this is a huge safety issue. If I had been going through a turn at those speeds, my kids and I would have been killed. If the dealer and Ford know there is a problem why hasn't there been a recall. Do we have to wait until someone dies?

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

Loss of power steering while driving - service advance trac & terrain mgmt system fault warnings has happened twice in the last 2 weeks. Problem clears after restarting car. Would be very dangerous if my wife or kids were driving the vehicle.

- Eagan, MN, USA

We purchased our vehicle in August 2011. In June of 2013 the power steering gave out. We dropped it off at our local Ford dealership on June 18. Two days later the mechanic informs me that they could not figure out what was wrong and had to call Ford Motor Company directly. They informed the mechanic that our vehicle's power steering rack (epas) needed to be replaced and it is not covered under the powertrain warranty. They charged us nearly $2000 to fix the car. Which was approx. 5% of the total cost of the car. The car was under 2 years old and only 53K miles. We feel ripped off and used. We are loyal Ford customers with this being our 3rd Ford in 10 years. We feel it should be covered under either a powertrain or manufacturers warranty.

- Silver Spring, MD, USA

While my wife was driving our 2012 Ford Explorer, the power steering went out and the "service trak system" error message appeared. She was on a major freeway and had to manually pull off the freeway to safety, which was very difficult with out the power steering. Once she turned off the car and restarted it, the error went away and power steering was normal. This is a dangerous situation when driving on a major freeway at or above 55 mph. This is the second time this has happened.

- Houston, TX, USA

I was driving in a parking garage and the terrain management system and power steering systems became disabled. The car was very difficult to handle once the power steering was lost. When I parked the car, shut the car off and restarted, the power steering appeared to be back but the terrain management system continued to show an error. I will be contacting the dealer today. I have seen similar complaints listed here - I hope Ford is addressing appropriately.

- Wethersfield, CT, USA

Power steering went out and service trac system error message appeared. Vehicle went into manual steering, which was so stiff, my wife was unable to steer the vehicle. After cycling the ignition, the car returned to normal. This concerns me as the safety of my family was at stake. If my wife had been on a busy highway, she might have been in an accident. Ford knows of this problem with their 2011 and up Explorer. Ford should recall these vehicles, as they pose a safety risk.

- Lagrange, KY, USA

I bought my 2012 Ford Explorer in January 2012, and had no problems for several months. Recently, when starting the vehicle the "power steering assist fault" warning started coming on. After turning off the ignition and re-starting the engine, the warning went away and I regained power steering. About 6 days ago, I drove 15 miles to work, and the same "power steering assist fault" warning came on and stayed on - even after recycling the engine. The "service advance trac" warning also stayed on and I lost the power steering. This is unbelievable, the dealer said that they had to replace the "power-steering gear box", and the part is two days away. I saw someone posted that Ford doesn't consider this a safety issue because you can still steer it. If I have trouble steering it, I hate to think what my wife or daughters would experience. This vehicle isn't like a regular full size car or truck, I am 6'2" and weigh about 270, and when the power steering failed, I could not steer it to park the vehicle in reverse. It was very difficult to steer at any speed under 5mph. If this happened while driving at speed, a person could lose control. This is obviously not a minor fix on a new car. Looking at the posts, Ford needs to address this issue asap. I asked the dealer what this repair would cost if it weren't under warranty. I was told a couple of thousand dollars. If he is correct, that is ridiculous on a 18 month vehicle. I didn't buy this to be a money pit.

- Jacksonville , FL, USA

I was driving when the steering wheel jerked. The steering immediately became very hard to operate and the engine appeared to lose power. Indicator lights came on about the same time the steering jerked. The lights said "service advance trac" and "terrain management system fault". I had to pull of the road and just trying to make to left turns to pull into a parking lot took all the strength I had in both arms. My turn signals would also not work. I even tried turning the 4 wheel drive knob, as I noticed that the lights were not working on that as well and nothing would light up or show up on the dash screen. I turned off the car while I pulled out my owners manual to look up information on these indicators. After letting the car sit for a while, I restarted the car and the indicator lights were still there. I called Ford road side assistance and had the car towed. I also was put in a rental car. Then today the Ford dealer told me that since my car had 47, 627 miles on it that this problem wasn't covered under warranty. They told me only if it happened in first 36,000 miles. They also said I would have to pay $1865 for a new rack and pinion steering or they would clear the code and I could chance it to see if it happens again. They said it was common and most times you just need to let the car cool down and restart it. This is very upsetting- they knew this was a common problem and then I investigated this further online and found many other people reporting the same issues. Some in just the first month of owning the vehicle. This is the same thing that happened to me with this vehicle and the engine fan not working causing the car to overheat in the first 6 months of owning it. Later I got a recall on it. This is very frustrating- I have a car that is 18 months old and I have to put $1865 into it to fix a common problem/defect. This is a serious defect!

- Ashburn, VA, USA

My wife was getting on the freeway with left blinker on to merge lanes and the power steering assist light came on the dashboard and then the power steering quit. My wife with a fully loaded car with kids on board was thankfully able to slowly muscle the car on to the shoulder. She then powered the car off and then restarted it which seemed to fix the problem. Luckily this incident did not happen on curvy road or there would have been a major accident. Ford, please fix this problem. Would hate to see someone get hurt and the Explorer name damaged all over again due to another very serious issue.

- Auburn, CA, USA

I was traveling at 55 mph on route 322 in pa. I was in the left lane, the car just turned off and the power steering fail light came on also the systemtrac error light came on. I had no steering. I had to pull in front of a semi in order to get to the side of the road. I almost got killed. It is currently at sloan Ford in columbia tn. They say it is the rack and pinion steering. The car is 1 year and 6 months old. How does the steering to so soon" they want to charge me 1900. I have looked online and there are many Ford Explorer from 2011 and 2012 with the same issue. This vehicle needs to be recalled. Why hasn't it been done yet"

- Spring Hill, TN, USA

I was driving the car down a busy highway when it turned off and I received a power steering fault warning. I had to pull of the road and almost got in an accident. After that the power steering would not work on the vehicle. It was impossible to turn. I googled this and noted this is a problem that you are looking at: This is from the huffington post: Federal safety regulators are investigating complaints that the power steering can fail on 2011 and 2012 Ford Explorer SUVS. Fifteen drivers have complained that the popular Explorer can suddenly lose its power steering assist, making it harder to steer the SUVS. It was extremely dangerous. I purchased this car a year and a half ago. Ford refuses to cover it because it has not officially been recalled. I am lucky I didnt get killed.

- Spring Hill, TN, USA

Lost power steering while driving. Two warning lights came on-terrain management system fault and service advance trac. Power steering returned after shutting engine of and restarting. Took to dealer and they found two warning codes on the computer, but Ford said problem had to be reverified before they could repair it.

- Manteca, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the engine was started and both the power steering and power assist warning lights illuminated as steering wheel became hard to turn. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who inspected the vehicle and located the failure at the rack and pinion, which failed due to an electrical shortage. The vehicle was not repaired because the rack and pinion was on back order. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 20,000.... updated 02/27/13 the steering rack and pinion was replaced. Updated 03/04/13

- Port Saint Lucie, FL, USA

While driving uphill on a narrow mountain road I lost all power steering assist with a simultaneous audible warning and a dash visual warning that my power steering assist had failed. With difficulty I was able to exit the road into a private driveway. I turned the vehicle off. In a few moments I started the vehicle again and everything functioned normally. I took the vehicle to my Ford dealer on or about September 10, 2012. They told me I needed a new steering assembly. It has been on back-order since then. No additional faults have occurred. The vehicle now has over 12,000 miles on it.

- Waterloo, IL, USA

I started my vehicle as usual, had just turned left off my street onto a two lane road, and approximately 0.25miles later I lost power steering. As I was accelerating from my turn, going approximately 40mph I felt the brake pedal pulsate and the steering wheel jerk a little. Immediately I had an alert on my dash "power steering fault." I attempted to press the brake pedal with no success and there was no resistance. I put it in neutral and coasted to the safest parking lot (approx. 1 mile). I shut the vehicle down and restarted but I still didn't have power steering however I regained brakes. I drove the dealership (3miles away). They shut the vehicle down then restarted and everything appeared to be operating correctly. Later after several test drives the Ford mechanic had my vehicle re-inact my same events for him.

- Grand Ledge, MI, USA

Ford Motor Company October 18, 2012 while driving my 2012 Ford Explorer, the power steering unit quit working as I was turning into the school parking lot. I almost hit a gate post and had to backup with a ten car line behind me. The steering continued powerless for the entire trip home, about ten miles or 15 minutes. After parking overnight in my drive, I started the SUV to drive to the dealership and the power assist steering worked as normal. This could cause a serious accident if turning a sharp curve and going into the other lane of traffic or traveling around one of the mountainous curves we encountered this summer, with no guardrail and a hundred foot drop into the pacific ocean rocks of the northern California coast. If an accident did occur the Explorer would check out to be mechanically trouble fee and the cause would be listed as operator error. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Richmond, VA, USA

Was driving on straight roadway when warning lights came on saying power steering assist failure and advance trac failure. Lost power steering, advance trac, blinkers, etc. Shutting vehicle down and restarting corrected the problem. Second time this happened. First time was approx. Two months prior while in reverse. Problem was corrected the same way and didn't think much of it until the second incident. Dealer said rack and pinion assembly needs to be replaced. Parts are on back order & may not be available until late October 2012. Serious safety issue. Ford needs to issue a recall.

- Sayre, PA, USA

Driving on rt 495 when the warning lights activated and a warning came on in the message center saying "service advance track." I started to pull over to the side of the road and discovered my power steering wasn't working. After I pulled over I stopped the car I looked in the message center I saw that the advance track wasn't selected. I tried to select it but wasn't able to. I turned the car off and back on a couple times and the problem cleared. Called Ford dealership and they didn't seem to want to help because "turning the car off and back on fixed the problem." I pushed them to get an appointment, they called me saying that the power steering module was bad and needed to be replaced.

- Charlotte Hall, MD, USA

Power steering assist was lost, suddenly and drastically increasing the strength needed to turn the steering wheel.

- Burbank, CA, USA

Power steering has failed on a number of occasions resulting in driver having to manually steer. Steering fails when auto in motion. Occurrence when speeds anywhere from 10-60mph. Very dangerous. One has to pull over (if possible) and turn off auto and then re-start. Issue has occurred four times in last month. Only 10,000 miles on auto now.

- Arlington, VA, USA