10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 6 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 5 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 70,504 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle, the steering wheel was locked. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle per the owner's manual; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering gearbox needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered under NHTSA Campaign Number:?14V286000 (Steering) because the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 138,800.
- Augusta, GA, USA
Power steering (EPAS) has failed with no explanation
- Pleasant City, OH, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 15-20 MPH and pulling into a parking lot, the steering wheel became inoperable, and the vehicle stalled. There was an unknown red light displayed. The contact stated that the failure was related to Customer Satisfaction Program: 15N01 (Steering). The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the EPS needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The mechanic informed the contact that there was no coverage on the vehicle for the repairs. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 168,000.
- Raymond, NH, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving out of the driveway, the message "Power Assist Fault" was displayed, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was eventually towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering rack was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The contact was informed that there was no Extended Warranty Coverage for the failure. Additionally, the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The failure mileage was 143,223.
- Sacramento, CA, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH and following the curve in the roadway, the steering wheel was extremely difficult to turn. The contact stated that the message "Loss of Power Steering Assist" and -??Loss of Stability Control" were displayed. The contact stopped, and turned off and restarted the vehicle several times; however, the power steering functionality had not returned. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not taken to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.
- Oklahoma City, OK, USA
My 2012 Ford Explorer Limited had a safety recall 14S06 performed in 2014. In 2020 the same problem happened. The steering wheel locked up while driving and the power steering stopped working. It was fixed again. Now it-??s 2024 and it has happened yet again. This time I was on the highway with my children in the car and suddenly my dash lights up and my steering wheel basically locked. No power steering yet again. We are lucky we didn-??t lose our lives yesterday. I was driving 70 mph on the highway when this happened.
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while operating the vehicle, the power steering suddenly failed, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. During the failure the "Power Steering" message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the steering rack was faulty and needed to be replaced. The steering rack was replaced but the failure later reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The local dealer was not yet contacted. The contact stated that the steering rack had been replaced on three previous occasions for the same failure. The failure mileage was 110,000.
- New Kensington, PA, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 15-20 MPH attempting to make a right turn into a parking space, the vehicle lost power steering functionality, causing the contact to use an excessive amount of force to steer the vehicle. The "Service Power Steering Now" message was displayed. The contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 175,955.
- Louisville, KY, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the power steering malfunctioned, and the steering wheel was very difficult the turn in either direction. The contact stated that the failure lasted for approximately 10-seconds before self-correcting. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the steering rack and power steering module were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 85,000.
- Sea Girt, NJ, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, several unknown warning lights illuminated, and the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with a failure with the power steering gear and the electrical components. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to an unknown recall; however, the vehicle was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
- Wayland, MI, USA
Steering. Yes. I was unable to steer the vehicle, steering wheel would not move. No. No. After I was unable to steer, a warning came up on my onboard computer screen saying electric steering assist fault.
- Roseville, MN, USA
Last year around this time, my steering went out suddenly. it was difficult to drive and then it just wouldn-??t turn. We replaced the drive belt and it hasn-??t had much issue until recently. The steering went out much more violently this time- with me fighting to drive it down to work. Fluids were great so didn-??t think too much of it until I went to drive it again and it wouldn-??t turn at all. it had threatened not to turn while I was driving and it scared me a lot. Took it to a shop and they said the entire steering column is out. I haven-??t done any extraneous driving that would tear it apart like that but it is still broken
- Grove City, OH, USA
Power steering control module failure occured on 2012 Ford Explorer. Dash displayed a "Power Steering Assist Fault" randomly but would resolve itself after turning vehicle off and back on, and now it is permenantly. Recall 15N01 was open on this vehicle but manufacturer will not service this vehicle under recall due to a 10 year, 150,000 mile limit. After getting the vehicle diagnosed a DTC U3000-72 was revealed which is one of the codes under recall. Previously unable to effectively steer vehicle without notice, and now unable to steer without assist all together.
- Dandridge, TN, USA
Electronic power steering assist quit functioning while driving. After I parked the vehicle the steering wheel could not be turned under manual power leaving the vehicle only able to go straight forwards or backwards. Leading to a $2,900 repair bill and an additional $100 tow bill
- Janesville, WI, USA
I purchased a 2012 Ford Explorer in April 2024. Less than a month later, the Power Steering Assist Fault light appeared. I had it checked by PepBoy and was informed there was a recall on this issue and to contact my local Ford. I made the call and was told this was no longer a recall but a Customer Service issue and may not be covered due to age and mileage. The vehicle is driveable but turning is problematic.
- Waco, TX, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 55 MPH, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The "Power Steering Assist Fault" message was displayed. The failure almost caused a crash. The contact helped his wife steer the vehicle and pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the rack and pinion were replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.
- Walkersville, MD, USA
It happened a year ago when I was parked I turned the car on and the steering wheel locked, giving me the power steer assist fault error on the dash. I had to turn off the car and turn it back on. This happened about 2 or 3 time that year. Yesterday while driving out of my driveway I got the error again. This time it was different I wasn't parked, the car locked while in motion. Thankfully I wasn't on the street driving with the wheel locked in a turning position. I called Ford and they said that they just extended the satisfaction for the warranty on power steer to 10 years or 150,000 miles. This isn't a warranty issue. No car should have its steering locked, it's a 2012 car not even that old to be posing a safety issue like this. This need to be made a recall not extended warranty.
- Garfield, NJ, USA
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, he became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, and the steering wheel was stiff and required increased effort to maneuver the vehicle. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The power steering assist warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 167,000. The VIN was not available.
- Dallas, TX, USA
On December 29,2023 while driving on highway the Power Steering failed. I was unable to steer vehicle off roadway.I avoided getting killed, but very frightning.Warning lights appeared on the dash after failure, Service Power Steering now, Service Advance Trac, Terrain Mgt System Fault. Danvers Ford, Danvers, MA said the Steering gear needed to be replaced approx. $3,000 and that Ford Customer Relationship Center is unable to assist because the vehicle was outside the Recall criteria. I am horrified regarding the safety of the driver when the power system fails in real time and the cost to repair a faulty electronic steering that Ford should be responsible to repair.
- Salem, MA, USA
- Purcell, OK, USA