10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 11 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 4 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 79,005 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.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
The power steering in my car stopped functioning while I was driving. The dash said there was a power steering fault. I was able to pull the car to the side of the road, and turning it on and off seemed to reset it, and I was able to continue on. By research, this is common in 2013 Explorer, and was a recall, but not on my VIN. It is going in for repair within the week. It appears the recall needs to be expanded to include more models. This is a safety hazard!
- South Portland, ME, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. While driving 55 mph, the steering seized without warning. The contact managed to veer to the shoulder of the road and turned the vehicle off and back on, which failed to reset the steering wheel. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the power control module failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to friendly Ford (2250 South rd, poughkeepsie, NY 12601, (845) 462-1900) where a second diagnostic test was performed and determined that the power steering control module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 14V286000 (steering). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not selected for the recall. The contact was advised to call NHTSA to file a complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
- Modena, NY, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. While driving various speeds, the power steering failed without warning. The contact took the vehicle to hubler Ford (2605 in-44, shelbyville, in 46176, (317) 392-2557) and was informed that the steering gear needed to be replaced. The contact was given an estimate for the repairs. The contact associated NHTSA campaign number: 14V286000(steering) with the failure; however, the vehicle was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
- Shelbyville, IN, USA
My wife was driving down a back road by our house with our 3 children in the back and myself as a passenger. The vehicle while traveling at roughly 40mph had a light flash that read service advance trac. She then lost all power steering and could not pull off the road. She could only brake. We shut the vehicle off and turned it back on. It regained steering for a few miles and then it happened again shortly after in a parking lot. It is now at the Ford garage to get looked at. It is super dangerous especially if she was traveling around a turn. It has 50000 miles on the vehicle
- Coopersburg, PA, USA
When my car is turning on the power steering will briefly lock up. My power steering was completely locked up as I began driving recently and only unlocked when my car was restarted.
- Port St. Lucie, FL, USA
Paint bubbling on aluminum surfaces hood and door skins, referred back to dealer who repaints and reoccurs until out of warrantee. Steering failure intermittent accutrac control requiring towing and computer reset. Can fail while driving resulting in no or difficult steering. Multiple times reset no charge. Estimate to repair $2500
- Miami, FL, USA
While driving (second incident, it was repaired by Ford motor vehicle for the same thing last year) my steering wheel became uncontrollable. The vehicle kept pulling me to the left, I almost had a head on with the oncoming vehicle. I was so shook up, I pulled off the road and waited for help. My husband tested it since and the pull is quite noticeable.
- Indian Head, MD, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. While driving approximately 20 mph, the power steering suddenly malfunctioned and the steering wheel became very difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was towed to all american Ford in old bridge (3698 U.S. 9, old bridge, NJ 08857) where it was diagnosed that the steering wheel control module was faulty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 110,000. The VIN was invalid.
- Bayonne, NJ, USA
Upon starting the vehicle the warning indicator "power steering assist failure" message appears and there is no power steering. Turning off and restarting sometimes resets the warning and power steering will return but not always. There is a current recall with the same problems (14S06) but my VIN falls outside the manufacture date. Reached out to fomoco and they verified there are no recalls and there have never been any recalls for my VIN. One month ago I received a recall letter from Ford for a different issue that I had fixed under the recall by Ford. That recall didn't show up in Ford database either for my VIN when I called today but yet it existed and was fixed. Odd that the same power steering problem keeps occurring on vehicles but Ford wont recognize the problem because of a build location and date. Ford doesn't engineer us spec vehicles based on their manufacturing plant, they seem to be saying that the same engineers that designed a faulty electric power steering motor for Chicago didn't design a faulty motor for another plant. Or the original "fix" didn't real "fix" the problem.
- Millersville, MD, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. While driving various speeds, whether in reverse or driving forward, the power steering warning indicator suddenly illuminated. When the power steering failed, the vehicle became difficult to steer. The contact had to turn off the vehicle and wait a few minutes before they were able to start the vehicle. Once the vehicle was restarted, the power steering returned to normal. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V286000 (steering). The approximate failure mileage was 154,000. The VIN was invalid.
- Boston, KY, USA
I have had intermittent issues with the power steering going out. Generally when I start the car. I can usually restart it and it works fine. Just recently, the power steering completely failed while driving. It is still not working. Just took it in to the Ford dealer for repair. They are telling my that my VIN# is not part of the power steering recall, but clearly it has been affected by the recall of the Ford Explorer from 2011-2013.
- Cedar Park, TX, USA
After an all day event, I got into the car, started it as usual, but the power steering would not work. There was a warning on the dash, so I took it to a local mechanic. He hooked it up to the computer, and did a scan, which showed several codes related to power steering issue. I do recall on the drive to the event, my navigation went out, with a warning that sd nav card is not working, and my phone would not connect to the system via the cable. Mechanic reset the code to test it out. This has activated the power steering, radio, and even the back up camera. Yes, back up camera would only work periodically, so I thought it was camera itself. I'm worried power steering will go out during the normal drive. Is there any recall on power steering or electrical issues?
- Lewisville, TX, USA
The electronic steering rack has failed and locked up. This recall has been issued for some Explorer but should be expanded to include more VIN numbers as this is the same problem and the vehicle only has 40,000 miles on it. The problem started while I was driving it. I took it to a mechanic and the steering locked up fully and power steering failed during their test drive.
- Huntersville, NC, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. While driving 40 mph, the steering wheel seized and the power assist default warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. Suburban Ford of ferndale (21600 woodward ave, ferndale, mi 48220, (248) 399-1000) was contacted and informed the contact to bring the vehicle in for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. An independent mechanic came to the contact's residence and informed the contact that there was an unknown recall associated with the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 112,000.
- Detroit, MI, USA
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. While attempting to turn the vehicle, it became difficult to maneuver the steering wheel as if the power steering failed. The contact stated that she also heard a grinding noise coming from the dashboard area of the vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact spoke with tri Ford Inc (located at 12610 Illinois 143, highland, il 62249, 618-654-2122) and was informed that the VIN was not associated with NHTSA campaign number: 14V286000 (steering). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact was referred to NHTSA to file a complaint. The approximate failure mileage was 94,000.
- Trenton, IL, USA
Power steering assist light turns on which causes loss of steering capability.
- Tucson, AZ, USA
Sudden power steering failure while driving cruising speed.. car became extremely limited to handle. Ford tech verified and pulled code U3000:61 requiring replacement of steering gear.
- Old Bridge, NJ, USA
Cranked up car this morning and the power steering assist fault light came on. Could not turn steering wheel. Tried again later and could drive it to the Ford dealership 1.5 miles away. They said there's no recall. And it's $2300 to replace the steering gear. Has 107000 miles on
- Crystal River, FL, USA
Lost power steering. The power steering will intermittently work and you will get a power steering assist fault notice. There is a recall for this issue (15S11) but for some reason this Explorer was not included due to the manufacture date. I believe that recall needs to be extended to cover all of the vehicles affected. The vehicle is almost unsteerable when this happens and is not safe to drive.
- Macon, GA, USA
- Temple, TX, USA