10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
11 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
79,005 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #599

Oct 262022

Explorer

  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the steering wheel failed to operate as needed. The power steering assist message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact notified the dealer of the failure and was informed that there was no open recall on the vehicle. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and informed him that his vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

- Grass Valley, CA, USA

problem #598

Oct 142022

Explorer 6-cyl

  • miles
Driving on I95 South in Daytona Beach, Florida during crowded weekend event traffic, the lane assist malfunctioned, would not turn on and then immediately experienced power steering failure. Both warning and failure lights illuminated on the dashboard. The power steering is electric and turning the wheel was near impossible. I had 4 occupants in the vehicle and almost caused a very severe accident crossing lanes of traffic to attempt to reach the shoulder. It is near impossible to turn the wheel and although the car is driveable, its not steerable. Found out that the NHSTA campaign # 14V286000 describes the same issue as I have. Ford recall #14S06 is that recall but the issue I now have is my vehicle was built 1 day after the recall parameters. The car is sitting unable to be safely operated, and I'm asking for NHSTA to extend the dates of original recall from February to March to include this vehicle in the existing recall for the necessary repairs.

- Nahunta, GA, USA

problem #597

Oct 132022

Explorer

  • miles
The 2013 Ford Explorer power steering stopped working at 89,100 miles. The mechanic we took it to said this should be a recall. Mechanic provided me with recall 14S06, which describes my problem. I called ford and the vin didn-??t come up as in this recall. I think it needs to be added to the recall, Mechanic says steering rack needs to be replaced. Lots of people have same problem it-??s not safe and too expensive. We bought this car brand new and it can-??t even steer after less than 90k miles. I hope others complain

- Laguna Hills, CA, USA

problem #596

Sep 292022

Explorer

  • 115,000 miles
The contact's wife owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while his wife was pulling into the driveway, the steering wheel locked inadvertently. A message indicating a power steering system failure was displayed. The contact's wife parked and turned off the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure persisted upon starting the vehicle the next day. The dealer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

- Douglas, GA, USA

problem #595

Aug 012022

Explorer

  • miles
While driving home from work on the 95 (highway) I noticed that I could barely control the steering in my 2013 Ford Explorer. Fortunately I was able to make it home and my husband arranged to have it towed to a mechanic who inspected the vehicle and advised us that it had a rack and pinion failure. He mentioned that it would be very dangerous to attempt to drive the vehicle with this issue and that the total cost to repair would be over $4K. I recently replaced the engine on this vehicle which cost me over $2K. I do not have the $4K at this time to replace the rack and pinion. This is extremely upsetting. Is there any recall will this issue?

- Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA

problem #594

Sep 242022

Explorer

  • miles
No incidents steering makes loud noise

- Clayton, DE, USA

problem #593

Sep 212022

Explorer

  • 165,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at a slow speed, the steering wheel failed to operate as needed with the Traction Control warning light illuminated. The contact attempted to reset the battery; however, the failure persisted. The contact notified the dealer and the manufacturer of the failure and was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The contact linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 165,000.

- Piedmont, SC, USA

problem #592

Sep 092022

Explorer 6-cyl

  • miles
[XXX] 13 recalls listed two of which are the electronic power steering and traction control. I bought this vehicle and less than five days later the power steering goes out. So I'm going to loose my job and I could have lost my life yet Ford is denying there are any recalls and refusing to fix them. I am also a veteran and this is the last bit of bad news I can bare. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Fayetteville , GA, USA

problem #591

Sep 092022

Explorer

  • miles
Power steering control module causing power steering to stop and loss of control to car. I took to auto shop and had codes reset and happened again with in an hour.

- Mecosta, MI, USA

problem #590

Aug 282022

Explorer

  • miles
Our Explorer has been riding extremely rough going down smooth highways and the slightest bump in the road make the car shake sideways as if it-??s almost bending in half. Last week, We drove a couple miles down the road and stopped at Walmart. After loading groceries up I started the car to leave and the steering wheel was harder than normal to move. I thought we might have had a low tire and we weren-??t that far from home, however as we-??re driving home, the dash notification screen lights up and says power steering assist fault. So I then let off the gas pedal attempting to try to slow down and this causes the steering wheel to completely tighten up, almost causing us to wreck as I can no longer move the steering wheel more than an inch in either direction while going down the highway. The only way I was able to get us home safely was stopping and going no more than 15 mph until we pulled into our driveway. I will not let my family get in the car until I know we-??re all completely safe and out of harms way. The Ford dealership in Ponchatoula said it will have to be towed there and the problem won-??t go away until the faulty steering motor is fixed. We were told they-??ve had plenty Explorers come in with the same problem as our year, make, model and engine. I-??m 6-??2 230lbs I should not have this much trouble trying to turn a steering wheel either driving or sitting still.

- Ponchatoula , LA, USA

problem #589

Aug 142022

Explorer

  • miles
Steering Assembly Part E5BZ3504AM failed while driving down the interstate. Initially power steering was lost but as it was driven further on the interstate, there was more play in the steering wheel, to the point I was struggling to keep it steady in the lane. This put my entire family and those around me at risk. Vehicle is currently unsafe to drive. Explorer is at local dealer. The dealer states the part is on indefinite backorder with > 10,000 of the Steering Assembly parts on back order across the US. Our local dealer has a total of 3 2013 Ford Explorers awaiting this part. This sounds like a material defect that should be addressed by the manufacturer.

- Clear Brook, VA, USA

problem #588

Aug 012022

Explorer

  • miles
The check charging system light came on and the power steering locked up, once it locks it stays mostly down. I was going around a curb at about 55mph when this happened with my two children. If that is not a safety issue I do not know what is. I could have wrecked and we could have been seriously injured or worse. Now my check brake system light is also on, check engine light, and it has a leak in the driver's side third row seatbelt. Now I know that it's said to have the battery and alternator tested and that has been done. I feel like I wasted a lot of money that I honestly did not have to buy a decent vehicle for me and my kids. This part is not under recall for my vehicle, however I have done my research and there are numerous recalls, investigations, and complaints. I need this issue fixed.

- Vienna, GA, USA

problem #587

Aug 252022

Explorer

  • 100,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at slow speeds, the steering wheel failed to turn as needed and was inoperable. The contact pulled over and turned off and restarted the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. The power steering assist message was displayed. The contact notified the local dealer of the failure but the vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

- South Windsor, CT, USA

problem #586

Aug 292022

Explorer

  • miles
The steering assist doesn't work All the time. We have to shut the vehicle off and then restart it. It is really hard to steer. The warning light comes on letting us know that there is a failure. It is available for inspection. This is not a good feeling when this happens. This happens roughly twice a week.

- Eleva, WI, USA

problem #585

Aug 262022

Explorer

  • miles
Steering wheel would turn but the SUV would not turn in the direction the steering wheel direction. Could have been a major accident from the SUV not able to turn directions.

- Lynn Haven, FL, USA

problem #584

Aug 192022

Explorer

  • miles
On more than one occasion (starting at about 90,000 mi) experienced steering wheel lockup while starting vehicle with message alerting to steering assist failure. On those occasions, turning off and restarting vehicle reset the problem. But just the other day while driving, the steering wheel locked up and the message alert was displayed. Luckily vehicle was in right hand lane and was able to drift to the side of the road. Internet search reveals this as a frequent complaint and there is a factory recall for my vehicle year (Ford 14S06), but for a build on or before Feb 2012, mine is in Nov 2012. With a personal OBDII reader, was able to obtain DTC codes U3000-42 and U3000-72 which point to steering/rack n pinion problem. Repair of this problem is an urgent and essential safety issuse and lives are at stake if not fixed. These electrical steering mechanism is less effective than vacuum power assist and in manual mode even harder than old cars without power assist.

- Caguas, PR, USA

problem #583

Aug 172022

Explorer

  • miles
My 2013 Ford Explorer Sport lost control while driving. My wife ran off the road while driving going around a curve because the power steering went out without warning. Luckily, she was not in a place where she did not hit anyone but had a near miss with a pedestrian walking on the side of the road. I noticed in the past that the power steering fault indicator came on a few times when starting the vehicle. After turning the SUV off and back on, everything worked fine. I notified them at the dealership the last time I was getting serviced and they said it was a common problem but for some reason, there was no recall for my VIN. After reading the complaints online for this issue, I find it disturbing that this is not a safety recall. I can only imagine how this could have turned tragic while driving down the mountain last weekend if this happened while on a downward descent, my family could have been killed. This is scary to think about and I am surprised that more people have not been seriously hurt or killed due to this electrical malfunction. I also don't understand how the same year models have recalls on the same part but because of the factory location that this is not covered on some VIN numbers. This should defiantly be a recall that is reconsidered. Thank God that she was able to vear enough to miss the pedestrian walking.

- Dacual, GA, USA

problem #582

Jun 012022

Explorer

  • 0 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at 50 MPH while depressing the brake pedal to make a left turn, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact continued driving to her residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering), however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Lorain, OH, USA

problem #581

Jul 012022

Explorer

  • 120,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering assist would fail to operate as the power steering assist fault warning message appeared on the instrument panel. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer where she paid to have the vehicle's computer reset. Despite the reset, the failure recently returned. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed her that her vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #580

Jul 152022

Explorer

  • miles
Steering Rack Motor Failure recall #14S06 did not include this vin and needs to be added to this vin as the dealership Timberline Ford in Libby Mt has investigated the failure and deemed the issue should be part of this recall and that due to the fact that this was a fleet vehicle (Police Interceptor) this could be why it was not listed in this individual recall. There were no prior instances or notifications before failure. Failure was immediate and the Drive Assist lamp did light up immediately. Traveling down Yaak Pass Hwy 2 Montana the failure occurred causing malfunction in steering capability and adverse and unsafe handling of the vehicle almost causing collision with guard rail, and oncoming traffic. Very winding road way made it difficult to maneuver to a safe location for tow. Putting my passenger and dog (Family) at risk of accident. Below is information obtained from one of many sources on the internet involving this recall: Vehicles Affected: About 177,500 model-year 2011-13 Ford Explorer SUVs The Problem: A potential electrical issue in the steering gear may result in the loss of electric power steering assist while driving. This could cause the steering system to default to manual mode, making the vehicle more difficult to steer, especially at lower speeds, and increasing the risk of a crash. According to the Detroit News, Ford said drivers will hear a chime and see a message in the instrument cluster if electric power steering assist is lost. The Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will either update software for the power steering control module or replace the steering gear for free. Why is my electronic power steering not working? Today's electronic power steering systems may fail due to issues with the mounted electric motor. In particular, excessive heat on the motor is likely to cause the failure modes.

- Troy, MT, USA

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