The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving into a parking lot, the electric power steering became inoperable. The steering wheel was difficult to turn. The message that the -??Electric Power Assist Off-?? was displayed. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, but there was no response. The failure mileage was approximately 71,000.

- Madison, AL, USA

Power steering has failed on the vehicle which causes serious safety risks when driving. During cold temperatures the power steering freezes completely and drivers are unable to turn the wheels at all leaving us stranded. We have had the rack & pinion replaced and the power steering re-programed by Ford 3 separate times with a professional repair/alignment shop and continue to experience the problem. Power Steering issues are a well known problem and many similar year/models have been recalled previously. I firmly believe this is a manufacturing defect on Ford's part and all models of the ford explorer from this year should have been recalled instead of only select models/VIN numbers.

- North Pole, AK, USA

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Power Steering Failure" was displayed, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed and determined that the power steering control module and power steering motor rotation angle sensor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 90,000.

- Collinsvillle, IL, USA

Vehicle will Randomly flash service track soon and a steering assist fault while driving down the highway. This will cause the steering to completely lock up and you are unable to turn at highway speeds.

- Saint Ignatius, MT, USA

Steering rack failed while driving and locked the steering wheel. There was no early signs of failure nor any indications in the dashboard or any abnormal behavior prior to the failure of the steering rack. I was on a road with little traffic and was able to stop and turn the car off and back on while applying force to the steering wheel, whic eventually allowed me to turn the wheel. This happened at ~106,000 miles which seems to early to have this kind of catastrophic failure. I got lucky this time.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 - 35 MPH, the steering suddenly seized. The contact had to use an excessive amount of strength to maneuver the vehicle. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle and waited for a while before restarting the vehicle. After restarting the vehicle, the power steering regained proper functionality and the contact drove to the destination; however, once arriving at the destination, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The message -??Steering Fault - Contact the Dealer-?? was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the rack and pinion and steering assembly had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had been repaired. The contact learned of NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) that was related to the same failure; however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and 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 34,971.

- Newport News, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on two separate occasions, the power steering assistance failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that the "Power Steering Assist Fault" and the traction control warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and a complaint was filed. The contact was also referred to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

- Brick, NJ, USA

My steering fault light started to regularly come on. I took my vehicle to Firestone and was told they could not repair it, due to there being a steering recall. I was advised I would have to take my vehicle to Ford. Upon doing so, I was told at Ford there is no steering recall for my vehicle, only a panel recall. Yet, there is a steering recall for other Ford vehicles right now. The Ford Explorer is experiencing the same steering issue. I am having to pay more than $3,000 to fix an issue that should be a recall. Plus, the Ford advisor told me this is a safety issue.

- Baton Rouge, LA, USA

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the steering wheel seized, causing the vehicle to become difficult to maneuver. The message -??Service Advance-trac-?? was displayed, and the traction control warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was driven to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering rack and module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure was mileage was 63,450.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering assist failed to operate as needed. Additionally, the "Steering Fault Assist" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that excessive force was needed to steer the vehicle due to the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the mechanic could not determine the cause of the failure. The contact continued driving the vehicle until the ABS and traction control warning lights were illuminated on the instrument panel. The steering wheel seized, and the vehicle was towed back to the independent mechanic. The contact was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

- Wausau, WI, USA

I had just pulled out of my driveway when I heard a "clunk" and the power steering seized up. Dash lights indicated "Steering Asist Fault Service Required" and "Service Advance Trac". I had to drive around the block (pulling very hard on steering wheel) to get it back in my driveway. It was frightening not having full control of the car. There is a Recall for Ford Explorer Steering Issues (NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V286000 and NHTSA CAMPAIGN# 21V537000) "Cross axis ball joint to seize" but my VIN is not in the recall but should be. This is a SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE that needs to be addressed by Ford Manufacturing.

- Rio Rancho, NM, USA

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while reversing 3 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The power steering fault warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the power steering failure was caused by a rack and pinion failure. The contact was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V530000 (Steering). The manufacturer and dealer confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall and referred the contact to NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 187,800.

- Elizabeth Town, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering failed to function as intended, and the turn signals were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the failure could not be duplicated due to a signal stating dealer locked. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with steering column failure. The contact was informed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.

- Stillwater, MN, USA

Part became loose in the steering rack. The metal piece that came loose was lodging itself in-between the teeth on the rack and would prevent steering to move without additional force. It appears that a washer or metal round piece came loose and then randomly becomes lodged/stuck in the steering rack. Pictures and full details are available upon request. My safety was affected by reduced steering capability. Problem is reproducible. No warning lamps or messages.

- Concord, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 55-60 MPH, the -??Service Track Error-?? message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact continued to drive to the destination where the vehicle was parked for several hours. After restarting the vehicle, the -??Service Track-?? and -??Steering Loss - Stop Vehicle-?? messages were displayed. The vehicle was inoperable and towed to the residence. An independent mechanic arrived to the residence and inspected the vehicle, diagnosing that the steering motor and module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the VIN was not included in a recall relating to the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 240,000.

- Southgate, MI, USA

For a few weeks, I thought I had developed an air bubble in my power steering system, as occasionally, steering would have a very slight resistance that I could pull through with minimal effort. I went to check my power steering fluid and upon inspection and research, discovered that my vehicle (a Police Intercepter Utility, equal to a base model Explorer) has electric power steering, not hydraulic. I figured the issue was just a minor quirk of the electrical power steering motor kicking in. A few days ago, my power steering failed completely failed while driving at about 35mph. Only once did the dashboard light up with a warning about servicing advanced stabili-trac and something else closely related. The alert lights went out on their own after about 5 seconds and steering returned to normal. Later the same day, steering became very difficult again with no alert lights and it has remained very difficult to steer the vehicle at any speed since then, identical to the failure of a hydraulic power steering pump. I have not yet talked with Ford or any mechanics about the issue, but I plan to do so swiftly. Upon research, there are at least 280 identical complaints about identical make, model, and year vehicles. It may be time for a formal recall on the affected parts.

- Bristol, IN, USA

Power steering rack failure

- Cheyenne , WY, USA

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while attempting to turn the vehicle to the left or right, an excessive amount of force was needed to turn the vehicle. The contact believed that the power steering had failed. The contact stated that while turning the vehicle to the right the failure seemed more pronounced than while turning to the left. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer. The vehicle had not been diagnosed. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure where it was confirmed there was no recall associated with the VIN. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a safety complaint. The failure mileage was 102,000.

- Chanhassen, MN, USA

The contact owns as 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering failed. The service advance track and terrain system management fault lights were illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle home unrepaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired a year prior due the power steering failure. However, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 109,000.

- Dixon, IL, USA

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring increased effort to maneuver the vehicle. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, who diagnosed failures with the steering gear and outer tie rod. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 148,000.

- Sagle, ID, USA