My Explorer started having popping noises when turning left or right. It is bad enough to give significant feedback in the steering wheel and vibrations throughout the front passenger area. When I jack up the front end unloading the wheels, there is no noise or popping. With full weight on the wheels, when the wheel is turned slightly left and right and get significant popping and cracking feedback via the tie rods, the noise has progressed into the steering wheel freezing in place while driving the vehicle. Not being able to control the car is a major life safety issue if not addressed this has the potential to cause major injuries or death. If it has not already. The dealer is aware of the issues and I find countless online instances of this mechanical defect.

- Citrus Heights, CA, USA

I was stationary in a parking lot and started the vehicle to find messages steering assist fault service required, hill start assist not available, service advance trac, and terrain management system fault all displayed on the instrument cluster. There was no power steering assistance and the steering wheel was incredibly hard to turn. In the days leading up to the failure I noticed on a few occasions the steering wheel would not center after exiting a 90 degree turn and I would have to provide input to straighten the wheels. The electric power steering rack has failed and there are not even any parts available for this, nor does it appear Ford has acknowledge they have a widespread problem..

- Midwest City, OK, USA

Went to the beach this past Saturday and as I was pulling into the turning lane for the state park and alarm went off saying drive assist control failure, and numerous things that no longer work, since then there has been no power steering and it was a miracle we got it home which was an hour and a half away, had this happened while going faster then I could of lost control of the vehicle, and I was going about 10 mph when it alarmed. The pictures show was alerts every time the vehicle is started now. This morning the steering wheel was near impossible to move so my girlfriend who drives the Explorer has to use the back up car that can't hold all of our kids.

- Lake City, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 5 mph, the vehicle made an abnormal noise prior to the steering wheel locking up. The vehicle was turned off and restarted and the steering wheel unlocked. The contact stated a tire sensor warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to banner Ford of monroe (6300 frontage rd, monroe, la 71202) where it was diagnosed with the rack and pinion needing to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the replacement part was defective. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 101,509.

- West Monroe, LA, USA

As my wife was driving she heard a pop noise, then she went turn and the steering locked up which forced her to stay in head on traffic. After forcing the wheel back and forth she was able to get steering back and took the SUV to a local shop. It was then determined that the steering gear was bad. This happened when our vehicle only had roughly 60,000 miles. Thankfully no one hit her head on. The steering gear was replaced.

- Parkersburg, WV, USA

This vehicle almost took my life the other day. Almost just as scary is the fact that this issue is widely reported on these vehicles from 2011 on and Ford has zero recall for it. I was on the freeway the other day going about 70mph when inside of 10 seconds (while on a bend in the road) my dash lit up and my steering locked!!! at 70 mph!!! I almost hit 3 cars while trying to slow down as I could only go straight. When I say locked, I mean as if it was cemented in place. The dash reads 'steering loss stop safely', 'service advancetrac', 'hill start assist not available'. this could have liked not only me but other motorists this day. On top of the incredible concern of safety, the 'head in the sand' mentality that Ford has on this issue is disgusting, as they're also leaving owners with $5000-$10000 repair bills due to this issue. This was the last straw with Ford, after 20 years, I'm done.

- Billerica, MA, USA

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon making a sharp turn from left to right at a low rate of speed, an abnormal clanking sound would emit from the undercarriage of the vehicle. The contact had taken the vehicle to balise Ford of cape cod (90 high school rd ext, hyannis, MA 02601) where they informed him that the vehicle had a blown shock. The second time, the contact was informed that he needed a full steering rack replacement. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- South Yarmouth, MA, USA

Wife was shopping in another city and steering locked up when she started it after being parked in a lot, warning signals came on. Turned Explorer off and restarted car and drove fine and drove home 50 miles. Went to hockey game at an arena, came out and started car and steering was hard to steer ( no power steering ) but managed to drive home 2 miles and put in garage. Looked for power steering resevour and there was none under hood thinking low on fluid. Looked in owners manual and saw -- all electronic ! drove it to dealership next day ( weekend ) and parked it even though it was hard to steer. Googled this problem and saw all the same problems that others had with this steering gear ! went to dealer Monday morning and they checked it out and called me to tell me it was the steering rack that needed to be replaced at a cost of approximately $ 2500 and part had to come out of detroit and would take a few days to get here and then repair it. Called me yesterday and car was done ( $ $2395.91 ) why no recalls "?"

- Thief River Falls, MN, USA

I lost my steering completely and had to take my vehicle into a shop. The rack and pinion for the steering of my vehicle has gone out completely at only 80,000 miles. This is an extremely dangerous issue, as it could have caused a serious crash. While stationary or moving slowly, the wheel is harder to turn and makes a loud sliding/grinding sound. At higher speeds, the steering wheel gets "stuck" and is very hard to get out of a certain position. This issue caused me to almost hit oncoming traffic. As common as this issue is at an average of 52,000 miles on these Explorer, it should be a recall! the repair is at an estimated $3,000 to fix. Now I am out of a vehicle until I can come up with that kind of funding, while still owing tons of money on it. Not only is this a huge financial nightmare, but it is extremely unsafe!

- Reno, NV, USA

I was driving on the highway and when I began to turn off the exit I began hearing a loud grinding sound coming from my steering column. It was also extremely difficult to turn the wheel. Iam grateful that my young children were not with me at the time because the grinding was super lound and I was abosultely terrified that I was going to crash. I immediately took the truck to my local mechanic where he said that I should not be driving thr truck at all because I could definitely crash an kill myself or any others around me. Also that it is going to cost $2500 to fix the problem. I just purchase this truck from autofair Ford in July 2020 for 20K and 6 months later am forced to dump 2.5K into it when money is tight and my family is struggling as it is...I am extremely upset that this happened and to learn that this has happened to thousands of people, yet there is no recall for this issue. Aomething should be dont to help me and my family by Ford Motor Company this is not acceptable to be going broke because of this issue and the car is just 5 years old.

- Chelsea, MA, USA

Driving 45mph suddenly lost steering control, was able to decelerate and get off the road, then slowly get home. After this it seemed to work fine. However, every day, a loud popping creaking sound that you can even feel is coming from the electric power-assist steering. Especially noticeable when pulling in or out of a parking lot/driveway/garage. Local shop says it will cost about $2500 to replace the electric power-assist steering rack and pinion, and it must then be programmed to the vehicle. This Explorer has 78,000 miles on it. Thanks.

- Woodway, TX, USA

I took my 2016 Ford Explorer XLT on Dec 29th 2020 to get a oil change etc. They had the vehicle all day even though I took it in at 7am. I pick it up a 4:45 pm then drive it home because I work from home I did not drive it again until Saturday Jan 9th 2021, while driving it that morning I realized that the steering wheel was hard to steer and the truck would make noises when I turn the steering in either direction. I took it in to the dealership that morning and asked the service consultant to take a look at it. He told me while my father was on the phone that he believes it the rack and pinion and he can't take it because they are busy and it's okay for me to drive it. I also told him at that time I am supposed to drive out of town and I won't be back for awhile so if there is a problem I rather leave it so it can be fixed. I have damaged on my C5 vertebrae so I can feel the hardness in the steering. He assured or dismissed me but he said it's fine. A few hours later the steering wheel seized up and the dashboard started making noise and the warning lights and messages started to displaying. It almost killed both my mother and I on the highway. If you know nyc highway you know there is no shoulders. When I pulled of the road the steering wheel locked up and I could not move it. I had to pay for the truck to be towed and a uber for myself back to the dealership and then paid for me to get home. Now they are telling me that I have to pay $2719.81 for the rack and pinion repair and the also pay for the strut bearing to be repaired which they haven't given me the price for it because "it was too much to give me both price at once." Oh by the way, this is the same service consultant that told me it was fine for me to drive and almost killed 2 generation of my family at the same time. I am pissed!! now I see other customers complaining about the same issue on there SUV!!

- Fresh Meadows, NY, USA

My 2016 Ford Explorer XLT turbo 4WD is having power steering problems, the truck only has 65,000 miles and it's hard to turn the wheel and it makes a grinding rubbing sound when turn the wheel left or right. It makes that noise while driving or parked.

- Severn, MD, USA

Went to visit family on christmas morning and while driving power assist went out and popped up the display warnings. Drove it another 8 miles to destination. Vehicle sat for about 3 hours in the driveway. 30 degree weather. Went to leave and as I pulled onto the main road the steering locked and warning message loss of steering brake safely. I could jerk the wheel hard to get it to slightly move enough to get back in the driveway. Just hit 100K miles. Had to have it towed back home.

- Hayden, AL, USA

I first noticed the problem last winter, when we would drive our Explorer in the snow the car would pull in random directions, it got to the point where I was scared to drive the car in feet I would be pulled into on coming traffic. I took it to a mechanic and they couldn't find anything wrong other than my rear shocks were bad, so I replaced them. Then over the summer I noticed when I turn going at slow speeds the car would make a loud pop and sometimes the steering would get stuck when it poped, so I did some research a though maybe it was my toe links. So I just replaced them and this car is still terrifying to drive in the snow. I have seen that a concerning number of people have had this same issue and they end up replacing their rack and pinion and it costs thousands of dollars.

- Milliken, CO, USA

The steering wheel at times when even making a slight turn pops back and shakes. Restricting the turn the wipers have now multiple times in rain stopped in the upright positions causing a grave driving hazard

- Flower Mound, TX, USA

Electronic power steering has failed while vehicle was in motion turning on a highway. It was impossible to turn the vehicle off the roadway due to loss of power steering.

- Camden, AR, USA

Power steering began to go when I was driving on a highway, making me feel like I was losing control. Was able to get car home and ended up completely locking up needing to be towed from my driveway. I need to have steering rack replaced for over $1800 just for the part on a vehicle with only 80,000 miles on it.

- Wallkill, NY, USA

While operating vehicle at high speeds the advancetrac light, traction control light, and no steering assist light came on. Before I could get off the interstate I lost most of my steering. Luckily it was at night and not to many on the interstate. It was an extremely dangerous situation for myself and my family. Very lucky we didn't get in a serious accident. It was worse than loosing power steering with a hydraulic power system. There was no control available while trying to get over.

- Gainesville, GA, USA

I was driving to work and my car made a screechy sound once I got on the highway and went 45 or over the steering wheel started to shake. In a way it felt the steering wheel or the part that holds the front tires was loose. It felt like if I went any faster I'd lose control of the car.

- Hazleton, PA, USA