I started hearing a grinding noise when turning the vehicle in either direction in reverse last week. I took a little trip on Dec. 5 2020, going up to the mountains. It got worse while steering my vehicle on a mountain road. I made an appointment on December 7 to the local dealer. My wife was driving at 50 mph when the steering started to lock up and almost caused a collision.that's when we decided it is a safety issue to drive this vehicle so we took it to the dealer asap and was handed a repair cost of $2620 to repair steering gear assembly. The vehicle had only 47,700 miles on my 2016 Ford explore XLT. It is now at the local Ford dealer on December 9, 2020 awaiting completion of repair as vehicle is not drive-able until repaired. My wife was on the highway driving when she encountered erratic behavior from the steering wheel going 50mph. My parts total for repair is $1,840.44 with labor total is $2,620 with parts.

- Enumclaw, WA, USA

The vehicle without warning, just shuts off. Even while going 65 mph on a highway. If your lucky, you can coast off the highway before you are hit. Ford refused to fix even though under warranty. So I had to sell it so I wouldn't be killed. Hundreds if not thousands have complained about the same thing.

- Barboursville, VA, USA

48K miles platinum edition, steering wheel began sticking. Recently started pulling hard to the right at times. Had it looked at and it looks like as with many many others like it, the the rack and pinion needs to replaced. Ford should be forced to recall the cars and fix the problem. There are literally hundreds of people with the same problem. When is the NHTSA going to step up and do something" after people start dying"

- Clinton, TN, USA

On several occasions when I go to start the vehicle I get a message on the left side of the dash cluster that says " steering assist fault failure, seek service." The vehicle won't start. After I keep pressing the start button if will start. I carried it to the dealer ( paradise Ford in cocoa, fl) and they said there were no codes in the system but did say there were a lot of problems with the steering failure on that model and would cost around $2,500 to repair out of my pocket. The vehicle only has a little over 5,000 miles on it as of 11/29/20.

- Merritt Island, FL, USA

When backing out of my driveway and turning slowly there is a poping noise and my steering wheel locked up multiple times. Before this I spent 1000 bucks to get the wiring harness for air bags replaced. None of them work Ford would not cover it because there is not a recall.

- Williamsburg, VA, USA

When I go to turn, it continues to pop. The tie rods have been replaced along with rack and pinion but you could be stopped and applying brake and turn wheel and it pops.

- Mount Vernon, MO, USA

While moving the steering wheel there is a weird clunk/pop noise and feels a bit loose. So this is concerning 66,000 miles on my vehicle. Also the front suspension is very rough and I have taken very good care. Dealership was not sure what it was but stated it was safe

- Davenport, IA, USA

Power steering locked up, well its electric steering.and the warring lights came on terrain assist and hill assist disabled, service advance trac, steering loss, I was traveling on the freeway doing about 70 miles an hour when this happed I almost loss control of the vehicle. There are so many complaints about this problem with the Ford explore steering issuse.

- Sf, CA, USA

The steering wheel locked while we were driving in the car. We turned left into the grocery store and then back right to enter a parking spot and the steering locked and we almost ran into a parked car. Luckily we slammed on the brakes in time to avoid an accident. We had to crank the steering wheel all the way to the right to allow it to "release" and give us some steering back...but after that the steering now clicks while you turn left or right badly. We took it into our dealer...they said it is the steering gear motor. The car was in the same dealership 1 week prior to this getting an oil change and no signs of malfunction or wear/tear...without warning the steering locked up on us...very frightening...our car is 4 years old and only has 16,000 miles on it. And they cannot explain exactly why it happened. So I am unsure of if/when it happens again.

- Torrance, CA, USA

Sounded like a popping or clunk type noise when I turned the wheel to the right for a while then it started to make noise when turn the wheel either way. Losing control driving. Read on the news, 1.2 million Explorer recalled for the steering assembly recalled for same issue but when I call Ford they said this VIN was not part of recall. Very disappointed.

- Washington, DC, USA

The first time my steering got stiff on 09/13/2019 while trying to make a left turn on a city street. In the process of making the left turn my steering wheel got stiff, and the steering fault hill start and trac light went on. I was unable to control the steering wheel which cause me to get up onto the side walk and almost hitting a tree. I had to slam on my breaks in order to avoid the accident. My kids body jerk back and forth really hard. I turn my car off and back on, and the steering wheel was was no longer stiff and working. I was able to drive home. The second time steering wheel got stiff was on 10/05/2019. While on the curve of a ramp to get off the freeway the steering wheel got stiff again and the steering fault, hill start and trac lights went on as well. Once again I had to slam on the breaks in or. I der to avoid hitting the rails, as I was not able to control the steering wheel. I try turning my car off and back on again to see if my steering wheel would work again, but it still did not work. I had to call my husband to come pick me up. I took the car to the dealer and I was told that they H.ad to replace the whole power steering equipment which cost me a total of $2350.39

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

Power steering failed completely on my 2016 Ford Explorer while driving. Dashboard lit up with a steering assist fault, and then hill assist fault. Steering the vehicle to safety was very challeging. I was turning at a left turn light and almost crashed into another vehicle because I could not steer the car. Looked it up online and have found numerous other accounts of the same issue with no repsonse or recall from Ford.

- Austin, TX, USA

My tire valve corroded after 3 years with the car. Which caused damage to the tire and the tire pressure sensor. The power steering went at 67000 miles. It stopped working completely while driving, extremely scary. The service department at the dealership said it is just something that happens. $2400 fix on a 4 year old car with 67000 miles and could have caused an accident.

- Glen Gardner, NJ, USA

Steering would lock up and you would have to force the steering back to drive ability. The rack and pinion was worn out, in my opinion prematurely. This happened while the vehicle was in motion. The first time it was notice was on highway driving in a construction zone. The steering would catch when turning left or right and you would have to force the wheel to straighten out the vehicle.

- Coldwater, MI, USA

Steering wheel is stiff and makes noise when turning.

- White Plains, NY, USA

Even under warranty there were sporadic times the front suspension/steering would make a load thump noise. This usually happened when backing out of the driveway and sometimes when pulling out of a parking space. The dealer could never duplicate the noise so they found nothing wrong with it. Now at 48K miles and out of warranty the sound happens much more often. My wife said once the steering appeared to momentarily lock up and had to pull the steering wheel pretty hard to free it up. I found several other internet sites stating that the steering system is needing replaced on many Explorer with relatively low miles at a cost to the owners of over $2000.

- Lantana, TX, USA

When turning right at a slow speed, heavy knocking/thumping noise and steering was jerky. Vehicle has 33,400 miles. Had it repaired at the Ford dealership yesterday and they replaced the rack and pinion at a cost of $1800. Since I read this seems to be a common problem I asked if this issue has been recalled and was informed it was not.

- Valencia, CA, USA

Started having issues with the steering at 39,500 miles. Sounded like a popping or clunk type noise when I turned the wheel to the right. I took it to Ford dealership who indicated the whole steering assembly needed to be replaced. This car was built at the Chicago plant like all the other Explorer that needed the steering assembly replaced. Ford indicated this VIN was not part of recall.

- Mooresville, NC, USA

Steering started making a grinding noise turning left or right. Intermittent severe pulling to the left or turning from left to right. Happens at low or high speed. Started about 58K miles. Car is unsafe and un-drivable in this condition. Advised the rack and pinion is bad and needs to be replaced at approx $2000.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

Started driving and received a warning on the screen saying "steering fault service now". lots power steering control. Thankfully was at a low speed and could stop safely before leaving our neighborhood. Put vehicle in park, powered off, powered back on, and was able to drive again. Vehicle has 56K miles on it.

- Miramar Beach, FL, USA