The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the steering rack when steering left. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

Traveling at approximately 65mph on the highway, while beginning to enter a slight turn in the highway, the steering wheel "froze" as if the vehicle was off. It stayed locked, about 15 degrees to the right, and would not free up. I tried applying brakes, which instantly began pulling me further left and into a ditch. Within 5 seconds I lost control of the vehicle, at around 50mph, impacted a guard rail, then went airborne, nose diving onto the service road below the highway. No lights were present at the time of the failure, a Ford dealership had done an inspection on my Steering Rack back on 10/29/2021 that found no issues present. The way the crash happened, I'm lucky to be alive, but how is this not a recall" How is there not a safety feature to allow for manual control of the steering if the electrical system dies" Scariest moment driving by far, a roller coaster I wish to not be put on again. I have significant bruising from the seat belt impacting my right side hip, my mirror dislodged and hit me in the head, seat airbag bruised my left shoulder, and my neck is about as sore as it can get

- New Richmond, WI, USA

To whom it may concern the rack and pinion in my 2016 Ford Explorer fail 3 times one before I bought my truck from the dealer the person who trade it in was because of the rack and pinion. the rack and pinion on my truck that I purchased from the dealer. gave out two three years later. after I purchased my truck, I replace. the rack and pinion it cost me 1300 dollars. and now it fails again. I don't have another 1300 dollars to purchase. another rack and pinion I believe that it's an electoral problem from the manufacture. of the Ford explorer.

- Ansonia, CT, USA

Steering creaks loudly while turning the wheels, accompanied by loose steering and steering lock intermittently. The problem occurs at all speeds. Without great care at low speeds, we would have had an accident already. There have been no warning lights. This problem started after shipping our vehicle overseas.

- Mililani, HI, USA

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on multiple occasions while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel seized. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle; however, the steering wheel seized. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving, the steering became difficult to maneuver the vehicle and veered to one side. The contact then stated that he heard a grinding sound while making left or right turns. No warning lights was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that a steering module panel that needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to call the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.

- Columbus, WI, USA

Rack and pinion making crackling noises My safety still at risk if I continue driving Yes the dealer ordered the part but is unavailable due to back order. The vehicle has not been inspected besides the dealer.

- Alameda , CA, USA

As I was driving my electronic power steering system went out causing me to be unable to steer my vehicle. I was luckily able to get it off the road but had I been going any rate of speed it could have caused a major crash as you cannot steer.

- Roanoke , VA, USA

I went into the store, came out 10 minutes later started the vehicle and it said service electric power steering, this also affected the stabilitrac, hill climb assist, 4wd, and traction control. If this would've happened while I was driving I would've caused an accident as the roads were icy. I brought it to a Ford dealership and the parts needed are on backorder with no lead time! You can't even get aftermarket parts! So now I have a vehicle with only 70k miles on it that I've had for less than a year that I cannot drive and have to continue making payments on because it's not worth anything to trade in. The repairs are going to cost just shy of $3000! Ford needs to recall this now!

- Warren , MN, USA

I was driving my 2016 Ford Explorer to the end of my driveway when the steering system locked up. The wheel would not move to either side, and I was forced to stop the vehicle before entering the roadway since this posed a serious safety risk. Fortunately, this issue was identified before entering the public roadway where an accident could have easily occurred. No warning light or safety message was displayed by the vehicle when the issue occurred. I initially tried to identify if the steering wheel locking mechanism was to blame, but this was ruled out since the vehicle was actively in "drive" and no other issues were noted with the steering wheel. This steering issue developed on a particularly cold day in December (less than 20 degrees out), however, it is unclear if this issue was related to the colder weather. The steering did not free up for approximately 30 minutes of idle time and multiple attempts to restart the vehicle. The vehicle would always go into drive but had no steering. This issue occurred on the three (3) subsequent days until the vehicle had idled for a period of time. Since this occurrence, the steering has had a grinding sound when moving the wheel. I took the vehicle to a licensed Ford Dealer and was told that the electronic steering rack would need to be replaced. This came as a shock since the vehicle only has 63,000 miles on it. I was told this part is on back-order and it took approximately a week for the replacement steering rack to arrive. This steering issue appears to be a blatant safety issue where a driver could unexpectedly lose steering control while actively driving and have no safety message or indicator alerting them to the serious issue. Given the lower mileage of my vehicle, this significant repair both from a safety and monetary standpoint would indicate this is a defect of the 2016 Ford Explorer, and it is unclear why this isn't the subject of a manufacturer recall based on other owner experiences found online.

- Hatfield, PA, USA

Left for work steering locked up with no warning luckily not at a bad part of my morning commute I was doing 55mph was able to come to safe stop tried steering wheel back and fourth after a few attempts it started to tun but was very hard to turn so I turned around and on my way back home numerous lights came on on dash hill assist unavailable terrain management system fault loss of steering and I can't remember the other 1 but I was able to make it home

- Ripley, NY, USA

"Steering Assist Fault" and Lane Keeping Sys. Malfunction" faults appeared on my dash display. The vehicle is available for inspection if requested. When the faults lit up, I was unable to steer the vehicle. It was as if the steering was completely locked up. Fortunately I was driving down the driveway at the time and was able to stop before entering the roadway. If this would have faulted while on the road at any speed I'm sure an accident or death would have resulted from not being able to steer the vehicle. I took it in to a repair shop where they said to fix it would require the rack to be replaced and programmed. They recommended taking it to a dealership to be repaired. This appears to be a known problem to the vehicle manufacture but no recalls have been put out. Parts alone I was quoted $2,500 not including labor and programming costs. Vehicle has only been inspected by a repair shop. Symptoms prior to failure - I bought the car used from a dealership. Took the car back to the dealership a few weeks after purchase because I kept hearing a grinding sound coming from the front end while traveling at highway speed. They test drove it and inspected and said they could not find anything wrong. They ended rotating the tires. This did not help. Drove the car for a year feeling like something was wrong under the hood. Summer of 2022 the air vent control actuator went out and the car would not switch off from defrost mode. I had that replaced by a repair shop. December 22, 2022 as I pulled into the driveway I heard a popping sound coming from the front end as i turned into the driveway. The next morning, Dec 23, 2022 while heading down my driveway the faults appeared and I was unable to steer.

- Richland Center, WI, USA

The power steering on my 2016 Ford Explorer completely stopped working while driving with two children in the vehicle. This is completely unacceptable for a 6 year old car with just over 100,000 miles. Ford Corporate refuses to honor this as a safety recall or safety issue despite the substantial complaints filed with the NHSTA. Are they really going to wait until there is a loss of life or severe injury to address this" On top of Corporate's unwillingness to acknowledge this is a manufacturers defect for which the safety of their customers and their families is at risk, they will not even consider a financial assistance program to partially fund the approximately $2,500-$3,000 price tag of rectifying; not to mention the backorder on the part needed. How many complaints regarding the very same issue have to be filed before NHSTA forces Ford to do something to prevent severe injury or death as a result of this known manufacturing defect"

- Voorheesville, NY, USA

Steering rack failed and I was unable to steer the vehicle. The safety of me and my family could have been put at risk if the steering failed on the highway. Upon research, I found this issue with Ford Explorers is a very common one. My mechanic was required to have the vehicle towed to him. I was unable to move the steering wheel at all! There was a light which stated the advance steering or something failed. There was no advanced warning. We are lucky the family was not traveling fast on a highway.

- Southbury, CT, USA

Went out to leave in Explorer. Placed Explorer in reverse and steering wheel wouldn-??t turn. Several messages appeared on the display such as driver assist failed, traction control on light enabled, traction control off light enabled, uphill assist message, and several others. Basically the car had no power steering.

- Connersville, IN, USA

2016 ford explorer, our family vehicle, my spouse was driving back home with kids in the back, approximately 20/25 miles per hrs, the steering all the sudden seized up, and no power steering assistant, since the steering system all electric rack and pinion, the dash board gave a message, no traction control, all terrain system not available, service steering assist. Luckily it happened in residential area, no body got hurt, as well as my familly, I was Able to tow it to the ford dealer in Illinois, diagnosed it a week after as electric power steering failure, cost is around $3000 to repair, and part is on national.back order, This has been a common safety issue for part failure for the 2016 Ford explorer and up, but ford refuses to open an recall, its all over the internet same part issue and same model cars people have been suing and reporting it to Ford, dealer quote to repair is $3000 plus tax to repair, on today's date 01/01/2023 and no transportation since 12/26/2022, its more of safety concern than just a part failure if it happens on a highway speed/road and steering seizes than just a part failure without a warning.

- Rockford, IL, USA

My power steering, traction control, and terrain management all stopped working in my 2016 Ford Explorer due to a faulty steering gear. This is a known design flaw, which has impacted several hundreds 2016 - 2018 Ford Explorer owner/operators. Losing power steering capability while the vehicle is being operated is a major safety concern, which could lead to a motor vehicle collision, especially if being driven at highway speeds. Ford is aware of this issue but still fails to recall this problem. NTSB can rectify this problem by forcing Ford to do the right thing and permanently repair this issue. I am being forced to pay $2,381.50 for something that they know is a safety problem but they refuse to acknowledge. Gibbs Law Group is opening a class action lawsuit in this matter so clearly there are red flags that are being ignored. Please force Ford to do the right thing. 920-918-6266.

- Sheboygan Falls, WI, USA

Rack and pinion power steering rack stopped working while my wife was driving back home with our two kids that are 4 years old and 9 months old. Thankful she didn't crash because she was unable to steer the vehicle. No warnings or signs of the part going bad. Ford should be held responsible for issues like this. Numerous people are having the same issue.

- Harriman, TN, USA

steering on my car failed turning onto off ramp and could not steer the car with out a lot of effort missed the car in front of me and came to a stop on side of over pass missed the bridge called my dealer to have it looked at steering rack motor seized apparently it is a problem with 2015 2016 explorers cant find steering racks any where in north America I have been waiting for parts still no eta can you help with this problem thanks [XXX] email is [XXX]. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Simcoe , MI, USA

First problem I had was with the Actuator. I lost the ability of defrost and have the heat/AC go to anything other than direct face mode. Now, the power steering to my 2016 Ford Explorer is gone. It felt like I was grinding concrete when I would make any turn or slight shift. It-??s been at the shop for weeks due to a backorder. I-??m a single mom of 2 and it-??s my only transportation. I-??m really struggling without my vehicle. This should be part of a recall ASAP cause from my research this is too common almost this vehicle and good people are really going through it.

- Brentwood, NY, USA

Grinding noise when turning wheel noticed Mid-August 2022. No warning lights prior to failure. Aug 22, 2022, took to local mechanic. Diagnosed as faulty steering gear. Told 3500 on backorder. Part failure prevented vehicle from safely steering. August 28, 2022, took to Team Ford Dealer in Navasota, TX. Diagnosed as faulty steering gear. Order replacement, installed. Replacement part malfunctioned when installed at dealer. Warning lights went off, according to service manager. Dealer attempted to reorder. Part backordered. Parts ordering suspended while part redesigned, according to service manager at dealer. Nov. 2, 2022. Part still on backorder. Unable to drive vehicle. Steering gear necessary for vehicle to function safely. Part needing redesigning indicates original part faulty. Part malfunction confirmed by independent mechanic and Ford dealership.

- Millican, TX, USA