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CarComplaints.com Notes: The NHTSA's complaint data shows potentially scary power steering problems with the 2011 Ford Explorer.

The steering complaints are pretty serious - owners report the power steering cuts out while driving. The NHTSA opened an investigation into the power steering problems in June 2012, which lead to a recall in 2014. However years later, many 2011 Explorer owners report this defect is still occurring.

It's too bad because the 2009 & 2010 Ford Explorer are solid, trouble-free model years.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
51,012 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2011 Ford Explorer drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2011 Ford Explorer Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #57

Jun 022024

Explorer

  • 110,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH and making a left turn, the power steering and 4WD suddenly failed, causing the steering wheel to become difficult to turn in either direction. The 4WD was independently deactivated. During the failure, the message "Service Power Steering" and "Service Power Track" were displayed. The cause of the failures was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failures, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 110,000.

- Columbus, KS, USA

problem #56

Apr 102023

Explorer

  • miles
When driving and get up to 60mph car shakes and moves side to side hard to control.

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #55

Sep 052022

Explorer

  • miles
Driving along and the power steering assist went out. I called dealer and they said if it was over 10 years they didnt have to repair it. According to your website, It has a 15 year window. Please advise

- Franklin, IN, USA

problem #54

Mar 212022

Explorer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Every time we put the car in park, it would not register that it was in park and warning kept flashing that said shift to park. We had to just turn off the car most of the time and sometimes wiggling the shifter would work any time the "Not in Park" sign comes on when I know the gear is in park. I believe this can cause serious damage to property or cause death since the vehicle can roll. I believe Ford Motor Co should own up and recall all vehicles for service much for This is a known problem that has been know to happen to 2011 Edge and Explorers. The switch in the console shifter tends to fail prematurely. If the light does not light up the computer thinks the car is NOT in Park and alarms go off. THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED BY FORD THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE

- Des Plaines , IL, USA

problem #53

Jul 172020

Explorer

  • miles
Between 7/17/20 and 9/7/20 car stalled five times and stopped moving while in drive mode with no warning. Dealer kept car from 7/30/20 to 8/7/20, but problem was not fixed. Car returned to dealer 9/8/20 and kept by them until 9/16/20 when it was returned with problem apparently fixed. No problem since. Diagnosed Throttle Body Failure. Have verifying work order and invoice.

- Portsmouth, VA, USA

problem #52

Nov 292020

Explorer

  • 111,946 miles
While driving down interstate 75 from gainesville fl to loganville ga my power steering pump went out ! thankfully my children were not in the car, but even after pulling over and cutting the vehicle off to try to reset it it did not work!

- Loganville, GA, USA

problem #51

Nov 122020

Explorer

  • 193,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My power steering totally went out. It kept saying power steering fault and just stopped working. Then it started saying something about trac terrain fault or something. I've only had this car since 2018 and then found out today there was a recall on them for power steering. We bought our car in Oklahoma and now live in Alabama. The power steering has been weird on me before but turning off the car and restarting it would fix it, but it has went out saying fault while I was going around a turn and I had to brake quickly, throw on my hazards, turn off the car and restart it. But now nothing is fixing it, I had to tow it to my house from an hour away because I was stuck at work at 1am. I am the only person in my family able to work and work about 52hours a week and don't know I can afford to fix this issue that apparently was known but not fixed in my vehicle before it was sold to me (not your fault, the delearships fault, but they are 10 hours away...)

- Florence, AL, USA

problem #50

Aug 182020

Explorer

  • 161,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact entered and started the vehicle. The vehicle was shifted into reverse however, while turning the steering wheel the vehicle failed to operate as designed. The power steering warning light became illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact spoke with a representative at tony serra Ford (40905 highway 280, sylacauga, al 35150 (256) 245-5000) and was informed that the vehicle was not under recall. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 161,000.

- Sylacauge, AL, USA

problem #49

Jul 222019

Explorer

  • 99,000 miles
While driving and while just starting the vehicle, the power steering and terrain management systems ding loudly on the left side of the display while telling me I have an error. While driving, the power steering did go out briefly but came back.

- Bristow, VA, USA

problem #48

Jun 162019

Explorer

  • 93,000 miles
Randomly has a AWD fault warning. Loses trans power. Requires stop. Shut off & restart. Dangerous! has happened of freeway several times. Dealer found no record saved"??" just happened again yesterday!!!

- Yakima, WA, USA

problem #47

Mar 042019

Explorer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Every time I go in the highway and I go 60 miles per hour I start smelling the exhaust smell inside my car start feeling kind of dizzy with headaches took the car to the dealer check that and it's doing it again exhaust smell comes inside of car really bad

- Camden, NJ, USA

problem #46

Feb 212019

Explorer

  • 70,128 miles
Second (2nd) occurrence. Vehicle as backed into driveway and parked Wednesday February 20,2019. Thursday February 21, 2019 at approximately 7:00 am, it was observed the the vehicle had rolled backwards approx. 13 feet on its own. Vehicle was locked and transmission was in park. Approximately 7:15 am it was observed that the rolled approximately 16 inches more with the back bumper resting against the wall. This even is documented with pictures. First (1st) occurrence vehicle was parked nose first in driveway on February 11, 2019. February 12, 2019 at approximately 8:00 am, my wife had asked if we had moved the vehicle forward because the front of vehicle was almost touching the wall. The vehicle was locked and in park. The weather on both occurrences was snow then rain. Unable to attach photos due to file size.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #45

Oct 262018

Explorer

  • 71,240 miles
I was turning out of my alley and the car had no power. When I tried to accelerate nothing happened. I had an orange warning light with a wrench come on the dashboard. I turned the car off and then back on and there was no warning light and no issue with the acceleration. Dealership couldn't find a problem but this issue is all over the internet and there is a recall for it but not for my VIN number or year.

- Amarillo, TX, USA

problem #44

Jul 172018

Explorer

  • 65,000 miles
I was driving my 2011 Ford Explorer (65,000 miles) when I suddenly lost all power to my gas, break and steering wheel. Luckily I was going close to 10-15 miles per hour and I managed to veer onto someone's lawn and hit the emergency break. I was told that there was oil leaking into the engine that cause a complete engine failure. No sensors went off prior to the incident and I have only gotten my car repaired at the Ford dealership.

- Buffalo, NY, USA

problem #43

Jul 202018

Explorer

  • miles
Shifter does not engage into park and warning light comes on. Will not engage my seat to slide back after putting it into park. My car was stationary every time. Although, the person who realised it was not shifting into park was the Ford dealership. And now ive noticed it every time. No matter how many times I restart my car it well not shift into park. I must apply the parking brake. Ford has numerous recalls on vehicles for the same problem, however the Ford Explorer is not....why? after leaving dealership I was given the parts list for the shifting issues, which is a safety concern that should have been fixed by Ford.

- Ritzville, WA, USA

problem #42

May 302018

Explorer

  • 87,000 miles
The Explorer was put into park and left running in the driveway as I went into the house to get my kids. When I got out of the car it didn't move at all. While I was getting my kids together I happen to look up and see my Explorer crashed into a tree in the backyard. I went out to see what happened and the Explorer had gone up a slightly inclined driveway, down a hill, through and aluminum fence, and crashed into a tree. When I opened the driver door the gear shifter still showed in park.

- Gardner, KS, USA

problem #41

Aug 242017

Explorer

  • 48,000 miles
On 8/24/2017, while I was driving on garden state parkway, NJ, approaching toll gate near exist 114, suddenly the indicator lights showed AWD off and I lost all power. I was able to coast through the toll gate but could not accelerate anymore. I was able to park on road shoulder. I dismissed indicator AWD off warning by click "ok" but it kept coming back and I cannot drive forward anymore. Meanwhile, the terrain management system indication light got off. I stopped engine and restarted engine, and everything was back to normal. This is a serious lose power issue that many other Ford Explorer owners reported. There is a PE13003 NHTSA recall but this doesn't cover Ford Explorer, even I believe many other Ford cars (like Ford edge) share same parts with Explorer. If I lost power when I drive in high speed, I may end up with major car accident!!!

- Livingston, NJ, USA

problem #40

Aug 172017

Explorer

  • 64,000 miles
Electronic throttle body issue - over the last 30 days, my 2011 Ford Explorer has stalled leaving me with no power to control my speed. Luckily the times this has happened, I have been on city streets driving 30-40 mph. A warning goes off stating "AWD off" and then a picture of a wrench appears and I lose all speed and am forced to limp off the road. I am able to shift into park, turn the vehicle off and then start back up. After the first incident, I took the vehicle to the local Ford dealer and they were unable to detect the error code and said it was likely a fluke. Since that visit to the dealership, my vehicle has had this issue on multiple occasions. Today, it happened 4 times which has left me to fear driving on the highway or interstate for safety reasons. After doing online research, it appears that the issue is very similar to the etb issues that Ford opened up "customer satisfaction program 13N03" but unfortunately it did not include Ford Explorer.

- Peoria, IL, USA

problem #39

Jun 252017

Explorer

  • 53,000 miles
Car losses power while in motion. Frist time near my home. Second time while driving in town. Stop, turn off motor then back on and message is gone. My car has done this twice now. Do not trust my car to drive far from home. Throttle body assembly is having issues and understand it's been recalled on a different Ford car but not Explorer. Most likely same throttle assembly!

- Shawnee, OK, USA

problem #38

Jul 062016

Explorer

  • miles
I have a 2011 Ford Explorer and I absolutely hate it !!! ever since I purchased the vehicle, I have had many problems. I just had my power steering rack replaced, out of pocket, until Ford decided to recall it. Now, I had to replace the transfer case, which ironically went bad out of no where. The transfer case is a major issue with Ford vehicles and Ford refuses to recall it. I have had many many problems with

- Waldorf, MD, USA

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