The first time this happen my wife was driving down the road at approximately 35 to 40 mph. I was riding passenger seat. All of the sudden just going down the road. She said she couldn't steer and at that time I heard a beep. This was a message on the dash saying steering assist fault. She had a very hard time steering it around a corner we had come to. She asked if we should pull over but since we were less than a mile from the house. And how I figured we could make it has I have drove a car home when a power steering belt broke before. I told her to continue home. Once home we turned car off. And then restart it. The car was back to normal and warning message went away. At the time we just considered it a fluke. Then it done it again a week later going down the road again. We pulled over and again shut car off and restarted it. It was fine again. Then a few day later it did in a parking lot parking. A month later it finally happened while driving on me. I was driving 45 mph going straight all the sudden the steering wheel got tight and the power steering fault came on like usual. We were on our way to the store and less than a 1/4 mile away. It was very hard to turn the car into the store parking lot. This is harder to steer than a manual steering car. Do to trying to steer a power steering rack and gears on top of big 20" wheels with wide tires. For inexperienced, not a very strong person, or an elderly driver. This could be a dangerous situation on the highway on a corner. And I could see how it could cause an accident. This problem as happen also immediately when care is started. It happens at anytime it seems. You never know when it will happen again.

- Belton, MO, USA

We purchased our 2011 Ford Explorer in January of 2011 and have been the exclusive users of the car ever since. Our vehicle has experienced three total losses of power steering ability since July 8, 2013. When an event occurs, the "power steering failure" light comes on and the vehicle immediately becomes difficult to steer. Two of the occurrences have taken place while traveling at high speed on the highway. In one instance, my wife was driving the car with our young son and struggled to control the vehicle after the failure. Ford attempted to address the problem by installing two separate new steering columns into the vehicle, yet the problem persists and seems to have had collateral effects on other electrical and mechanical components of the car. I have advised Ford customer service of the problem but as of 11/20/2013 I have not had any kind of affirmative response.

- Dallas, TX, USA

I was rounding a curve in an intersection when the steering became impossible to steer. I managed to get it off the road and I noticed the traction controls were lit up along with the steering failure warring came on. After restarting the car everything returned to normal.

- Matewan, WV, USA

I was getting ready to turn into the parking lot.. when 2 sets of lights came on..the system indicators came up.. one indicating the power steering error and another indicating the power steering locked... then the steering wheel became very hard to turn.. making so very hard to turn into a parking space.. someone had to push me into the parking lot out of the way.. later to call Ford dealership doesn't want to assist me with this problem... I drive a 2011 Ford Explorer.. the car is 2 years old. I reviewed other concerns of this matter.. is there a recall...

- Charlotte , NC, USA

On Oct. 30th the steering locked up while driving on I-95 South going roughly 65 miles per hour. The steering locked and would not allow for the wheels to be turned. We were lucky it happened on a straight piece of the highway. My wife was able to slow the car in time so that the vehicle could be driven onto the side of the road slowly enough that she could keep it on the berm. The car was turned off and when she turned it back on the steering worked fine. This is the second occurrence. The first happened about a year ago.

- Chestnut Hill Cove, MD, USA

While driving, power steering assist abruptly fails, as does advance trac stability control. The vehicle becomes much harder to control. If the car is in a turn when the steering fails, the steering wheel lurches and tries to re-aim the vehicle straight ahead, disrupting the turn. Dashboard warnings confirm the steering and advance trac failures. Also, the turn signal sustain fails, so using the turn signal requires constant pressure on the signal arm. On average, this problem has recurred every 2000 miles, at any speed. Turning the car off and restarting "fixes" the problem temporarily until the next failure. Two trips to the dealer for examinations have resulted in no answers - both times the results of leaving the car for several days have been shrugged shoulders and "we couldn't duplicate the problem, and there is no trouble code. It worked fine for us." As is nothing ever was wrong with the car, and even if there were something wrong, there is no way to repair it! how the NHTSA and Ford Motor Company can allow these vehicles to roam our highways with no recall, or even a technical service bulletin, knowing there is a chance the drivers may lose control and crash, as some already have, is a crime against vehicle safety and against the very mission statement of the NHTSA. I will be copying this complaint to my elected representative in the United States congress, who in the past has proven to be far more interested in my safety than Ford or the NHTSA.

- Carlsbad, CA, USA

Was driving down the road and with no warning the power steering went out and lights came on the dash. Arrived at destination cut the car off and several hours later started the car and drove it with no problems. 5 months later my wife was driving the vehicle and the same thing occurred. We took it to the Ford dealership they were able to reproduce the problem and said it was the steering rack electric control module. Luckily she had purchased the extended warranty because at this time the car had about 40000 miles and would have cost us 1800 dollars to fix. We got the car from the dealership and about 1 week later I was driving the car 40 mph on a curvy road when again lost power steering and almost ran off the road into ditch I took the car straight to the dealership left the engine running with all the dash board lights lit up and no power steering. After filing a complaint with Ford corporate a regional customer service manager called and they are now telling me that the new part they had replaced a week earlier must have been defected and are waiting on another replacement part. We informed them we no longer want the vehicle we feel it is not safe to drive and wanted to know what options we had and what Ford was willing to do to keep us a satisfied customer. They offered a free extended warranty on the car (which my wife had already purchased) or we could trade it in on a new Ford and by the new vehicle under the Ford X-plan.

- Church Road , VA, USA

We purchased our 2011 Explorer in July 20, 2013 with approx 43,000 miles. The first instance (8/30/13) we were leaving a friend's house, turned on the car and had no power steering for the entire ride home. This was a Friday night so we were unable to take the car to the dealership. Power steering came back the next morning when we restarted the vehicle. Sunday (9/1/13) we were driving at approximately 40 mph when we lost power steering again. We pulled over and shut the car off. Once restarted, the power steering worked again. Our local dealership was contacted and could not fit us in for service until 9/9/13. The Ford dealership kept our car for exactly 2 weeks trying to figure out the exact problem. Inevitably, we were told that the steering gear assembly was replaced. All was fine until 10/14/13 when we once again lost power steering and "service power steering" and "terrain management system" warnings were displayed on the dash while driving at approximately 35 mph. The vehicle was taken immediately to the Ford dealership yet again. We were contacted by the service department rep, who spoke with Ford, to determine that the gear that was previously replaced was "defective." We are now awaiting yet again to have our car returned to us. Each time this happens there is no warning and the car is extremely hard to steer. This is not only inconvenient but also a huge safety issue. We drive around two small children and my wife feels unsafe driving the vehicle because this can happen at anytime without warning. As time goes on, it has been brought to our attention that this is a fairly common problem among 2011 Ford Explorer through present models. Unfortunately, it seems that many people have been going through this exact vicious cycle for years now. It seems that Ford cannot seem to pin point the exact problem.

- Berea, OH, USA

I was driving to work going about 55mph give or take 5mph when the steering went stiff and made it hard to steer through the turns. It was worse when I had to make slow turns. If I had to avoid an accident quickly I don't think I would be able to avoid it. When I got to work shut the car off turned it back on and I guess it reset because the steering came back. When I T happened again I called the brewster Ford and said to turn the car off and on and that would fix the problem I rough the car to the dealer after if happened a few time but they said they wont be able to find anything since there are no errors when I brought it in it happened a few more times brought it back again the check it said they found nothing and then charged me almost $200 if finally completely went this all happened over a 1yr time period put a call into brewster Ford and corporate still waiting to here from either one that was almost 2weeks ago.

- Brewster, NY, USA

On Thursday evening Sept 9, 2013 I was driving East on highway 195 in NJ. Out of nowhere the power steering fail signal and terrain warning signal came on and immediately the power steering went out at the exact same time. I was driving 65mph in the left lane with my young daughter in the car. The steering wheel froze and barely budged, could move maybe an inch in each direction. Thank god I was able to slowly get the car to the shoulder safely. This could have potentially been a dangerous and fatal accident....it was truly frightening!!! when I called Ford road side assistance they took 15min just to get basic info down to send tow truck, woman was very short with me and seemed like I was bothering her. We hang up, its getting dark, my daughter is scared, then 5 min later she calls me back to tell me there is a problem. She said the local Ford dealer is closed so they can tow to a secure facility overnight but there would be an additional cost. I said a few choice words and cancelled fra. Thankfully I have aaa premium so I had them tow my car to my home overnight then called fra to bring to Ford service dealer the following morning. Ford service rep now tells me I need a new power steering rack which will cost $2,400 and is not covered. I did research online Ford part only cost less than $600!!! many other complaints on here and NHTSA are investigating this continuing power steering fail issue in the 2011 Explorer but until then my car which is less than 2 years old is going to cost me if I want it back. What is being done about this and future accidents that could occur with other innocent drivers?

- Hamilton Square, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 20 mph, the power steering warning light illuminated as the steering wheel seized. The contact applied the brakes and shut off, then restarted the vehicle as it operated as designed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis and the contact was informed that the electronic steering sensor would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 51,900....updated 10-24-13 updated 11/1/2013

- Henryetta, OK, USA

While driving a vehicle stability fault message popped up. This was caused by the electric power steering module failing. Luckily in this case my wife was able to slow the vehicle down and muscle it off the road without accident or injury. When the electric power steering fails the car is extremely difficult to steer. Ford know about this system failure and refuses to recall it.

- Plymouth, MI, USA

Driving straight on an interstate I-82 at 70 mph.. bell chime sounded, looked at the instrument panel which displayed yellow "steer assist fault"!!! then I realized I had no power steering. Off I-82 to find a Ford dealer. Dealer check it out and said it worked now. When it quits, pull over, stop, turn off the engine and start it again; the computer resets itself. The dealer, Ford country in prosser, wa has a customer with the same problem, that is how he knew what to tell me. They have had this part on back order for 2 months.

- Seattle, WA, USA

On three occasions the car loss power steering and warning light came on in the dash. The ignition was turned off and then the engine was restarted and the power steering seem to return to normal function. Car has been taken to dealer. Dealer is going to replace the rack and pinion steering assy.

- Belleville, MI, USA

Traveling at freeway speed the warning message appeared on the instrument panel before the power steering quit. When I restarted the car it appeared to have corrected the problem. On September 10th, the same warning came on the instrument panel before the power steering quit. I was traveling at 35mph. I restarted the car and it appeared to correct the problem again. When I previously took it into the dealership they said there was nothing wrong and reset the system.

- Kirkland, WA, USA

I was with my family on trip driving 80 mph on the freeway when the power steering went out! there was no indication on the instrument cluster that the power steering failed so I was not prepared for this. We did run off the road and onto the shoulder and fished tail out of control. This was frightening for my family. I was ready to pass some slower vehicles when this happen and had to move quick but the power steering was out. We lost control and ended up on the shoulder. I managed to drive the car home not without sweating by struggling with the steering wheel from 3 hours away. Once home, I looked this particular problem on the internet and found that there is a lot of complaints of this same problem. I also found that Ford does not acknowledge this!!!! I called Ford customer support the next day and I was informed that this was the first time they heard of this. Hopefully no one gets hurt for Ford to realize this is a defect in their vehicles! there needs to be a recall on this!

- Saint Michaels, AZ, USA

While driving in town, traction control lights came on and vehicle lost all power steering. The steering rack assembly had to be replaced.

- Terre Haute, IN, USA

While driving, power steering assist abruptly fails, as does advance trac stability control. The vehicle becomes much harder to control. If the car is in a turn when the steering fails, the steering wheel lurches and tries to re-aim the vehicle straight ahead, disrupting the turn. Dashboard warnings confirm the steering and advance trac failures. Also, the turn signal sustain fails, so using the turn signal requires constant pressure on the signal arm. On average, this problem has recurred every 2000 miles, at any speed. Turning the car off and restarting "fixes" the problem temporarily until the next failure. Two trips to the dealer for examinations have resulted in no answers - both times the results of leaving the car for several days have been shrugged shoulders and "we couldn't duplicate the problem, and there is no trouble code. It worked fine for us." As is nothing ever was wrong with the car, and even if there were something wrong, there is no way to repair it! how the NHTSA and Ford Motor Company can allow these vehicles to roam our highways with no recall, or even a technical service bulletin, knowing there is a chance the drivers may lose control and crash, as some already have, is a crime against vehicle safety and against the very mission statement of the NHTSA. I will be copying this complaint to my elected representative in the United States congress, who in the past has proven to be far more interested in my safety than Ford or the NHTSA.

- St. Louis, MO, USA

Was in park in a fast food drive through and had the vehicle in park and when I put it in drive and accelerated I immediately got an error power steering assist failure and the power steering was gone and very hard to turn the wheel. Luckily it was a straight drive through. I turned off the engine and restarted and the error cleared and I was able to steer again. This is the second time this has occurred with a similar scenario where the steering failed after switching to drive from park. I am not positive of the date of the first time as I did not write it down and thought it was a one time fluke but it was approximately in Feb, 2013. Hearing about others where this has happened while driving at speed has given me great concerns now.

- Carson City, NV, USA

When turning right into my work parking lot yesterday morning I received the power steering assist fault error and service advance trac error with loss of power steering. This is the second time this has happened with the first time in June driving on a highway. The warning message (audible and visual warning) come on at the same time the power steering is lost so there is no warning, it just happens and you have to hopefully be at a safe distance between another vehicle or object so you will not cause an accident. This is a known issue with Ford and they do not consider it a safety problem, however, I do not feel safe driving this vehicle anymore not knowing when it could happen again and if I will be able to steer it safely with another sudden loss of power steering. This part should be recalled.

- Bay City, MI, USA