Vehicle owner was driving to work this morning and when vehicle let out a chime and the message center stated that the electronic power steering assist had failed. Immediately, steering became quite difficult, but the driver was able to maneuver the vehicle safely to the side of the road. Driver shut engine off, waited a minute, and restarted vehicle. Systems appeared to be reset, message center was clear, and driver proceeded to drive to work. Driver was aware of this issue occurring in 2011 Ford Explorer and was fortunately prepared for it to happen.

- Cedar Grove, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the power steering failed and the steering wheel became extremely difficult to steer. The power steering warning light illuminated and a warning bell sounded during the failure. The contact shut the vehicle off and upon restart, the vehicle operated as normal. The failure had since recurred once. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and they were in the process of repairing the steering system. The contact was informed that they were awaiting the availability of parts. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was awaiting a response. The failure mileage was 13,000.

- Alpine, CA, USA

I was driving with my children on June 5, 2012 when suddenly the steering wheel locked. Shortly there after a yellow alert message appeared saying that a "power steering asst fail" had occurred. I could not do anything with the car and was frantic hoping that we would not be hit by other traffic. As a last resort I totally shut off the car and turned it back on. The car was then drive-able and I immediately took it to the dealership. They serviced the vehicle and noted that the car showed a voltage drop. They determined that there was nothing else they could do as the trouble shooting steps were complete and there was nothing visibly wrong with the vehicle. Now just shy of 6 weeks later I was again driving with my children in the car when the very same "power steering asst fail" alert came on as my steering wheel locked again. I tried to yank on the steering wheel to see if it would budge or if there was anything else I could. Remembering the last scenario I turned the car off and on again. This time, the same message appeared and nothing changed. Desperate I turned the car on and off again and the message went away and I was able to steer the vehicle. It is currently being towed to the dealership. I do not feel safe driving this vehicle and would be fearful to get behind the wheel of it again.

- Virignia Beach, VA, USA

I was on my way home from work and carpooling with 2 other coworkers. I had exited off the highway going approximately 55 mph. All of the sudden, I received a message, "power steering assist fault", and my steering locked up. Luckily I was on the straight part of the road heading toward a stop sign. Once there, I put the car in park, shut it off, and then restarted it. The error was gone and my steering wheel worked again. I took it in to the Ford dealership and was told that it was a sensor that needed to be replaced. It took a week for the problem to be fixed. On July 19, 2012, just 3 months after the problem was supposedly fixed, I took off from a red light going about 25 mph and again I received the "power steering assist fault" message and my steering locked up again. I had my children with me in the car and thank goodness there was nobody behind me and I was able to slowly pull into a parking lot. I shut off the car and restarted it and the error was gone and I could drive my car again. It is currently at the Ford dealership awaiting to have the problem fixed again. Ready to get rid of this vehicle as it poses a major safety hazard!

- College Station, TX, USA

I was crossing traffic and the power steering went out. I had to stop to turn the wheel so I could make my turn. I was so lucky there was no traffic coming and I wasn't going any faster because I could have hit a tree.

- Lake Charles, LA, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the power steering seized completely. The traction control warning light also illuminated as the engine was turned off for about three minutes. Upon restart, the vehicle functioned as normal. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who inspected the failure and stated that the steering column needed to be replaced. The failure would be repaired under warranty but the parts were on back order. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 11,000.

- Old Bridge, NJ, USA

"terrain management system fault", and "power steering assist fault" both popped up on left hand screen and my steering wheel locked up. This happened twice while turning into a driveway and once after stopping at a stop sign. Took it into the dealership and they said they could not duplicate the failure. 2 days after getting it back from the dealer it happened 2 more times. Taking it back but I have to wait 2 weeks for a courtesy rental car.

- West Chester, PA, USA

I purchased the 2011 Ford Explorer on 6/10/12. On three separate occasions the car was started and power steering would not work but was able to be remedied by turning the ignition off and back on again. An appointment was set up to have car serviced. On two more separate occasions after appointment was made power steering was lost while driving on the highway at speeds ranging 55 to 65. On July 3rd once again while car was being started the power steering wouldn't work and was unable to be remedied by turning off ignition and restarting. The vehicle was towed to a Ford dealer and still awaiting back ordered part that I am told may take a long time.

- Attleboro, MA, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 65 mph, she noticed that the power steering stopped functioning. The contact was able to safely maneuver to the shoulder. The vehicle was then towed to the dealer for a diagnosis. The dealer stated that they needed to replace the steering axle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no asssitance. The failure and current mileages were 17,800. The VIN was unavailable.

- Avon , MA, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 10 mph, the power steering failed and the vehicle became very difficult to steer. The contact mentioned that the advance trac and power steering warning lamps illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 22,000. Updated 8/31/12 the consumer stated the vehicle was repaired after a month. Updated 09/11/2012

- St Charles, MO, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. While driving approximately 5 mph, there was an unexpected loss in the power steering with an illumination of the all trac system warning indicator. The brake pedal was abruptly engaged to avoid hitting several pedestrians in the parking lot. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis and an unknown part related to the power steering was replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 13,100.

- Goshen, KY, USA

While slowing my 2011 Ford Explorer at an intersection, the power steering stopped working and the wheel felt locked. An error message showed 'power assist failure'. I was barely able to get the vehicle to the side of the road to turn it off. Once restarted, the error message cleared. This has occurred 4 times in 3 weeks after having the vehicle 1 year. It had approximately 8,600 miles on it when this began to occur.

- Longview, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the power steering failed while reversing from a residential driveway. The power steering and traction warning lights illuminated during the failure. The power steering failed seven different times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer four times and the manufacturer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 13,000 and the current mileage was 17,000.

- Richmond, KY, USA

Turning into parking lot, power steering abruptly ceased, I had to muscle car out of way of another car, narrowly escaping accident.lights lit up, power steering failure, terrain management failure.

- Verona, NJ, USA

The vehicle's computer system came up with a warning that said power steering assist fault. Then the traction control light came on. I lost full control of the steering at the time of driving. The steering completely locked up. I turned on my hazards to signal other cars to go around me. At that time, I had to completely shut down the vehicle and restart it twice before it reset the system and allowed me to control the steering again. This was very scary. It happened again, same scenario. I took it into the dealership and they didn't know how to fix it so they tried resetting the system with a complete master reset. Since then, it has happened again. The third time I was actually turning in a turn lane and could not steer straight. Luckily there were not any cars behind me. This is very serious and needs to be addressed. They should not be sending people back out in these cars. I have notified the dealership as well as filed a report with Ford Motor Company.

- Lambertville, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the power steering failed and as a result, became very hard to steer. The contact mentioned that the traction warning and the power steering warning lamps were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who was not able to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 6,000.

- Byram , MS, USA

Traveling at approximately 40 mph when multiple warnings occurred. "terrain management system fault", "power steering assist fault", and "service advance trac" power steering was not working. Upon stopping and restarting vehicle power steering started working again. This happened 2 more times in the next 4 days. Fortunately I was traveling in a straight line each time and was able to stop and restart the vehicle and the power steering started working again. Same thing happened on the fifth day and I was not able to get the power steering working again. Car was taken to the dealership the next day where I was told that this was an ongoing problem and that the necessary parts are in short supply. It would be 6 to 8 weeks before they could get the parts.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

Driving on highway at highway speeds when the alerts for failure of the electronic stability control came on. We then realized that the power steering had failed and had difficulty steering the vehicle. Managed to get the vehicle off at an exit. Towed to dealer. Dealer not clear as to what happened and part to repair is on back order from Ford. Internet research demonstrated this is a common problem with 2011 Ford Explorer.

- Akton, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while attempting to make a left turn, the vehicle instead turned right, almost causing the driver to lose control. The contact mentioned that the terrain warning lamp illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the steering column was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 11,000 and the current mileage was 11,200.

- Bohemia, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, there was a loss of power steering with the warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road. The engine was turned off and upon restarting, the vehicle resumed normally. The failure occurred three times. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. There was currently an open investigation under NHTSA action number PE12017 (steering:electric power assist system). The approximate failure mileage was 17,500. Updated 7/31/12 on July 12, 2012, the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, due to the fact the vehicle was driven approximately 10 miles before the vehicle could be turned off and re-started. A code was detected in the PCM. From that code, it was determined the vehicle needed a rack and pinion. The consumer was informed there were no parts available. Updated 08/01/12

- Nokesville, VA, USA