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:
17 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
69,354 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.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while exiting a parking area, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated the power steering assist fault and the service advancetrac warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that she turned off and restarted the vehicle but continued to experience the failure. The contact stated that she parked the vehicle. The contact's brother was able to drive the vehicle to her residence while experiencing the failure. The contact's brother took the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the steering rack and pinion to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 162,076.
The contact's girlfriend owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his girlfriend was driving 30 MPH, the power steering assist failed with the stabilitrak warning light illuminated and a warning sensor chiming. His girlfriend pulled over and restarted the vehicle and was able to resume normal driving. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent and occasionally recurred upon restart. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) which he linked to the failure. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
Electric power steering failed without any warning. Ford HAD a voluntary recall, but as a second owner I did not get any notification. As vehicles are supposed to exceed 100k miles this is disturbing (like iPhone battery fiasco). Electric steering is nearly impossible to drive and being thIs is a KNOWN problem with this vehicle and the fact it is the #1 vehicle currently utilized by Law Enforcement I find it odd there is not a mandatory safety recall for this issue. Thank you, [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35-40 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated that the vehicle was difficult to control. While her son was driving at an unknown speed, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where she was informed the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The vehicle was diagnosed and determined that the power steering module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 195,000.
- Upper Marlboro, MD, USA
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Power steering suddenly went out 3 times in a 30 min period while driving at a low rate of speed. Error appeared on dash when fault occurred. After restarting engine error went away and had power steering.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed and making a turn, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The driver was able to continue driving the vehicle. The contact stated that the power steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the contact was informed that the vehicle was repaired in 2015 under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The contact was also informed that the warranty had expired. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.
I was driving out of my driveway and the power steering froze. There was no warning. I ended up hitting the rear of another car I have in my driveway. Luckily nobody was in the vehicle. A light then cam on to see your dealer! I see there was a recall by Ford of the power steering, but that recall has expiried for my vehicle due to the fact it is 11 years old. The recall was for
The power steering suddenly went out. A "power steering assist fault" warning light came on. No power assist was available and the vehicle became extremely difficult to steer. Fortunately, I was traveling at a low rate of speed and was able to safely steer off the road.If this had occurred while taking a corner, it could have been catastrophic. When restarted, the steering worked again and the warning light went out. Since this happened, it had reoccurred twice, making the vehicle unsafe to drive.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering assist needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while his wife was reversing out of a parking lot, the steering wheel seized. The contact stated that the power steering assists warning light was illuminated. The contact also stated he was unable to move the steering wheel. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact called an independent mechanic who serviced the vehicle at the parking lot. The mechanic was able to use the meteor sensor and stated the motor position sensor signal had to be reset. The motor position sensor signal was reset. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The contact was able to drive to the residence. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the steering rack to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 88,000.
Upon starting the SUV an alert appeared stating -??power steering assist failure-?? appeared. Attempted to reset the sensor multiple times with no success. It was impossible to move the steering wheel. Thankfully I wasn-??t driving given I drive the highway everyday too and from work or I could have had serious harm to myself or others. There is no way I would have been able to control any sort of manual steering as I have a back injury. Now I will have to have it towed to get it repaired just so I can get too and from work.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while his niece was driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated that the electric power steering assists warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over, turned off, and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle operated as intended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that there was nothing that could be done because the vehicle was not under recall and the warranty had expired. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA for assistance. The failure mileage was 44,000.
I started the car and started to go then the car could not be steered and a warning came on that said "power steering assist fault". The steering wheel was impossible to turn and if this had happened in traffic or the freeway at a higher speed I could have been easily killed. Now every time the car is turned on the steering wheel will not turn.
while driving on the interstate my power steering went completely out and on the dash board the power steering assist light came on...scared me to death as coudnt steer. took off work next day and took to dealer said not under warranty bc i have 144k miles and is 11 years old and warranty was under 150k or 10 years...however i did find out this was a big safety issue and was a recall in 2014 on these with a recall...,,,the dealer said i was gonna have to pay 3100 and i had to get and pay for a rental car to drive home and leave at dealer to repair....i had no choice but to leave bc had to be fixed.they were nice at dealership in telling me out of warranty but i dont understand why this huge safety issue wouldnt be fixed and paid for by ford"I do not want to get nooone in trouble and not one to complain much but the money is hard to just come up with to repair a vehicle, rent a rental car and a day off work...im asingle father and have worked 2 jobs for many years to put my son thru college.i had to put all this unexpected money on my emergency credit card and will take a long time for me to pay off.and the issue scared me to death! i feel should have been fixed by the company bc of the issue.I never received nothing by mail of a safety issue recall or warranty expiring about this issue and i have owned since early 2021.I do not understand why and how a recall to repair this huge safety issue can expire"it could have been catastrophic on the interstate and piles of cars..... i thank god i was able to stay straight and wasnt turning when the power steering went out and was ok..but have no choice to repair as cant drive with no power steering.i feel this should be taken care of by ford no matter the year or mileage on explorer as it is a huge safety issue with going out while driving. nervous wreck over it and the money issue to repair.please help me get money back and before this happens again on the explorers(no matter the year or mileage) and serious injuriesoccur
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Freeport, NY, USA