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.
On my way to work at 5:30am my 2011 Ford Explorer lost power and went into "limp mode", luckily I was on a city street and only traveling 30 mph and was able to limp the vehicle to the side of the road. The error on the dash was "AWD Off" and then a wrench. Put the vehicle in park, turned it off and then started it back up to continue on my way. Out of fear of this repeat issue, I will no longer drive the Explorer on the highway/interstate. Issue appears to be the same exact issue that caused Ford to issue a "customer satisfaction program" to make the repairs on other Ford models but did not include the Explorer. This is now becoming a daily issue and is extremely frustrating because the dealership can't find the error code and have deemed it to be a "fluke".
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
On my way to work at 5:30am my 2011 Ford Explorer lost power and went into "limp mode", luckily I was on a city street and only traveling 30 mph and was able to limp the vehicle to the side of the road. The error on the dash was "AWD Off" and then a wrench. Put the vehicle in park, turned it off and then started it back up to continue on my way. Out of fear of this repeat issue, I will no longer drive the Explorer on the highway/interstate. Issue appears to be the same exact issue that caused Ford to issue a "customer satisfaction program" to make the repairs on other Ford models but did not include the Explorer. This is now becoming a daily issue and is extremely frustrating because the dealership can't find the error code and have deemed it to be a "fluke".
- Melissa H., Peoria, US