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.
At approximately 122,000 miles, my 2012 Ford Explorer had no power steering and error messages came up on the dash. It was towed to my local Goodyear where 7 error codes came up. They replaced the battery and 4 out of the 3 error codes went away but power steering was still locked up and not drive-able. They advised me I needed to take it to a Ford Dealership. Had to wait 2 weeks for an appointment at my local Ford Dealership where they advised me my Steering Gear needed to be replaced. After researching this, there was a recall on this. My vehicle fell under this recall, however it was just 5 months past the 10 year manufactures warranty expired. My local dealership advised me they tried to have it covered but Ford denied their request. How convenient that it was just 5 months outside of the expiration date. We called Ford customer care and they basically said "too bad". There are several hundred complaints on this SAFETY issue and Ford customer care said "it's NOT a SAFETY recall". How is this not a safety problem? So now I am out $3000 that I didn't have on a faulty vehicle.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 15 MPH, the steering wheel locked inadvertently, causing him to lose control of the vehicle and the vehicle drove off the road. The contact depressed the brake pedal and was able to stop the vehicle. The warning message "Power Steering Failure" was illuminated. The contact was able to continue to drive the vehicle by forcefully steering the steering wheel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering gear needed to be replaced and the repair could be completed under the Customer Satisfaction Program: 15N01. The dealer submitted a claim to SSSC but the claim was denied. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that the vehicle should be repaired under the Customer Satisfaction Program: 15N01. The manufacturer contacted the dealer and the dealer resubmitted a claim to SSSC; however, SSSC denied the claim as the vehicle had exceeded 150,000 miles. The contact also referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The contact followed up with the manufacturer and was referred to NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 250,000.
while driving the car the following errors popped up Service Advance Trac and Service Power Steering Now, once errors popped the steering because difficult for driving without a large amount of pressure being applied for steering. I had children in the car and this could of become worse, but was thankful it was a straight shot to home. Fear is that this will happen to the next person driving with their children and it will be a more dangerous problem
While driving my automatic power steering light came on and I was unable to easily steer the vehicle either at the speed I was going nor when I slowed down. Thankfully there were not that many cars in the parking area I turned into as I was unable to park within lines of a parking space. I called aaa to tow the car home, but the steering functionality had returned. I do not feel safe driving until this is repaired. It has not yet been repaired.
My vehicle lost power steering on December 4th, 2021, 10 days after the extended warranty date. After waiting several weeks for my vehicle to be fixed my power steering rack was finally replaced. An independent mechanic replaced the power steering rack the first week of January, 2022. I picked up the vehicle on 011122 and it drove fine. Approximately 15 miles later, the service power steering message appeared and I lost power steering again.
- Sioux City, IA, USA
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The contact's husband owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon startup of the vehicle, the power steering assist had failed as the power steering assist fault warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. After another man attempted to steer the vehicle, the contact left the vehicle in the parking lot and got a ride home. The next day, the contract called for a tow; however, the power steering functionality returned. With the tow truck following behind her, the contact was able to drive the vehicle to an independent mechanic. After a diagnostic test was performed, the mechanic informed her that he was not authorized to service the vehicle and advised her to take the vehicle to a dealer. The contact was then able to drive the vehicle to a dealer where she was given an appointment for a diagnostic test. The contact was able to drive the vehicle home and was instructed by the dealer to not drive the vehicle until it was repaired. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
Upon starting the vehicle dash lights illuminate saying power steering assist faulty. Following this the hill descent and traction control lights illuminate with a faulty code and then abs. Car was scanned with multiple error codes and cleared but the problem reoccurs. Looking into recalls there is one of power steering but the car is outside of the warranty with having 177,000 miles and just over the 10 years. Reading other peoples reports this needs to be recalled, it-??s putting lots of peoples lives at risk and they aren-??t even aware of the problem ford fails to acknowledge.
The power steering on the vehicle stopped working while driving. The vehicle is currently at Ken Groody Ford in Redlands, CA (Formerly Redlands Ford). The vehicle gave a yellow Service Power Steering Soon indication and the steering became sluggish. Shortly after, within minutes, the indicator came on in red and the vehicle was unable to be effectively steered. This is the second time this has occurred on this vehicle. The first time was two years ago in November 2019 and was repaired at the same dealership.
I had my vehicle taken to a local ford dealership for recall 14S06 in 2017. The computer was reprogrammed but nothing was replaced. I have had the "Power Steering Assist Fault" numerous times in the last 4 years but I never lost power steering. On December 3, 2021, I received the same message; however, on this occasion I did lose control of my power steering. Upon diagnosis, it appears my rack and pinion need to be replaced at 117000 miles and 10 days over program number 15N01.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 20 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated that the power steering assist warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with needing the power steering rack replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 70 MPH, the steering wheel locked up and was difficult to maneuver. The power steering assist fault message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with rack and pinion failure with codes U3000-49, U3000-96, and U3000-72. The rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was included in a recall for the steering however, the vehicle was 24 days past the 10-year warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 148,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the service power steering warning message was illuminated, and the vehicle became difficult to steer. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on three separate occasions for failure. The first time the vehicle was taken to the dealer, it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion were faulty. The dealer replaced the rack and pinion; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back a second time to the dealer, and the dealer cleaned the power steering connector. The failure recurred a third time. The vehicle was taken back a third time to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14E001000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 173,000.
As we were driving the car with the children, 4,6 and 13 the car suddenly became unable to steer as we were driving down a busy shopping mall area. The steering wheel became locked and heavy. It turns out that the steering assist motor is known to fail on these vehicles and Ford only covers them up to 150,000 miles, and my specific vehicle has 154,000 miles. This should be a recall.
On 10/4/21 while driving my 2012 Ford Explorer down interstate 95 approximately 70 mph and my steering wheel seized up. I lost all steering control and my steering wheel would not even turn. A red warning appeared that said "service power steering now". My car veered into the other lane of oncoming traffic due to my inability to steer. We somehow avoided oncoming vehicles and made it to the side of the road. My personal and trusted mechanic informed us there is an open recall for the issue. I called my local Ford dealership who confirmed there was an open recall. I took my Explorer to the dealership but they are refusing to service it stating that the code is no longer being thrown and the car is driving fine. They stated unless the car is showing problems while in the shop they are not required to repair anything under the recall. The problem is this is the first and only time in the 4 years I have owned this car that is has happened and that one time nearly killed us.
Power steering gear failure while driving. Light appeared as failure occurred. SUV became barely steerable while driving through a vehicle dense inner city residential block. I have excellent upper body strength but I was barely able to maneuver the vehicle to an open area to suspend operation and park to call for AAA to come tow it to mechanic. If my wife and children were driving or in this vehicle at the time of power steering gear failure I am afraid that she most likely not be able to have achieved the safe result I was able to. Vehicle was towed to Sentry Ford, they were able to diagnose the issue. It was a failed power steering gear, which is a recall(Ford Recall #15N01). They contacted Ford recall center and were informed that it was out of the coverage range by 804 miles. 804! And Ford would not honor repair. I attempted to contact Ford directly to work with them to resolve this serious safety issue, they said -??this recall repair is no longer supported-??,I asked to speak with their recall department and they informed me -??that team is no longer active, there was a class action lawsuit brought up regarding this recall and now was being handled by a different department-??, that she would transfer me to the class action section to handle this recall. When she transferred me she inadvertently disconnected call, I called back and spoke with another representative, explained my previous call, conversation, and direction which the previous representative provided. This second agent stated -??no such department exists, you are over the mileage for the recall repair, we will not be covering it-??. I asked to speak with a supervisor, was told none available and one would return my call within 24-48 hours. Waited for the rest of evening and into next day, -??supervisor-?? called while I was driving and call sent to voicemail. Supervisor stated on voicemail that -??recall past coverage period-?? -??won-??t support-?? supervisor did not leave a number to speak directly with her
During the pandemic I have been mandated to drive everyday to work almost everyday to keep the community safe as I am a nurse. I received two recall letters over this time. I did not have an opportunity to take the car the the garage as some were closed and or short staffed unable to see my car anytime soon. The other day as I was driving to work the power steering light came on the dash and suddenly the power steering locked up almost causing a serious collision. With all of my strength I was unable to move the steering wheel to stay on the road. The explorer was towed to Ford. I was told that I am 4,255 miles over the recall requirements and I must pay thousands of dollars to fix this. There are no exceptions for the few miles that I am over. When filing a complaint with ford about this situation, I was told that the recall for power steering was already done on this vehicle before me owning it. ( the ford dealership was unaware of this) There is no warranty on the recall replacement? This is a very dangerous situation that obviously keeps happening in fords. This is not fair that this is not covered. I complained previously about the steering issues I had at the time when it rains and the way the car handled, along with a few other complaints. I was told if the car did not show power steering issues, so they could not fix something they did not see having issues. At that time the gear shifter was replaced. I was not a fan of the service I received at FORD because I thought they were ignoring many of my issues. I don't know if I would be without a car right now if FORD would of handled this differently.
My steering when driving at low speeds is really tight as if my power steering is not working. There is no warning for it and it does not happen non stop it will go away but when it does happen it's random and that can cause a lot of issues if I'm during a sharp corner. I have 2 kids I transport and working 5 days a week to meet clients. This is my only vehicle and have nothing else I can drive.
Vehicle feels like loses control, briefly and warning lights coming on. Had noticed intermittent, but was heading back from vacation and warning lights stayed on. Drove cautiously back on back roads, avoiding highway and took to local Ford Dealership and it was determined that the past steering recall repair has failed (15N01). The fix is warranteed so they ordered parts needed to fix problem. Unfortunately the vehicle has been out of use due to serious safety concern as advised by dealership as well as Ford, but part has no ETA on when available. I have been without a vehicle for over a month. Dealership was aware I reached out to Ford and also contacted representative at Ford I had contacted. Claim was filed, but to this day we still have no ETA on the fix and I am without use of this vehicle and they won't do anything in the interim to rectify the concern. I have a claim with Ford with a Yeniss Frias Case No. CAS-31788394-F9K2Y9-?? - 1-866-631-3788 Extension #:79,088 and myself and Kyle at Kimber Creek Ford 1-218-818-4419 have reached out and we have no answers and I have no driveable vehicle and no info on when if ever I will. This is beyond poor customer service on Ford's behalf to rectify a dangerous problem and to tell a customer sorry we don't know when and the customer has nothing safe to drive in the interim and they won't help with that either, is VERY poor and may cause others if in similar situation to just take the risk and drive the defective vehicle as people need their transportation and to offer no timeline. I was told when asked about loaner or rental by Ford, I didn't qualify as I didn't have a warranty, despite the recall fix being warranteed. They told me basically sorry, these are unusual times so doing their best. But yet as I noted, I get unusual times, but then maybe some things like helping someone have a safe vehicle to use in the interim should be reconsidered. The consumer stated there is no communication with Ford and an inability to drive the vehicle due to the defect.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph, the vehicle loss power steering assist without warning. The contact stated that the vehicle had to be driven with manual steering only. Roundtree Ford (8770 business park dr, shreveport, la 71105, (318)798-3673) was contacted and informed the contact that the steering module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was then informed that the repair was not covered under warranty. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon the starting of the vehicle, excessive force was needed to steer the vehicle. The power steering assist fault message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact called lorenzo Ford (30725 South federal highway, homestead, fl 33030) where they informed her to bring the vehicle in for an inspection. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Fort Drum, NY, USA