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.
Got in my 2015 Ford Explorer this morning started the car backed out of the driveway and it would not steer no power steering at all. Apparently there is a steering module within the steering column that gets locked because of traction control? apparently if this module needs to be replaced the whole steering column needs to be replaced. There are several incidents on social media that this has happened while people have been driving on the highway.
I got in my 2015 Ford Explorer this morning started the car backed out of the driveway and it would not steer no power steering at all. Apparently there is a steering module within the steering column that gets locked because of traction control there's be several accounts on social media where this has happened when people are driving down the freeway.apparently if this module needs to be replaced the whole steering column needs to be replaced at a cost of over $3,000.
Driving on a two lane highway and the power steering completely failed. We were told by the dealership where we purchased the car to bring it in but it sounded like "steering assist fault" since that was the error message, duh.it was cost $500 for an alignment? replaced faulty rack and pinion gear and checked alignment(should be ok since they aligned it the same day) total bill $2291 this is a 2015 Explorer limited that has been in the shop several times for car a carbon monoxide leak in the cabin of SUV for repairs, power seat repairs and interior door panel coming apart.
Steering assist error came on dash along with terrain control error while driving down road. Lost power steering ability. Luckily it was close to home when failed or could of happened when in traffic and a horrible accident could of happened. Took to mechanic and said new steering rack needed. This was a recall on the same car a few years older. Car is also being taken in next week for rear suspension recall.
While driving down the highway the Explorer has suddenly shut down on two occasions. The first time (July 2019) I was driving about 50 mph. I was able to cruise off into a median. The second time (Aug 5, 2019) I was coming off an on ramp onto a busy highway at about 60 mph. Once again the car suddenly powered off. I was lucky to be in the far right lane and was able to cruise off into a wide grassy area. The traffic I was merging into was at 70 mph. In both instances the wrench light came on. This is very dangerous as the car loses power and you have practically no control over the steering or brakes. If I had not been able to cruise off and/or had been in the center lane of a major highway I could have been rear ended by vehicles at high speeds. In both instances, once I was off the road I turned the car off, waited a few seconds, and restarted. The car started back up normally and then seemed to work ok. It's like the electrical or software system requires a 'reset'. this is a serious safety issue as it occurs with no warning and the driver cannot control the car and must come to a stop to turn off the engine and restart.
- Raleigh, NC, USA
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-failure of electronic steering gear- I have a 2015 Ford Explorer Sport with 50,000 miles on it. 2 weeks ago I had a "steering fault assist" light come on while driving the vehicle on the interstate. I did not experience an issue steering at the time. Once I pulled off the interstate I restarted the vehicle and the alert went away. 5 days later I was diving in the city and the "steering fault assist" light came on again followed by "advance trak warning." I lost power steering immediately. I got to an area to pull off and restarted the vehicle. Both warnings immediately came back on. I was over 4 hours from home, so I had to drive over 250 miles without power steering. I called multiple Ford service locations in my area, only one would take it and look at it within the week. I found out today that following a diagnostic test, I am needing to replace the electronic steering gear as it failed internally. Ford quoted me $2000 + tax to fix it. After going online, I have found numerous complaints of the exact same thing happening with other Ford Explorer owners. I am completely disappointed in Ford!
Carbon monoxide in the Ford Explorer 2015 not fixed by Ford dealership purchased from new 2015, customer complained about since day one delivery, unstable movements, left right, side to side, not fixed by Ford dealership purchased. Dealership states (not our problem, prove it.)
'takata recal' when my car has been sitting in the driveway for a full day without being driven or started. The following day you go to start the car. It starts no problem, once your in reverse the battery light will come on and as soon as you put it in drive I lose all power and function to steer. If I hit the gas petal it will regain power. The light will disappear only if I hit ok. This happens every time without fail. I also smell carbon dioxide or gas fumes from time to time
I was driving my 2015 Ford Explorer with approximately 34,200 miles 55-60 mph on us 141 in northern wi when I suddenly lost power steering and traction control. I had an alarm triggered and a fault warning on the dash indicating a steering fault and cleared by pressing the ok on the dash, but had very heavy steering and an indication that the traction control was off. I was able to get to a Ford dealer but they were no able to look at the car for several hours. They suggested I restart the car to see what would reset. The systems did reset and I was able to continue on my trip home without incident. No codes were triggered and I now have an appointment with my dealer to check out the problem. In searching the internet on Explorer steering problems, I noticed that there was a recall on steering loss for 2011-2014 Explorer and yet there are still many complains of steering loss for model years 2015 forward. It seems that this very dangerous issue has not been resolved.
We were driving at about 45 miles an hour when advanc trac and power steering light came on. The steering got suddenly very hard to maneuver husband had both hand trying to keep it steady, he had to pull very hard to be able to pull in gas station to get out of traffic. Blinkers no longer worked, terrain knob turned off and didn't work. This could have been a fatal accident if we were going at higher speeds! this problem needs to be recalled so that no one gets killed
Vehicle has less that 65,000 miles and the electrical power steering assist shuts down making the vehicle unable to turn. This happened to me while on the freeway going 50 mph making it extremely dangerous to control. The vehicle now has no power assist to help with steering at all.
My 2015 Ford Explorer limited started having problems 2 days after pulling out of the dealer. They have not stopped. Unfortunately, I waited too long for a lemon law claim. Most important problem: The smell of exhaust in my cabin under heavy acceleration, since day 1. it has been in 10 times since August 2015. The exhaust has been taken apart multiple times 1."trans roll restrictor rubber hanging against exhaust pipe" was found. Replaced roll restrictor. Did something with tsb. 2. returned for same smell: Reprogram HVAC module, replaced left rear air extractor, applied seem sealer to areas in tsb. Replaced grille and valve assembly. 3. two months later, same thing - replaced grille and valve asy, reprogrammed HVAC module, replaced air extractor 4. one month later: Installed muffler asy; rvc code for tsb 1; replaced wheel lip molding, valve asy, dual rate air extractor still have the smell, but am always told they don't smell it. I had two people get sick and vomit in my truck because of the fumes in stop and go traffic. Additional problems: 1. rear running lights did not work - twice at dealer to get repaired 2. air bag light on constantly - wire assembly - tsb 16 was spliced 3. AWD off & ABS lights constantly on - cost me $582 for them to take everything apart and check "pin fit" at all terminals. At which point the codes went away. 4. driver-side outside door handle just broke off when I went to open the door - $149 5. when vehicle is put in park I get an error message vehicle not in park. I need a shift module, $395 plus tax and fees 6. multiple other small problems. Vents not staying open, plastic covers coming off everywhere, speaker replaced twice my Explorer has been in the shop more times than I can count and Ford does not give loaner cars. I've been without a car for days at a time.
5/27/2016, we unknowingly purchased our 2015 Ford Explorer. Since then we have experienced a number of issues with this vehicle. The first major issue is exhaust fumes, gases entering into the cabin of the vehicle while driving and upon acceleration. Second, 8/25/17, this vehicle lost all of its functions (brakes, steering) while I was operating the vehicle on a busy street with my children in the car. I have made the decision this vehicle is unsafe to operate and is an accident waiting to happen. I have stopped putting my children in the car because of the fact that it is making us ill and I am scared. We have experienced headaches, nausea, lethargy, nose bleeds, stomach issues for a prolonged period of time. We have been ill more often than not. I feel this vehicle is silently and slowly hurting us. I am so frightened of what it has done to us long term. It's on a daily basis that we experience the strong foul odor and smells of exhaust fumes and gases entering into the cabin. I cannot say enough how badly it smells of exhaust. I do not use the A/C or heater because I am so fearful of what could happen to myself or my family with the windows closed. This is on a daily basis. 8/28/17, I contacted Ford. I spoke with a representative in customer relations about everything we were experiencing with the vehicle. Then was transferred to a manager who took my VIN# while making notations. In return I was given a claim # and told she could not provide me with any information about my vehicle only that there was an investigation being conducted and, she was sorry. Two months later, I have yet to receive any information from Ford. Sadly, I've had to research on my own and found only a service bulletin, tsb 14-0130. As a consumer I am running out of options. The vehicle itself is proof. The next step should be a recall, not me having to obtain an attorney.
Console started flashing "service steering assist soon" and "traction assist failure". would clear up when car restarted. Never lost steering during this 2 week time. July 9th, 2017, driving 70 mph on 405 freeway near long beach, ca, flashed "steering assist failure" and lost power steering. Traction assist failure light as well. Got though traffic, slowed down and exited without any power steering, stopped and restarted and issue went away. Called dealer and took car in the next morning. They reset codes and said "if it happens again bring it back in." Which scared me. 9 days later lost steering turning into work parking lot then lost steering 3 more times within 24 hours. Took to dealer and they had to replace the entire epas rack and pinion system for $1916.79. The car had 46,7K miles and only highway driving. Outside of warranty as they don't consider this powertrain. Had I been in a turn or exit ramp off freeway would have been a crash for certain.
August 10-October 20th: Numerous fault codes appeared on dash: Terrain management fault light appeared on dashboard, then the entire dashboard went black, the air conditioning stopped, the radio turned off, the terrain management control knob was no longer lit. Suddenly, very hot air started pouring out of all vents with what seemed like maximum fan speed. For 34 out of 60 day period (6 occurrences and 6 visits to dealership), Ford kept vehicle and tried to determine the cause. They were unable to retrieve any error codes or duplicate the problem. Provided details and picture from my cell phone of error messages to service dept. August 28: We were driving 6 people in the Explorer on the expressway when we started experiencing problems. Chiming noises were heard initially, then intermittently. The dashboard lights started blinking on and off. The entire dashboard then went black, then intermittently on with the speedometer going back and forth from 0 to around 78, then blacking out again. Left hand side of dashboard displayed brake system warning symbol and low tire pressure warning symbol. The air conditioning and radio went off. AWD off message appeared on left side of dashboard. Right hand side of dashboard displayed: Stability control, stability control system off & front air bag symbols. Maximum heat started pouring out of vents. ABS symbol appeared and right hand signal came on. Service advance trac message was also displayed at some point. This problem episode lasted at least 4 minutes while we were driving. We took pictures of the dashboard and videotaped part of this episode.
August 19:identified 3 error codes, one of which was the power steering. Tech. Said vehicle would be very difficult to steer if it lost power steering because of the size of Explorer. Service checked wiring and connections, and they had also driven the vehicle, but they needed more time with the vehicle. August 28: On a clear, warm day at about 1:00 pm, driving 6 people in the Explorer on the expressway when we started experiencing problems. Chiming noises were heard initially, then intermittently. The dashboard lights started blinking on and off. The entire dashboard then went black, then intermittently on with the speedometer going back and forth from 0 to around 75, then blacking out again. Left hand side of dashboard displayed brake system warning symbol and low tire pressure warning symbol. The air conditioning and radio went off. AWD off message appeared on left side of dashboard. Right hand side of dashboard displayed: Stability control, stability control system off & front air bag symbols. Maximum heat started pouring out of vents. ABS symbol appeared and right hand signal came on. Service advance trac message was also displayed at some point. This problem episode lasted at least 4 minutes while we were driving. We took pictures of the dashboard and videotaped part of this episode. September 13: Service techs can't duplicate problem, the Ford hotline engineer suggested that the service dept attach a flight recorder to car in an effort to record activity if the problem reoccurs while driving. Cell phone won't sync with the car since the last incident on Aug 28th. Service tech explained that this a network problem and flight recorder worked off the network, therefore flight recorder would be useless. The service tech informed the Ford engineer that they would not be installing the flight recorder because it would be ineffective.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lake Hzvasu City, AZ, USA