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.
In July 2020, after car had sat mostly unused from March 2020 to June 2020 due to the pandemic lockdown, steering binded up while turning left out of a parking lot at a slow speed. Had to yank the steering wheel to get it to return to normal steering. Made a popping sound when yanked. Didn-??t happen again but in September 2020 started noticing a lot of popping when the wheel would turn left or right at slow speeds. Took car to Meineke. They diagnosed need for new front struts. These were replaced at a cost of $1000. Popping stopped until about November 2020. Noticed it again only intermittently when pulling out of driveway and turning steering wheel far left or right. Would hear a single pop sound. From then until June 2021 would notice this intermittently and had steering bind up again probably 2 more times. Very terrifying to have to yank hard to get steering wheel to turn correctly when driving in traffic. Steering did seem a little loose as well. After reading about the hundreds of complaints about rack and pinions going bad on 2014-2016 explorers and seeing that my car-??s symptoms were exactly the same I knew this had to be the issue. I took the car to Meineke and they wanted $3600 to replace the rack and pinion which was way too much. Ford dealer at Oxmoor replaced for $1988. The car had 103,000 miles when the problems started. It had a certified preowned warranty through 100,000 miles so of course this wasn-??t covered but a rack and pinion should not fail in a 6 year old car with barely over 100K miles. And having steering that doesn-??t work is extremely dangerous. Ford needs to step up and take responsibility for this failure and do a recall in ALL explorers that are having this issue and replace the rack and pinions and reimburse those that have had to pay out of pocket for it. My father worked for Ford and I-??ve been loyal to this brand but after spending over $3000 on a car in a matter of 6 months that is barely 6 yrs old, I-??m done with Ford.
Rack & Pinion failed on 09MAY21; I did not keep the old one, so unfortunately it is not available for inspection. My safety or the safety of others was put at risk; I was turning onto an active roadway from a local store parking lot, when the steering inexplicably locked up on me in the middle of the turn. It freed enough momentarily, by wrenching with all my strength back and forth on the wheel, to get back off of the road onto the shoulder. I narrowly avoided being hit by oncoming traffic in the southbound lane coming down the hill. Yes, the problem was reproduced & confirmed at an independent service center. He placed it on the lift, we both took turns turning the wheel slowly to the right and left; you could both hear and feel the distinct sound of gears clicking & popping after being turned approximately 2/3rds of the way to the right, then back to the left. We took turns standing under the rack and pinion electric steering box, if you placed your hand on the bottom/base, you could feel the hard thump when the wheel was turned as described above. The wheel would intermittently lock up, requiring us to yank hard on it both ways to free it up. No, it was not inspected by anyone aside from myself and the mechanic. No, there weren't any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. It failed suddenly at approximately 93,000 miles.
While driving my vehicle my power steering went out. This was while making a left turn. Luckily there were not other vehicles in close proximity and I was able to safely pull into a parking lot. The Ford dealership said that it is the steering rack and after some online research this seems to be a common issue that isn-??t being recalled by Ford.
When driving at low speeds, below 30 mph, steering becomes difficult and when turning the steering wheel and releasing it coming out of a turn, the steering wheel gets stuck before it returns to the straight position. When driving at highway speeds, the steering wheel is very difficult to turn, almost as if the power steering has stopped working. However, normally at highway speeds, no power steering is not an issue, but because this model has an electric power steering motor, it seems that the electric motor fights the operator at highway speeds. The resistance felt while trying to steer at highway speeds is very severe and almost caused an accident, and the resistance of the steering wheel to go back to straight at lower speeds is also severe.
- Mechanicsburg, PA, USA
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I took my 2015 Ford Explorer XLT in to Ford dealership to have recalls taken care of to see if the one recall would take care of the steering problem and it didn't. we have been driving the Explorer since July of 2020 with no power steering because it's our only vehicle. Dealer said it would cost me $140 for them to find out the problem. Can't afford it. Is it going to take someone to be killed for Ford to take care of this problem"?????" my wife drove to the store with no problem and she came out and got in and started it and had no power steering.
Ford Explorer 2015 4WD (79,000 km), currently not covered by warranty or recall. On March 2020 while the vehicle was under warrantee with 70,000 km, I've explained to Ford dealer that there is steering problem appeared suddenly when driving, they made computer and technical check but no code arise, therefore, they informed me that nothing found and it may not repeated again. On January 2021 (the vehicle became out of warranty) - 76,440 km, the same problem appeared with warning lights shown suddenly (terrain management system fault, sservice advance trac, power steering assist fault) 'this happened apparently and suddenly while driving on highway as the steering suddenly stop working and moving and I couldn't control the car and was about to have a horrible accident. I've hardly stopped the car aside switch-off and restart it the problem disappeared and send it to the dealer who in turn checked again and informed that no fault is detected despite showing the recorded video to them of the said problem. The same problem happens suddenly many times while driving, it has appeared recently at 79,000 km (kindly see the attached snapshots). Till now, I don't know how to act as I'm spending a lot money for car check to Ford with no outcome whereas Ford manufacturer is not able to detect this fatal dangerous defect, and also it's not covered by recall despite being very dangerous on people's lives.
My 2015 Explorer's power steering has went out. I also had a 2016 Explorer that the same thing happened to. I had a warranty on the 2016 model so the dealership replaced the steering rack and pinion on it. But my 2015 model is my husband's only vehicle to drive to work and we do not have 2500$ to get it fixed. This is unacceptable! there have been so many people with the same issue I can't understand why there isn't a recall for such a dangerous expensive problem.
7 months ago started hearing a grinding sound whenever I turn the car and reported it to the service department of the Ford dealer when I had my oil change. They reported that they found nothing wrong. However the issue continues and is occurring more frequently. Yesterday I brought to the dealer for an oil change and reported the the same problem. This time they said that my rack and pinion steering needs to be changed a the cost of $2500. This is unexpected as I've never owned a car that had a this problem. Although I have 100K miles in it, all of it is from freeway driving. Now when I researched this issue and it is a common problem with this vehicle. The dealer that I go to must know this iand reassured me that there was nothing wrong with my vehicle when I first let them know a few months ago, I thinks they were negligent in letting me know and at the very least warned me of what could happen. Now I hesitate to drive this vehicle for safety reasons. Good thing I have not had any steering issues while on the road. But for some unknowing driver, a frozen steering wheel could spell disaster.
Power steering has gone out in my Explorer with only 62K miles. Have been told that it is the steering rack and pinion that needs to be replaced. My steering wheel locked up going 35 mph in normal traffic and I almost hit oncoming traffic. Hundreds or even thousands of other people are having this problem! Ford is lucky that my two small children were not in the car when this happened. There really needs to be review on these cars and a recall be made before someone dies!
Sudden failure of the power steering system requiring complete replacement of the power steering system. Also disables the Ford advance trac system. Occurred while in motion at slow speed w/ max speed of 20 mph. The dealer indicated that the computer module failed and required the whole system to be replaced. Occurred in the parking lot. Not the first instance of sudden failure, but usually stopping and restarting the car cleared similar error, no obvious signs of war or leaks/other damage. Previous correctable instances occurred in similar conditions.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would made abnormal sounds whenever the steering wheel was turned. The vehicle was taken to bob tomes Ford (950 S. central expy, mckinney, tx 75070) to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact was informed that there was no recall associated with the VIN, and referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was 70,000.
On 03/31/2021 I took my 2015 Explorer in for an alignment after I replaced the two front struts due to a loud intermittent popping noise when steering the vehicle left and right at low speed. The popping noise has existed since I purchased the car a month ago. The car was aligned at bill brown Ford, and I had them inspect the vehicle to find the sound. The young technician was not able to identify the sound, and said to bring the vehicle back if it continues. Well, I just got home and the steering still clunks. After doing extensive research and the dealership confirming that it isn't the front struts, I am concerned that the steering rack is going bad in my car. At 58K miles I should not have this problem and I am concerned for my safety. What happens if it goes out on the freeway"?" I could get killed and cause an accident. Wake up Ford!!! this is your responsibility and you people are putting loyal customers in harm's way. Unreal.
No power steering and a loud popping sound when ever I turned the steering wheel to the right. Just had the front suspension lower control arms replaced at mileage of 112477. The faulty steering warning light came on and it appears this is a problem Ford has had since 2011 on the Ford Explorer. I have read on the internet this is not an unusual problem with the 2015 Ford Explorer, so why has this issue not been required to be included in recall order?? I almost hit another car on a wet rainy night and I was going straight. Lack of steering control when driving 65 mph is a deadly event. Will contact dealer that serviced the front suspension to hear their side of the story.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on two separate occasions at start-up, the steering assist fault-service required message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact called ronnie watkins Ford, Inc. (101 george wallace dr, gadsden, al 35903) where she was given an estimate for the repair and declined the offer. She then had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic where they replaced the steering gear. After the second failure, the contact had a family member drive the vehicle to her residence where the vehicle remained parked unrepaired. The contact called herlong Ford, Inc. (775 augusta rd, edgefield, SC 29824) and was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and referred her to NHTSA for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.
Suddenly, while backing out of a parking spot we noticed a loud popping sound while turning towards the right. On the drive home it popped every time we turned right. After taking it to our main mechanic, he informed us about a steering gear / rack and pinion problem. My vehicle has 90,000. I drive it maybe 80 miles a week. It doesn't make any sense for it to be having this extent of a problem from 'wear and tear' upon my own research I found hundreds of people with the exact issue with the rack and pinion. Also leaving them dumbfounded as to their Ford Explorer having <110,000mi with a steering gear issue that averages a cost of $2500. This is absolutely a dangerous Ford problem that needs to be recalled and resolved immediately.
Loud popping, clunking noise coming from passenger front wheel. Steering becomes difficult to control. More dominant noise at low speed. I took the vehicle to a local ase certified mechanic. They inform me that the rack and pinion needs replaced. I only have 71,500 miles on the vehicle. Within further research, I have found hundreds of complaints with this same issue.
I've been informed that my 2015 Ford Explorer Sport with less than 60K miles needs a new steering rack. This is unacceptable for a higher end vehicle with lower miles. Very disappointed and I see that many people have been told the same thing. The price of this rack is close to 2K.
Vehicle started make grinding and knocking noise in slow speed turns. 77,000 miles on vehicle. Took to dealership, and was advised steering rack needed replacement. Cost would be over $2,000, and not covered by warranty or recall. After seeing all the posts on this site, and others, it is obvious a recall should have been issued. Not only has this been ongoing in Explorer, but is also a major safety issue.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Louisville, KY, USA