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.
Grinding noise when turning wheel noticed Mid-August 2022. No warning lights prior to failure. Aug 22, 2022, took to local mechanic. Diagnosed as faulty steering gear. Told 3500 on backorder. Part failure prevented vehicle from safely steering. August 28, 2022, took to Team Ford Dealer in Navasota, TX. Diagnosed as faulty steering gear. Order replacement, installed. Replacement part malfunctioned when installed at dealer. Warning lights went off, according to service manager. Dealer attempted to reorder. Part backordered. Parts ordering suspended while part redesigned, according to service manager at dealer. Nov. 2, 2022. Part still on backorder. Unable to drive vehicle. Steering gear necessary for vehicle to function safely. Part needing redesigning indicates original part faulty. Part malfunction confirmed by independent mechanic and Ford dealership.
While driving on a state highway and exiting the roadway the steering wheel locked in the turning direction long enough to drive over the small curb on the opposite side of the roadway. If this was a higher exiting speed a larger incident or crash would have been worse.
Clunking and popping noise from steering while steering left or right while slowly traveling forward or reverse. Noise can be heard from steering while front end jacked up off ground. Afraid steering may lock up or fail while driving causing injury or death or stranding. Noise has become more frequent lately, started around 65k miles.
While braking off a highway the steering light appeared and the vehicle began to shake uncontrollably. The ford motor co. stated there was no issue and did not address.
Steering rack failure causing loud popping inside of the rack and pinion causing trouble steering, also abruptly pulling the vehicle or hard steering several reports of people almost wrecking.
- Lawton , OK, USA
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With no warning, the steering began to grind with turns and was harder to steer. No warning lights ever appeared. The car was no longer safe to drive. The vehicle is 2016 with low milage, approximately 57,000 miles. The mechanic assessed the vehicle and said the rack and pinion needed replaced. He stated he has begun to see multiple 2016 Ford Explorers coming in with with issues of low milage yet needing the rack and pinion replaced. The car was then taken to a local Ford Dealership. They agreed with the mechanics assessment. The car has now been in the shop for 43 days with no available parts to repair.
On February 03, 2022 I took my to the Ford dealership in my area, I was told that rear toe link was replaced. After 8 months while I was driving the Explorer 2016, the car starts swerving from side to side, and lost the control. For few seconds I was struggling to stop the car, after I stopped the car I checked the tires, I saw the rear left passenger tire was loosen, and steering wheel wasn-??t straight. Me and my friend were terrified and still not feeling alright. I lost the confidence in Ford Explorer.
Steering started making grinding noise and when parked steering froze. Restarted and steering unfroze and made grinding noise and slowly drove to repair shop. Checked for recalls and none on this vehicle. Repair shop said no parts are available form Ford for a repair. This has to be a factory defect and could lead to serious injury or death.
My wife was driving our kids home from school when she experienced a sudden loss of steering followed by inaccurate control with no type of indication for an issue on the dashboard. Once she was able to (thankfully) make it home, I drove the vehicle around and noticed that there was a considerable lack of power steering when turning and the steering wheel would not return to the center position as typical. We brought it to an auto shop that diagnosed the issue as being the electric power steering rack which appears to be a fairly common issue with these Ford Explorers regardless of mileage. Tried to address the issue but the part if back-ordered for weeks and we are unable to fix our vehicle. Looking online, it appears that this is a common issue with Ford Explorers that could potentially lead to serious complications if experienced driving at higher speeds. Additionally, there are already a couple of recalls related to the steering of this vehicle.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Power Steering Assist Failed" was displayed. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized and became extremely difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000.
I felt a thumping when turning the steering wheel and took it to the dealership who kept it for two days to attempt to replicate the same noise but they were unable to reproduce or replicate. Two or maybe three months later, the thumping noise turned into a clicking noise. Again, I immediately took it to the Ford dealership and fortunately a mechanic was still on duty. They test drove the vehicle and heard the same noise. They ask if I could leave the vehicle for more testing with their suspension specialist and they will contact me the next day. The next day they contacted me and I was told 'this is a common problem and Ford is aware of issue but has not issued a recall'. Concerned about the comment I took it to a second Ford dealership. The second dealership kept it for a day and of course they could not replicate the thumping or clicking sound. They even inspected the steering/wheel components but found nothing. Worried, I did some additional research and found this website with other people complaining about the same issue https://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Explorer/2016/steering/steering-rack_and_pinion.shtml I even found a few YouTube videos addressing the same problem. October is here and winter is about to set in and my vehicle is still thumping and clicking. I am driving the vehicle but concerned I am putting my safety and the safety of others at risk. Based on the information I found, it is clear that I am not the only one with this issue.
Initially the steering on the vehicle appeared to be "notchy". It was holding the last steering wheel correction rather than returning to centered position. It appeared as if something lost lubrication. While driving the traction control and advance trac lights lit. Messages "Steering fault service now", "Service advance trac", "Hillstart assist not available", "Steering loss stop safely" appeared. After shutsown and restart "No steering" message appeared. There was no steering at this point. Code P07AE "Friction element" showed on code reader. If the vehicle was not stopped safely there could have been a serious accident of any variety. The vehicle is currently waiting for repair. This has been the case for over one month. The steering gear is on backorder. There has been no further inspection at this time.
A ticking/grinding noise coming from the steering column while turning at low speeds. When turning the steering wheel to the right or left, the steering wheel will not center and must be forced back to center/straight. If not manually forced back to center/straight the car would continue in the direction of the turn being performed. The force needed to center the steering wheel is unpredictable and varied. The vehicle was taken to two local mechanics who diagnosed that the rack and pinion is faulty and needed to be replaced.
Approximately 2 weeks ago, I received a warning for power assist fault- service soon. Once I turned my truck off and restarted it the warning went away and the truck drove fine. Then about 1 week ago, the warning came back and did not go off. The truck became extremely hard to turn almost locking up while I was driving in traffic. I took the truck to Ford dealership to learn that steering assembly had failed and it would cost $3,000 to fix! I-??ve read where this has happened to several others with this same male truck. Luckily, I was not on the highway or this could have resulted in an accident possibly a fatality. This needs to be addressed as this is a very serious issue.
We own a 2016 Ford Explorer with only 23,000 miles on it. While driving down the road the steering began to make a noise when trying to turn and shortly after it became very hard to keep control of the car (not a power steering issue). We were only a half mile from a dealer when the problem began and we drove it there so they can diagnose the problem. The dealer found that the steering rack needed to be replaced. No warning lights or any messages came on the dashboard prior to issue nor when the issue started.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that his while his son was driving approximately 75 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The driver was unable to control the vehicle and the vehicle went across two lanes of traffic to the right. The contact stated that numerous unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact's son was able to steer the vehicle to the residence however, excessive force was needed while steering the vehicle. The contact stated that the steering wheel then seized and the vehicle was towed to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the power steering rack needed to be replaced; however, the part was on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Steering wheel started making a rubbing sound. Then it started loud grinding/scraping noise. Steering wheel -??catches-??, hard to turn, or locks up. No warning light/s for service were presented. 2 weeks for an appointment by Ford Co. I have had Ford mechanic inspect, & diagnosis is a Electronic Steering Box, Steering Rack. The vehicle has 60, 005 miles. The Ford service rep did not say anything about not driving it. I parked it, afraid of an accident! Waiting on parts. I have read there have been 2,000 complaints filed. How many have not been officially filed?
I was driving on the interstate and the power steering stopped work. No signs or anything till it stopped working. I had to pull over asap and it was very hard to turn. Now there is no way of getting the part for my car to fix it because of national back order
Steering makes occasional clunking/popping noises at very slow speeds backing out and turning form my driveway. It also occurs occasionally making slow speed turns like on a roundabout or U-turn. On one occasion we had a loss of power steering mid corner and jerking sensation. I had it towed to my local Ford dealer as it is a safety concern and they said they could find no noise and no codes stored. There were no warning lamps indicated. I demonstrated it to t he technician and they said it was "normal". No way is this normal and it is a safety issue as I can feel the clunking and my steering wheel fighting me when it happens. I have read others have experienced similar issues. We purchased the Explorer new and have had no accidents.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Millican, TX, USA