Power Steering Failed problems of the 2011 Ford Explorer - part 2

Power steering still failing even after recall "fix". My Ford Explorer 2011 already had the power steering recall (safety recall notice 14s06/NHTSA recall 14-v-286) fix completed at dealership on 8/7/14, but the power steering is still failing! this is very serious if the recall "fix" is not working. Please require Ford to immediately implement the proper fix and immediately notify all owners who have already taken their Explorers in per the recall and have this issue fixed immediately. Ford knows about this issue and could be putting people's lives at risk.

My wife, and three children were driving at freeway speed with the cruise control set. The power steering failed and the warning lights came on. The controls on the steering wheel locked out and she could not cancel the cruise control. The loss of power steering made it difficult for her to get pulled over. She tried to call me for help but no functions of the sync system worked. She pulled over and waited for me. I restarted the car and the steering was reset. I drove it to the dealership. Today is Sunday so I will arrive there tomorrow and have it evaluated. Very hazardous and scary for my wife and the children. Unexpected loss of power steering is a safety issue that can cause accidents.

2 times within a week, Saturday April 26, 2014 being the most recent, as I was driving my power steering failed on my 2011 Ford Explorer XLT fwd. Warning lights saying "power steering failure" lit up and my power steering was no longer operating. I had to pull over using manual steering to turn the Explorer off and start up the power again to bring the steering back. This could have been very dangerous situation if I was driving on an interstate. It appears that many other 2011 to at least 2013 Ford Explorer owners are having the same problem posing a very serious safety situation. It also appears that Ford does not think it is serious enough to be researched further.

This is the 5th time my powering steering has failed!!! Ford has replaced the part, after I had to spend $1800. 00!!! the power steering rack was replaced and power steering failed again. What is it going to take for Ford to figure this issue out.

The service advance track warning appeared followed the power steering failure. The power steering totally went out. The result could have been disastrous had I been turning sharply at the time of failure. Luckily I was able to pull to the side of the road. This appears to be an ongoing problem with this vehicle and many have reported it. It is only a matter of time before this known issue results in a fatality.

Upon starting the vehicle a warning appeared on the dash stating that the power steering assist had failed. Turning the car off and restarting it cleared the problem. When the vehicle went in for service in August of 2014 there was a recall from Ford (14s06) that reprogrammed the computer module. After the service there were still intermittent occasions where the warning appeared, but it always went away when cycling the engine off then back on. On April 27. 2015 the warning again appeared, but would not disappear when the off/on cycle was completed. Attempted this multiple times throughout the day, but the warning persisted. Had vehicle towed to the purchasing dealership.

While driving on a highway received a warning for steering failure,shortly after power steering completely failed. Resulting in very hard steering at highway speeds. Vehicle towed to a Ford dealer who reset computer fixing problem but could not duplicate or explain why it happened.

Driving in the mountains at night, proceeding up a steep and icy grade, the vehicle gave a warning signal about a power steering problem and immediately the power steering unit failed. The extremely difficult steering capability of this vehicle during this failure, forced us to creep along a major highway to finish the eight miles to the nearest town. After researching this problem, I stumbled onto the NHTSA website and discovered the 2011 Explorer obviously has a safety flaw and a dangerous one at that! my vehicle is in a Ford service department now and the initial diagnosis is " the car received a false electrical signal and shut down the power steering". Seriously, a false signal shut off the power steering capabilities???!!! they are in the middle of a "10 page checklist/re-booting of the electrical control system of my vehicle and I have absolutely no confidence this will solve a future problem of power steering capability loss, especially since I am on my fourth major computer failure in this vehicle. Fyi Ford engineers; the steering function of a vehicle should not be subject to an electronic signal that can deactivate the ability to control the steering of the vehicle!!.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the power steering failed without warning. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic for diagnosis or repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 37,000.

While driving, power steering assist abruptly fails, as does advance trac stability control. The vehicle becomes much harder to control. If the car is in a turn when the steering fails, the steering wheel lurches and tries to re-aim the vehicle straight ahead, disrupting the turn. Dashboard warnings confirm the steering and advance trac failures. Also, the turn signal sustain fails, so using the turn signal requires constant pressure on the signal arm. On average, this problem has recurred every 2000 miles, at any speed. Turning the car off and restarting "fixes" the problem temporarily until the next failure. Two trips to the dealer for examinations have resulted in no answers - both times the results of leaving the car for several days have been shrugged shoulders and "we couldn't duplicate the problem, and there is no trouble code. It worked fine for us. " as is nothing ever was wrong with the car, and even if there were something wrong, there is no way to repair it! how the NHTSA and Ford motor company can allow these vehicles to roam our highways with no recall, or even a technical service bulletin, knowing there is a chance the drivers may lose control and crash, as some already have, is a crime against vehicle safety and against the very mission statement of the NHTSA. I will be copying this complaint to my elected representative in the united states congress, who in the past has proven to be far more interested in my safety than Ford or the NHTSA.

On Thursday evening sept 9, 2013 I was driving east on highway 195 in NJ. Out of nowhere the power steering fail signal and terrain warning signal came on and immediately the power steering went out at the exact same time. I was driving 65mph in the left lane with my young daughter in the car. The steering wheel froze and barely budged, could move maybe an inch in each direction. Thank god I was able to slowly get the car to the shoulder safely. This could have potentially been a dangerous and fatal accident. . . . It was truly frightening!!! when I called Ford road side assistance they took 15min just to get basic info down to send tow truck, woman was very short with me and seemed like I was bothering her. We hang up, its getting dark, my daughter is scared, then 5 min later she calls me back to tell me there is a problem. She said the local Ford dealer is closed so they can tow to a secure facility overnight but there would be an additional cost. I said a few choice words and cancelled fra. Thankfully I have aaa premium so I had them tow my car to my home overnight then called fra to bring to Ford service dealer the following morning. Ford service rep now tells me I need a new power steering rack which will cost $2,400 and is not covered. I did research online Ford part only cost less than $600!!! many other complaints on here and NHTSA are investigating this continuing power steering fail issue in the 2011 Explorers but until then my car which is less than 2 years old is going to cost me if I want it back. What is being done about this and future accidents that could occur with other innocent drivers?.

While driving a vehicle stability fault message popped up. This was caused by the electric power steering module failing. Luckily in this case my wife was able to slow the vehicle down and muscle it off the road without accident or injury. When the electric power steering fails the car is extremely difficult to steer. Ford know about this system failure and refuses to recall it.

I was with my family on trip driving 80 mph on the freeway when the power steering went out! there was no indication on the instrument cluster that the power steering failed so I was not prepared for this. We did run off the road and onto the shoulder and fished tail out of control. This was frightening for my family. I was ready to pass some slower vehicles when this happen and had to move quick but the power steering was out. We lost control and ended up on the shoulder. I managed to drive the car home not without sweating by struggling with the steering wheel from 3 hours away. Once home, I looked this particular problem on the internet and found that there is a lot of complaints of this same problem. I also found that Ford does not acknowledge this!!!! I called Ford customer support the next day and I was informed that this was the first time they heard of this. Hopefully no one gets hurt for Ford to realize this is a defect in their vehicles! there needs to be a recall on this!.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65 mph, the power steering failed on the vehicle. The contact stated he had to manually steer the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for repair and the component was reset. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was about 38,000.

Power steering failure while going down sam rayburn tollway in mckinney TX. Steering assist cut out and warning lights appeared on dash. Wife had to try and pull to side of road. There was a slight bend and she was able to drive fairly straight onto the shoulder. Fortunately there weren't any other cars around her. Similar incident happened the day before going under 10 mph on a side street/driveway. Shutting car down and restarting it fixed the issue but it has happened twice now. Trying to contact dealer about the problem (left message).

My power steering failed. The dashboard lite up and said something about power steering trac in red. Couldn't read it as I was to busy trying to control car in a busy intersection. I turned car off and when I restarted it, all was fine. I called my Ford dealer and was told they had never heard of such a thing. I have an appointment to bring car to,service on Wednesday to repair navigation system for the third time and now they will have to check this problem as well.

We purchased our 2011 Ford Explorer in January of 2011 and have been the exclusive users of the car ever since. Our vehicle has experienced three total losses of power steering ability since July 8, 2013. When an event occurs, the "power steering failure" light comes on and the vehicle immediately becomes difficult to steer. Two of the occurrences have taken place while traveling at high speed on the highway. In one instance, my wife was driving the car with our young son and struggled to control the vehicle after the failure. Ford attempted to address the problem by installing two separate new steering columns into the vehicle, yet the problem persists and seems to have had collateral effects on other electrical and mechanical components of the car. I have advised Ford customer service of the problem but as of 11/20/2013 I have not had any kind of affirmative response.

On June 9 2013. I was driving onto a highway on-ramp and suddenly the steering became very difficult. The alarm sounded and the warning disply indicate a power steering system failure as well as traction control system failure and terrain management system failure. I was on my way to the airport to cath a flight, so I proceeded approximately 2 miles to the airport and parked. It was very difficult to steer, especially at slow speeds. I turned the car off and waited a while to restart, but the proble was still present. Upon returning from my trip (June 12), the power steering fault had cleared, but terrain mgmt and traction control were still present (apparently the functions were disbled at that point). The next day, I dorve to work and power steering went out again. Took the car to my delear that morning june13. They have been able to see the codes, but not re-create the problem, so they say that they cannot repair it. I am not willing to drive the car with my famliy in it because this is clearly a safety issue. I told them to keep it to try to re-create the issue. Its been nearly 2 weeks and still no answers. The dealer says they have not been informed of anything from Ford related to this issue. I called Ford customer service directly on 6/19, but still have not gotten any answers nor direction as of 6/25.

In the past few months I have had a problem with the steering electric power assist system. The first two happened while parking, the third happen while driving on a local street and the fourth happened on 8/3/13 on i95 on my way to my son philip's 4th birthday party. I was in the left lane when the error message on my dash came up I have been driving for approx 15 minutes on i95 north going at 60 mph. I was in the left lane my steering locked up I was unable to turn, I was so scared I managed to move to right lane with help from my husband where we pulled over. We turned the car off and waited few minutes then turned it on, the message power steering assist failure came up, I pressed ok then the steering went back to normal. On 8/5/13 I brought my Explorer to smith carnins in yonkers to get looked at and as of 8/9/13 they have not returned my vehicle and state that they can reproduce the error and that the computer shows no error codes. I find this to be very upsetting. I have two boys who I drive in my vehicle everyday. I fear for the safety of them and myself. What do I do? please help us.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. While driving at any speed, the power steering and computer failed. In addition, the engine, abs, traction control, air bag, and security sensors illuminated. The dealer advised the contact to reset the master controls. The vehicle also exhibited computer failure. The firmware was updated multiple times, however the failure recurred months later and included various electrical shorts. While driving at an unknown speed, the power steering failed. The vehicle was towed to the authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The contact waited for months to determine if the dealer was able to provide a remedy to the firmware failure. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 14v286000 (steering) and 14e001000 (steering). The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the steering became difficult to maneuver. The advanced track and power steering assist failure warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis however, the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.

I was driving my wife's car for the first time in a couple months, I was coming to a red light and the power steering assist failed. I couldn't move the wheel. Two warning system lights came on, power steering assist fault and terrain management fault. I put the car in park and turned the car off to restart. Everything worked after. It's a good thing it happened to me and not her.

Was driving and received an alarm on instrument cluster stating that the power steering unit failed - and lost complete power steering so had to manually steer the car which was difficult - referred to manual and it said to stop car and turn off and should reset problem. . Did that and it worked for about 30 minutes then came back on - took to dealer this morning and they said the steering rack failed and had to be replaced. . My car is in shop for two days. .

I was pulling away from a stop sign at a t-intersection, attempting a left-hand turn when the car warning light sounded. At the very same time, the power steering completely failed. I was somehow able to keep the car on the road and came to an abrupt stop just as I completed the turn. I am very thankful I wasn't going faster or had to deal with oncoming traffic when this occurred. Two warning messages also flashed on the info dash while the malfunction occurred: (1) service advance trac and (2) power steering assist fault. Once the car was in park, I turn it off, opened the door and then restarted the engine. At that time, all warning lights and system warnings were gone and the steering functioned normally once more.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the power steering intermittently failed and the vehicle became increasingly difficult to control. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 38,00 and current mileage was 69,000.

As I was driving through the mall parking lot, power steering failed & several warning lights lit up. I was in process of turning when power assist failed and I almost struck a parked car. I turned the vehicle off and restarted (power assist was then working). I immediately drove to my Ford dealership where it was discovered I needed a new steering rack assembly. To the best of my knowledge, this incident is consistent with NHTSA case pe12-017.

I was backing out of my driveway and when I tried to turn the wheel I could not. There was a warning lite on the left of dash that came on showing power assist steering failure. Turned car off then back on and it reset and was now working.

Intermittently, while driving, the advanctrak and terrain management system warning light illuminated, and the "service advanctrak" warning appeared. At the same time, the power steering failed to work, and the "power steering fault" warning appeared. The turn signals also stopped working during these episodes. This has happened 5 times since September 9, 2012, all while driving the vehichle, inlcluding yesterday. In all cases, I had to take the truck off the road and completely shut down the vehichle - upon restarting, the warnings disappeared and the power streeing was restored. I have had the vehichle to the dealer twice now, with no issues found. I have a 3rd appointment with the dealer today.

Driving slow speed with 1year old and 3 year old babies power steering failed. Warning light came on. Gladly I was close to home and vehicle was picked up by roadside assistance will see what Ford says tomorrow.

I was driving my parents and my toddler daughter back from visting a sibling (approx. 5 hour drive) when we stopped briefly to take a break about 2 1/2 hours away from home. When I started the car up again, I received warnings related to a power steering failure and advance trac failure. The car had no power steering and there appeared to be something wrong with the blinkers as well. On Tuesday, following labor day) I took the vehicle to the dealership where I had purchased it for repair. More than a week later, I was informed that the part was on backorder with Ford until October 1st and that there was a waiting list to get the part and there were almost 1000 people on the wait list ahead of me. I'm greatful that I had an extended warranty, however, even under the warranty they only have to provide a rental car for 10 days. I'm hopeful that the dealership will do the right thing and keep me in a car until sometime in hopefully October or November when they can repair the vehicle. I believe this to be a manufacturing defect which should be covered under the original warranty regardless of mileage. This appears to be happening to a number of people and is both a safety hazard as well as possibly a deceptive trade practice.

While pulling into a busy intersection (attempting to turn left at a t intersection) the power steering failed. I received errors on the cluster stating that power steering and stabilitrak had failed. I was unable to steer the car into traffic; luckily there was a driveway a few degrees off center from the t and I was able to pull in there.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the power steering failed while the contact was attempting a left turn. The contact shut off and restarted the vehicle and the power steering performed as designed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis where the steering gear shift was replaced. The traction control warning light illuminated after the repairs. The vehicle was returned to the dealer and the failure recurred two days later. The contact was then informed that the steering gear shift would need to be replaced a second time. The manufacturer was not notified of the recurring failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 8,500 and the current mileage was 9,500.

Power steering failed.

Driving along and the power steering has failed three times. Turn car off and restart and it works again. Taking to Ford dealer on August 27 for review. Same as inhtsa action number: pe12017.

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 5 mph the power steering assist failed message came on the instrument panel, immediately after it became extremely difficult to make any turns or maneuver the steering wheel. The contact mentioned that after powering off and restarting, the vehicle was performing as normal. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who filed a report and did not offer any further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 29,500 and the current mileage was 29,600.