general problems of the 2013 Ford Explorer - part 1

The rear reverse camera malfunctions and glitches. Often the screen turning green when reversing, sometimes screen is black or no color view and most times the camera if reversing to left or appear as to the right or vise versa and sometimes it’s normal but rarely. The control buttons for windows has a malfunction where it sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. The seatbelts are not clicking and I have kids in the rear seats.

While driving a 2013 Ford Explorer, the vehicle experienced an electrical issue that caused the power steering system to malfunction. The power steering assist suddenly failed, making the steering wheel extremely difficult to turn. The failure occurred suddenly and at the time of the incident the vehicle was traveling 2 miles and I parked it immediately. This created a serious safety hazard, especially when attempting to turn or maneuver the vehicle. A warning message stating “power steering assist fault” did appear on the dashboard . Prior to the failure, there were no warning signs. Due to the sudden loss of power steering assist, the driver’s ability to safely control the vehicle was significantly reduced, increasing the risk of a crash. The issue has not yet been inspected. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while attempting to reverse into a parking spot, the rearview camera was intermittently inoperative. The failure had occurred on several occasions. No warning lights were illuminated; however, the message "contact the dealer" was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the rearview camera needed to be replaced. The dealer made the contact aware of an unknown NHTSA campaign number; however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not included in a recall related to the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

Backup camera doesn't always work. It displays a black screen alot of times.

Power steering assist fault and service advance trac alerts came on in the dashboard when car was cranked up to drive. I was unable to turn the steering wheel easily and the vehicle was difficult to steer. My safety and the safety of others would be put at risk when attempting to drive the vehicle because the steering wheel locked up and was very difficult to turn. I happened to be at a firestone service center at the time that this event took place. The technician was testing the battery and the alternator for me after a new battery was inserted into the vehicle. When the technician pulled the vehicle around for me to leave, I was unable to drive away due to the steering issues that had occurred. The vehicle has not been inspected by the others at this time. The warning lights came on just as I was about to drive away from the firestone service center on 09/27/25. The technician notified me that firestone was unable to repair those types of issues on my vehicle and the vehicle would need to be taken to a Ford dealership or mechanic of choice for further repairs.

Backup camera failed and almost hit another car.

An emission control alert appears when driving; seconds later, you have no control over the vehicle. The steering wheel locks up, and you can not turn while you are still driving. The risk is very high due to the car doesn't stop, and you can not move out of traffic due to no control over the vehicle. If this were to happen on the highway or during bad weather, this could cause death. This has happened a total of 3x and had to be towed 2x to the machines. July 28th 2025 and July 20th 2024 it was towed for this issue of no control of the vehical due to locked up.

I was driving to az from a CO vacation with my two kids in the car when the steering in my 2013 Ford Explorer locked up. I had exited the freeway and was on a 2 lane country blacktop. I approached some curves in the road and at that point noticed I had absolutely no steering whatsoever. I noticed warning lights came on around that same time. I started slowing down, as the road continued to curve I entered the oncoming traffic lane, went onto the shoulder, back into oncoming traffic lane, back into my lane and onto my shoulder before coming to a complete stop. I'm not sure how or why we are all ok/still alive. I had zero control or steering ability in my moving vehicle. We could have so easily been in an accident or killed. I myself, as a driver, am traumatized. The car was towed to the closest Ford dealer where I'm not getting much help. I've been told many 2013 Ford Explorers were recalled for steering issues, but unfortunately mine isn't included. They have also had the car for several weeks and have yet to completely figure out/repair the problem. When I called Ford customer service, they suggested I report it to you.

Driving vehicle along highway, two alerts came on from the computer. Power steering warning, system advancetrac warning. Could hardly steer the vehicle appropriately. My vehicle does not fit in the may 17, 2010, and February 28, 2012, recall as it was manufactured in 08/12 so I cannot fix this issue. The vehicle is unsafe for travel and is just 6 months after the recall making me believe it is apart of the affected vehcile.

I was driving the vehicle when all of a sudden I lost powersteering and the steering became impossible to control almost causing an accident. I then took the vehicle to the shop and was informed my rack and pinion had to be replaced. I replaced it eventhough there is a recall for this issue in the 2013 Ford Explorer but it does notcover my VIN which is frustrating. So then I'm leaving the mechanic shop and I'm almost home and I get a powersteering fault light and the powersteering goes stiff again. Almost causing me to wreck again these are the same symptoms are in recall 14v286000 and I cannot figure out why my vehicle isnt part of the recall for the dangers that this issues causes.

The backup camera works for a couple seconds then goes to a all black screen.

Service advancetrac light came on while driving. Lost all propulsion and power steering. Almost went off road around a curve due to no power steering. Ford dealership diagnosed it as faulty steering sensor. Had that replaced about 18 months ago, now this near accident just happened. Service trac light traction control light are both on with no propulsion or power steering. I’ve been doing research on this and this seems to happen to a lot of Ford owners as Ford is the only manufacturer to produce vehicles with advancetrac system. How has this not been a recall yet?.

Power steering I look it up and see a recall for my cars year but it’s not covering my car why ?? this is exactly what’s going on with my car my car has no power steering light on either when I turn it is hard ! very unsafe as I have young children.

My vehicle a 2013 Ford Explorer has a power steering assist fault rendering my vehicle un usable which I just bought through carvana this last summer has had a multitude of issues including a piller trim flying off the same day I bought it and the warranty carvana gave me provided no where close to me to have repaired plus my backup camera stopped working within 2 months of buying it and now the power steering assist fault has ultimately stopped me from being able to drive the car and I see that Ford stopped allowing the recal of this issue to be fixed since 177,000 vehicles are affected by this problem I just think this wrong.

When I was driving suddenly vehicle shakes and gas/acceleration paddle stopped working middle of the road. I pulled my car side of the road, put it in park and turn off vehicle and start it back on gas/acceleration paddle work again. Problem is this happened several times last few weeks.

Finally they have a recall on the backup camera but my 2013 Explorer was not included. My camera is doing the same thing, inverted. Sometimes a black screen. Can I go and get mine fixed without paying and be included in the recall also.

2011-2013 Ford Explorers have a issue with rear camera ground wires. Once the wire defaults the camera will not work and display ( contact Ford dealer) or the image with me flipped. Causing right side objected to be projected on left side. Ford does not have a remedy for this and new cameras installed only temporary work then same issues occurs due to wiring.

Fail emissions dealership not complying refuse fix a car that shouldn't be finances to me seatbelt don't work got car 5/14/2024 the heat resistance wasn't replaced correctly and they won't trade or give my money back or fix it I emissions test reports as well what wrong what need be fix car stop yesterday I'm paying out pocket for repair that wasn't cause by me and car not of 458. 81 plus 17 dollars charged with it they want keep paying cash but I won't so they said they wouldn't accept it if not in cash.

Due to trim panel recall, trim came off and while driving and now water leaks in windshield when it rains. Leaking water dripped on to climate control panel and caused it to stop working. Now I can’t control heat or ac in car and it continues to leak when it rains.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 - 12 mph and turning and or veering to the right or the left, the steering wheel failed to redirect to center. The contact had to use an excessive amount of force to maneuver the steering wheel. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that most recently while pulling into a parking lot at approximately 5 mph, the steering wheel became firm. The contact pulled into a parking space and the steering wheel seized with the "service power steering now" and "lane keeping system malfunction service required," illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that due to the amount of sensors, the vehicle needed to be serviced by the dealer. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was contacted; however, immediately referred the contact to the manufacturer for assistance. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but a case was not opened. The contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 130,200.

Both the rear door lock actuators on my 2013 Ford Explorer broke within a month of each other. I am aware of actuator recalls on different Ford vehicles and I believe these broke for the same reasons as the other Ford actuators were recalled.

For the past year, when I place the car in reverse the backup camera shows a reverse image. Items on the left appear on the camera as being on the right, and visa-versa. The first time it occurred I backed into a ditch. This occurs nine out of ten times. The hazard to pedestrians and chance of an accident is substantially increased. I contacted the local Ford dealer who showed no interest in my complaint, other that stating I would pay for the camera replacement, including labor. I noted that Ford Explorers were already recalled for rear camera problems. They stated that was for a different problem.

Started car with auto start. Drove approx 5 miles. Pulled up to gas station shut car off, no issues. Pumped gas started vehicle and all these warning lights came on. Service power steering, and so on. Vehicle wheel is locked in place. Called tow truck.

Unknown what caused the issue but our vehicle erupted into flames in our driveway not 10 minutes after we pulled in. No warnings, no indication anything was wrong. We smelled smoke and went outside to find the hood completely engulfed. It took fire department to extinguish it. They’re not certain of cause yet but said likely an electrical short.

The heat in my 2013 Ford Explorer won't work. The rad fan isn't working so any antifreeze I put in is gone after 1 trip to the store. It's burning it. The sunroof has never opened fully, it wobbles. The electrical is shot on it. There are so many safety issues with this vehicle and I see I'm not the only one but yet I search my VIN and there are no recalls that's not right.

1. Power steering fault randomly causing total loss of power steering. Have to turn the car off and restart to fix. No error codes are stored when this happens. No dtc's. This also causes a system terrain fault but again no error codes are stored for this either. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. 2. This has happened while driving in the mountains, on the highway and through residential areas making the car very hard to control or causing us to have to pull over in dangerous situations to restart the car to correct. 3. Whenever we take it for diagnosis they cannot duplicate the issue nor see the error codes in the history. Thankfully we have not yet been in an accident where we have needed the police to be involved although this has happened many times since we have owned the vehicle (5 years). 4. We have been told to drive it to a dealership while the error is occurring so they can see it live time however we have not yet been in a position to do this where it wouldn't have caused a safety issue to us or those around us. 5. There is no warning or alert that happens prior to the fault occurring.

Power steering assist popped up on dashboard with no warning. The safety of me and my children were put at jeopardy because what if we were driving on road and the steering wheel locked up on us?.

The whole front control interface module has gone out along with some functions of the apm. Just stopped all of a sudden. Turned key on and nothing worked. The airbag light has come on saying solid color. The rear tailgate will not open with the electronic power buttons. This all went out at one time. Is confirmed to be the fcim and amp. Is a safety hazard due to airbags, not known if will work and the inability to open rear tailgate. Other failures are climate control. Is stuck on high heat defrost in middle of wisconsin summer, but not a real safety issue but very inconvenient.

The back up camera image is reversed. What is on the left appears to be on the right and vice versa. The back up lines have also disappeared. Occasionally, it works properly, but most of the time it doesn't.

My power steering assist fault came on while driving my steering wheel became very hard to turn which caused me to almost crash I had swerve and stop me and my 3 year old were almost killed my truck electrical system is malfunctioning on its on and Ford will not look into it I’ve read up on all the recalls Ford has had for the power steering assist fault and it’s scary that it happened to me while driving I’m extremely terrified to drive after having that happen to us.

The camera system should have been apart of the recall. None of the electronics work in the console area. The backup camera goes black often and stops working.

The sunroof motor burned out due to water intrusion from clogged drains. Water also pooled in the passenger side floorboard and soaked the carpet from faulty drains. Cracks in the manufacturer's seam sealer at welds cracked at the back tailgate and leaked all down into the carpet and floorboard below the cargo area. This is a huge issue for those of us to are extremely sensitive to mold and mildew. It can also cause severe corrosion to other components of the car. I have reported it to the company and the dealer and they say that it is not their issue. In fact, they accused me of trying to weld or caulk the cracks. The vehicle has been inspected by Ford mechanics. There were no warnings of any kind. I discovered the burnt sunroof motor due to the sunroof not closing. Had to scramble to find someone to remedy the problem. I've investigated these issues and there are several customers with these exact same problems on Ford vehicles from 2011 - 2019. There should be several recalls concerning these issues.

Reverse parking camera goes blank when backing up intermitently or does not work unless you shut the vehicle down multiple times.

This vehicle has had recurring instances of failed power steering. It will happen at low speeds where the power steering malfunctions and does not work until the car is shut off and turned back on. This can be especially dangerous when driving near other people or cars when we experience loss of control. Thankfully no collisions have occurred yet but it’s is an issue that has been recurring. There was a recall set out for electrical power steering failure - #14v286000. Unfortunately this recall only affects 2011-2013 Ford Explorers up until Feb 28, 2012 while this one was made Mar 7, 2012 (just a week outside of the recall). This was frustrating because the vehicle is experiencing every symptom that the recall #14v286000 states it fixes.

Every now and then, the "power steering assist fault" light would come one, usually once I parked or when I first started the car. When I would turn off the car and restart, the light would no longer be on and there were no power steering problems. This went on for a month or two. It seemed like it was just a faulty warning light. Then one day while at my daughters school, thankfully, I was parked, my "power steering assist fault" light came on and power steering no longer works. The car is extremely difficult to turn and is not safe to drive.