Front Suspension Control Arm problems of the 2014 Ford Explorer

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. While driving approximately 35 mph, the contact lost control of the steering wheel and the brakes started to squeak and then locked up. The vehicle shifted into oncoming traffic, but no crash occurred. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed to frank fletcher Ford Lincoln (3015 turkey creek rd, joplin mo 64801, phone number: (417) 623-5660) where it was diagnosed that the control arm detached due to the contact hitting something with the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.

On September 17, 2015 picked my daughter up from swim practice at 5:50 pm then we went to pick her friend upr and went on 220 towards mill hall to drop them off at a football game, while on high way smelled an awful smell, thought it was car in front of me, we proceeded to mill hall exit where we got off and took them to central mountain middle school dropped them off to a football game and proceeded through parking lot which is 5 mph or less and at approximately 6:16 pm my car locked up skidded over to curb and hit that a couple times and then across the parking lot where it stopped half in middle of road. I waited 4 hours for a tow truck which as towed to Ford garage, next day state police looked at my car before anyone else and definitely a faulty lower control arm which snapped off. . On September 23, 2015 Ford garage called said Ford is not going to pay for my car or look at it and I need to call into my insurance company.

Vehicle was traveling approximately 30-35 mph down a road with no pot holes when the front right lower control arm broke in half. Vehicle lost control and pulled to the right bringing the vehicle into the street curb. Damage to the fender, tire, wheel, cv joint, and other associated parts reported. Ford denies warranty claim.

To avoid hitting another vehicle that illegally came into the lane I was entering (they were driving on the shoulder), I had to take evasive action, which caused me to turn my vehicle into a curb. At the time, I was traveling 15 to maybe 20 mph. After hitting the curb, my vehicle came to a stop and upon inspection I discovered that the lower control arm had completely broken in half. My vehicle was towed to a local dealership, where they subsequently serviced the vehicle, which I picked up on March 15, 2014. However, within 100 miles of driving, multiple system errors occurred, and my steering went out. The dealership is now saying there was apparently an issue with the steering gear assembly, and that they will be able to further diagnose upon replacing that part. My concern is the safety of the vehicle and specifically that I do not think a control arm should snap in half at that speed, particularly in a SUV that has an upgraded suspension as part of the trim package.