general problems of the 2013 Ford Flex - part 1

Power steering. While I was driving in my neighborhood the power steering went out and I could not make a turn. It locked up while driving. I could have got into a head on collision/accident becasue the road turns. Yes, I reported it to Ford and they told me my Flex did not have a recall despite the Ford website stating that some 2013 Ford Flex are affected. The description of 15s18 sterring recall matches my same issue and it poses a serious safety hazard. Yes, I took it to a mechanic at an auto shop and her is telling me that he can't fix recalls. At the time of the accident, I got no pre warning just the message that states: "steering lock malfunction service now: the steering lock system has detected a condition that requires service. " this happened on or around 11/23/25. I am requesting that Ford pay for my power steering to be fixed.

My back up camera show upside down or sometimes it shows a black screen. People have a habit of walking behind me when I’m backing up and I can’t see them. The warning beep sounds but I can’t tell if it a car or person behind me. When it first happen months ago I tried resetting camera, it didn’t work. Not sure if my extended warranty covers this.

The backup camera went out, but first it went upside down. Not inverted, just upside down. It's definitely a safety issue as I can't see fully behind me. I've seen the later models have the same issue and recall for them but not the older models with the same issue.

Power steering no longer works. Getting message on dash as well. I see a recall for my year truck but my VIN apparently is not one included. It’s our only transportation and my daughter, my fiancé and myself all have multiple weekly therapy/dr appointments. Please consider adding my VIN to the recall. As far as electrical my alarm will randomly go off while it’s not running/parked. Thinks doors are open when they are not. Thank you.

While driving, the radio turns off and the climate control system malfunctions causing the heater to engage to high with no way to turn the system off. All controls are disabled and there is no way to turn the system off. Unplugged the battery for 30 minutes as suggested, removed fuses to the radio and climate control module which temporarily fixes the issue, but issue happens randomly and creates excessive heat in the cabin. This is the 5th time this has happened. It is the 3rd time while on long trips (3hrs or longer). Others online have mentioned the same. We had to ride with the windows and moonroof open to let the heat escape. First time occurred in 2019 in early December. Navigation still worked, but all other systems would not function.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Flex. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced several electrical failures, including that door erroneously locking and unlocking and the lane departure safety feature malfunctioning. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who determined that the electronic body control module was faulty. After removing and reinstalling the module, the vehicle was repaired. Additionally, while the vehicle was in for service, the mechanic discovered that the water pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.

Have difficulty fueling vehicle. “fuel fill inlet” warning stays on dash. Strong fuel mixture smell in cabin. Fuel will overspill if you try to pump gas at full force. Smells like fuel is leaking. Concerned about possible explosion. Many other drivers having the same issues. Strange clicking sounds from front end.

The 2013 Flex has an issue with door ajar switch within the door latch mechanism failing. This results in the car incorrectly identifying the door as “ajar” when it is closed. The result is that the automatic door locking does not activate when the car is in motion. This means that the door remains unlocked unless manually locked by the passenger. This can pose a safety hazard as the door could come open in an accident or be opened while in motion by a passenger. This problem has been well described on the web with multiple work around including disabling the mechanism or wiring a different switch in. It also described as typically happening around 69,000 miles. In conclusion Ford has created a faulty door ajar sensor that negatively affects the safety of the occupants in the vehicles and has resulted in numerous work arounds that could further negatively impact the safety of the occupants. Thank you for your time.

The power steering assist stopped working while I was driving. It caused me to get into an accident. If other cars were around me I could have killed someone. I was driving just fine and then “power steering assist fault” showed up on my cluster and the steering wheel locked up. It now won’t work. This came without warning.

The front drivers door latch. When the door is shut their is an alarm stating that the door is ajar. Per Ford their is a customer satisfaction program 19n09 for it. I bought this vechicle Monday June 20, 2022. Per Ford they notified me of this issue as well but they will not fix it as it is past the 84,000 miles/7 years as well as the 120,000 miles and July 31, 2020. This vechile per the records has been services at thoroughbred Ford in kansas city, mo since the day it was bought and yet it has not been fixed? and now they are not willing to fix it.

Vehicle would not start after 3 days of not being started or driven. After having the battery jumped the climate control unit malfunctioned. The heat would not turn off and stayed on full blast. This caused the car to overheat and difficult to drive even with the windows down. When brought to the dealership service center, they replaced the heater blower. This fixed the issue temporarily. Then the heat stopped working and in single digit temperatures the vehicle was too cold to drive. The dealership replaced the resistor. This again became a temporary fix. The heat came back but then the vehicle battery kept draining. Having some type of electrical issue put the vehicle at a possible risk for short circuiting, catching fire etc. This is an ongoing issue with all years of the Ford Flex. When the vehicle is jump started this causes an electrical short affecting the climate control system but also the entire communication system. .

The passenger-side front door latch sensor is defective. The door latches securely when closed, but the door ajar warning light remains illuminated. This leads to several issues including: - interior lights don't turn off for a very long time after the door is closed (I. E. On the order of 30 minutes after parking and 5 minutes when driving), - the alarm system goes off randomly and frequently when the vehicle is parked and locked (sometimes multiple times per hour), - the feature that auto-locks the doors when the vehicle is in motion does not work, - if one locks the doors while the vehicle is in motion, they will immediately unlock themselves. The above issues lead to several safety concerns including: - the interior lights being on makes it difficult to see while driving at night, - the interior being illuminated after the vehicle is parked and locked creates a security exposure, - the child safety lock features do not function as intended as the doors cannot lock while the vehicle is in motion, - the alarm system repeatedly triggering is annoying as there is no way to turn off the alarm system. That is, if the car is locked, then the system is armed and will trigger in time. The rear passenger-side door had this same issue a few years ago. Ford has a customer satisfaction program recall for this issue (19n09), but it only applies to the driver door and only for cars less than 7 years old.

Right rear passanger "door ajar" comes on all the time when the door is fully closed. In the beginning was able to get it to stop by opening and closing the door several times, now its continual. The interior lights stay on, causing hazardous condition while driving, due to inability to see what is in the rearview mirrow, chimes continuously.

Door ajar sensor for left rear door stays on, despite the door being fully closed. The dome lights remain on for a few minutes after starting the vehicle. And the dome lights stay on after you lock the vehicle. The dome lights staying on runs down the battery and is also a distraction and hazard while driving at night. Online forums indicate that this is a very common problem with Ford Flexes, and the repairs are apparently $300-$350 per door, with repairs at the dealership lasting for about a year.

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Flex. The contact stated the alarm and sensors were activated without warning. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20v072000 (suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 144,284. Parts distribution disconnect.

I had a recall for the driver door latch to be replaced. The very day that it was replaced, I get in, start my vehicle and the passenger door light comes on showing that it's open but it wasn't. I immediately go back inside to ask the service department since they literally just replaced the recalled drivers door latch. They stated that "it's a coincidence " and that it would cost to fix it. I drove it for as long as I could but my alarm would randomly go off and lights start blinking. I was afraid I'd come out oand my vehicle not start due to the battery being dead because of the alarm and lights going off. I broke down and paid to have the passenger door light fixed which the Ford service department told me it would. The exact same thing happened and now my back passenger door light keeps coming on!! alarm randomly goes off and lights blink. I can't afford to gix this again. They told me it would fix the problem yet once they replaced the recalled door latch this has now happened with other doors.

2013 Ford Flex issues with door sensors reading door open when doors are closed. Dome lights stay on, alarm will not go on and panic alarm goes off on its own. Drive door lock no longer work & neither does the right back passenger door.

Passenger door ajar light illuminates. Lock won't engage and dome lights remain on for awhile.

Door ajar warning sensor previously failed on front passenger side door twice. Repaired under warranty, n/c. Now the rear drivers side door ajar sensor periodically indicates the door is ajar when it's not after opening or closing the door. Dome lights stay on. Have to repeatedly open and close door, hard, to get the sensor to correct. Out of warranty, 147,000 miles on Flex.

Received letter from Ford advising they would replace driver door sensor due to issues that result in it reading door ajar, resulting in dome lights staying on and battery drain. The same issue occurs on other doors, specifically on mine the back driver side door. This happens sporadically, while driving, while parked, even when the door is not utilized.

Tl the contact owns a 2013 Ford Flex. The contact stated that the rear back up camera would go blank, become fuzzy or display images upside down while in operation. The contact also stated that a warning message on the instrument panel stated that the vehicle should be taken to the nearest dealer. The contact also stated that while driving at 65 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact restarted the vehicle and drove to mccandless Ford meadville, inc. (433 baldwin st, meadville, PA 16335) where the vehicle was diagnosed with a defective fuel module. The contact had the fuel module replaced out of pocket. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The back up camera was not repaired or replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.

While driving my 2013 Ford Flex the power steering disappeared and I almost lost control of the vehicle. I pulled over and turned it off, when I started it back up the power steering returned to normal. I stopped at my destination but when I returned to leave I found that the power steering was not responding. I drove it home with great difficulty. This repeated several times over the next two weeks, functioning at the start of the day but failing after the vehicle was turned off. The power steering finally gave out altogether. I checked and found that there was a recall that was announced on June 02 of 2015 for this exact issue covering Ford Flexes from 2010 to 2013. I scheduled an appointment with my Ford dealership to get the issue resolved. I was told that my vehicle was manufactured a few months after the recall date, which covered vehicles manufactured up until Feb 28th of 2012. I can't understand one, how does a recall cover the years 2010 to 2013 but has an end date for eligibility of 2012?, the recall was announced on June 02 of 2015 and my vehicle suffered the exact same issue of those that the recall extend to. As well as what was done to remedy the part failure after the June 02, 2012 date that my vehicle (suffering the same malfunction/failure and manufactured just outside of the end date of the recall) was not included in the recall? I have found that the issue is within the sealed steering assist assembly itself witch suffers heat damage due to the placement of other components. Heat shielding within the unit has been reported to break down, resulting in the interior components to fail due to excessive heat exposure.

Driving down the road and out of nowhere my vehicle started stalling as if vehicle had no gas. Gas tank was full and vehicle showed me a wrench sign as I was looking at my dashboard.

Left passenger door ajar alarm comes on randomly and causes the dome light to stay on and drain the battery when the car is stationary. Unsafe when it happens when driving at night as it is hard to see the road and causes stress to the driver and to passengers, especially children as the doors will not lock whole moving.

Have had multiple door latch/sensor assemblies fail which results door ajar message constantly being given. This results in dome lighting staying on while door is closed and depleting the battery causing an unmonitored electrical use. It also is a distraction to the driver due to both the warning light but also the audio alert that plays when under a certain speed telling you to park and close the door. This takes away from other possible alerts the cars could give you due to overly alerting the driver.

Front passenger door sensor thinks that the door is open when it is closed. The sensor has already been replaced on the drivers side rear door. This appears to be a common problem on the 2013 Ford Flex as evident when searching for answers. This sensor causes the lights to remain on and drain the battery. It is also affecting the car alarm.

Door ajar indicator falsely indicates door is open causing interior lights to remain on while driving as well as an audible alarm. Occurs while stationary and while moving. Interior lights are distracting at night and unnecessary illumination after park causes battery to drain.

I have had issues with the rear passenger door ajar light coming on and staying on. This results in lights staying on inside the car. It has also resulted in the car alarm going off numerous times. However the door appears to be closed all the way. This has happened when the car is stationary as well as randomly turning on and/or off while driving down subdivision street and major highways. When it is ajar the doors will not lock automatically. This can be a major safety issue and is becoming a major problem for my and my family. Please let me know what I can do to have this looked at as it appears I am not the only person having these issues. When the car randomly seems to register the door as closed while driving the doors will then lock, but otherwise the doors will not lock appropriately, I do not have any pictures or documentation I can upload at this time, but I will try to obtain some for you. This issue has been going on now for a few months.

Tl- the contact owns a 2013 Ford Flex. The contact stated that several various electrical failures have occurred with the vehicle. These electrical failure include the power locks being unresponsive while driving and unlock on their own. The interior lights had illuminated on their own when the vehicle was not in operation, they also illuminate while the vehicle is in motion. The front passenger door warning light also remained illuminated while the contact drove the vehicle. Due to these various electrical failures, the battery would run excessively causing the battery to be replaced. The contact had not informed the dealer or the manufacturer of the failures he had experienced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 47,000. Jo.

Failure of engine to start/run due to a faulty fuel pump control module. Current Ford safety recall #16s31 (NHTSA #16v621) is limited only to Ford/Lincoln vehicles equipped with the ecoboost turbocharged engine. The faulty component on my normally aspirated engine, fuel pump control module #aa8z-9d370-b, is the same component being replaced on vehicles affected by the #16v621 NHTSA safety recall. To avoid engines shutting off at speed or not starting, it appears that the recall will need to be expanded to include normally aspirated engines as well. We were fortunate because our vehicle failed sitting in our driveway, not at 75 mph on the highway. My wife's concern is what would have happened to her and our four grandchildren if this failure had taken place on the interstate in busy traffic at 75 mph. Why is the same component that is failing on ecoboost turbocharged engines being covered by Ford safety recall #16s31 not being recalled on similar vehicles equipped normally aspirated engines using the identical component? failure of the component has the same effect of an engine that cuts off at speed or will not start. Your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated. The safety of the owners of these popular Ford/Lincoln family vehicles is at stake.

2 door lock/sensors replaced to date (6/2019). Door sensors say it is open when all doors are closed. Occasionally it will decide the door is open while driving, causing all lights in the vehicle to go on. Hazard when driving in the dark. Doors do not lock at all while driving if sensor says door is open. Was also unable to lock the car while the sensor issue was ongoing because the alarm would go off multiple times a night. Battery drained multiple times because interior lights remained on all night and there is no way to turn off interior lights in the 2013 model.

Tl the contact owns a 2013 Ford Flex. The contact stated that the door lock sensors were inoperable. The contact stated that the driver was not alerted to a door being ajar. The vehicle was taken to better way wholesale autos located at (49 raytkwich rd, naugatuck, CT 06770 2093-720-5600) however, the mechanic was unable to fix the vehicle. The contact was informed to have the vehicle repaired at an authorized dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 122,000.

While driving, the car just stops. No power, cannot turn wheel, gas nor brake pedal works. Have to restart by pushing ignition button. This has happened a few times already and is a major safety issue.

I have had two door latches fail in the same vehicle within 2 years of each other. No matter whether the vehicle is moving or stationary, I get a warning stating the right front (and previously the right rear) door was not closed when in fact it was. There is a faulty sensor in the door latches. This also prevents the child locks from engaging since it thinks the doors are open.

Tl- the contact owns a 2013 Ford Flex. The contact stated that the collision avoidance sensor feature failed intermittently both with and sometimes without warning. The sensor was also connected to the vehicle's cruise control which failed operate when the sensor failed. The vehicle had not been taken to a dealer to be serviced. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure where they directed him to NHTSA. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000. Jo.