Problems with 2011 Ford Explorer STEERING

On cruise control at 75mph heading east on i-44 towards tulsa, ok. power steering service warning, advance trak warning, terrain management warning become active. power steering advance trak and terrain management no longer active. *tr

Driving at highway speed, all steering was lost with family in vehicle. no problems had occurred with the vehicle steering until a flash update had been completed by dealer for the recal notice. as others this occurred over a weekend and we were not home felt we could not drive even after shutting down, re starting and error cleared. rented a vehicle ourselves until monday when the dealer provided a rental. after being in the shop for a week was notified that ford would do nothing about the issue as they assume no liability after the flash was completed! our dealer stepped up and paid for everything. they should not have to do this and as an insurance professional view this as a major liability and if this is not correct asap someone or many will be killed! why is this so,hard to enforce based on the number of claims for this failure? even now with what might be the correct repairs and based on others who have done the same what assurance do any of us have? *tr

The power steering failed while i was driving south on i-75. the recall for the module (reprogramming) had already been performed less than 2 months before. now, after having the car in the shop for a week and 2 days, ford has agreed to pay all but $700 of the repair. the reprogramming obviously was not an effective solution since the power steering failed a short time after that was done. the car is not safe to drive. the steering went out without notice as i was traveling 70 mph on an interstate highway. i was eventually able to muscle it over to the right lane and get to an exit without getting into a crash, but that was pure luck. the traffic was very heavy and i didn't want to make any hasty moves because i wasn't sure what was going on. it was a very scary situation. ford has admitted that this is a problem, now they need to fix it. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving 5 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to turn and the warning indicator illuminated. the vehicle was taken to dealer for repairs under recall nhtsa campaign 14v286000(steering). the vehicle was repaired but the problem has recurred. the vehicle was taken back to dealer who explained that the vehicle was no longer eligible for the recall repairs since it had been repaired once before. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 111,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. while driving approximately 35 mph, the power steering seized and excessive force was required to turn the steering wheel. the vehicle was towed to the dealer. the technician diagnosed that the steering gears needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the contact stated that the failure occurred after the vehicle was previously repaired according to nhtsa campaign number: 14e001000 (steering). the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 114,000...updated 10/07/14 *bf the consumer has since traded the vehicle. updated 10/10/14

steering stop moving in the middle of driving on the express way. had to turn the vehicle off and then restart for it to continue moving. this happen a view times but never on the express way. *tr

I was driving down the street at around 20 mph when there were cars that suddenly stopped. when i was braking i felt as if the steering was allowing me to turn and it happened so fast i felt as if i lost braking power. then i hit the car in front of me hard. *tr

2011 ford explorer was just returned two weeks ago for national recall on electronic power steering control module failure. on august 21st at 9:30 am my wife was approaching a red light. she applied the brakes and felt an immediate power loss issue with the breaks. she impacted the vehicle in front of her around 15 mph. air bags were not deployed at time of accident. she did noticed the terrain management failure light was illuminated at time of impact. my wife did not feel the anti lock brakes engage, nor were there any skid marks visible on the road. minor front end damage is evident and radiator was leaking fluid. insurance company has been notified about recent recall. *tr

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. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. while driving approximately 10 mph, the steering wheel seized and the power steering warning indicator illuminated. the vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. the vehicle was not repaired according to nhtsa campaign number: 14v286000 (steering) because the parts were unavailable. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 30,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. while driving various speeds, the vehicle would veer to the right without the contact moving the steering wheel. the dealer stated that the rack and pinion steering mechanism needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired due to the part not being available. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 41,000.

I was making a right hand turn going down a hill onto a street when the sensors went off and the power steering stopped working. the car registered two warnings. i stopped the car in the middle of the street. i was manually able to get it to a parking lot but it was extremely difficult. i drove very slowly. when i got to the parking lot, i turned the car off and restarted it. the warnings disappeared and the car functioned normally. i proceeded to call the dealership where i got the car from to explain the situation. i subsequently called the dealership the following day to voice my concerns and make an appointment. the best they could do was a week from today. this is a certified, pre-owned vehicle that i purchased less than a year ago. *tr

On june 16th, 2014, i was traveling 40 mph with my 3 year old and 18 month old in the car and i lost all power steering and ended up in a ditch. there was no way to control it or even turn the wheel. it happened again on june 19th, 2014 however, my husband was driving and was able to get the car off the road. *tr

At approx 1430 on june 2nd on highway on ramp accelerating had the service advancetrac warning light and chime come on and the traction control off light and chime come on and lost all power steering control of vehicle. i immediately put on my emergency flasher and let off the accelerator and forced my explorer to the shoulder. once on the shoulder of the highway i cleared the faults, i wish i would have taken cell photo of fault, and turned vehicle off and then restarted vehicle with no issues. i did not have any other issues for the rest of the drive approx 25 to 30 min. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that when backing out of the driveway the power steering failed. as a result, the power steering assist fault and service steering advance tract lights illuminated on the instrument panel. the vehicle has not been taken to a dealer. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 87,417 and the current mileage was 87,437. pm updated 9/4/14*cn

I was driving on a four lane highway when a signal came on dash " steering assist failure" and i could not steer the vehicle. was just coming off highway and was able to continue to ramp and had to pull off on median in middle of busy exit ramp. stopped and then restarted car which temporarily fixed problem now dealership is telling me the steering column module needs replaced - will cost me $600 !!!!!:( very disappointed in ford as there are many reports of this happening to others ! *tr

While driving approximately 45 mph on local road, power steering gave out and vehicle became extremely difficult to effectively steer and pull off across 2 lanes of traffic onto shoulder. after pulling off to side of road, turned of engine and re-started. steering came back and was able to return home. next day, suv did same thing 2x and added a new error message regarding traction control system fault along with power steering system fault. ford has a section in their owners manual warning that failure of this system will require additional effort to steer the vehicle, but the dramatic change from power steering to this scenario is startling. my husband reviewed on line and discovered a re-call for the power steering problem had been issued in january. when contacting ford dealer they stated this recall did not include our car since the recall was only for vehicles that had repairs for this same issue (done in a certain time period). if this issue had happened with a less experienced driver (ie our 17 year old daughter who drives this car frequently) the issue would most likely have caused her to panic and due to diminished maneuverability may lead to an accident. i am surprised the re-call is only for a part that has been installed to make a repair when the underlying problem this repair was being made for has not been addressed. it appears there are several complaints about this same issue. *tr

I made a left hand turn and the power steering went out. i pulled into a parking lot and turned the engine off and restarted the engine. the power steering was fine. i went home and came back out to the car to go on an errand the power steering did not work. we called a wrecker on may 17 to have it towed to the ford dealer. *js

This is the 4th time my vehicle has lost its power steering. i was driving in traffic at about 45 mph and the power steering. i have to find a place on the side of the highway to pull over and turn my car off and wait a while then restart it and sometimes it fixes the problem and sometimes it doesn't. there is only a matter of time that this will happen going at a higher rate of speed and cause injury or worse! ford needs to recall this asap! *tr

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. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while traveling 40 mph, the power steering and service track warning lights illuminated. the manufacturer was contacted. there were no repairs completed on the vehicle. the failure mileage was 66,800 and the current mileage was 66,801. the vin was not available.

As i was getting ready to make a right hand turn, the steering wheel would not turn and, at the same time, there was a car coming up to the stop sign where i was turning. i used all the force i could to turn the wheel because if i couldn't turn, i was going to hit the other car. as it was, i barely missed them and finally got the car to turn right and then the light came on the dash - i still had to find a place to get off the road so i went into the church parking lot fighting the steering all the way. i finally came to a stop and put the car in park and turned off the ignition. there was no prior indication of impending failure of, as it turned out, at the ford garage, the failure of the power steering gear. if this had happened on a highway at highway speeds, i doubt if i would be here today. *tr

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. *js

About months ago my husband was driving along and all of a sudden, the vehicle started making a warning sound and the "assist power steering fault" message came up as well as service "advance trac." then, without warning, there was no power steering. shut the car off and restarted it and we had power steering again. we took it into the ford dealership and they said they have never heard of this problem. it happened again, they looked at it and nothing found! last night my entire family was in the car and the power steering went out. very scary. look online, found a power steering recall in the 2011 explorers, called the ford motor company and conveniently our vin is not part of the recall. ford motor company was rude and would not explain the other recall to me because my vin didn't get recalled as if it was confidential information. i feel this is a billion dollar cover up by the ford company. they do not want to claim responsibility until someone dies. *tr

Steering power assist warning light came on; loss of power steering. turned off car, then restarted again, problem went away. has recurred numerous times. *tr

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. *js

While driving my steering column locked up and lights on my dash indicated that the power steering and traction control were no longer working. i was forced to attempt to pull over which was nearly impossible due to my power steering no longer working. i turned my vehicle on and off 2 times (giving it time between to resent itself) before it would work properly however the lights indicating the power steering and traction control was not working remained on. i think it is absolutely ridiculous that ford refuses to fix this problem. this is the 3rd time this has happened to me. this is a major safety concern ford! fix the problem before people start to lose their lives!

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. *tr

While driving my steering column locked up and lights on my dash indicated that the power steering and traction control were no longer working. i was forced to attempt to pull over which was nearly impossible due to my power steering no longer working. i turned my vehicle on and off 5 times (giving it time between to resent itself) before it would work properly however i continued to have the same issues with it throughout the day. i think it is absolutely ridiculous that ford refuses to fix this problem. this is the 2nd time this has happened to me. this is a major safety concern ford! fix the problem before people start to lose their lives!

The steering power assist fault was lite up and then i lost all steering and all i could do was turn my flashers on to avoid being hit and drive off to the side of the road. *tt

We have had multiple incidents where the power steering would lock up and we would get a "power steering assist fault". so far, shutting down the car then restarting has cleared the issue. we have been lucky; this has occurred only at low speeds (backing out of the garage or in a store parking lot). took the car to get checked today and it is going to cost $2,000 to repair the electronic power assist steering (epas) gear. have to repair it because it is a safety issue. *js

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. *tr

While driving on the interstate at about 70 mph, an electrical light came up on the dash and i immediately lost power steering. my family was in the car and it was extremely frightening. i was able to muscle the car over to the right lane at which point, power steering was restored. the issue happened again around 20 minutes later and then rectified itself after a minute or so. i drove the car to the dealer and spoke with them about what happened. they kept the car for a week and could not "replicate the issue". this was the first week of april. i am now learning that ford was aware of this problem back in january and has issued a recall. *tr

Driving around a curve and the steering locked up. we swerved into the other lane and luckily didn't get hit. the power steering assist fault notification came on. *tr

I was driving in the highway approximately 65 mph, all of the sudden the "powersteering assist failure" message popped up. i exited the highway but had a very difficult time turning the steering wheel. i turned the vehicle off and then restarted it again; the steering wheel went back to normal. this is a very dangerous issue; i have children and depend on my vehicle daily. *tr

I was driving on a major street during heavy afternoon traffic. the steering became extremely difficult and i could barely turn the wheel. the warning lights for advanced traction failure and power steering assist fault came on. i also noticed the terrain management control was no longer illuminated. i tried to turn off the road into the driveway but it was extremely difficult. i am a reasonably strong adult woman and had to use all my strength to turn the wheel even slightly while slowly moving. when i managed to get the car into a safe place i put the car in park and turned it off. when the car was started again, it returned to normal and i was able to drive it. three days later, the same thing happened with another driver while i was a passenger. the older male driver had similar difficulty steering and turning the vehicle. i took the vehicle to the ford dealership for service. they repaired the rack and pinion steering for an estimated cost of over $2000. the mileage on the vehicle was approximately 36,400 miles so about 400 miles past the warranty. we were able to get ford to reduce the cost to approximately $750, some of which was for the alignment that was necessary following the repair. this incident could have been far worse with devastating results. i am a mom and girl scout leader and transport children frequently throughout the day. at the time of the incident i had 4 children in my vehicle. *tr

While driving the power steering shut down along with the traction control.

The car basically shuts off and you lose power steering. no warn lights just cuts off immediately. we brought the car to the dealership and they ran a diagnostic and told us the issue was with the power steering sensor and that it would cost $2,000 to fix. i took to the internet and searched the issue to find out that there have been a number of owners that have had the same problem. i called ford customer service and they opened a case for us. they came back with $1,000 in financial assistance but it will still cost us $1,000 for soemthing i feel is not a part that "wears out". it is a very dangerous issue and i think that ford should take care of replacing the part before someone really gets hurt. *js

Power steering fail light came on and i lost my power steering. after killing the car, letting it sit then restarting it i started back working. *tr

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. *tr

I was driving down the street at 55 mph when the 'power steering assist fault' displayed on the dashboard interior display. the steering wheel immediately locked up & i lost complete control of the vehicle & drifted to the right. i stepped on the brakes to avoid crashing & turned the car off. once i turned the car back on the fault was no longer there & i drove home. i called the ford dealership & made an appointment to get the vehicle checked the next day. later on that same day, my wife & i had an appointment. however, when we started the vehicle up, the same fault was immediately displayed & the steering wheel locked up. i kept turning the car off & trying to restart, but the fault would not go away. i had to get my vehicle towed to the ford dealership. i did some research online only to discover that i was not the only ford owner that had this problem. several others had the same issue. this finding prompted me to look on the ford website to see if there was any recall but there is none. the ford dealership quoted me for an 'air bag safety fault', electrical & valve malfunction, after running a diagnostic test on my vehicle. i was deeply concerned because the 'air bag fault' never displayed due to the other fault. the estimated cost was over $3,000. also, i had to rent a vehicle in the interim. i asked about recalled parts & legal action when i was at the dealership but no one had any information. when i went to pick up my vehicle, the ford dealership said they would pay for the rental & they made contact with ford company. the ford company allegedly emailed the ford dealership & took $1,000 off the total cost. i have a wife & a baby. this is our only mode of transportation. i fear for the safety of my family in this make of vehicle & i would like for ford to investigate this electrical issue further & recall its parts. please help us & all others with this issue. *tr

I was driving my explorer when the power steering went out suddenly, making it almost impossible to steer to safety. a message appeared on the dash about the problem, but i was too busy trying to steer to safety to memorize what it said. *tr

After starting the car, a warning occurred for the first time saying power steering needed service "soon". we turned the car off and restarted. the notice did not appear and my entire family continued to our destination. during the course of our ride, we did not receive another warning. then while attempting to make a turn we veered into the other lane nearly crashing into another car.due to power steering loss. the situation was extremely dangerous. *tr

Tl* 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.

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!! *tr

Driving and all of a sudden the power steering warning light comes on and the vehicle locks up. very scary situation because i couldn't control the vehicle. i purchased this vehicle brand new??? *tr

I was parked at a store parking lot. i got in the car to back up and this message "powersteering assist failure" popped up on the screen and i was not able to turn the steering wheel at all. i shut the car off and then restarted it...then the power steering went back to normal. *tr

I was rounding a curve in an intersection when the steering became impossible to steer . i managed to get it off the road and i noticed the traction controls were lit up along with the steering failure warring came on. after restarting the car everything returned to normal. *tr

The power steering assist on my 2011 ford explorer has just stopped working suddenly on two different occasions. both times happened in parking lots and the steering started working again after turning the vehicle off and back on again. i'm reporting this because the ford dealer will not attempt to fix it since it reset itself and is now working again. however, research shows this is happening to many people with this make/model and this is a potentially very dangerous situation that needs to be fixed to prevent a future tragedy. i will likely get rid of this car now because it is not safe to drive on busy highways. *tr

I was getting ready to turn into the parking lot .. when 2 sets of lights came on ..the system indicators came up .. one indicating the power steering error and another indicating the power steering locked ... then the steering wheel became very hard to turn .. making so very hard to turn into a parking space .. someone had to push me into the parking lot out of the way .. later to call ford dealership doesn't want to assist me with this problem ... i drive a 2011 ford explorer .. the car is 2 years old . i reviewed other concerns of this matter .. is there a recall ... *tr