Problems with 2011 Ford Explorer STEERING

The power steering on our 2011 ford explorer has failed while we were driving, causing unsafe conditions, forcing us to pull over. it did not self-correct when restarting. there were 2 message lights: service advance trac and power steering assist. we took the vehicle into the dealership and were given a repair price tag exceeding $2,000 and told they would need to replace the steering gear. we then contacted the ford customer service agency and were told that there was no recall in place and that we were over the 36,000 mile general warranty. also, that the powertrain warranty of 60,000 miles would not cover the power steering. *tr

While drive down highway at about 60 mph, audible warning alarm went off with two lights on dash. lost power steering control. service advance trac warning. was barely able to pull over but after shutting vehicle down and restarting power steering was back. i will take it to dealer tomorrow as warranty is nearly up and scared to drive it anymore especially with children in the vehicle. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the steering wheel seized and the service advance trac and power steering assist fault warning lights illuminated. the vehicle was moved to the shoulder. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not contacted. the approximate failure mileage was 51,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated while driving approximately 60 mph, there was a loss of power steering with the illumination of the warning indicator. the vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road where the engine was turned off. the vehicle restarted and resumed normally. the failure recurred. the vehicle failure was not diagnosed nor repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the vin was unavailable. the approximate failure mileage was 41,000. rk

2011 explorer was parked, engine running. attempted to back up and unable to steer vehicle. power assist failure and power steering fail lights came on. i turned vehicle off, waiting a few minutes, turned vehicle back on, no further warning lights came on. was able to drive normally. i did not report this incident to ford. about a month later i was slowing down at an intersection and the same warning lights came on. i was able to pull over to the side with much difficulty in steering. i called my local ford dealer, they suggested i call road side assistance. i informed them this happened to me a few weeks ago and i was able to drive after turning off the car and restarting. i did just that and once again was able to drive my vehicle. i brought my vehicle to local ford dealer. two days later i received a phone call from dealer saying they were not able to reproduce the problem and i could pick up the vehicle. i informed them something was terribly wrong and they needed to do more investigating on this problem before i would pick up my vehicle. service tech said she would let the service manager know. please help. thank you. *tr

The first time this happen my wife was driving down the road at approximately 35 to 40 mph. i was riding passenger seat. all of the sudden just going down the road. she said she couldn't steer and at that time i heard a beep. this was a message on the dash saying steering assist fault. she had a very hard time steering it around a corner we had come to. she asked if we should pull over but since we were less than a mile from the house. and how i figured we could make it has i have drove a car home when a power steering belt broke before. i told her to continue home. once home we turned car off. and then restart it. the car was back to normal and warning message went away. at the time we just considered it a fluke. then it done it again a week later going down the road again. we pulled over and again shut car off and restarted it. it was fine again. then a few day later it did in a parking lot parking. a month later it finally happened while driving on me. i was driving 45 mph going straight all the sudden the steering wheel got tight and the power steering fault came on like usual. we were on our way to the store and less than a 1/4 mile away. it was very hard to turn the car into the store parking lot. this is harder to steer than a manual steering car. do to trying to steer a power steering rack and gears on top of big 20" wheels with wide tires. for inexperienced, not a very strong person, or an elderly driver. this could be a dangerous situation on the highway on a corner. and i could see how it could cause an accident. this problem as happen also immediately when care is started. it happens at anytime it seems. you never know when it will happen again. *tr

While driving at freeway speed i received audible alarms and dashboard warning lights to service advance trac and terrain management. at that time the steering become very difficult. the car was manuverable though quite difficult so i proceeded 10 miles to my destination at reduced speed. after restarting the vehicle immediately the problem did not go away. the vehicle was left overnight and upon restarting the problem had gone away. it was taken to the ford dealer and the electronic power steering assembly was replaced at a cost of $2,000. *tr

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 display 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 catch 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 problem 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 disabled at that point). the next day, i drove to work and power steering went out again. took the car to my dealer 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 family 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. *tr

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. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated while traveling highway speeds the steering failed and it was very difficult to turn the steering wheel in order to drive onto the emergency lane. when the failure occurred, the vehicle began to perform as if the tires were also failing; however, the traction and steering lights illuminated on the instrument panel. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated the electronic power assist had failed. the failure and current mileage was 41,000. *tr

I was driving approximately 55 mph when out of nowhere two light warnings flashed. one said advanced trac system auto (or something like that). my steering wheel then locked and i got scared and pulled over. i could not move my steering wheel to drive properly so i called roadside assistance, and waited over 2 hours for a tow. i didn't feel comfortable driving it with two small children in truck. it got towed to dealership, and they just called and said it was the steering wheel control module. thankfully it is still covered under warranty but is a huge inconvenience. not to mention , my warranty is ending in only 3000 more miles . guess i need to extend it just in case something like this happens again. *tr

Traveling at freeway speed the warning message appeared on the instrument panel before the power steering quit. when i restarted the car it appeared to have corrected the problem. on september 10th, the same warning came on the instrument panel before the power steering quit. i was traveling at 35mph. i restarted the car and it appeared to correct the problem again. when i previously took it into the dealership they said there was nothing wrong and reset the system. *tr

Tl* 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.

On engine start up, the dash screen read "power steering assist fault" and the car would not turn using the steering wheel manually. i checked the internet for similar problems and found many complaints regarding this same issue. there was the suggestion to turn off and restart the car which did seem to fix the problem, but then the dash reads another warning "terrain management fault." i called the dealer to have it checked out this week, but i no longer trust this car, which we use to transport our toddler grandchildren and we will not use it again until we get satisfaction. i saw that several other complaints noted a re-occurrence of the same problem, major part replacement of the steering mechanisms and delays in repairs. that says to me that this is a safety issue and should demand a recall. *tr

The power steering goes out and then a warning appears stating a malfunction with the all terrain stability control. not only does the power steering stops working, but it feels like the vehicle is going to turn over for a couple of seconds. this has occurred three times; our ford dealership has made two attempts to repair the problem with a third attempt scheduled next week. the last event was day before yesterday while i was driving on i-26 at 70mph (speed limit) and nearly caused me to have an accident. the dealership states that they just don't know what the problem is and told me they are speaking with ford about the problem. i feel that this is a very dangerous problem and i don't think ford knows how to fix it. thank you. *tr

Was driving down the road and with no warning the power steering went out and lights came on the dash. arrived at destination cut the car off and several hours later started the car and drove it with no problems. 5 months later my wife was driving the vehicle and the same thing occurred. we took it to the ford dealership they were able to reproduce the problem and said it was the steering rack electric control module. luckily she had purchased the extended warranty because at this time the car had about 40000 miles and would have cost us 1800 dollars to fix. we got the car from the dealership and about 1 week later i was driving the car 40 mph on a curvy road when again lost power steering and almost ran off the road into ditch i took the car straight to the dealership left the engine running with all the dash board lights lit up and no power steering. after filing a complaint with ford corporate a regional customer service manager called and they are now telling me that the new part they had replaced a week earlier must have been defected and are waiting on another replacement part. we informed them we no longer want the vehicle we feel it is not safe to drive and wanted to know what options we had and what ford was willing to do to keep us a satisfied customer. they offered a free extended warranty on the car (which my wife had already purchased) or we could trade it in on a new ford and by the new vehicle under the ford x-plan. *tr

I was driving about 65 mph when my power steering failure light as well as vehicle traction light came in. the steering wheel became extremely tight. i was able to slow down and pull off the highway because it was late at night and no vehicles were around. i turned the car off and back on and it fixes the problem. it was extremely scary going that speed to have the power steering light come on. *tr

I was driving in a parking lot and the power steering went out. a light came on, and the system made a sound to let me know there was a message. it let me know that i had a problem with my power steering. i was turning into an isle, and had to put my body into turning the suv. i pulled into a wide open parking space, turned the car off and back on. the issue resolved itself. two days later i was on my way to work doing about 30mph and the same message came on and the power went out. i had to find a place to pull over and turn the car off and on. i made an appointment to get my car in the next available time, which was four days later. that evening i was taking a car load of little boys to a baseball game. the steering went out on a curvy country road with no shoulder. i had a few choice thoughts about my ford explorer failing my family!! i have since been to my local ford dealer that charged me $1,800 to replace my steering gear part, labor, alignment and taxes. my car is not under warranty, and ford is somehow able to see this defect in thousands of cars and punish it's customers for choosing to support ford. i didn't want to purchase a car that had been produced by a company that used bail-out money, but next time i will! *tr

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.. *tr

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. *tr

Tl* 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. *tr

Power steering stopped working while driving. *tr

I was driving down a hill and two warning lights came on and the power steering stopped working. the power steering started working after the car was turned off and back on. the two warning lights that came on were advanced track system and power steering assist. *tr

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. *tr

While driving my 2011 ford explorer the power steering suddenly went out. the vehicle gave me a warning, but only after the steering failed. the vehicle became almost impossible to steer. my only option was to try and get out of the flow of traffic in order to stop the car. turning the car off, then back on appears to reset the issue. the first time it happened i was pulling out onto a road. because the change was so unexpected the car couldn't be turned in time to merge into traffic. i had to turn off my car, then turn it back on while blocking two lanes of frontage road because it became next to impossible to control the car without power steering. two incidents. the first occurred as i was pulling out of a driveway onto a frontage road (05/03/13). the second was driving down a residential neighborhood going about ~25mph (05/27/13). i can't imagine what would happen if i were going 50, 60, 65 on an interstate when this happened. i can't reasonably expect my family to travel in a car this unpredictable and unsafe. i'm not sure what the best remedy might be, but others need to be warned before purchasing this car. *tr

I was driving the 2011 ford explorer for about 20 minutes and as i got about 2 miles from my destination the power steering assist fault and service advance trac messages both began blinking on the dash. then the steering wheel tightens and i can tell that its locking. i was able to turn right with a lot of force and get into the parking lot. then i shut the vehicle off. i called my husband and we both began to google the problem and saw others having the same issue. i waited about an hour and cut the vehicle on and the wheel was unlocked and messages cleared. i was able to drive home with no other issues but i will be at the dealership monday. we have only had the vehicle about 4 months and haven't had any issues prior to today. *tr

While driving vehicle, i heard a ding and two warnings came up on my information panel stating "service advance trac" and "power steering assist fault". i was coming into a curve and immediately after these warnings came on, i lost all power steering and barely avoided a crash. i stopped my vehicle, turned off the car and made a phone call to my husband and then restarted my car and the warnings were gone and my power steering was working. this has happened a total of 8 times over the last two weeks and is getting harder to get the power steering to work after restarting the last few times. i have taken it to my local ford dealership where they are telling me it is a steering gear and they have ordered the replacement part, but with my extended warranty, it will cost me a $100.00 deductible. i've since researched and have seen that there are several explorers with this exact same issue and wanted to lodge my incident as well. *tr

Tl* 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.

This is the 2nd time this happened while raining. the first time,about a year ago and while driving 55 mph, the instrument cluster screen and myfordtouch screens both went black and lost power steering suddenly,but engine was still running. but, all of sudden, then power steering re-energized and made steering wheel jerk causing vehicle to skid momentarily, but i was able to maintain control of vehicle and pull over. the instrument cluster screen then had a message "check charging system." i turned vehicle off and restarted it and vehicle returned to normal. few days later, took to dealership for routine maintenance and battery and alternator were checked out as being fine. today, vehicle lost power steering while slowing to a stop to turn into driveway and felt like steering wheel locked up. had to turn steering wheel with great force to turn into driveway home and the drove about 200ft to carport and power steering never returned and had same check charging system warning message displayed on instrument cluster. turned vehicle off and power steering returned and no longer had check charging system warning message. only happens when raining and unable to reproduce for service tech because dealership says they won't test vehicle when it is raining. *tr

I was stopped at a light waiting to turn left. the green arrow appeared so i started to make my left hand turn and lost power steering capability. several "dings" sounded and indicators on my dashboard lit up. i was able to get around the corner with a great deal of force on the wheel and get into a parking lot without incident. after shutting the vehicle off and re-starting, the power steering capability was returned, but the indicator lights were still active. vehicle was taken on a flat-bed to the dealership and it is still there being assessed. *tr

Attempted to start car in parking lot, power steering failure light flashed on and wheel became totally locked. certainly there was no possibility that i could turn it. turned car off to call dealership, and after a few minutes i re-started the car. power steering responded and i drove to dealership, then home. if i had been in moving traffic when the steering failed, a serious accident would have resulted. i now discover that ford has serious problems over power steering of the 2011 ford explorer, but no recall has been ever made. *tr

The power steering on my 2011 explorer has locked many times but i was never in a position to have time to snap a picture or remember exactly what the code said when it came up, but i had been telling my dealer that it was occurring often. this past time it did it i was turning right on a road and it locked up so my speed was slow so i could manage to come to a stop and put the vehicle in park and shut it off and back on again to get it to clear. i snapped a picture so i could show them when i dropped the car off. my dealer has told me everytime i complain that they have not had anyone else complain with this problem. they also told me this time when i took it in that they would have to replace the steering gear and that it was covered under the extended warranty but i would have to pay the deductible $100.00. i do not feel that i should have to pay a deductible for a defective part. i have also had numerous problems with my ford sync and have returned it several different times for that and they just tell me i will have to bring it in every couple of months for an update(the update takes several hours). i have also had to take it in for a noise at the windshield. it sounds like a popping sound and finally they replaced a piece 2 times and that noise went away. it is also time for new tires. my car has 42,000 miles on it and we noticed that 2 of the tires have cracks in them in several different places. i took it to ford and they said it was not cracks but cuts. they are clearly cracks. the tires are supposed to be 60,000 mile tires but they are not willing to check into the issue. my ac stopped working, i took it in for that as well and they told me that the ac condenser had a pin size hole on it and it was caused from road debris. that is not covered under the extended warranty and will cost me about $1200.00 out of pocket. *tr

Vehicle has had problems from month 3 of purchase. cooling fans blew, sunroof rattles, but the worst was a few months ago when backing out of parking space and heard a pop. the steering wheel bolt had broke. took to dealership and they had it for 2 days to fix it. contacted ford motor corporate and never received call or email back from them. then i noticed the steering wheel never seemed straight. it always turned to the left. it went back in the shop on 06/12/2013 to be fixed. they stated it needed a front end alignment but fact is it was never fixed correctly as they never saw this problem before. then on 06/15/2013 drivng vehicle and all of a sudden steering wheel locked up and all the lights started flashing. could not steer the vehicle. i managed to get it pulled over after being in a total panic as i was 1/2 mile from a major highway and would have been driving at a faster speed. my daughter was with me and she was completely in panic as she drives the vehicle and says what if it happened when she is driving it. she will not drive it anymore as she is scared to death. car is at dealership at the present time. we will see what the "reasoning" is this time. *tr

As i was driving my ford explorer one morning on a secondary road probably around 40-50mph, all of the sudden the following warnings were displayed on the dash board: "power steering assist fault" and "service advance track". these warnings made the steering wheel get extremely heavy and difficult to maneuver. i managed to pull over on the side of the road, and turned off the car for a minute. when i started it again, the warnings had disappeared and everything worked fine. the same incident has happened 3 more times within 5 months after the first incident. all of them had happened at different speeds and various traffic conditions. i believe this is a serious failure that should be corrected in order to prevent accidents or fatalities. *tr

On wednesday 2/5/13 i was driving on highway going about a constant speed of 55 mph. all of a sudden i see a warning pop up that says power steering assist fault and my steering wheel locked. even to make slight curves in the road where extremely difficult. i barely had time to pull over on the side of the road in traffic before getting hit. also, my turn signals were not functioning. i turned the vehicle off and the warnings went away. however as i started my route to get home the same thing happened again. *tr

The power steering assist function turned off and the vehicle wouldn't steer. the traction control was also disabled at the same time. the occurred first in my driveway and then the next day in a parking lot at a local business. after turning off the car and restarting the issue was cleared from the computer and the steering resumed working. the vehicle was towed to the local ford dealer for repair after the second incident. they are trying to find out the cause and make the repairs. *tr

Brakes make a grunting/grinding sound when braking shortly after being stationary. when this phenomenon happens on a downward slope, drive gets the feeling that brake effectiveness is reduced greatly. owner has brought car to dealer a total of 4 times and was able to replicate noise one time. *tr

On four separate occasions beginning in 2012 i was making a left or right turn when the steering wheel locked up, the power steering light and traction assist light came on the car shut itself off. i was only a going a few miles per hour. on the fifth occasion in may 2013 i was traveling through a secured green light making a left turn, probably going about 25 miles per hour when the power steering and traction assist lights came on. the steering immediately locked up and the car shut itself off, only this time i was in traffic and almost got rear-ended by a car that was following me through the light. it was the scariest thing i have ever experienced as a driver and i am worried about what would have happened if it was raining? i would have surely lost control of the car and hit a pole that was right in front of me. i have taken my 2011 explorer to ford three times and all three times they said that they couldn't find anything wrong. *tr

I was driving to work going about 55mph give or take 5mph when the steering went stiff and made it hard to steer through the turns. it was worse when i had to make slow turns. if i had to avoid an accident quickly i don't think i would be able to avoid it. when i got to work shut the car off turned it back on and i guess it reset because the steering came back. when i t happened again i called the brewster ford and said to turn the car off and on and that would fix the problem i rough the car to the dealer after if happened a few time but they said they wont be able to find anything since there are no errors when i brought it in it happened a few more times brought it back again the check it said they found nothing and then charged me almost $200 if finally completely went this all happened over a 1yr time period put a call into brewster ford and corporate still waiting to here from either one that was almost 2weeks ago. *tr

While driving a warning light came on stating i lost power steering. i could not steer my car. i was able to pull over. i shut off my car and restarted it and power steering came back. *tr

Driving on the side street when steering wheel suddenly became very stiff after a very slight steer to the right making it impossible to steer. warning lights appear on instrument panel. turned off engine and re-starting enable steering again. same incident happen again within a week, luckily i am driving on side street and same incident happen again. never drove car on freeways for fear of losing steering control. brought car to dealer the following day. dealer said fix computer malfunction. the following day after dealer said they fix it, same incident happen with my wife driving. this time steering wheel does not move even after stop/re-start of engine. dealer tow car to their shop. *tr

On oct. 30th the steering locked up while driving on i-95 south going roughly 65 miles per hour. the steering locked and would not allow for the wheels to be turned. we were lucky it happened on a straight piece of the highway. my wife was able to slow the car in time so that the vehicle could be driven onto the side of the road slowly enough that she could keep it on the berm. the car was turned off and when she turned it back on the steering worked fine. this is the second occurrence. the first happened about a year ago. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact was driving approximately 2 mph in a parking lot hen an immediate loss of power steering occurred with the illumination of the warning indicator. the vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer who stated that the electronic steering gear required replacement. the part needed for the repair was on back order and the vehicle was scheduled to be repaired when the part became available. there was an open investigation under nhtsa action number pe12017 (steering:electric power assist system) that could have been related to the failure. the manufacturer was notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 36,458.

On the morning of september 25th, my wife was driving her 2011 ford explorer awd limited to work and the epas power steering shut off. she was luckily close to work and not driving in any curvy terrain, and was able to park the vehicle with great exertion. i came out and switched cars so that i could drive it to the dealer. the epas was working again when i turned on the car. i brought it to the dealer where they saw the fault when they hooked the car to their system. as of today, 11/14/12, ford still has possession of our vehicle, waiting for replacement parts. *tr

Pulling into a parking lot off of a highway power steering froze and was difficult to move. turned vehicle off and on again but still had same issue and could not turn steering wheel. turned power off, took key out of ignition and got out of vehicle. went back in and restarted vehicle and steering seemed to be normal again. dropped off at dealer the next day. it has been 10 weeks and it still has not been fixed, part on backorder and fearful of what will happen after it is fixed. dealer and ford regional customer service manager [xxx] tells me there is national back order on part. if this is the case this must be a big problem. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

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. *tr

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. *tr

While driving approximately 40 mph the power steering light came on and the power steering immediately stopped working on my 2011 ford explorer. luckily there was a turn lane to my right i could move into to stop the car and attempt to reset the system. i was lucky. i can only imagine what could happen if this were to happen on a winding mountain road. i took my explorer to the closest dealer to be looked at. i was told they would have to order the parts and that it would cost $1600.00 to fix. this vehicle is less than 2 years old. the design of this steering system is potentially fatal no steering system should ever fail without warning! *tr

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 vehicle, including yesterday. in all cases, i had to take the truck off the road and completely shut down the vehicle - upon restarting, the warnings disappeared and the power steering was restored. i have had the vehicle to the dealer twice now, with no issues found. i have a 3rd appointment with the dealer today. *tr

During a late afternoon drive on the local freeway and under dry weather conditions, i was driving my 2010 ford explorer at approx. 70 mph when suddenly the luxury of power steering vanished. immediately, it was difficult to steer, especially when driving on surface streets at slower speeds and attempts to park. within moments of the power steering going away, a pop-up window appeared on my dash board instructing me of a power steering problem and inviting me to bring it to the attention of the local ford dealer. i reached my destination and turned off the car. after several hours, i turned on the car and the power steering was restored. after several weeks, i was again driving the local freeway at 70 mph under dry weather conditions and the same experience occurred. i again reached my destination, turned off the car and attended to my duties. again, after several hours, i turned on the car and found no pop-up windows on the dash board or power steering difficulties. i have taken it in to the local ford dealer and was told that it needed a new steering gear, which is presently on order and should be in within the next week. *tr