Problems with 2011 Ford Explorer STEERING

Started to back out of the garage and the steering wouldn't move. chime went on and "power steering assist fault" appeared in the display next to the speedometer. shut the car off waited then restarted the car and things functioned normally. will call ford dealer as this could be dangerous, steering was very, very hard to move and i'm a healthy male in the mid 40's. i don't know what my wife would do if this happened at highway speed. *tr

Power steering stopped working. cannot drive car. error message "power steering assist fault". *tr

Driving slow speed with 1year old and 3 year old babies power steering failed. warning light came on. gladly i was close to home and vehicle was picked up by roadside assistance will see what ford says tomorrow. *tr

I was driving on a major hwy when i lost the ability to properly steer the vehicle at 55 mph, luckily i was able to get to the side of the road with a lot of effort. at the time my 4 year old and 4 month old were in the vehicle and luckily no one was injured. i called my husband in a panic and he came to pick me up. when he got there the power steering fault light was on and the terrain management system would not engage. after turning the vehicle off and on the steering came back but the warning light was still on. he drove the vehicle straight to the dealer and they are in the process of figuring out what is wrong. *tr

While pulling into a busy intersection (attempting to turn left at a t intersection) the power steering failed. i received errors on the cluster stating that power steering and stabilitrak had failed. i was unable to steer the car into traffic; luckily there was a driveway a few degrees off center from the t and i was able to pull in there. *tr

I was driving my parents and my toddler daughter back from visting a sibling (approx. 5 hour drive) when we stopped briefly to take a break about 2 1/2 hours away from home. when i started the car up again, i received warnings related to a power steering failure and advance trac failure. the car had no power steering and there appeared to be something wrong with the blinkers as well. on tuesday, following labor day) i took the vehicle to the dealership where i had purchased it for repair. more than a week later, i was informed that the part was on backorder with ford until october 1st and that there was a waiting list to get the part and there were almost 1000 people on the wait list ahead of me. i'm greatful that i had an extended warranty, however, even under the warranty they only have to provide a rental car for 10 days. i'm hopeful that the dealership will do the right thing and keep me in a car until sometime in hopefully october or november when they can repair the vehicle. i believe this to be a manufacturing defect which should be covered under the original warranty regardless of mileage. this appears to be happening to a number of people and is both a safety hazard as well as possibly a deceptive trade practice. *tr

As coasting to a stop light from approximately 35 mph down to 5 and maybe even completely stopped, the service advance trac warning light came on and then noticed power steering was nearly lost. i was in the left lane and was able to pull over to a side street, stop and restart the car, and then it drove fine. taking it into a dealer for evaluation today and have notified a ford person via online message board. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the power steering failed while the contact was attempting a left turn. the contact shut off and restarted the vehicle and the power steering performed as designed. the vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis where the steering gear shift was replaced. the traction control warning light illuminated after the repairs. the vehicle was returned to the dealer and the failure recurred two days later. the contact was then informed that the steering gear shift would need to be replaced a second time. the manufacturer was not notified of the recurring failure. the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was 8,500 and the current mileage was 9,500. ..updated 01/30/13 *bf 02/01/2013 *js

Power steering failed. *tr

I was making a left hand turn, when the warning message came on letting me know the "power steering assist failed" and then lost all power for steering. i was able to pull over, stop & restart the vehicle and the power steering came back. i immediately took the car to the dealership and the electrical power steering unit will have to be replaced along with the 'rack & pinion' attachments. i tow a boat from time to time and this could have developed into a dangerous situation, as the vehicle was extremely difficult to steer. fortunately, i was close to a parking lot at the time and i was able to perform the restart. *tr

This vehicle has experienced multiple (20+) power steering failures. it typically occurs while i am driving on the taconic state parkway, a 55 mph road in westchester county, ny. the power steering failure occurs quickly with little time for the driver to react. you simply get a small chime with an indicator on the dash stating "power assist failure' followed by a message stating 'power steering failure'. by the time you read the message, you already know what has happened as you have no power steering the moment the chime is heard. the latest incident occurred as i was turning off the exit ramp for the taconic state parkway onto a local road to go home. half way through the turn, the power steering failed and i almost drove my car into another car at the intersection. with my strength, i was able to turn the wheel to complete the turn. otherwise, it would have been a head on collision intop a car stopped in the intersection. had this been my pregnant wife, it would have been a scary result. this car was brought to the local ford dealer (pleasantville ford) several months ago to have this issue addressed. they claimed at the time that it was due to a crossed wire that was fixed. the problem has continued to occur, and they presently have a new rack and pinion steering system on order from ford to try and address the issue. based on the latest occurrence, as well as a slew of other electrical issues with the vehicle, i am dropping it at the dealer today as i no longer deem it safe to be driven. i am extremely upset with ford and their product over this issue. *tr

While turning right at about 6 - 10 mph the steering failed and vehicle was extremely hard to control. luckily no damage or injury, would have been very unsafe if happened at higher speed. *tr

After stopping at a stop sign, i began to accelerate through an intersection. approximately half way through the intersection, the power steering was lost and a chime sounded with a message stating"power assist failure" and then another message of "service advancetrac" were shown in the dashboard display. i was able to continue through the intersection and pull over to the side of the road. i turned the vehicle off and when i restarted it, the power steering was working again. this is the second time it has happened in this vehicle. the first time was in june of 2012, but i wasn't aware of this website to report the problem. i also did not make an appointment at the dealership for it to be looked at as it seemed like a rare event. *tr

I was traveling approx 60mph when an alert from the dash sounded, the steering wheel vibrated and 2 messages appeared on the onboard messaging system: 1) "power steering assist fault" and 2) "service advance trac". at that time i lost all power steering ability. i am very fortunate that i was driving on a straight stretch of road at the time as i am unsure if i could have kept the vehicle from going off of the road. i pulled over at a gas station and turned the car off. i restarted the car approx 5 min later and it had no warnings and the power steering had been restored. the next day, the exact same thing happened, except i was going approx 10mph turning left into the ford dealership to let them look at this problem. they informed me today that they needed to order a new "rack" and that the part was "backordered" and had a delivery date of november (today's date is 8/27/12). *tr

(my wife as on her way to our daughter's one month doctor's appointment. she had just began moving from a traffic light when a bunch of lights on the dash came on and the vehicle became very hard to steer (found to be stabili-trac errors and faulty electric power steering). she managed to get the vehicle onto the shoulder without harm. after reading in the owners manual, she found that with this issue, turning the vehicle off and then back on may "clear" the issue. it did take care of the steering issue and she was able to drive again. it happened again on the way home from the doctors. ford looked at the vehicle and has ordered another steering assembly. the same fault has happened an additional four times since the first day. that is a total of six times. the local dealership has only been able to tell us that the part is on back-order because ford engineers are working on a revised part to correct the issue. the last time this happened to my wife she had both children in the car and was attempting to merge onto the highway. thankfully she was able to stay in an extended shoulder after the merge lane ended. turning the vehicle has corrected the issue every time so far. *tr

A warning message saying "service autotrac" came on, following quickly by a power steering warning message. at that point, i could no longer steer the vehicle enough to continue driving. *tr

I was driving down a steep and curvy road and the steering locked and the power steering failure light came on along with the all terrain assistance failure light. luckily no one was behind me and i was able to pull over ... i turned the car off and the failure light remained for both the power steering and all terrain. i turned the car off when i arrived at my destination and the fault came back about 10 minutes later when i was driving home. i have an 8 month old child and i am afraid to drive this car. we have had nothing but problems with this vehicle ... about a year ago the sync system totally crapped out and the vehicle was sitting at the dealer for about a month. we pay about $700 a month for this on a lease and can't wait to turn it back in. *tr

Terrain management assist fault and "power steering assist fault" warning lights pop up and steering locks up while vehicle is in motion. hard to regain control of steering and have to muscle car over to curb and turn off engine and restart car to get drivable this has happened on two occasions. vehicle again at ford dealer. first occasion last week and dealer could not replicate issue, reprogrammed computer and released us. problem happened again this morning and car taken to dealer. *tr

Driving along and the power steering has failed three times. turn car off and restart and it works again. taking to ford dealer on august 27 for review. same as inhtsa action number: pe12017. *tr

Driving around a fairly sharp curve of 2-lane country highway with no shoulder and deep ditches at about 60 mph when car suddenly pulled to the right. felt like i had a flat tire pulling me off the road. looked at instrument panel and saw lights indicating power steering assist fault and loss of traction control. very hard to keep vehicle on roadway, but luckily with no one behind me, i let my speed reduce as i assessed the situation. got vehicle off the road and started reading owner's manual. after shutting the vehicle off for just a few minutes, i restarted it to find the dashboard warnings were cleared. confirmation from the manual said that steering may reset after a restart. power steering was restored. a call to the dealership resulted in them telling me it was probably just a fluke incident and to continue on my trip, but to bring it by the next day when back in town. when the dealership checked the computer codes, they would not release the vehicle to me because of its danger to drive. this was almost 2 months ago and they still cannot tell me when the part will be in for my vehicle repair. ford tells them i am on a list, but can't tell them where on the list. dealership claims there is no recall, but there is either a very long list waiting for this part or ford can't figure out what is wrong and why it is failing in order to make them correctly. after waiting 4 months after ordering to finally get my vehicle, you'd think ford would have gotten it right before letting them go out. *tr

The management terrain and power assist warning lights came on. then i had no power steering. it became very difficult to steer and control car. this has happened at low speed 3 times and at a dead stop 3 times. i have been able to reset by turning the car off and re-starting. *tr

Power steering assist disabled and associated warning light enabled. vehicle had been stopped with engine running and in gear. disable occurred when i started to move forward. problem corrected itself after turning off and restarting vehicle. continued to drive vehicle. occurred a second time, approximately 1 week later, while turning into a parking space. power steering was again enabled by turning off and restarting engine. parked vehicle in garage for about 1 week until it was driven to the dealer where diagnosis was steering gear needed replacing. no repair performed to date, approximately 3 weeks later. reportedly the part is on back order. *tr

I was slowing down and getting into the left turn lane. the light was green so i started to turn left and the traction light system came on, both lights, and the steering system failure alert came on and i lost all power steering and almost hit a pole. it was a nice day, no rain or moisture. the pavement was dry. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while stopped, the traction control and power steering warning lights illuminated. the contact turned on vehicle and the power steering assist failed. the contact had to turn the vehicle off and restart in order to resolve failure momentarily however, the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection but the technicians were unable to diagnose the failure. the manufacturer was made not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 26,000. the current mileage was 27,000. updated 10/17/12*lj the consumer stated the last time the failure happened, the dealer replaced the power steering unit and reprogrammed the control module. updated 10/18/12

Started parked explorer and went to back up. the power assist steering fault light came on at the same time as the service advance trac light. i was unable to turn the vehicle at all.tried backing up and going forward but the steering wheel would not move. next i shut the engine off and turned it back on. the failure lights would not clear and the steering was still locked. called our local ford dealer and they me try restarting several times. eventually the process worked and the steering came back.dealer advised to bring the vehicle in right away.local dealer provided a rental car. dealer called the next day and said our explorer was not safe to drive. dealer ordered replacement steering rack. projected date for replacement part is november 9. our dealer has been great. i am not sure even when the car is repaired will i trust it. *tr

Power steering failure when driving at speeds of 10-15 miles per hour. the power steering locked up without warning and then the power steering fault light came on. i was able to pull over to the side of the road with but with great difficulty. i shut the vehicle off and immediately turned the vehicle back on and the power steering did not return. i shut the vehicle off a second time and let it sit for 60 seconds and the second time the power steering returned. two days later when driving in a parking lot the power steering went out again, i shut the vehicle off and restarted it after 60 seconds and the power steering came back on. *tr

Power steering failed in my 2011 ford explorer while on the highway. was able to pull to the side safely but was a very dangerous situation with my 2 young boys in the car. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving 5 mph the power steering assist failed message came on the instrument panel, immediately after it became extremely difficult to make any turns or maneuver the steering wheel. the contact mentioned that after powering off and restarting, the vehicle was performing as normal. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who filed a report and did not offer any further assistance. the vehicle was repaired. the failure mileage was 28,472 and the current mileage was 29,600. updated 09/21/12*lj the consumer the abs and traction control failures and related messages appeared on the instrument panel's message center. the dealer found a diagnostic code for the speed sensors. the vehicle was repaired. updated 09/27/2012 *js *tr

Vehicle was traveling on an interstate when three warnings came up, all referring back to the power steering. the vehicle became extremely difficult to turn. we were able to move the vehicle off to the side of the road. vehicle was turned off and seem to reset. we then drove the vehicle to the dealership where it still sits. *tr

Driving my explorer at a speed of 45 mph a warning light came on and said the power steering had failed. which it had. also received warnings my traction control had failed. stop vehicle and turned off and restarted. the problem reset it self. this occurred twice within 5 days. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the power steering failed with the illumination of the warning light. the steering wheel then seized and the contact was barely able to maneuver the vehicle. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection or repairs. the manufacturer was notified and they stated that there was nothing that could be done and to take the vehicle to the dealer for inspection. the failure mileage was 30,000.

I was slowing to stop for a stop light and a light appeared on the dash that the advance traction failed. seconds later, a light came on saying the power steering failed, i tried to turn the wheel and it was very difficult to turn. *tr

Started car and proceded to back out of driveway. power steering was not working. a warning showed on dash screen "power steering assist" off failure. stopped car / restarted and the power steering returned. drove 5- 10 miles, no other failure. *tr

I was driving my ford explorer and i got a warning alarm that the power steering failed. it was very difficult to steer the vehicle. i reported it to the dealer and when they looked at the car, the power steering was working but they are going to fix it. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the power steering fail warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. the contact restarted the vehicle and it resumed normal funtion. also, the contact stated that while attempting to make a left turn, the failure recurred. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the rack assembly needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired. the remedy failed to repair the failure. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure who stated that the contact needed to wait until the part became available. the failure mileage was 18,000. the vin was unavailable.

I was pulling out of my garage and only got about 6 feet out of the garage and i immediately lost power steering - there was a message showing on the dash "power steering module fault". 2 days before this happened there was a very hard shaking in the front end. you could see the front passenger seat shake. the ford dealer said that was caused by a problem with the drive shaft. and also said that ford is aware of people having problems with the drive shaft also. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that the power steering failed while driving 40 mph. the contact shut off and restarted vehicle however, the train management mode was non-functional and all of the gear box lights on failed. the vehicle was taken to a dealer who advised that the steering rack failed. the manufacturer was made aware of failure. the current and failure mileage was 22,000.

On three separate occasions within the past two weeks the power steering has failed. the most recent event occurred while my wife was driving at highway speeds. she said the car was uncontrollable and she had to brake to a stop in the travel lane. the problem can be resolved temporarily by shutting off the ignition and power and restarting, but it is obviously a recurring issue. *tr

I was driving down the highway when the powersteering failed. fortunately i was able to gain control of the vehicle without crashing. however it happened a second time and i slightly lost control of the car and ended up in the grass on the side of the road. *tr

Traveling at 55 mph and received an alarm and warning message of a power steering fault. vehicle became very hard to steer but i was able to get off of the highway. restarted vehicle with all messages clear and vehicle drove ok. vehicle was taken to dealer. awaiting outcome. *tr

Steering wheel locks up when vehicles in motion suddenly lost power steering assist and made it harder to steer the vehicle. the dash board indicated "power steering assist fault" and "service advancetrack". this happened three time and after switching off the power and restarting the vehicle corrected the problem.. when steering locked up i almost hit the curb and telephone pole. scared to drive the car have not made the first payment. *tr

On july 31,2012 i went to drive the explorer and the power steering warning came on. it reset itself. on august 2,2012 i took it to my ford dealer but the system was working. later that day the system failed again with two additional codes. ford agreed to have the car towed to the dealership. today i was informed that it will cost me half of a $1500 repair bill. *tr

While traveling down a highway at approximately 70 mph the power steering went out on our ford explorer. obviously this was not a good situation. we almost caused an accident. we pulled to the side of the road. shut the car off. eventually restarted the vehicle and continued on our travels. when we returned home from vacation we contacted ford and they now have our explorer in their shop and we have been driving a rental car for 2 weeks. several weeks prior to this when i started the vehicle to back it out of the garage the power steering had failed and the warning light was on. i shut the vehicle off and restarted it and the power seemed to work fine. i had no other issues with it until the 7/28/12 incident described above. *tr

Power steering failure on 2011 ford explorer while traveling in neighborhood. started the vehicle with remote start to cool vehicle in hot, humid houston, texas about 3 to 4 minutes before entering it. we drove 1.2 miles to an acquaintance's residence to co-sign a check for non-profit payment. left vehicle running for +/- 3 minutes in his driveway. backed out of his driveway and drove 1/2 mile when lost power steering and noticed two messages on the dash. one showed "power steering assist fault" and other "service auto tracking". stopped on the street, shut off engine, and restarted the car. no message. drove 1/4 and the event recurred as described. returned home and parked car at our personal residence. called russell & smith ford service department at 5:03pm and left message. suspect it is after hours and will not hear from them until morning of july 26, 2012. the message is not in owner's manual. searched the internet and noticed nhtsa investigation and chose to contribute and provide contact information. *tr

Was driving to work and was turning into the parking lot and the instrument panel suddenly showed "power steering default" and then the steering became extremely hard. vehicle acted as if it had no power steering at all. made it to a parking spot. turned off vehicle. got out checked for leaks, checked to see if power steering was low. (no leaks, fluid level was fine) restarted vehicle, the computer seemed to reset and steering seemed fine. drove around parking lot steering fine. has not happened again. taking vehicle to dealership to have them check. vehicle has less than 12,000 miles 2011 ford explorer limited 4x4, v6 motor. *tr

Suddenly lost power steering assist and made it harder to steer the vehicle. the dash board indicated "power steering assist fault" and "service advancetrack". this happened twice and after switching off the power and restarting the vehicle corrected the problem. *tr

Vehicle owner was driving to work this morning and when vehicle let out a chime and the message center stated that the electronic power steering assist had failed. immediately, steering became quite difficult, but the driver was able to maneuver the vehicle safely to the side of the road. driver shut engine off, waited a minute, and restarted vehicle. systems appeared to be reset, message center was clear, and driver proceeded to drive to work. driver was aware of this issue occurring in 2011 ford explorers and was fortunately prepared for it to happen. *tr

I was making a right turn onto a service drive to go on the expressway. as i was completing the turn i lost the power steering & the car started to decelerate. i got 2 messages on the dashboard, the only one i paid attention to was "service advance track", i think the 2nd message was about a loss of power steering. if it was, it was because of the advance track breaking. i was able to pull over to the side of the road & stop the car. shutting the car off & restarting did nothing to clear the problem. when i looked up advance track in the owner's manual it explicitly said if the advance track broke the car would decelerate & power steering would be lost & the car would need to be towed, it should not be driven if this happened. i then called the dealer & was told i would need to have the car towed in. when i called the next day i was told the part had been ordered & should be in on wed & then it would be installed. when i called on wed i was told the part was on a 2 week national backorder; which meant the part would not be in until aug 9. it is now aug 20 & the part has still not been received, i have no idea when the dealer expects delivery. the dealer has been very good about it & i am driving a rental car, paid for by ford, until the repair is complete. earlier in the year i had another problem with the throttle boot needing to be replaced & i wonder now if the 2 problems are related. *tr

I was driving with my children on june 5, 2012 when suddenly the steering wheel locked. shortly there after a yellow alert message appeared saying that a "power steering asst fail" had occurred. i could not do anything with the car and was frantic hoping that we would not be hit by other traffic. as a last resort i totally shut off the car and turned it back on. the car was then drive-able and i immediately took it to the dealership. they serviced the vehicle and noted that the car showed a voltage drop. they determined that there was nothing else they could do as the trouble shooting steps were complete and there was nothing visibly wrong with the vehicle. now just shy of 6 weeks later i was again driving with my children in the car when the very same "power steering asst fail" alert came on as my steering wheel locked again. i tried to yank on the steering wheel to see if it would budge or if there was anything else i could. remembering the last scenario i turned the car off and on again. this time, the same message appeared and nothing changed. desperate i turned the car on and off again and the message went away and i was able to steer the vehicle. it is currently being towed to the dealership. i do not feel safe driving this vehicle and would be fearful to get behind the wheel of it again. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering assist would fail and cause the steering wheel to become inoperable. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that they were aware of the failure but offered no assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered no additional assistance. the failure mileage was 6,200 and the current mileage was 6,400.