Problems with 2011 Ford Explorer STEERING

2011 ford explorer limited exhibiting variable power steering failure code . when fault occurs, power steering is lost on car until car is shut off and restarted. failure has occurred more that 12 times in last month at speeds up to 35 mph. dealer cannot recognize fault or recommend fix as the computer resets itself and clears the fault code upon restarting. this is a serious safety concern when traveling with children and has occurred at both stop and at speeds of 35 mph. when occurs, the car has no power steering until owner can pull over to reset. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving 10 mph, the power steering failed and the vehicle became very difficult to steer. the contact mentioned that the advance trac and power steering warning lamps illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 22,000. updated 8/31/12 *cn the consumer stated the vehicle was repaired after a month. updated 09/11/2012 *js

While the car was moving the dash annunciator came on and, in succession, indicated "terrain management system fault", "service advancetrac" and then "power steering assist off". this last one is a serious problem as this car is virtually impossible to steer/turn without power assist. the power steering assist stopped completely without warning. if i were at high speed, at a curve, or had to avoid another car or person, i would have been in big trouble. some time later the car corrected itself. then it happened a second time 9/10/2012. *tr

I was crossing traffic and the power steering went out. i had to stop to turn the wheel so i could make my turn. i was so lucky there was no traffic coming and i wasn't going any faster because i could have hit a tree. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the power steering failed and as a result, became very hard to steer. the contact mentioned that the traction warning and the power steering warning lamps were illuminated. the vehicle was towed to the dealer who was not able to diagnose the failure. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the failure and current mileage was 6,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving 65 mph, she noticed that the power steering stopped functioning. the contact was able to safely maneuver to the shoulder. the vehicle was then towed to the dealer for a diagnosis. the dealer stated that they needed to replace the steering axle. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was contacted and offered no asssitance. the failure and current mileages were 17,800. the vin was unavailable.

Terrain management system fault, and "power steering assist fault" both popped up on left hand screen and my steering wheel locked up. this happened twice while turning into a driveway and once after stopping at a stop sign. took it into the dealership and they said they could not duplicate the failure. 2 days after getting it back from the dealer it happened 2 more times. taking it back but i have to wait 2 weeks for a courtesy rental car. *tr

Turning into parking lot, power steering abruptly ceased,i had to muscle car out of way of another car,narrowly escaping accident.lights lit up, power steering failure,terrain management failure. *tr

Power steering assist failure warning came on as i lost steering. brought the car to the dealer where they they reprogrammed epas module which obviously wasnt the problem because 7/27/2012 i was driving on the highway at 55mph and the same thing happened again...i was barely able to steer the car off the road. *js

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the power steering seized completely. the traction control warning light also illuminated as the engine was turned off for about three minutes. upon restart, the vehicle functioned as normal. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who inspected the failure and stated that the steering column needed to be replaced. the failure would be repaired under warranty but the parts were on back order. the manufacturer was not notified. the vin was unknown. the failure mileage was 11,000.

While parked with the vehicle running, the steering assist fault light came on and the steering locked up. i was not able to turn the wheel. i restarted the engine and it worked fine. i am concerned that this will happen while i am driving. *tr

As the vehicle was being driven home from work the power steering went out making it very difficult to control the vehicle. a warning light also appeared on the dashboard indicating that the power steering wasn't functioning properly. the vehicle was safely pulled over to the side of the road and the ignition was turned off. after a few moments the vehicle was restarted and the power steering seemed to be functioning properly and that specific warning message disappeared from the dash. however, upon restart, additional dashboard warning lights indicating that there was a problem with the traction control appeared. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving 50 mph the power steering failed. the contact was able to control the vehicle by exiting to the shoulder. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed the failure and stated that there was a national shortage on the component for the vehicle to be repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure and current mileage was 37,000.

Traveling at approximately 40 mph when multiple warnings occurred. "terrain management system fault", "power steering assist fault", and "service advance trac" power steering was not working. upon stopping and restarting vehicle power steering started working again. this happened 2 more times in the next 4 days. fortunately i was traveling in a straight line each time and was able to stop and restart the vehicle and the power steering started working again. same thing happened on the fifth day and i was not able to get the power steering working again. car was taken to the dealership the next day where i was told that this was an ongoing problem and that the necessary parts are in short supply. it would be 6 to 8 weeks before they could get the parts. *tr

Driving on highway at highway speeds when the alerts for failure of the electronic stability control came on. we then realized that the power steering had failed and had difficulty steering the vehicle. managed to get the vehicle off at an exit. towed to dealer. dealer not clear as to what happened and part to repair is on back order from ford. internet research demonstrated this is a common problem with 2011 ford explorers. *tr

On july 4, 2012, was driving on the highway getting ready to exit in about 100 yards, as i was decreasing speed i heard and felt a light bang, the car seemed to surge like it was the transmission and brakes were pulsating, and had no power steering. car pulled severely to the right almost hitting the guard rail, could not steer. jammed on breaks, fortunately in the slow lane, and pulled over. power steering light and hill descent control fault came on, shut the car off and turned it back on power steering then worked but the traction control light on center console did not work until the next day when i took it to the dealer. dealer kept car for 2 days, returned it to me with no found no fault. on sunday, july 22, 2012, the same thing happened at 30 mph, felt the car jump forward then the power steering assist light and hill descent light came on as well as another light (i took pics of the error messages). this time when i pulled over and restarted it, it did not work, let the car sit for 15 minutes still did not work, called the towline and no answer, so drove the car 3 miles to home with no power steering or traction control. next day called dealer called dealer, and they said they could not take me in for another week, also stated they never heard of these issues, so i googled and found this website where other people are having the same problems. the traction control has happened numerous times (at least 10) and the power steering twice within 18 days. *tr

Driving at 35mph when a beep and notification popped up in the instrument panel. i received a warning for "power steering assist fault" and had a "service advance trac" warning. i lost power steering to the vehicle, which was very difficult to pull off of the road in traffic. i also lost the terrain management system function. after turning off the ignition and re-starting the engine, the warning went away and i regained power steering. this problem has happened 3 more times before taking it in. the dealership reprogrammed the computer. this sequence happened again after the reprogram, and the replaced my steering angle sensor and reprogrammed again. i had two more failures after this was done and the vehicle is back at the dealership today. *tr

Unfortunately, for such a great truck, the power steering has failed three times on my vehicle which has only just over 14k miles on it. it occurred the first time around the 11k mile point in which the power steering failed for no reason going ~40mph. the dashboard displayed a message stating "power steering assist fault." this is the same message that was displayed on all three occasions. upon turning the truck off and back on, everything was back to normal. the fault occurred again at 13837 miles (i have a picture) and again just today at around 14100. after the initial fault, i took the truck to the local ford dealer who advised that there was nothing they could do to assist as the onboard computer does not 'document the issue'. i was advised to monitor the situation and if it happens again to leave the car running and contact the dealership who will then tow the truck to its location. easier said than done when you are in the middle of a major three lane road in the dc suburbs. it's most convenient to wrestle the truck to the next traffic light and restart which resolves the issue. i am obviously very frustrated with it - i bought the truck in late july 2011 for $48,000 (sticker price). so far i have not had any toddlers in the car during these incidents but it is just a matter of time. hoping for some guidance and good customer service from ford. *tr

While slowing my 2011 ford explorer at an intersection, the power steering stopped working and the wheel felt locked. an error message showed 'power assist failure'. i was barely able to get the vehicle to the side of the road to turn it off. once restarted, the error message cleared. this has occurred 4 times in 3 weeks after having the vehicle 1 year. it had approximately 8,600 miles on it when this began to occur. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, there was a loss of power steering with the warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. the vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road. the engine was turned off and upon restarting, the vehicle resumed normally. the failure occurred three times. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who was unable to duplicate the failure. the manufacturer was not notified of the problem. there was currently an open investigation under nhtsa action number pe12017 (steering:electric power assist system). the approximate failure mileage was 17,500. updated 7/31/12 *cn on july 12, 2012, the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, due to the fact the vehicle was driven approximately 10 miles before the vehicle could be turned off and re-started. a code was detected in the pcm. from that code, it was determined the vehicle needed a rack and pinion. the consumer was informed there were no parts available. updated 08/01/12

This has happened twice now about 3 weeks apart from each other. we are driving under normal conditions and the power steering will fail. an alert on the dash will say power steering failure. once we turn the car off and restart it the power steering engages again. i took it to the dealer and since the computer didn't submit a code and they couldn't reproduce the problem they sent me home with it. this is extremely unsafe, if we happen to be turning when it all the sudden goes out we would have ended up going off the road or in to oncoming traffic. these cars are mainly owned by families with kids since it has three rows of seats, can something be done before it results in more serious consequences? *tr

Started vehicle and received terrain management warning, power steering fault and traction control fault. vehicle electronic power steering not working and terrain management system also disabled. will have to drive to dealership without power steering. shut off vehicle multiple times and restarted. same warnings and result. *tr

I purchased the 2011 ford explorer on 6/10/12. on three separate occasions the car was started and power steering would not work but was able to be remedied by turning the ignition off and back on again. an appointment was set up to have car serviced. on two more separate occasions after appointment was made power steering was lost while driving on the highway at speeds ranging 55 to 65. on july 3rd once again while car was being started the power steering wouldn't work and was unable to be remedied by turning off ignition and restarting. the vehicle was towed to a ford dealer and still awaiting back ordered part that i am told may take a long time. *tr

When the vehicle was started, the power steering was not functioning. the dash message center showed a power steering assist fault. this had happened a couple of times in the past but turning the vehicle off and then back on solved the problem on prior occasions. this time the power steering continued to fail after multiple times of turning the vehicle off and back on. this malfunction made the vehicle very difficult to steer and maneuver. *tr

I was slowing down to make a right turn into a strip mall and the wheel didnt turn at all until i put both hands on the wheel and fought the wheel with both arms to turn. a message on my lcd screen said power steering failure. i had to turn the truck off and back on and the steering was fine, i thought. about 20 miles later the truck did the same failure again. i turned the truck off and back on. it just had a cooling fan tsb performed at ford yesterday, dealer says that has nothing to do with this, but this explorer is one big computer so im not too sure since they told me a re-program was done for the fans. please investigate this as this is will cause a huge accident at some point for some explorer owner. i am taking this back to the dealer monday for a loaner. *tt

Power steering failed while driving. traction assist control also failed at the same time. shutting the engine off and restarting brought the power steering back but not the traction control. the traction control began functioning again after the truck sat for about 8 hours. *tr

While driving 50 mph, the power steering failed. the steering became extremely difficult. warning lights appeared. after parking the vehicle, the engine was turned off. after waiting about 20 minutes, the vehicle was turned back on. the warning lights reappeared and the power steering still did not work. once the car was put into drive, the warning lights turned off and the power steering was restored. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while attempting to make a left turn, the vehicle instead turned right, almost causing the driver to lose control. the contact mentioned that the terrain warning lamp illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the steering column was defective and needed to be replaced. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not offer any assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 11,000 and the current mileage was 11,200.

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving 35 mph the power steering warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who ran a diagnostic test and could not duplicate the failure. the dealer repaired the steering rack. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 25,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the power steering malfunctioned and the power steering warning lamp illuminated on the instrument panel. the steering wheel then became very difficult to maneuver and the driver experienced difficulty controlling the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to diagnose the failure. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 17,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. while driving approximately 5 mph, there was an unexpected loss in the power steering with an illumination of the all trac system warning indicator. the brake pedal was abruptly engaged to avoid hitting several pedestrians in the parking lot. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnosis and an unknown part related to the power steering was replaced. the manufacturer was not notified of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 13,100.

The car's power steering went out while driving around 10 mph pulling out of a gas station. the screen said it was a power steering failure. turned car off and turned back on and it went away, however it happened once more later around 5 mph. *tr

The vehicle's computer system came up with a warning that said power steering assist fault. then the traction control light came on. i lost full control of the steering at the time of driving. the steering completely locked up. i turned on my hazards to signal other cars to go around me. at that time, i had to completely shut down the vehicle and restart it twice before it reset the system and allowed me to control the steering again. this was very scary. it happened again, same scenario. i took it into the dealership and they didn't know how to fix it so they tried resetting the system with a complete master reset. since then, it has happened again. the third time i was actually turning in a turn lane and could not steer straight. luckily there were not any cars behind me. this is very serious and needs to be addressed. they should not be sending people back out in these cars. i have notified the dealership as well as filed a report with ford motor company. *tr

While driving my vehicle it lost power steering assist system showed "power steering assist failure" as well as "service traction control". this was the scariest feeling i have ever had. this has happen to my husband several times.. i immediately called my local ford dealership spoke with service advisor. i was told to turn my vehicle off and restart it. i advised my service advisor that i had taken my vehicle in for service on april 30, 2012 (40197 miles) and i mention this same problem for repair. what is it going to take for ford to realize that this is a serious, serious problem. i am afraid for my family to be in this car, we travel alot and i am refusing to drive it. i was afraid of purchasing an american car but loved the new ford explorer look and body. however, i don't think i'll ever purchase another ford vehicle and i will trade this car asap........ *tr

I was in the middle of a left hand turn when the power steering went out at approx 10-15 mph - the fault code appeared & alarm sounded-i had to "muscle" the steering wheel to complete my turn while nearly going over the curb into a business. my first reaction was that the engine had stalled but when the fault showed again & alarm sounded this time it was showing that the terrain management system had failed. as it was a 2-3 mile straight road to my ford dealer & i drove there. after arriving at the dealer i shut off the engine, reported what happened. the service advisor started the vehicle & the power steering had reset. they put the vehicle on the diagnostic unit & it showed a steering gear & steering gear module/communication sensor(?) needed replacement. it was ordered & installed on 6/18/12 & has not failed sense then. i mentioned an injury - it was to my right shoulder as i have a total shoulder implant. i hurt it "muscling" the steering wheel to straightening the vehicle out. *tr

Please be advised that the afore noted vehicle, on june 7th , 2012 on or about 5pm was involved in a single vehicle accident on route 63 at mt washington, st. croix. she was travelling southward on route 63 crossing the small bridge entering a sharp right hand turn in the road. she experienced a sudden, instantaneous, loss of response in the steering and braking of the vehicle. as a consequence, in the few seconds following, the vehicle left the roadway and struck a wooden utility pole. *tt

Warning light for terrain management come on. then power steering fault light came on. in a split second i realized i had no control over the vehicle. i hit the brakes and came to a stop taking all my strength to turn the wheel as hard as i could to get safely off the highway. very dangerous situation if i would have been on a curve or interstate. *tt

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact was driving 35 mph when the power steering assist became inoperable. the power steering assist independently reset once the vehicle was turned off then restarted. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to diagnose a failure. the contact was advised to bring the vehicle back to the dealer should the problem recur. the failure recurred twice but the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified. the failure mileage was 19,000.

A warning light came on while i was making a right turn. the steering wheel became hard turn, the first time i was able to get the truck to the curb and restart the truck. that seemed to make the light go away and i was able to make turns with ease. the other time the i lost my power steering, i was traveling on the highway on my way home from work traffic was heavy, it was a struggle to get to the breakdown from the left lane. i was able to avoid some close calls that day. i have lost the power steering several other times before, but that incident made me set up the truck for service. i made my call on 7/20/12 for a 7/28/12 service, the ford service center customer rep. told me the part is back order and they don't know they will have the part in stock, also they kept the truck and gave a ford focus to drive. not good considering i use my truck for work. *tr

I own a 2011 ford explorer, i have had numerous failures to the electronic power steering assist. first time this happened i was along at about 65 mph and the steering wheel locked up and the warning lights started flashing "traction control" "power steering assist failures" . steering wheel becomes very difficult to move and steer car. this has happened 1/2 dozen times, each time i slowly steer the car to a safe stop turn off the car and restart the car and error clears out. this last time it occurred as i was turning left from a left turn lane when suddenly in the m idle of the turn my power steering locked up. fortunately i was traveling at very low speed, but i was not able to steer car and went onto oncoming lane again i was fortunate not to hit anyone. however, this time the problem did not clear itself and the car is at the local ford dealer for 8 days now. the service manager says its a gear and ford does not have it in stock!!! *tr

I was driving down the interstate, getting ready to exit. i heard a beep, indicating a warning on the instrument panel. a warning appeared stating 'power steering assist disabled.'. the power steering no longer worked. i took my foot off the accelerator and made it over to the side of the road. i turned the car off, waited several minutes, and started car again. problem resolved. *js

Loss of power steering at slow speeds (multiple times). "power steering assist fault" light on dashboard. power steering returns after turning off and restarting car. *js

While coming back to work from lunch, my wife was turning left into parking lot when the power steering assist fault light came on and steering became very stiff and hard to turn. local ford dealership picked up the car and kept for a week but could not duplicate the problem, so ford would not let them fix the problem. got the car back on friday june 1, 2012 and drove the car as usual. monday, june 4, 2012 on the way back to work from lunch, driving 40 mph, the power steering assist fault light came on and steering again became very stiff and hard to turn. is it going to take a tragic accident from this apparent problem before ford does anything. i am asking the nhtsa to please begin an investigation into this problem before my family or another family is seriously injured from this problem. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the power steering failed and the steering wheel became extremely difficult to steer. the power steering warning light illuminated and a warning bell sounded during the failure. the contact shut the vehicle off and upon restart, the vehicle operated as normal. the failure had since recurred once. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and they were in the process of repairing the steering system. the contact was informed that they were awaiting the availability of parts. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the contact was awaiting a response. the failure mileage was 13,000.

While traveling downtown columbia at approximately 15 mph, my service tracking default light comes on and then power steering default light comes on, my steering wheel completely locks up, luckily, i was not making a turn at the time i would have nailed another car or a person, i immediately turned off the car and restarted it, power steering began to work but the service tracking default light came back on. i am very worried to put my two children in this car now, dealership is having me bring in the vehicle tomorrow and i am seriously considering buying an extended warranty on this car, i have had explorers in the past and never had a problem, but i don't know that i will buy another one after the issues with this car. this is a very serious issue, ford needs to get off their butts and get this fixed, someone could seriously get hurt. serious law suit waiting to happen. *tt

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that the power steering randomly failed. in addition, the power steering fault light illuminated on the instrument panel followed by the illumination of the service advance track warning light. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the dealer could not determine what was causing the failure. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 20,000. updated 08-07-12 *bf

While turning on a curve in the road warning message on the instrument panel " steering power assist failure " appeared 3 to 5 seconds later car was extremely hard to turn vehicle crossed center line resulting in a near miss of a head on crash pulled to the side restarted vehicle and loss of power steering was corrected. has happened numerous times. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. the contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the steering became difficult to maneuver because the power steering assist had independently deactivated. the vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnosis. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the contact was not aware of the diagnosis of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 18,000. *tr

While in operation vehicle lost power steering assist. steering became extremely difficult. warning message "power steering assist failure" followed by "service traction control " light are displayed. shutting off vehicle and restart temporarily cleared the failure. failed more than once. *js

Power assisted steering goes off with no warning. first happened back in 2012, pulled off road, restarted car everything worked fine. problem occurring more frequently over past 6-8 months. (3 or 4 times) dealer says unaware of any general problems with the steering am scheduled to take to dealer for further analysis. not covered by any recall but problem widely reported on the web. *tr