2011 Explorer Power Steering Issue

[tropicvi]

Hummm.. My insurance adjuster called this morning, one week after the vehicle was left with the dealer, to let me know that Ford's service department is REFUSING to do diagnostic tests on the car. The dealer apparently believes it is a simple car going off road accident, and will not do anything that may prove there was a defective component on the vehicle. And this is not the customer asking, this is the insurance adjuster asking to have diagnostics run. Looks like Ford Customer Service does not exist.

[FordCustSrvc]

Originally Posted by JFE

I sent the link to this discussion thread to the service manager at my dealership. I was quickly contacted and the steering rack was replaced at no cost...

Originally Posted by mbowsher

...I feel that my local dealer had my satisfaction in mind with how everything was handled. Yeah it sucks when a new car breaks down, I am glad it broke while it was still under warranty and I have no regrets at all about our choice in the Explorer.

Originally Posted by Wightmn

We got our Explorer back early. They did the fan reprogram and TSB on loud rain noise on front roof panel. Only had it back two days but all is good so far...

JFE, mbowsher, & Wightmn,

Thanks for updating us; I’m happy your dealer took care of you.

Originally Posted by AJGROGG

I, too, have a 2011 Ford Explorer with 19000 miles. I just had the same thing happen last week...

AJGROGG,

I want to offer my assistance by escalating this to your Regional Customer Service Manager. For me to help, please send a PM with your contact information, VIN, dealer name/state, and mileage.

Originally Posted by willied

Funny thing is this happens right before my mom and sister head up to Canada for 3 weeks. Hopefully we can get it fixed tomorrow...

Have you had a chance to go to the dealer, willied? I have your details from before, so please send me a PM with your current mileage and I’ll arrange a follow-up call.

Originally Posted by tvee

...I took my Ex to the dealer Wednesday at 8 a.m and picked it up today (Thursday) at 4 p.m......all fixed! Hats off to my dealer (Barile Ford in Valparaiso, In).....excellent at pinpointing the problem and fixing it...

I’m really glad to see your concern was fixed, tvee; thanks for posting your experience.

Originally Posted by tropicvi

Hummm.. My insurance adjuster called this morning, one week after the vehicle was left with the dealer, to let me know that Ford's service department is REFUSING to do diagnostic tests on the car...

tropicvi,

Even though I can’t help, I highly recommend calling the Virgin Islands Customer Assistance Centre @ +1-800-841-3673 (FORD) for further assistance.

Cory

[broncoford]

just an update, excluding the guy on this site named Cory it seems everyone at FOMOCO is burying their heads in the sand on this one. After 3 trips to the dealer and the steering problem happening 4 times I simply refused to take back the vehicle. It is clear that this is a very serious problem with dire consequences for all explorer drivers. I was forced to pay the full amount to get out of my lease because I was not willing to gamble my family's lives for a 5th time. Ford was. The customer service department is full of useless, rotten people unwilling to help. I invited them all to drive my vehicle for a month with their families in it - no takers. I was able to escalate from some bimbo named Kristina who kept saying she would get back to me in 2 business days (still waiting for that call 6 days later bieatch) to some clown named Heysus sp? Jesus told me at the end of my call when I asked for his boss I had two options, I could call the better business bureau or an attorney and promptly hung up the telephone on me. He is supposedly an Operations Manager for FOMOCO and at the highest level of the customer service food chain. I feel America needs to hear my story, considering media campaign and letters as soon as I have time. I do like the fact I have had no steering issues yet in my new Honda. Goodbye forever Ford, you will hear more from me!

[willied]

Originally Posted by FordCustSrvc

Have you had a chance to go to the dealer, willied? I have your details from before, so please send me a PM with your current mileage and I’ll arrange a follow-up call.

Cory

We got it fixed. Thanks for asking.

[FordCustSrvc]

Originally Posted by broncoford

just an update, excluding the guy on this site named Cory it seems everyone at FOMOCO is burying their heads in the sand on this one...

That’s a shame you weren’t able to see this resolved before turning in your ride, broncoford. Please don’t hesitate to send me a PM in the future so I can lend a hand in restoring your faith in Ford.

Originally Posted by willied

We got it fixed. Thanks for asking.

That’s great, willied; I appreciate the update.

Cory

[tropicvi]

Apparently FORD does not staff their customer service Center phone lines during business hours... all you get is a recording.

[FordCustSrvc]

Originally Posted by tropicvi

Apparently FORD does not staff their customer service Center phone lines during business hours... all you get is a recording.

I want to lend a hand by forwarding this to the Virgin Islands Customer Assistance Centre, tropicvi. Please send me a PM with your full contact information, VIN, dealer details, and approximate mileage.

Cory

[KeoweeBob]

Amazing to find the long list of Explorer owners that have had the same problem that I have had on my 2011 Ford Explorer Limired.

My 1st incident of Power Steering Assist Failure (and Advance Trac Fault) occurred in early May, 2012 with about 14000 miles on the car. Warning signal and loss of power steering on a mountain road no less. With much effort I pulled to the side of the road, turned off the car, restarted it and the power steering was back. The Advance Trac warning went off after about 30 seconds. Took it to the dealer (Benson Ford in Easley SC) the next day. They checked with Ford and found that this did have a failure history and that there was a computer update to fix it. A fault code did show up on the computer when the Dealer checked(exact details I wasn't given) but it did not show up under "Error Codes" when I checked the dash display. After some issues with downloading the update, the Dealer kept the car a day to test drive it. All was fine until this past weekend (6/16/2012) when the exact same thing happened with now 16000 miles on the car. The car is at the dealer today.

Probably unrelated but in April I had the Explorer at the dealer for a recall related to the fan motor and potential corrosion of electrical contacts. The fix for that was a computer undate which made little sense to me based on the stated problem...

Updating the status, dealer determined that the steering gear and rack needed to be replaced. Initially, the dealer indicated that parts were hard to locate but after one day did locate a new steering gear. Replaced the gear and perfomed alignment (and washed the car!). Not particularly happy that a steering gear could fail on a new car, but very pleased with the Benson Easley service department (Anthony in particular).

[tropicvi]

Looks like dealer has been advised by FORD to suggest there never was a problem, since no codes were found other than codes indication an accident happened... uh.. the car hit a pole as a result of system failure, of course those sensors responded at some point. The dealer says there is a "Black Box" which records all kinds of data, that only FORD can read, not dealers. But insist the car has to be repaired before that can be done. Also, if the dealer says it was an accident the dealer does not have to provide a loaner. Insurance payment for a loaner does not meet local rental rates. Looks like this car may have to go into storage for a protracted legal battle, since the dealer is also threateneing storage charges now.

[peterk9]

Originally Posted by tropicvi

Looks like dealer has been advised by FORD to suggest there never was a problem, since no codes were found other than codes indication an accident happened... uh.. the car hit a pole as a result of system failure, of course those sensors responded at some point. The dealer says there is a "Black Box" which records all kinds of data, that only FORD can read, not dealers. But insist the car has to be repaired before that can be done. Also, if the dealer says it was an accident the dealer does not have to provide a loaner. Insurance payment for a loaner does not meet local rental rates. Looks like this car may have to go into storage for a protracted legal battle, since the dealer is also threateneing storage charges now.

I seems that Ford may be trying to put this off hoping that it will go away. I don't think that the other members on here that experienced the same failure had error codes stored either.
To me it makes no sense that the vehicle has to be repaired before the Black Box can be accessed. I think that I would want an independent representative to be there if and when they do look at the info from the Black Box. The dealer is also likely getting pressure from HQ not to admit to anything that would indicate that it wasn't just an accident due to driver error.
At least you have posts on this Forum that may be able to back up your claim.
Good luck.

Peter

[tropicvi]

At the request of my attorney, the dealer provided the printout (2 screen shots) of diagnostic, stating there were no issues found everything passed. However, reading the detail there are several questions. in the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) a U0415:00-08 code showed, which they wrote is loss of communication. To the right the side of the printout is shows Status 08 (Not Current DTC) - Fault previously detected, not currently present. Does this have to do with previous posts in this thread where the fault clears it self by turning the key off then back on? if so how can the dealer say no fault existed at the time of the accident. The key had been turned off and on several times by the tow truck driver for starters.

Other codes that showed on the screen shot were
U0452:68-28-ABS
B10D7:05-48-BCM
B1193:00-AB-OSCM
P2196:00-64-PCM
P2198:00-64-PCM
B00A0:09-8B-RCM

ANy input from anyone on this??

[jrmexplorer]

As I stated in the other thread (which was made a sticky), the NTSB has started an investigation into this issue. I would encourage anyone having this problem to contact the NTSB and file a complaint. The more reports they get, the more seriously they will take the issue.

[tropicvi]

Sent my report in - nice on-line form

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm

The isvastigation is actually by NHTSA the link above to their report forms page. Have your VIN handy.

[LeFurg]

Originally Posted by tropicvi

reading the detail there are several questions. in the Power Steering Control Module (PSCM) a U0415:00-08 code showed, which they wrote is loss of communication. To the right the side of the printout is shows Status 08 (Not Current DTC) - Fault previously detected, not currently present. Does this have to do with previous posts in this thread where the fault clears it self by turning the key off then back on? if so how can the dealer say no fault existed at the time of the accident. The key had been turned off and on several times by the tow truck driver for starters.

Other codes that showed on the screen shot were
U0452:68-28-ABS
B10D7:05-48-BCM
B1193:00-AB-OSCM
P2196:00-64-PCM
P2198:00-64-PCM
B00A0:09-8B-RCM

ANy input from anyone on this??

I'm not sure, but could be this:

ABS - Anti-lock Brake Sensor
BCM - Brake Control Module
PCM - Power Control Module

I looked online and found what these meant:

OSCM - Occupant Classification System Module (yes, spelled like this, unlike the acronym letter sequence)

RCM - Restraints Control Module


As for the 'rest' of the codes alphanumeric structure, I have no clue... Hopefully this helps to nail it down.

If I were to make a guess without looking at any photos, the last parts of the codes would tell me the brakes were applied (BCM), the seatblet(s) locked (RCM), the abs kicked in (possibly from slight wheel lockup from hitting gravelly part of road)(ABS), & the car shut down and unlocked the doors (PCM) after hitting something (OSCM)? .... based on what I "think" the last part of some of those codes mean... I think, however the OSCM & RCM are linked for something like an airbag light.

Was your car still running after the pole impact?

[LeFurg]

http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2011/...g/problem.aspx

http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2012/...g/problem.aspx

Apparently, some 2012's are having the issue too. Makes me wonder about the 2013's. I thought all model years 2011 to current had the same steering rack and control module...

2011 & 2012 Ex's:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/results.cfm (you'll have to select the make, year, etc.)

Basically, the same thing as arfc.org.

So far, nothing on the 2013 Ex's. Also, given that the explorer is based on the taurus, I checked for steering issue complaints on the taurus...none for 2011 or 2012. After checking for steering lock issues on the flex, I found there were 3 complaints for the 2011 model year flex very similar to the explorer, but nothing for 2012 flex as of yet.

[jrosner50]

2011 Owner, never had this happen in 18k. I had the cooling fan TSB performed yesterday and twice today my power steering has failed. Mine is going back to the dealer first thing Monday. Here is my online complaint to the nhtsa:

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.

[peterk9]

Originally Posted by jrosner50

2011 Owner, never had this happen in 18k. I had the cooling fan TSB performed yesterday and twice today my power steering has failed. Mine is going back to the dealer first thing Monday. Here is my online complaint to the nhtsa:

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.

Ref your statement, Please investigate this as this is will cause a huge accident at some point for some Explorer owner. Too late. It has already happened as posted in this thread. Please see the 'sticky' at the beginning of the Forum and make sure that you follow through with a report as requested. Also, it may be a good idea to take a picture of the error message that pops up if you have a cell phone handy since the error code may not always be stored.

Peter

[rsscully]

I started my Explorer up on 6/23/12 and had multiple system warnings (see video)

http://youtu.be/4l-BT4EBwS4

I had to drive to the dealership today 06/25/12 with no power steering. If you start your vehicle and receive any of these warnings run a vehicle health report while the warnings appear and print it out as the report will be replaced every time you run a new one.

Spoke with the service manager who told me that the ESP unit needs to be totally replaced and they are back-ordered until 07/30/12. Now the dealer I drove it to (closest to me) and the dealer I bought the vehicle from (approx. 20 miles away) are trying to figure out who is on the hook for a loaner vehicle for the next month. Will keep you updated.

[peterk9]

Originally Posted by rsscully

I started my Explorer up on 6/23/12 and had multiple system warnings (see video)

http://youtu.be/4l-BT4EBwS4

I had to drive to the dealership today 06/25/12 with no power steering. If you start your vehicle and receive any of these warnings run a vehicle health report while the warnings appear and print it out as the report will be replaced every time you run a new one.

Spoke with the service manager who told me that the ESP unit needs to be totally replaced and they are back-ordered until 07/30/12. Now the dealer I drove it to (closest to me) and the dealer I bought the vehicle from (approx. 20 miles away) are trying to figure out who is on the hook for a loaner vehicle for the next month. Will keep you updated.

Since your warranty is good at any Ford dealership, I would say that the loaner should be supplied by the dealership which will be doing the work. I'm sure the money isn't coming out of their pocket.

Peter

[rsscully]

The two dealerships spoke last night and the issue has been elevated to a Ford CSM (from what I was told). I should hear something today about a loaner vehicle. The more pressing issue is that I was going to leave tomorrow on vacation and have no vehicle for my family to fit in. I don't see two adults and a car seat going on an 8 hour road trip in my 99 f150 regular cab 5 spd.

The loaner issue sounded like a paperwork thing. Don't know what the issue was with the dealership I actually took the vehicle to, something about the number of vehicle assistance credits each dealership has versus their size, but the dealership I bought the vehicle from (larger volume dealer) said a loaner should not be a problem but they need a service invoice to authorize the rental or something like that. I obviously could not drive the vehicle to them in the condition it was in. I would really like to see Ford and the dealerships step up in a big way because it will determine whether or not I still buy the F-350 Lariat I was planning to purchase in the next year or look at another manufacturer.

I want to be fair with how I represent this situation. If it is not handled to my satisfaction I will certainly tell everyone I can and file as many complaints as I can so other Explorer owners are aware of this problem. On the other hand if it is handled properly with a positive outcome I will certainly praise Ford and one or both of the dealerships involved for standing behind their product. So far it seems like they are working on a solution.

Stay tuned.