2011 - 2018 Explorer Power Steering Issue

[ercole]

I am having the same issue! I lost power steering while driving my 11 year old and his friend home. My dealership has had my car for 6 weeks, and they can not give me a eta on the part. I believe it is because they have not figured out how to fix the part in the first place and then put it into production. They tell me there are 800 people in the same situation as I am. After 800 people reporting this I cannot believe it is not at a recall status. I have only made 3 car payments on the explorer and 6 of those weeks so far I have not been able to drive it. I contacted ford cusomer service and they bacically have no info at all. I complained and wanted compensation and they explained for put me in a rental car and that no other compensation would be done until my car was returned to me. I lost it at that point...I am driving a small rent a car but paying a monthly payment for a suv. Also Ford did not put me in a rental the warrenty that I bought and paid for did! So ford has done nothing! So as of right now they are trying to get me in a suv rental because they have no idea when my suv will be ready. Is there a link to put this compliant in so it can be noted and possibly help the recall decision??

My car has been at the dealer for 2 weeks now and last I spoke with my regional Ford rep, there still is no ETA from the supplier as to when the part will be available. I don't believe Ford makes this steering mechanism, nor does Visteon.

Having said that, I encourage anyone having this issue to work with Cory and your regional Ford representative, who will assist in escalating this with your local dealer. My rep has been phoning me every week.

Ford set me up with a loaner vehicle, and the Enterprise folks said if I wasn't happy with the loaner car (GMC Canyon crew cab), to bring it in for something else. The kids think the pickup is cool. The open back is completely useless, if you ask me.

I would much prefer to be back in my own vehicle. With all of the electronics that car manufacturers have switched to in the spirit of trimming costs and increasing margins, I suspect other issues may be lurking just around the corner.

 

[FordService]

I am having the same issue!...

I want to help by escalating the details up to your regional Customer Service Manager, jmann. For me to do this, please send a PM with your VIN, contact information, approximate mileage, and dealer name/state.

You don't show what model/year you have in either your profile or in the Vehicle Specs. I'm guessing it is either a late 2011 or early 2012...

...I encourage anyone having this issue to work with Cory and your regional Ford representative, who will assist in escalating this with your local dealer. My rep has been phoning me every week...

Peter & ercole,

Thanks; I appreciate all you guys do to help.

Cory

 

[Razziel24]

I managed to take pictures a week ago.... (2012 Explorer Base Model 13K Miles)

Ford should do something ASAP..... before someone gets injured....

 

[pietropavan]

Problem solved

Dear All,

I took the car at the dealer, they knew this was an issue.
They ordered the parts up front.
The power steering rack was replaced and now the problem is solved.

Regards,
Pete.
Dubai, UAE.

 

[jrosner50]

Has anyone that had their Explorer fixed had another steering failure? So far after about only 500 miles my Explorer has been acting fine.

 

[willied]

Has anyone that had their Explorer fixed had another steering failure? So far after about only 500 miles my Explorer has been acting fine.

My mom's Explorer has had over 3000 miles put on it since it was fixed and so far no problems.

 

[dallasdog]

I believe we may be the only people who have had the steering replaced twice. The first replacement failed twice in one day after a little less than 2000 miles (we took pictures of the dash both times). Ford had a field engineer examine the car carefully, and he ordered a second replacement. Of course we worry constantly that there is something else wrong that caused both units to fail. "Unsettling" doesn't even begin to cover it.

 

[jmann]

I believe we may be the only people who have had the steering replaced twice. The first replacement failed twice in one day after a little less than 2000 miles (we took pictures of the dash both times). Ford had a field engineer examine the car carefully, and he ordered a second replacement. Of course we worry constantly that there is something else wrong that caused both units to fail. "Unsettling" doesn't even begin to cover it.

i believe that this will eventually be a recall issue. there is a problem with that part. until they fix the problem all the new parts will do the same.

 

[Dex64]

My latest with Ford...

So my Customer Service Rep Cory called from Ford Corporation this afternoon and they changed their mind about how much they will cover of their faulty power steering issues. Instead of splitting the cost with RT 23 Auto mall like they told me 38 days ago when my car broke down, Rt. 23 Auto Mall has decided that they are not covering any of the part/service and only covering 1/2 half of the Rental Car and it is up to Ford Corporate to cover what ever they want of the part. Well Ford Corporate is only throwing in $1000 and the other half of the rental car and now I have to cover the remaining $900.

This is all because my warranty is 1400 miles over the lousy 36K factory warranty.

I checked th NHTSA site the end of June and there were 15 reports to the NHTSA on this issue, as of today there are 79, 64 additional complaints in 6 weeks and those are just the people that took the time to make a complaint. Since the NHTSA is investigating this, I can only hope that there is a recall soon.

I am meeting with Ford Corp and Rt. 23 tomorrow on the phone for one last ditch effort to get them to cover their faulty steering part. One last thing.. Rt. 23 told me I had until tomorrow afternoon to get this straightened out with Ford or my rental car was no longer covered. Said it wasn't their fault it took 35 days for Ford to get the part in... This dealership has had at least 5 Explorers in for the same part so they must be frustrated. Mine is the 3rd to get fixed.

If Ford does not do the right thing, I think I will take it to Twitter and create a Facebook page to get the power steering recalled.

Oh yeah, now my navigation data stick is stuck in the unit and Rt. 23 won't cover it because they day there is liquid spilled on it...which I never spilled. The Nav has been in 3 times now to be repaired and this time it is my fault..another $400.

 

[peterk9]

So far, so good for mine. Perhaps when I get more mileage on it the problem may pop up. All these posts make me feel much better about buying the Leasecare ESP and if I decide to buy it at lease end, I will definitely jump to the Premium Care package.

Peter

 

[willied]

Yeah, the warranties are definitely not long enough on these things. It seems like stuff starts breaking once the warranty runs out or the dealer can't find the problem when you still have the warranty.

 

[FordService]

I managed to take pictures a week ago.... (2012 Explorer Base Model 13K Miles)...

Razziel24,

Since you live in Ecuador, I recommend calling Ford Motor de Ecuador @ 01800-113355 for further assistance.

...I took the car at the dealer, they knew this was an issue.
They ordered the parts up front.
The power steering rack was replaced and now the problem is solved....

My mom's Explorer has had over 3000 miles put on it since it was fixed and so far no problems.

Pete & willied,

Thanks a bunch for the updates, guys; I’m really glad this was resolved for you.

...The first replacement failed twice in one day after a little less than 2000 miles (we took pictures of the dash both times). Ford had a field engineer examine the car carefully, and he ordered a second replacement...

dallasdog,

Our engineers have rigorous safety standards and do constant testing on our vehicles to ensure reliability. I have confidence the field engineer and your dealer took care of it.

So my Customer Service Rep Cory called from Ford Corporation this afternoon and they changed their mind about how much they will cover...

I want to help by having your regional Customer Service Manager review this, Dex64; please send me a PM with your contact information, approximate mileage, dealer details, and VIN.

Cory

 

[fadingsparks]

If Ford does not do the right thing, I think I will take it to Twitter and create a Facebook page to get the power steering recalled.

Have you thought about going to your local news' investigative team? This stuff starts popping up on television and suddenly everyone starts taking notice.

 

[MTN]

You don't show what model/year you have in either your profile or in the Vehicle Specs. I'm guessing it is either a late 2011 or early 2012. These are the ones that seem to be having this problem. As far a link to report this problem, yes, there is a 'sticky' at the beginning of this Forum that has the link and it is also shown in a few posts in this thread. The report goes to the NHTSA.

Peter

I don't think there's any particular grouping of build dates that are experiencing the problem. Seems pretty sporadic. Mine was built in December 2010 and my power steering went out in June 2011. So its definitely not limited to late 2011/early 2012 models. Everyone should be concerned.

 

[controlfreak]

Finally got the Explorer back yesterday. 36 days at the dealership! Except for the fact that no one will/can guarantee that this won't happen again, Ford's been very fair. Paid for the entire rental car. May even pay for the lost month of XM radio subscription. Still working on that.

Thanks again to Cory & the regional Customer Sevice Rep, Jeff, for expediting this process as much as possible.

Good luck to everyone still fighting this battle with their dealerships. Go above them and get the corporation involved!

I'll keep you posted on whether the repair lasts, or fails again like it did for dallasdog. Let's keep hoping that this ends up in a recall before something really bad happens. Keep filing those NHTSA reports.

 

[peterk9]

Finally got the Explorer back yesterday. 36 days at the dealership! Except for the fact that no one will/can guarantee that this won't happen again, Ford's been very fair. Paid for the entire rental car. May even pay for the lost month of XM radio subscription. Still working on that.

Thanks again to Cory & the regional Customer Sevice Rep, Jeff, for expediting this process as much as possible.

Good luck to everyone still fighting this battle with their dealerships. Go above them and get the corporation involved!

I'll keep you posted on whether the repair lasts, or fails again like it did for dallasdog. Let's keep hoping that this ends up in a recall before something really bad happens. Keep filing those NHTSA reports.

Good to hear that you finally got your Explorer back. I'm guessing that a recall hasn't been issued yet because Ford may not have pinpointed exactly what the problem is and therefore no one is able to say it won't happen again. I believe it could be electrical since the problem sometimes clears up after a restart.

Peter

 

[blizzardx]

Good idea for news

Have you thought about going to your local news' investigative team? This stuff starts popping up on television and suddenly everyone starts taking notice.

This is a good idea to get this problem on the news, I used that way to get my home building project completed.As soon as people hear the problem will be on the news they get scared their reputation and business will be DONE!!! I think Ford could use some kind of way to get their act together.

 

[peterk9]

This is a good idea to get this problem on the news, I used that way to get my home building project completed.As soon as people hear the problem will be on the news they get scared their reputation and business will be DONE!!! I think Ford could use some kind of way to get their act together.

As I mentioned in my reply to controlfreak, I don't think Ford has yet identified why and what exactly is causing the problem. There has been an instance where a supposedly 'repaired' vehicle had the same failure again. It doesn't make much sense to just start replacing steering racks on every vehicle if the exact problem hasn't been identified. I also don't recall seeing anything recently where Ford has indicated that there isn't a problem.
I totally agree that this is a serious issue and hopefully Ford will have a permanent resolution for it ASAP.

Peter

 

[jmann]

As I mentioned in my reply to controlfreak, I don't think Ford has yet identified why and what exactly is causing the problem. There has been an instance where a supposedly 'repaired' vehicle had the same failure again. It doesn't make much sense to just start replacing steering racks on every vehicle if the exact problem hasn't been identified. I also don't recall seeing anything recently where Ford has indicated that there isn't a problem.
I totally agree that this is a serious issue and hopefully Ford will have a permanent resolution for it ASAP.

Peter

I agree I just got my explorer back on saturday... they told me they replaced the part but could not tell me ifthe original issue with the part was resolved. So now I get to drive my explorer and worry it may happen again! Ford need to issue a release to its customers and fix this issue!!! I am worried about the saftey of my family.

 

[EVERONWARD]

Power Steering & Drive Shaft

I have a 2011 Explorer and on Aug 7, 2012 the Power Steering went & also the Drive Shaft as the front end was shaking. Dealer claims that Ford knows about both of these problems.

Very disappointed with service as they can't seem to get the parts.

I'm in Boston.

When is FORD going to do a RECALL!

Lets START that Twitter campaign!!!