2011 - 2018 Explorer Power Steering Issue

[peterk9]

I'm in Canada so the reporting process might be different. I'll wait until I get the diagnosis on Monday.

If it turns out to be the same problem as others on here, then you can report it to Transport Canada, if you so desire;

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/tp-tp2822-page4_e-276.htm

Peter

 

[FordService]

Clearly Ford hasn't corrected this problem. I have a new month old 2013 LTD with just over 1000kms on it. The power steering failed the other day resulting in it having to be towed 180 kms to my dealer.

Let me know how it goes at your dealership, wadge. If you need any assistance, I'll be happy to get your information into the hands of my contact at Ford Canada. All I'll need is a PM from you with your VIN, dealer, mileage, daytime phone number, and full name.

Thanks!

Crystal

 

[wadge]

Let me know how it goes at your dealership, wadge. If you need any assistance, I'll be happy to get your information into the hands of my contact at Ford Canada. All I'll need is a PM from you with your VIN, dealer, mileage, daytime phone number, and full name.

Thanks!

Crystal

Thanks Crystal. My dealer has the regional rep working on the problem. They have to replace the steering rack. I have a loaner/rental but its frustrating that a new vehicle should fail so soon.

 

[FordService]

Thanks Crystal. My dealer has the regional rep working on the problem. They have to replace the steering rack. I have a loaner/rental but its frustrating that a new vehicle should fail so soon.

I can understand your frustration, wadge. Keep me in the loop and let me know how things go at the dealership.

Crystal

 

[wadge]

I can understand your frustration, wadge. Keep me in the loop and let me know how things go at the dealership.

Crystal

Finally my LTD is home after 2 weeks at the dealer. The steering rack had to be changed.

 

[Fredman1]

We purchased a 2013 Explorer Sport on February 13. At about 650 km we encountered this power steering issue (loss of power steering, terrain management system fault etc). Fortunately we were only in a parking lot. I researched this site and saw this thread which sounded like the problem we experienced. I showed our dealer service dept this thread when bringing in the vehicle. They were pretty good about it. They ordered a new steering rack after interpreting the fault codes. They told us the parts should arrive in just over a week and then we will get our new vehicle back. We are disappointed that this happens to a brand new vehicle but happy it is getting repaired.

 

[FordService]

Finally my LTD is home after 2 weeks at the dealer. The steering rack had to be changed.

Thanks for keeping us posted, wadge! I'm glad to hear that your Explorer is back home with you.

We purchased a 2013 Explorer Sport on February 13. At about 650 km we encountered this power steering issue (loss of power steering, terrain management system fault etc). Fortunately we were only in a parking lot. I researched this site and saw this thread which sounded like the problem we experienced. I showed our dealer service dept this thread when bringing in the vehicle. They were pretty good about it. They ordered a new steering rack after interpreting the fault codes. They told us the parts should arrive in just over a week and then we will get our new vehicle back. We are disappointed that this happens to a brand new vehicle but happy it is getting repaired.

Sounds like your dealership is taking good care of you, Fredman1. Let us know how the repair goes; if you need assistance, please give my colleagues at Ford Canada a call at 1-800-565-3673.

Crystal

 

[guyallai]

power steering help

hey Crystal, i just recently experienced the same issues with my 2011 explorer limited. On my way home from Florida, just before Christmas, coming up I75, at speeds near 70 mph, my electronic power steering went out. I was able to pull off the next exit and call the local Ford dealer and talk to the service department. He said it wouldn't be easy but it could be driven home. Luckily i wasnt far from home and he was right. with a lot of effort, i made it.
The dealership in Brighton, MI has given me a quote for almost 1800. I have 41,000 miles and did not expect this type of repair. So, its still there. If there is a way to have it fixed without so much cost, which i think is what i have been reading on this thread, could you please give me a little advice. i just missed the warranty by 5000 miles. If the Ford Motor Co. is correcting this problem, i would be incredibly grateful.

 

[guyallai]

Finally my LTD is home after 2 weeks at the dealer. The steering rack had to be changed.

Hello Wadge, the same thing happened to me and the dealer gave me a quote of almost $1700. What would be my next course of action? Thanks, Guy.

 

[FordService]

hey Crystal, i just recently experienced the same issues with my 2011 explorer limited. On my way home from Florida, just before Christmas, coming up I75, at speeds near 70 mph, my electronic power steering went out. I was able to pull off the next exit and call the local Ford dealer and talk to the service department. He said it wouldn't be easy but it could be driven home. Luckily i wasnt far from home and he was right. with a lot of effort, i made it.
The dealership in Brighton, MI has given me a quote for almost 1800. I have 41,000 miles and did not expect this type of repair. So, its still there. If there is a way to have it fixed without so much cost, which i think is what i have been reading on this thread, could you please give me a little advice. i just missed the warranty by 5000 miles. If the Ford Motor Co. is correcting this problem, i would be incredibly grateful.

Hi guyallai,

I can look into this for you and see how I can help. Send me a PM with your VIN, dealer, mileage, daytime phone number, and full name. I'll get to work.

Crystal

 

[wadge]

Hello Wadge, the same thing happened to me and the dealer gave me a quote of almost $1700. What would be my next course of action? Thanks, Guy.

My 2013 EX LTD is just a month old. The steering failed at 600 miles and as a result was repaired under warranty. Contact Ford and see what they will do for you. In the past I have had repairs covered when my warranty had just expired.

 

[Jetskier]

So how prevalent is this problem? I know polls are typically not received very well on forums (as someone invariably will call it flawed), but from a percentage standpoint I'd like to know what percentage of people who own a 2011+ explorer have had this steering problem. I mean, we are going on the 3rd year of this vehicle and it sounds like people are still having this issue...disappointing.
But, perhaps it's only a smal number of people to whom it has happened.
I mean, there must be hundreds of members here who own a 2011+ Explorer, no?
Since I am a newbie with very few posts, I am reluctant to begin a poll, but I sure would like to see the outcome of that poll if there was one.
Perhaps Ford would take note and do something about it if it is "shown" to be widespread...wouldn't we all want that?
Maybe there has already been a poll, as I really haven't even looked?
Or perhaps I should start one?

No, I do not own an Explorer, but I am in the market for a new "car" and my first choice is an Explorer, however, I am a little troubled by some of its apparent issues...steering goes out, smell on acceleration, torque steering.
Okay, I can live with some things, but losing my steering at 70...towing a trailer, nope.

 

[guyallai]

Hi guyallai,

I can look into this for you and see how I can help. Send me a PM with your VIN, dealer, mileage, daytime phone number, and full name. I'll get to work.

Crystal

this is going to sound silly, to send a PM do i put your name after the FORDCUSTSRVC?
i have all the information. thanks, Guy.

 

[FordService]

this is going to sound silly, to send a PM do i put your name after the FORDCUSTSRVC?
i have all the information. thanks, Guy.

Hi Guy,

To send a PM to me, click on the FordCustSrvc to the left. A menu will pop-up; select Send a Private Message. I'll keep an eye on my inbox for your message!

Crystal

 

[Fredman1]

Sounds like your dealership is taking good care of you, Fredman1. Let us know how the repair goes; if you need assistance, please give my colleagues at Ford Canada a call at 1-800-565-3673.

Crystal

As an update, we picked up our Explorer Sport on Thursday after the steering rack was replaced. So far so good.

 

[jrmexplorer]

As an update, we picked up our Explorer Sport on Thursday after the steering rack was replaced. So far so good.

Fredman1, I know you are in Canada, but please see if you can file a complaint with the US NHTSA (on their website) anyway. Your case may contradict Ford's insistence that the defect was fixed on 2012+ cars. It may lead to additional investigation and/or recalls.

You will be helping a lot of other members out and yourself (if indeed the problem still has not been fixed, you could lose your power steering again as the new rack may not truly be fixed)

 

[jrmexplorer]

So how prevalent is this problem? I know polls are typically not received very well on forums (as someone invariably will call it flawed), but from a percentage standpoint I'd like to know what percentage of people who own a 2011+ explorer have had this steering problem. I mean, we are going on the 3rd year of this vehicle and it sounds like people are still having this issue...disappointing.
But, perhaps it's only a smal number of people to whom it has happened.
I mean, there must be hundreds of members here who own a 2011+ Explorer, no?
Since I am a newbie with very few posts, I am reluctant to begin a poll, but I sure would like to see the outcome of that poll if there was one.
Perhaps Ford would take note and do something about it if it is "shown" to be widespread...wouldn't we all want that?
Maybe there has already been a poll, as I really haven't even looked?
Or perhaps I should start one?

No, I do not own an Explorer, but I am in the market for a new "car" and my first choice is an Explorer, however, I am a little troubled by some of its apparent issues...steering goes out, smell on acceleration, torque steering.
Okay, I can live with some things, but losing my steering at 70...towing a trailer, nope.

My opinion of this issue is that it seems to be declining in frequency. When this thread first started, we had tons of members reporting the issue. Since then, it's kindof waned. This would seem to jive with Ford's diagnosis of the problem as a series of manufacturing defects and that later units were fixed. Those that were going to fail, were failing and had since been replaced.

What worries me is that there have been some sporadic reports of 2013's failing, which def. contradicts Ford's diagnosis. Now, it's possible that the 2013 is failing for a different reason, or it's failing for the same reason, but at a much lower rate.... but still. ... not good to lose power steering.

That's the only defect that has me concerned. Still, I have not had many issues with mine after 25k miles. I had a steering angle sensor replaced, but that's about it.

 

[FordService]

As an update, we picked up our Explorer Sport on Thursday after the steering rack was replaced. So far so good.

Thanks for the update, Fredman1!

Crystal

 

[emzed]

Power Steering Failure

This morning, in a 2011 Explorer Limited with only 13,000 mi. on it, as I was trying to back out of a parking lot, I experienced the warning light on the dashboard and then the complete locking of the steering. Not even a body builder could have moved that wheel! It was completely rigid. I vaguely recalled reading about this problem some months ago, so I waited a bit, turned on the engine again, and found the power steering back to normal.
I hightailed it to my dealer and made an appointment for next week, but what bothered me was that the service guys didn't seem too clued in on what the problem is. One even stated that they actually had 2 more Explorers in for the exact thing this week.
I haven't been able to read this very long thread, so perhaps someone has already dealt with this question: does anyone have a concise answer to what the steering problem has been and what Ford is doing to repair it? My late husband and I bought this car in an attempt to give an American automaker a try (we were Japanese car owners for many years), but I have to admit I am freaked out at this sequence of events.

 

[peterk9]

This morning, in a 2011 Explorer Limited with only 13,000 mi. on it, as I was trying to back out of a parking lot, I experienced the warning light on the dashboard and then the complete locking of the steering. Not even a body builder could have moved that wheel! It was completely rigid. I vaguely recalled reading about this problem some months ago, so I waited a bit, turned on the engine again, and found the power steering back to normal.
I hightailed it to my dealer and made an appointment for next week, but what bothered me was that the service guys didn't seem too clued in on what the problem is. One even stated that they actually had 2 more Explorers in for the exact thing this week.
I haven't been able to read this very long thread, so perhaps someone has already dealt with this question: does anyone have a concise answer to what the steering problem has been and what Ford is doing to repair it? My late husband and I bought this car in an attempt to give an American automaker a try (we were Japanese car owners for many years), but I have to admit I am freaked out at this sequence of events.

Welcome to the Forum emzed.:wavey:
The problem that most owners have experienced was due to the power steering rack being faulty. Ford apparently made some changes on the assembly line to correct this but I believe some 2012 models still had this issue. Many complaints were sent to the NHTSA about his and I think you should do that as well. Ford does not consider this loss of steering a safety issue since they state that some steering, albeit with more effort, is still available. The remedy was/is to replace the steering rack. There have been, I think, a couple of instances where a replaced rack failed again. This seems to affect the 2011 models more so that the 2012's.
Good luck.

http://api.viglink.com/api/click?fo.../index.xhtml&jsonp=vglnk_jsonp_13638913980514

Peter