2011 - 2018 Explorer Power Steering Issue | Page 35 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

Well for the 5 time my 2011 Ford explorer is back at the dealer, Yesterday my power steering completely died and they need to replace the power steering assisnt moduale for a second time, as well they have replaced some harnness and the entire steering colum in the past. With only 3000KM left on my warranty i am not feeling so great about this less then 2 1/2 year old explorer. This will be the second time it has sat at the dealer for a week while they repair it.

Cant wait for the fight with ford when it happens for a 3rd time right after my warranty expires.

Hi Gropper,

Let me see how I can help you so you have a reliable vehicle we don't need to worry about once your warranty is over. :) Is the Explorer still at the dealership? Please send me your VIN, full name, best daytime phone number, and servicing dealer.

Bianca
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





I have same problem and I don't know what to do?
power steering#assisnt#failure .
Can you summariez this subject. What you have changed?
Thanks!
 






I have same problem and I don't know what to do?
power steering#assisnt#failure .
Can you summariez this subject. What you have changed?
Thanks!
Welcome to the Forum Supra2000.:wavey:
A loss of power steering plus the other warnings has usually resulted in the replacement of the steering rack. There really isn't anything you as an owner can do to fix it. Sometime turning the Ex off and on again will cure it for a while but it will likely happen again. Unless the vehicle is still under warranty or you took out the Ford ESP, you will likely end up with the repair costs. One avenue you can take is to send a private message to Crystal (FordService) one of the Ford reps on this forum about your issue. Assuming you are in the U.S. you can use this link;
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/private.php?do=newpm&u=157968
Include your name, daytime phone number, VIN, mileage, and dealership info in your message.

It would also help us if you added the model of your Explorer to your profile so we can see which one we are talking about.

Peter
 






Sad to see so many pages of threads on power steering failures.
 






The "Rack" that I am referring to is short for an entire new "Rack and Pinion." Ford replaced the entire guts of my steering. I think the part cost Ford about $500 to $600 bucks, plus labor. I am no mechanical genius, but I know this is a major component to a vehicle that is likely never replaced for the life of a car. I have monitored this site and the Explorer Facebook page and I would say there about a half dozen people that have had the same experience. For me, it started with the "Power Steering Assist Fault" warning coming on and then going off when I recycled the engine. Then, I completely lost power steering. I was lucky because my 3 year old was not with me when this happened. Ford can keep replacing the part but eventually someone is going to get in an accident. I guess they will just wait and see.

More like over 100 incidents. NHTSB have logged this for several years now.
 






100, think there are more than that on this site alone. I was able to lemon law my 2011 and bought 2013 about a year ago. No issues so far.:D Hope I didn't just jinks it.
 






Power steering failure learn to live with it

I have had my Explorer for 3 years and reported power steering failure at least 5 times -- including taking to the dealer in "failure mode". I have not had any dealer make any serious attempts to resolve the issue. My company no longer buys Fords as result.


Has anyone else lost power steering in their new Ex? I bought mine in January and had no problems for several months. Recently, when starting the vehicle the "Power Steering Assist Fault" warning started coming on. After turning off the ignition and re-starting the engine, the warning went away and I regained power steering. About 10 days ago, I started it and the same "Power Steering Assist Fault" warning stayed on - even after recycling the engine. The "Service Advance Trac" warning also stayed on and I lost the Terrain Management function. Unreal! My truck has been at the dealer since 6/13. They checked everything and talked to Ford "engineers." I think they just gave up trying to figure it out and decided to order a new "Powersteering Rack." Still waiting for the part...

This is obviously not a minor fix on a new car. Regretting my purchase after this happened and reading other problems others are having, overheating, A-Pillar, etc., etc. Rattles are one thing, dangerous defective parts are another. Anyone have a similar experience?
 






I have had my Explorer for 3 years and reported power steering failure at least 5 times -- including taking to the dealer in "failure mode". I have not had any dealer make any serious attempts to resolve the issue. My company no longer buys Fords as result.
Welcome to the Forum danial6781.:wavey:
This isn't something that anyone should 'have to live with'. It is a very serious problem. It is too bad that you didn't come across this forum sooner. The Ford reps on here have been very helpful in getting issues resolved, even after a dealer initially didn't do anything. You can still send a PM to Crystal (FordService) to see if there is anything she can do to assist in getting this resolved. You can use this link;
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/private.php?do=newpm&u=157968
Include your name, daytime phone number, VIN, mileage, and dealership info in your message.

Peter
 






Well, add me to the list of people that lost their power steering. Now Advance Trac is occasionally failing too. How are these things related?
 






Well, add me to the list of people that lost their power steering. Now Advance Trac is occasionally failing too. How are these things related?
Anyone experiencing this issue should file a report with the NHTSA as suggested several times in this thread.

http://api.viglink.com/api/click?fo...di.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/index.xhtml

I would also register a complaint with Transport Canada in your case;

https://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/7/PCDB-BDPP/fc-cp.aspx?lang=eng

Peter
 






Well, add me to the list of people that lost their power steering. Now Advance Trac is occasionally failing too.

Hi rspong,

I would like to help, my friend. :) Please PM me the VIN, current odometer reading, full name, telephone number, and dealer info; I’ll loop in your regional customer service manager. In the meantime, I suggest making an appointment with your dealer.

Kwasi
 






Hi rspong,

I would like to help, my friend. :) Please PM me the VIN, current odometer reading, full name, telephone number, and dealer info; I’ll loop in your regional customer service manager. In the meantime, I suggest making an appointment with your dealer.

Kwasi

Thank you. I will send you the info soon. The vehicle was in at the dealer when they noticed that some strange codes are being pulled up as a result of the issue. They are supposed to get back to me. Waiting for now. I will PM you tomorrow. Thanks.
 






Thank you. I will send you the info soon. The vehicle was in at the dealer when they noticed that some strange codes are being pulled up as a result of the issue. I will PM you tomorrow. Thanks.

Hi rspong,

Thank you for keeping me in the loop. ;) I look forward to the VIN.

Kwasi
 












I agree, but wasn't the steering changed at some point? Did it help or fix this issue?
Well I don't think there have been any issues so far with the 2014 models but it may be too early to get our hopes up. Most of the failures coming in now are the earlier models with a few 2013's as well. Not sure what, if anything, Ford changed. I don't believe it was ever said.

Peter
 






"This year's changes aren't dramatic, but Ford says the new electric power steering rack should improve steering feel and responsiveness, and the larger brakes should shorten stopping distances."

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2013/09/2014-ford-explorer-whats-changed.html

This was my first find on this issue, but I got the impression it was changed - hopefully enough

But to reiterate, yes everyone should report to nhsta as steering is not insignificant
 






Goodbye Explorer

I have had my Explorer for 3 years and reported power steering failure at least 5 times -- including taking to the dealer in "failure mode". I have not had any dealer make any serious attempts to resolve the issue. My company no longer buys Fords as result.

Ford bought our 2011 Explorer back this week under California Lemon Law provisions. After many efforts on my part, they replaced the first steering rack. When the second rack failed, they replaced it as well. When the third rack failed, they took the car back. I had the choice of a new Explorer, but after this ordeal, I would never feel safe again.

To those of you who think that it is only "power assist" that fails and that you can still steer the car with some extra effort, I hope you never experience the terror of having the wheel jerked out of your hands and the car going the direction it chooses. We was very lucky that all of our failures were at low speed, and we were able to stop the car safely.

If you have a camera on your phone, I suggest that you take a picture of the failure lights and the odometer before you turn off the engine and reboot the car. That way, no one can deny your problem.

To Danial6781 who said he took his car into the dealer 5 times in California with nothing being done, if that is true, you car is already qualified as a California Lemon. In California, the manufacturer has three opportunities to correct a safety issue, and that's it. Each of those times consists of your presenting the car to the service department with your complaint of the safety issue, i.e. steering failure. It does not matter if they can recreate the problem or not. The fourth time you pull into the dealership, your car is a lemon. Only the first failure needs to occur during the warranty period. (I am not a lawyer nor qualified to give legal advice, but it is easy to find). We did not need a lawyer. Once we knew the car met the criteria, we just filed a case with Ford Customer Service requesting a buy back of the car. That started the process of their checking the records on the car to determine qualification.

Once Ford had to take the car back, everyone was very helpful, and it was straightforward. The dealership was always responsive to me and wanted to make my car safe from the start. If Ford Corporate had shown a better attitude when our 2011 had its first steering failure at 8000 miles, I would still be driving an Explorer. However, we quickly felt that we were part of a corporate budgetary decision about how many lives could be put on the line while it would still be cheaper than a safety recall.

The Ford reps on this site are sincere and will try and help you. I hope that Ford Corporate is responding better today than they did in 2011. I thought it was a great vehicle if you didn't need to feel safe (sarcasm intended).

Good luck to you all. It really was (almost) a great car.
 






very inspirational - finally some body got Ford to do something
 






very inspirational - finally somebody got Ford to do something
There are several posts throughout the threads where members successfully used the 'Lemon Law'. This is by no means the first one.

Peter
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





There are several posts throughout the threads where members successfully used the 'Lemon Law'. This is by no means the first one.

Peter

No one should want to lemon their car unless it is a last resort. There have been many posters who have talked about the lemon laws, but I only saw WoodduckMN who had actually had a buyback. At least that is all my cursory search showed. Nevertheless, I think Danial was only reacting to his personal frustration and wasn't trying to start a revolution. Nor was I. The tone of your reply strikes me as strange.

I was frightened by the continual failures of three different racks over two years. I think this is the appropriate venue to share the end of my journey as I was one of the early failures.
 






Back
Top