Sorry to hear about your case, I would be extremely upset as well. Especially since the vehicle gave you no warning of an engine coolant overheat condition.
So far our explorer has been OK, I am on the fence regarding FORD being "one and done" for me, but stories like this make me want to run away to different OEM when it comes time again to buy brand new next vehicle...
Agree. Also found this in the owners manual, although the OP said "water pump failed without any CEL or rise in engine temperature"What was the temp gauge reading? I don't think you'll get any idiot lights- at least not with the cars I'm familiar with.
(Page 20)
The engine coolant temperature gauge can be enabled or disabled.
http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/catalog/owner_guides/11expog4e.pdf
The dealer told me coolant entered the engine when the water pump failed.
The mystery behind it is what gets me. No rise in temperature, no notification when things were not right, no steam coming out of the hood, no white smoke out the exhaust, just a slow power loss over 10 minutes with some weird rattle coming from the front of the car. Then when the car is finally stopped, I get a low engine oil light and a check engine light P0017. The car wasn't dripping any fluid when I was stopped. You can kind of see from the picture the area is totally dry.
Engine coolant temperature (RTT):
Illuminates when the engine coolant temperature is high.
Stop the vehicle as soon as possible, switch off the engine and let cool.
I'm quite sure the 5th gen Explorer only has a single belt and yes, it does have electric steering. According to the OP, the temperature gauge did not indicate any issue.how did the water pump fail? I've had 2 water pump experiences in my days of driving: the first one leaked like its suppose to and the other made bad sounds before the impellers hit the inside of the engine block causing the pump to stop immediately and the serp belt was tossed off which caused the battery light to come on and the steering to get stiff.
Is this water pump driven by a different belt than what is also used to spin the alternator? Does this motor have electric steering?
Or is it chain driven?
What was the temp gauge reading? I don't think you'll get any idiot lights- at least not with the cars I'm familiar with.