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CarComplaints.com Notes: The NHTSA's complaint data shows potentially scary power steering problems with the 2011 Ford Explorer.

The steering complaints are pretty serious - owners report the power steering cuts out while driving. The NHTSA opened an investigation into the power steering problems in June 2012, which lead to a recall in 2014. However years later, many 2011 Explorer owners report this defect is still occurring.

It's too bad because the 2009 & 2010 Ford Explorer are solid, trouble-free model years.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
15 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
69,142 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2011 Ford Explorer steering problems

steering problem

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2011 Ford Explorer Owner Comments (Page 7 of 32)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #509

Nov 172021

Explorer

  • 186,850 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH and approaching a curve, the warning message "Service Advance Tract-€ illuminated and the steering wheel locked inadvertently, almost causing the contact to lose control of the vehicle. The contact was able to continue to drive the vehicle by using tremendous physical force to steer the vehicle. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that he would be responsible for the cost of the repair as his VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 186,850.

- Stone Mountain, GA, USA

problem #508

Jan 122022

Explorer

  • miles
Airbag light stays on after have completed all the fixes as stated in the official TSB 12-5-11 05/29/12. The steering has become extremely difficult to turn at low speeds or moving for a complete stop. It is freezing up and get harder as time goes by. The recall is expired, but the symptoms are the exact same as the recall stated.

- Winter Haven, FL, USA

problem #507

Mar 012022

Explorer 6-cyl

  • 122,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The dealer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that a recall for the steering had expired. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the failure was not safety-related and provided no further assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000. THE CONSUMER WAS ADVISED THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN SERVICED IN AUGUST 2015.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #506

Feb 282022

Explorer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The steering wheel gets hard to turn it acts like it has glitches in it. It goes from easy to hard and doesn-€™t come out of it-€™s turns on it-€™s own I have to pull it back. Almost acts like I-€™ve lost the power steering.

- Carthage, NY, USA

problem #505

Feb 032022

Explorer

  • 142,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was recently repaired under an unknown steering recall. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The steering assist, traction control, and an unknown warning light were illuminated during the failure. The contact stated that the vehicle would regain power steering functionality a day or two after the failure. The failure had recurred three times within the month. The contact had contacted the dealer who diagnosed that the power steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer confirmed that the vehicle was out of warranty and referred the contact to NHTSA for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 142,000.

- Greene, CT, USA

problem #504

Feb 282022

Explorer

  • miles
The steering wheel is hard and I can not turn it correctly, upon asking Ford in Saugus Mass. they inform me that there is a two week waiting period. So i guess they will be responsable if it commpletly locks while I am driving on the highwway, or taking my children to school. Upon verifying the information on google there has been similar situaitons with this same model, my vehicle was, manufactored in May 2011. So it does go under the recall number 14S06. But Ford is not helping me with the stituation what so ever. I am a single mother with children I depend on no-one, so it is very unprofessional when I came with the urgent situation to them and they acted like they did not care.

- Beverly, MA, USA

problem #503

Feb 282022

Explorer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Power Steering assist fault making steering impossible. Had to stop and restart the car a few times to clear the fault in order to move it. Lucky I was at a stop and not driving or I would not have been able to straighten the wheels and would have ended up in an accident

- Valrico, FL, USA

problem #502

Feb 182022

Explorer

  • 160,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the steering wheel seized with the power steering assist warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle however, the persisted. The vehicle was towed to the residence and was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000.

- Yeadon, PA, USA

problem #501

Feb 182022

Explorer

  • miles
I was driving and my wheel locked up almost resulting in a accident I could not turn the wheel I had to pulled over and had to get my car towed I'm being told it is my rack and pinion I have a 2011 Ford explorer now they are charging me 3,000 dollars to get it fixed when their was a recall on it in 2015 I was only going 30 mph when this happened

- Yeadon, PA, USA

problem #500

Feb 192022

Explorer

  • 236,111 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH and making a right turn, the steering wheel seized and made a jumping motion causing the vehicle to move both left and right. The contact stated that the traction control warning light and an unknown warning light were illuminated. The contact parked on the side of the road and restarted the vehicle but continued to experience the vehicle. The contact stated he continued to drive the vehicle with the failure to the residence. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the control module and rack and pinion to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired but was pending repairs. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 236,111.

- New Straitsville, OH, USA

problem #499

Feb 152022

Explorer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

steering wheel gets hard to turn anywhere. a light turns on when this happens but, I couldn't read it as I was trying to get safely out of the road. it has happened to me a couple of times. sometime it happens as I turn the car on once I put the reverse gear on it gets hard I'm able to notice this before I move so I turn the car off and when I turn it back on it fixes itself. but, last few times its happened while driving once in the highway. I was told this could be triggering my check engine light on, which now is always on, according to the shop where it was taken for a check up it is something related to a misfire of the fifth cylinder. they think it is more related to a factory defect.

- Winnetka, CA, USA

problem #498

Jul 012021

Explorer

  • 0 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the steering wheel would seize. The contact stated she would turn off and restart the vehicle for the steering wheel to function properly. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the steering wheel seized. The contact was able to park on the side of the road and the power steering assist fault warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was informed that the actuator for the power steering pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Bunkie, LA, USA

problem #497

Jan 272022

Explorer 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 129,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) and the vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the power steering control module (PSCM) software was updated. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, his daughter noticed that the steering wheel had lost power steering assist functionality. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was illuminated. The contact's daughter turned off and as she restarted the vehicle, the steering wheel regained power steering functionality. The contact's daughter continued to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the power steering gear had failed and needed to be replaced. The dealer advised the contact that he would be responsible for the cost of the repair as SSSC denied the request to cover the vehicle repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not provide any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 129,000. Dealer notified the owner that recall 14S06 was still open on this vehicle. The owner picked up the vehicle from the dealer and, the power steering system failed again with the message -€œPower Steering Assist Fault-€. Owner tried to steer the vehicle. It was very hard to steer. Owner turned off the vehicle and restarted, and the power steering was restored. Power steering failure occurred while the vehicle was parked. No damage or injury occurred. Owner determined that the failure was a safety issue, because the vehicle would be too hard to steer if the power steering failed while driving. Owner had the power steering gear replaced at Apple Ford and paid all expenses out of pocket. Owner found recall 14S06 Supplement #3 on NHTSA-€™s website. Supplement# 3 states that -€œ This safety recall involves reprogramming the Power Steering Control Module, or replacing the steering gear if certain Diagnostic Trouble Codes are present, regardless of vehicle mileage or warranty start date.

- Danville, VA, USA

problem #496

Jan 172022

Explorer

  • miles
Error message appeared and lost power steering to the vehicle while driving. I learned that 14S06 safety recall was to address this very situation (codes matched). Ford denied the safety recall due to 10 year limit (Vehicle has 39,000 miles and is 10ys 7mo old) May 17th 2019 Letter from ford regarding safety recall 14S06 updates the recall to "regardless of vehicle mileage or warranty start date." I paid for the fix out of pocket as I need a vehicle that doesn't lose the agility to steer while travelling down the roadway. I'd like Ford to honor the safety recall and reimburse me for the repair.

- Blooming Prairie, MN, USA

problem #495

Dec 012020

Explorer

  • 138,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving around a right turn at approximately 40 MPH, the power steering suddenly malfunctioned and the steering wheel became difficult to turn nearly causing the vehicle to collide with an approaching oncoming vehicle traveling in the opposite lane. During the incident, the messages "Advancetrac" and "Service Power Steering" were displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering gear assembly was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The contact indicated that the steering gear assembly had already been replaced on two separate occasions; once under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 138,000.

- Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

problem #494

Dec 212021

Explorer

  • miles
Power steering rack and pinion quit working. Part is on hold because Ford knows its a dangerous part that is breaking and the part is not reliable

- Salisbury, MD, USA

problem #493

Jan 252022

Explorer

  • miles
I own a 2011 Ford explorer. There was a recall #11V063000 that has not been put on my vehicle however, the exact problem is happening to my vehicle. The power steering will go while driving and it has happened several times.

- Grafton, WV, USA

problem #492

Jan 252022

Explorer

  • miles
The ABS and the terrain system will flash and the power steering will flash red and you will loose power steering. We have been told the steering rack needs replaced and there was a recall on this a time before.

- Grafton, WV, USA

problem #491

Jun 012021

Explorer

  • miles
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering would intermittently fail to operate as needed. The "service power steering now" and "service advancetrac" warning messages would appear on the instrument panel. The contact also stated that when the failure initially started, the power steering functionality would return upon restart of the vehicle; however, recently, the failure would persist even after restart. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with a defective steering rack. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Detroit, MI, USA

problem #490

Jan 122022

Explorer

  • miles
Failure on Power Assisted steering. I'm not able to move the wheels. Failure came at ~5am when I turn on the vehicle. I left the vehicle in my garage and then I turn on at 12pm and I get the same failure. Around ~3pm I turned on the vehicle and there is no error. I'm afraid to use this vehicle for safety concerns. I forgot to take pictures of the error during the first time of the issue. The dealer told me that there is no recall from Ford but doing a search thru the web there are a lot of concerns for this specific problem. Any help will be appreciated due to the car will not be used in order to get a proper evaluation from Ford. The error message is no longer available in the vehicle due to when I turn on the vehicle at 3pm the error and problem disappear. I'm worried that the dealer does not find the main issue and then costs me a lot of money for just evaluation. My approach is that this vehicle will not be in use until getting proper contact from FORD. The safety of my family is first even this problem is known on another vehicles.

- Manati, PR, USA

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