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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
9 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
78,444 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.

2013 Ford Explorer steering problems

steering problem

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2013 Ford Explorer Owner Comments (Page 3 of 37)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #681

Sep 252023

Explorer

  • miles

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

Power steering has gone out. No control of vehicle. Steering wheel is VERY HARD to move if movable if all thank goodness didn-??t cause any accident on freeway. Car will need towed. See info all over web about accident and incidents about this issue on this model but no recall need help from ford on matter

- Salem , AR, USA

problem #680

Oct 052023

Explorer

  • miles
For that pass 6 months my vehicle has had a check engine light on. Warning light will flash steering assist fault the the wheel locks up and vehicle comes to a holt. This problem has been happening on and off some days it-??s fine some days this accurs. Recall #14S06

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #679

Oct 042023

Explorer

  • 164,567 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH and making a turn, the electric steering gear lost power and switched to manual mode. The power steering control module warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to her residence. The contact opened the hood to refill the power steering fluid but was unable to locate the steering fluid reservoir. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the failure was due to the power steering. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not covered under the recall. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The contact stated that the failure was due to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 164,567.

- South Lyon, MI, USA

problem #678

Aug 292010

Explorer

  • 130,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the power steering failed while making a right turn. The contact stated that the power steering fault and stabili-trak lost warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that he could no longer steer the vehicle because the steering wheel had seized in place and the vehicle was stopped in the middle of an intersection. The contact stated that the engine was still running. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle several times however, the power steering had not regained functionality. The contact stated that the failure had occurred several times however, the work-around of turning off and restarting the vehicle restored the functionality. The contact drove the vehicle to a local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the power steering system needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

problem #677

Sep 282023

Explorer

  • miles
1. Power Steering fault randomly causing total loss of power steering. Have to turn the car off and restart to fix. No error codes are stored when this happens. No DTC's. This also causes a system terrain fault but again no error codes are stored for this either. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. 2. This has happened while driving in the mountains, on the highway and through residential areas making the car very hard to control or causing us to have to pull over in dangerous situations to restart the car to correct. 3. Whenever we take it for diagnosis they cannot duplicate the issue nor see the error codes in the history. Thankfully we have not yet been in an accident where we have needed the police to be involved although this has happened many times since we have owned the vehicle (5 years). 4. We have been told to drive it to a dealership while the error is occurring so they can see it live time however we have not yet been in a position to do this where it wouldn't have caused a safety issue to us or those around us. 5. There is no warning or alert that happens prior to the fault occurring.

- Perrysburg, OH, USA

problem #676

Aug 282023

Explorer

  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the steering wheel became firm. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the steering gear had failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000. The VIN was not available.

- Kittrell, NC, USA

problem #675

Sep 132023

Explorer

  • 130,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering failed, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. During the failure the messages "Power Steering Failure" and "Stabili-trak" were displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the battery cable was faulty and needed to be replaced. The battery cable was replaced, and the vehicle was repaired but the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 130,000.

- Lafayette, NJ, USA

problem #674

Sep 012023

Explorer

  • 145,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the steering wheel seized inadvertently. The contact pulled over to the side of the road. The power steering assist warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under the recall due to the manufactured date. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.

- Richton Park, IL, USA

problem #673

Sep 052023

Explorer

  • miles
the car keep saying power steering assist this is the second time the steering gear went out

- 29803, SC, USA

problem #672

Sep 162023

Explorer

  • 138,549 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the front end of the vehicle made an abnormally loud grinding sound while turning the steering wheel. Additionally, the contact stated that the failure recurred while driving 25 MPH, and the steering wheel seized. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the steering rack and pinion had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall related to the failure. The dealer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 138,549.

- Cranston, RI, USA

problem #671

Sep 112023

Explorer

  • 138,580 miles

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

The contact's daughter owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on several occasions when the vehicle was started, the steering seized. The steering control warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed that the electric steering gear needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 138,580.

- Fresno, CA, USA

problem #670

Aug 192023

Explorer

  • 146,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the "Traction Control Failure" and "Power Steering Failure" messages displayed and the steering wheel became firm, almost causing a crash. The contact was able to pull over on the side of the road and shut off the vehicle. The contact restarted the vehicle, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the contact was informed that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the VIN was not included in the recall and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 146,000.

- Stockholm, NJ, USA

problem #669

Aug 142023

Explorer

  • 87,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and making a left or right turn, the steering wheel became stiff. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.

- Akron, NY, USA

problem #668

Aug 032023

Explorer

  • 160,994 miles
The contact owns a?2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist with the "Service Power Steering" message displayed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the power steering control module needed to be reprogrammed and referred the contact to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and?advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately?160,994.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #667

Aug 132023

Explorer

  • 53,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that when the vehicle was started, the -??Power Steering Assist-?? warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel was unable to be turned in either direction. The contact stated that he turned off and restarted the vehicle however, the vehicle failed to regain power steering functionality. The contact had the vehicle towed to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the rack and pinion and steering system needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000.

- East Liverpool, OH, USA

problem #666

Aug 132023

Explorer

  • miles
We have a 2013 Ford Explorer with around 90,000 miles that we bought from my father in law for our 16 year old. He was driving home from a friends when he lost power steering. There are three alerts that came up the first was Service Power steering, in addition to: Service Advance Trac and Terrain Managment System. First I want to note there was no warning, thankfully my son was on a side road and not going down the highway at 55! Second I checked recalls because I thought maybe my father in law missed something and noticed that there were plenty of 2013 vehicles recalled for this reason but only 1/2 of them! I now see the other 1/2 of the 2013 Ford Explorers on this Forum having the same issues. Why isn't Ford doing the right thing and fixing these" This fix is going to cost us more than we want to pay for my 16 year old vehicle especially after just buying it. We thought a 2013 FORD with no rust and some what low mileage would last him through High School. Can you please tell me if FORD is looking into any type of compensation for this" Please review these complaints it's sad to think this many people are having the same issue FORD acknowledged with the other 1/2 of the 2013 FORD Explorers.

- Norway, MI, USA

problem #665

Aug 112023

Explorer

  • miles
I was pulling out of my driveway and as I started to turn the power assist warning light came on. I was unable to turn the steering wheel. A truck (luckily my neighbor) was heading towards me (the vehicle was still perpendicular to the oncoming truck). I turned the vehicle off and started again and the power assist warning was still on and steering wheel was still unable to move. So we pushed it back in my driveway. Two days later (this happened on Friday) on Monday I took it to the local dealership to check for a recall and they stated my vehicle was not on the list and could not provide any further service.

- Albemarle , NC, USA

problem #664

Aug 032023

Explorer

  • 110,000 miles
The contact-??s wife owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel became firm, and the vehicle was difficult to maneuver. The power steering assist warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with power steering control module (PSCM) failure. The contact was informed that the PSCM needed to be reprogrammed. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed of NHTSA Campaign Number 14V286000 (Steering) however, the dealer confirmed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

- Poteet, TX, USA

problem #663

Jul 242023

Explorer

  • miles
The power steering in my 2013 Explorer went out on the road, and a light came on. My I am having my steering assembly replaced. $2800 plus. Please advise, as there was a recall on this model for same, though I received no info regarding the issue. My car was made in Chicago as well. The recall number was 14S06, but for some reason, my car was not covered. I filed a verbal complaint as well. Thank you. (The car is being inspected and handled at Lynch Ford, Mount Vernon, Iowa. ) My safety was at risk, and the situation was dangerous. Thankfully, I was not hurt. This took place on the 24th of July. Thank you. (Complaint---11534359.)

- Mount Vernon, IA, USA

problem #662

Jul 262023

Explorer

  • miles
While driving the vehicle at 75 mph down a highway my power steering assist faulted and made the vehicle difficult to control. The vehicle had approximately 87000 miles on it during this incident. Currently the vehicle when started does not have power steering assist when started at all. There was a NHTSA recall for this very issue 14SO6. My vehicle was supposedly not affected as it was assembled at a different plant. I believe that my vehicle should be included as these same safety related issues are happening to this vehicle which is the same model year sighted in the safety recall.

- Ventura, CA, USA

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