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.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 25 MPH and making right turn, the steering wheel suddenly malfunctioned and became difficult to turn causing the vehicle to drive off the road. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 163,000.
Electronic power steering failure, no warnings no lights on dash, steering completely bound up was unable to control vehicle, vehicle came to a halt on side of road narrowly missing a service pole, powered off vehicle and started again, steering was active but decided not to risk driving and called a tow
Electric power steering rack and pinion failure -- no communication to steering module. Currently available for inspection but may require immediate repair or sale of vehicle due to requirement of drivable vehicle. Inability to steer may have resulted in damage to person, vehicle and/or property if not immediately realized and car parked. Problem confirmed by independent service center (AAA Carolinas service center). No inspection of vehicle or component by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others. No warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, although irregular but continuous issues with sensor re: putting transmission in park for 2+ years.
Rack and pinion failure while driving vehicle at speed. Unable to turn steering wheel without strenuous effort. Terrain Management fault, Advance Trac fault and Steering Assist fault lights/warnings indicated on dashboard.
The steering system failed twice without notice. The car would not steer while running, nearly causing an accident. The problem had been reproduced and confirmed by the dealer. Uknown if the component was inspected by the manufacturer. There were no warning lamps or messages, the steering simply stopped responding and locked up.
- Arlington, VA, USA
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When making a right hand turn I noticed that the car began making knocking/thumping noises. Shortly after those noises began, when I attempted to turn left the steering wheel got stuck in the left turn position. I had to jerk the steering wheel hard to get it to straighten out. If I had not been able to get it straightened out I could have driven off the road or into oncoming traffic. Ford had to replace the entire steering rack and the dealership acknowledged that this is a known issue for 2015 Explorers.
I was driving and my power steering failed. The following messades appeared on my dash: Terrain Management System Fault Service AdvanceTrac Hill Assist Fault Electric Power Steering Failure. I was able to turn off the car and turn it back on again and the messages went away and my power steering worked again. A few days later, same issue occurred and the power steering never came back. Very hard to turn currebtly. I did some research and found that Ford had issued a recall for the same issue in previous years for the Explorer. I also found thousands of other owners had the same issue with the 2015 Explorer. Ford needs to step up and issue a recall on the 2015 Explorer for the power steering issue gefore someone is injured or killed.
The steering on my 2015 Explorer, the rack and pinion, is broken. My SUV has only 55K miles and has never been driven off-road. For repairing this issue, the cost is $3300. I called Sheehy of Gaithersburg, from whom I purchased the SUV, and told them the problem after finding out that this was a known issue. According to them, they are aware of it, but there is no remedy at this time. I was a bit bewildered because there was a remedy, i.e., fix the rack and pinion. Nevertheless, I was told that it was okay to drive with faulty steering despite the safety issue; furthermore, I won't be reimbursed if I decide to fix it. I am just so disappointed that Ford is okay with taking such a position, especially since it is a known safety issue.
I was driving my Ford Explorer and pulling a trailer behind it. I was about half way through a left hand turn at a major intersection when the power steering stopped working and my vehicle jerked hard to the right. Myself and my family were put at risk due to me barely being able to control the vehicle enough to avoid a collision with another vehicle, a telephone pole, and a curb after the steering system failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where the entire steering system was replaced at the cost of $2,500 to my family. There were no indications of any problem before this occurred.
Explorer has approximately 69k miles. Rack and pinion has to be replaced. Rubbing sound when wheel is turned and steering wheel 'sticks' when turned. Power steering power is also affected. Not under warranty. Checked by independent repair shop.
Was driving at a speed of 45 mph. Suddenly my power steering went out. Could barely steer it. A steering assist fault service required and advance trac system lights came on. My 4 wheel drive did not work. I have had this vehicle for 3 years and only put 20,000 miles on it. It has a little over 100.000 miles on it. It is gonna cost me $2400 to have this issue fixed. I noticed a lot of 2015 Ford Explorer Sport vehicles are having this concern! Please help us!! Thank you so much!
The rack and pinion is bad and grinds when turning. Yes vehicle is available for inspection if needed. no warning lamped have shown up to date other than major grinding when turning.
Power steering assist light came on and I lost my power steering all of a sudden. Stopped car turned it off started again and it worked for a minute then came back on.
Multiple times I have started vehicle and the -€œsteering assist fault service required-€ light has come on. Never stays on for long and still able to drive car. Spoke with Ford dealership and they said I need to bring it in when the light is on. Well the light has come on as well as -€œservice advance Trac-€ light and now I can not drive my car. Have lost all power steering. I have looked up recalls and see that this has been a problem for 2011-2013 and a lawsuit in process for 2016-2018. Not sure why 2015 is not also a recall because I have seen multiple complaints for the same problem. I believe this is a Ford problem and should not have to pay to have this fixed. I am lucky I was still in my driveway when this happened. I now have to pay a towing company to get my car to dealership to have serviced, when it could have been taken care of multiple times if it was included in recall.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering assist fault and service advanced track warning lights were illuminated, and the vehicle became difficult to steer. The contact continued driving for two miles from where the failure occurred to her residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 20V675000 (Suspension) however, the vehicle was not yet taken to be repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA. The failure mileage was approximate 102,000
Front rack and pinion while driving experiencing loss of steering control could be fatal if not strong enough to control vehicle inspected and confirmed that it is the rack and pinion
In July 2020, after car had sat mostly unused from March 2020 to June 2020 due to the pandemic lockdown, steering binded up while turning left out of a parking lot at a slow speed. Had to yank the steering wheel to get it to return to normal steering. Made a popping sound when yanked. Didn-€™t happen again but in September 2020 started noticing a lot of popping when the wheel would turn left or right at slow speeds. Took car to Meineke. They diagnosed need for new front struts. These were replaced at a cost of $1000. Popping stopped until about November 2020. Noticed it again only intermittently when pulling out of driveway and turning steering wheel far left or right. Would hear a single pop sound. From then until June 2021 would notice this intermittently and had steering bind up again probably 2 more times. Very terrifying to have to yank hard to get steering wheel to turn correctly when driving in traffic. Steering did seem a little loose as well. After reading about the hundreds of complaints about rack and pinions going bad on 2014-2016 explorers and seeing that my car-€™s symptoms were exactly the same I knew this had to be the issue. I took the car to Meineke and they wanted $3600 to replace the rack and pinion which was way too much. Ford dealer at Oxmoor replaced for $1988. The car had 103,000 miles when the problems started. It had a certified preowned warranty through 100,000 miles so of course this wasn-€™t covered but a rack and pinion should not fail in a 6 year old car with barely over 100K miles. And having steering that doesn-€™t work is extremely dangerous. Ford needs to step up and take responsibility for this failure and do a recall in ALL explorers that are having this issue and replace the rack and pinions and reimburse those that have had to pay out of pocket for it. My father worked for Ford and I-€™ve been loyal to this brand but after spending over $3000 on a car in a matter of 6 months that is barely 6 yrs old, I-€™m done with Ford.
Rack & Pinion failed on 09MAY21; I did not keep the old one, so unfortunately it is not available for inspection. My safety or the safety of others was put at risk; I was turning onto an active roadway from a local store parking lot, when the steering inexplicably locked up on me in the middle of the turn. It freed enough momentarily, by wrenching with all my strength back and forth on the wheel, to get back off of the road onto the shoulder. I narrowly avoided being hit by oncoming traffic in the southbound lane coming down the hill. Yes, the problem was reproduced & confirmed at an independent service center. He placed it on the lift, we both took turns turning the wheel slowly to the right and left; you could both hear and feel the distinct sound of gears clicking & popping after being turned approximately 2/3rds of the way to the right, then back to the left. We took turns standing under the rack and pinion electric steering box, if you placed your hand on the bottom/base, you could feel the hard thump when the wheel was turned as described above. The wheel would intermittently lock up, requiring us to yank hard on it both ways to free it up. No, it was not inspected by anyone aside from myself and the mechanic. No, there weren't any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure. It failed suddenly at approximately 93,000 miles.
While driving my vehicle my power steering went out. This was while making a left turn. Luckily there were not other vehicles in close proximity and I was able to safely pull into a parking lot. The Ford dealership said that it is the steering rack and after some online research this seems to be a common issue that isn-€™t being recalled by Ford.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Winchester, TN, USA