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.
Turning at a red light my power steering locked up with a warning on the screen stating steering assit service required. I turn the vehicle off and back on and the steering unlocked. Since the car is making a whining nose. I see multiple recalls for this make and model for power steering issues but my VIN number isnt listed.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized and the eps, traction control, and various other unknown warning indicators illuminated. The contact had to strongly maneuver the vehicle in both directions to prevent a crash. The vehicle was barely coasted off the highway. When the vehicle was shut off and restarted, the various warning indicators still flashed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but was diagnosed and repaired. The vehicle was excluded from NHTSA campaign numbers: 14V286000 (steering) and 14E001000 (steering); although, the vehicle exhibited the same failure. Apple Ford shakopee (1624 weston ct, shakopee, mn 55379, (952) 445-2420) was contacted and indicated that the vehicle would need to be scheduled for an appointment the following Monday or Tuesday for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and did not assist. The approximate failure mileage was 73,000. Consumer stated the rack and pinion steering assist was replaced. 'parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).'
Driving on freeway 70 mph alert left side of dash bright red steering system failure stop car safely. Loss of power to steer the vehicle. No control, traction. Another alert in yellow system failure service asap. Alert red again steering system failure stop care safely. Unable to steer the vehicle. Turned car off tried to reset unable no steering mechanism. Had to have car towed unable to drive. Steering wheel seemed locked and not able to turn right or left. Code from dealers said 3500 bucks to fix steering mechanism failure. No way to override or re program. Car failed while driving. Scary
Started vehicle to go to work and had no power steering. Power steering assist fault service required box popped up. Turned vehicle off and on, still faulted so I tried a few more times. Put vehicle in reverse, backed up, then went forward. Lost stabilatrac, went into menu and box was unchecked and I was unable to select it. Also at the same time a collision warning fault appeared. Looked down at the terrain management, there were no lights illuminated so I turned it. Instant terrain management fault appeared. So now I have 4 box faults on the left display and two yellow stabilatrac lights on to the right, one says off with the symbol and the other just the symbol. Tried unhooking battery, no luck. Called Ford dealership, made an appointment for 2 days later, the earliest. Started vehicle up next day, nothing cleared. Called tow company and told them to take it to the dealership and it can sit there. Talked to service manager and sounds like they already had an idea I was going to be getting a new steering rack. I'm just glad I wasnt driving at high speeds like a lot of the other posts and how are a few years on recall when it seems to be all years from 2011 on up. Vehicle is waiting for another day to get into the mechanics bay even though I already know it will be a 1500 to 2500 dollar repair. Vehicle has 76K miles. Dont get me started on the key fob. Oh and it was -38 degrees with winchill.
- Dickinson, ND, USA
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I was driving my 2014 Ford Explorer along the freeway doing about 70 mph and started smelling an odor when all of a sudden the steering wheel started violently shaking and a bell stated beeping. A message on the left blinked on steering failed park safely and steering traction lights came on. The car was hard to steer. I had to find a place to pull over quickly. I managed to get the car off the freeway. We sat there trying to figure out what happen and if we could possibly drive it home. But of course we couldn't as the steering wheel was completely locked. Nothing we could do but call a wrecker to tow the car home. If I had been driving in the far left lane, we would have been in a dangerous position to get hit as the car lost power all of a sudden. Last night while checking for recall information, I found this web site and learned that almost a hundred other people have had the exact same problem but could not find a recall number. I going to Venture a guess that there has not been enough serious injuries or deaths yet. We were quoted over $1800 to repair our car. We cannot afford this. Someone needs to say enough, all these same problems on the same car has to be a manufacturer's failure. The consumers need help now. Is anyone listening to us?
The "driver door ajar' warning light stays on when entering or exiting the vehicle even when the door is closed. I have to slam it several time to get the light to go off.
While driving the traction control turned off, which caused the electronic steering to turn off. The car jerked to the left side (almost hitting a box truck). I had to pull the steering wheel with all my strength to get the car to steer correctly. Took the car to dealership and was told the electronic steering gear needed to be replaced.
On 19 June, 2017 I was driving my 2014 Ford Explorer on I-95 South, I initially heard a single pop come from the front of my vehicle, I thought I had hit something in the road, but nothing was visible in the road, so I continued to drive. I continued to drive with no problems. On 20 June, I was driving again on I-95 North bound and my steering system began to malfunction with a little tightness in the steering, the vehicle still easily turned left and right. I continued to drive the vehicle with no problems, suddenly a warning flashed and showed a stability warning and all of a sudden the steering locked up and I could not control my vehicle at all. I was nearly killed along with six members of my family when my vehicle steering malfunctioned (froze/locked) and two tractor trailers swerved to keep from hitting my vehicle. I could no longer control my vehicle steering. My vehicle has 68,000 miles and has been regularly maintained with no known issues.
The ESC on my 2014 Explorer limited will engage for no apparent reason. This will occur on dry or wet roads, city or highway. The symptom is a roughly 1 second engagement of what feels like the left front wheel. It makes a grinding noise and slight pull to the left. There are no warning lights illuminated. The dealer has been unable to find any codes, although they have been able to reproduce the problem while they had it for week performing test drives. They have responded that without any codes, they can't find the problem. They have a opened a tech case with Ford. At this time they've advised to keep driving it until it breaks. I have provided the dealer with videos of the issue so they can see the driving conditions. This has happened at least once or twice a week for the past couple of months.
I bought a certitified preowned 2014 Ford Explorer in February 2015. Recently every time the Explorer was put in park, an alert would go off, showing transmission not in park. The past few weeks the steering wheel would make a grinding/growling noise when turning towards the left and right. The steering became a little harder to turn and it felt as if it would stick. This was a very scary feeling. I have 5 children and didn't want them in this car. I took the car to the dealership 2 days ago and found out that my electric steering system was locked, the gear shift assembly needed replacing and also a new belt. Total cost $2,309.30. I was devastated. We do not have that kind of money laying around. I called the Ford manufacturer and they gave me a case number to give to the dealership. After speaking with the dealership and giving the case number, they called back later and stated they would give me a $300 discount. Therefore at this time, I had to take a $1500 loan out for the electrical power steering replacement and belt. I will have to go without the gear shift assembly being repaired until we can afford it. My total without replacing the gear shift assembly is $1696.30. After researching the issue, this is nothing new with the Ford Explorer. There were several recalls for the same issue for the 2011 through 2013 models. My 2014 Ford Explorer has a 100,000 mile power train warranty but of course none of this was covered. I am saving my receipts in hopes Ford will do the right thing. If they do not, I will never purchase another Ford. This issues has put my family in danger and in further debt.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Lugoff, SC, USA