2011 Ford Explorer Steering Problems
- 424
- Owner complaint records in our dataset
Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.
Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.
Among these 424 stored complaint records:
- 12 indicate a crash
- 2 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
What owners report
- Electric Power Assist System · 2 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 1–30k mi | 143 |
| 30–60k mi | 120 |
| 60–100k mi | 78 |
| 100–150k mi | 38 |
| 150–400k mi | 21 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving 70 mph, the power steering and traction control warning lamps illuminated as both components failed. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 58,000.
ODI 10534355
Steering
This happened to us 2 times in 2 weeks. Power steering failure light came on along with the auto trac light. At this point we lost power steering. We were on the highway and we were close to a walmart so we stopped and let the car sit and we went into walmart .when we came out the light was off and the power steering was fine. Monday i was backing out of my garage and the lights went on again and no power steering.…
ODI 10534025
Electrical System · Steering · Wheels
I was traveling at 40 mph on a busy city street when all of the sudden i heard a warning bing sound and saw the power steering fault and all terrain management failure warnings on my instrument panel. Lost total ability to steer the vehicle and had to put on emergency lights, stop on side of the road, turn the vehicle off and on (hoping that it would reset and resolve the issue) and doing this cleared the warnings…
ODI 10533937
Steering
Travelling on the freeway at 78 mph, an alarm sounded, followed by a message that said "power steering assist fault (or failure, i don't remember exactly which term was used)", at the same time, i suddenly had no power steering. The warning also stated "service advance trac" and an icon showing a car with skid marks behind it, displayed on the dash. Had my wife, or one of my children been driving when this occured,…
ODI 10533359
Steering
After filling up with gas, i started and went about 6 feet and the codes of power steering assist along with a couple others came up. I tried restarted the explorer and it did the same thing. I then let it sit for 5 minutes and restarted it again. The same thing occurred. I have now brought it in and after looking into it. Many people have had the same issue. I had my 1 year old son in the car and to be honest. This…
ODI 10533051
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. The contact stated while driving 65 mph, the power steering failed on the vehicle. The contact stated he had to manually steer the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for repair and the component was reset. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vin was unavailable. The failure mileage was about 38,000.
ODI 10534847
Steering
My wife and i had just traded our car in for a 2011 ford explorer. She was on her way home and the power steering locked up on her with a warning message on the dash. She was barely able to control the vehicle from crashing into the other cars around her. She turned off the vehicle and restarted it and everything returned to normal. We called the dealer who promptly had the vehicle towed to the nearest dealership.…
ODI 10532654
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. The contact stated that while making a right turn at 15 mph, the power steering system malfunctioned and the traction control light illuminated. The contact also stated that the power steering system malfunctioned while in reverse. The contact mentioned that both failures occurred while the air conditioner was in use. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who did not…
ODI 10526097
Power Train · Steering
This is the second time this issue has occurred. The first time i was able to restart the vehicle and it corrected itself. Currently i cannot physically steer the vehicle and will have to have it towed. We were in the mountains last weekend so this is a very serious issue. I happen to be a male with the capability and capacity to handle extreme situations and i doubt that i could avoid an accident if this were to…
ODI 10525964
Steering
I was making a left turn at approximately 20mph when my power steering went out. Luckily there was no car to my right and i was able to muscle the car to the right side of the road and onto a side street. The dash board was flashing power steering assist fault, then service advance trac. I turned off the car and restarted it and the message cleared. I went straight to the dealership and showed them the pictures, the…
ODI 10525855
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
Coming to a stop at a stop sign, warning messages appeared - power steering assist failure and advance trac control fault. The vehicle lost all power steering assist. With much effort (extremely hard to steer!), i pulled the vehicle to a parking space to diagnose the problem. The advance trac warning message stayed on. The traction control light and the traction control 'off" light also stayed illuminated. I turned…
ODI 10525743
Steering
Driving down the road and a warning flashed about power steering. I had about 3 seconds to get the car to the side of the road to avoid getting killed. Ford knows about this already and is doing nothing? Are you kidding me??? *tr
ODI 10526060
Steering
While driving east on route 422 from royersford to king of prussia at 55 mph audible warning alarm went off with two lights on dash. Lost power steering control. Too unsafe to pull off on shoulder in dark, struggled with steering for about 2 miles to next off ramp. Restarted vehicle on off ramp and power steering returned. I will call dealer tomorrow as warranty is nearly up. Car manual explains this exact situation…
ODI 10524768
Steering
Power steering failure while going down sam rayburn tollway in mckinney tx. Steering assist cut out and warning lights appeared on dash. Wife had to try and pull to side of road. There was a slight bend and she was able to drive fairly straight onto the shoulder. Fortunately there weren't any other cars around her. Similar incident happened the day before going under 10 mph on a side street/driveway. Shutting car…
ODI 10524648
Steering
While driving the vehicle the power steering quite, was able to get vehicle off the road but was very hard to steer. Now ford want $2119.00, to repair a manufactured part that is not covered under the vehicles warranty. The vehicle is owned by the disabled veterans of america and used to transport veterans in operated by the randolph county veteran's office winchester, in. I have taken care that this vehicle is…
ODI 10524946
Steering
My power steering failed. The dashboard lite up and said something about power steering trac in red. Couldn't read it as i was to busy trying to control car in a busy intersection. I turned car off and when i restarted it, all was fine. I called my ford dealer and was told they had never heard of such a thing. I have an appointment to bring car to,service on wednesday to repair navigation system for the third time…
ODI 10524772
Steering
Loss of power steering while driving. Total loss of control would have happened if i would have been in a turn or corner. *tr
ODI 10524694
Steering
While entering a roadway our explorer suddenly lost power steering at this time the vehicle showed a power steering assist fault also a service advance trac code followed by a loss of terrain management notice also at this time the turn signals would not operate. Had vehicle towed to our dealership . They returned the vehicle to me after reprogramming abs module per tsb12-08-09. The same thing happened again sunday…
ODI 10524844
Electrical System · Steering
We purchased our 2011 ford explorer in january of 2011 and have been the exclusive users of the car ever since. Our vehicle has experienced three total losses of power steering ability since july 8, 2013. When an event occurs, the "power steering failure" light comes on and the vehicle immediately becomes difficult to steer. Two of the occurrences have taken place while traveling at high speed on the highway. In one…
ODI 10553054
Power Train · Steering · Suspension
Please reference previous complaint confirmation number 10475098, september 11, 2012. The problem is a complete loss of power steering assist that occurs instantaneously, without warning. This problem was supposedly repaired by my ford dealer last fall (september, 2012) by reprogramming a control unit. The problem has now been recurring again, almost weekly (three times in four weeks). I feel this is a very serious…
ODI 10533476
Steering
Upon backing down driveway, vehicle steering locked up and would not turn. I stopped and turned off the ignition. Then restarted the vehicle. Power steering returned. Left driveway and proceeded to next intersection where steering failed again and locked up. This repeated once again before my husband had to drive vehicle without power steering to the dealership. *tr
ODI 10531498
Steering
Steering wheel locked up while taking a curb at a slow rate of speed. Could not control vehicle, and had to come to a complete stop, put vehicle in park and turn it off.a warning came on the screen about steering failure, and after turning car back on, it worked fine. Dealership service tech was rude and uncooperative on the phone, told me to bring it in a couple of days. My car i still under warranty, and the…
ODI 10523443
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. The contact stated that the power steering intermittently failed. The contact also mentioned that the service advance track and power steering assist fault lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was found that there was a gear in steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure.…
ODI 10524952
Steering
Power steering assist fault has happened 5 times in the last month and this is the second time i have had it at the dealer. *tr
ODI 10533731
Steering
The power steering on our 2011 ford explorer has failed while we were driving, causing unsafe conditions, forcing us to pull over. It did not self-correct when restarting. There were 2 message lights: service advance trac and power steering assist. We took the vehicle into the dealership and were given a repair price tag exceeding $2,000 and told they would need to replace the steering gear. We then contacted the…
ODI 10522116