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
While driving vehicle, i heard a ding and two warnings came up on my information panel stating "service advance trac" and "power steering assist fault". I was coming into a curve and immediately after these warnings came on, i lost all power steering and barely avoided a crash. I stopped my vehicle, turned off the car and made a phone call to my husband and then restarted my car and the warnings were gone and my…
ODI 10510834
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the power steering intermittently failed and the vehicle became increasingly difficult to control. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 38,00 and…
ODI 10585450
Steering
This is the 2nd time this happened while raining. The first time,about a year ago and while driving 55 mph, the instrument cluster screen and myfordtouch screens both went black and lost power steering suddenly,but engine was still running. But, all of sudden, then power steering re-energized and made steering wheel jerk causing vehicle to skid momentarily, but i was able to maintain control of vehicle and pull…
ODI 10559234
Steering
I was stopped at a light waiting to turn left. The green arrow appeared so i started to make my left hand turn and lost power steering capability. Several "dings" sounded and indicators on my dashboard lit up. I was able to get around the corner with a great deal of force on the wheel and get into a parking lot without incident. After shutting the vehicle off and re-starting, the power steering capability was…
ODI 10507171
Steering
Attempted to start car in parking lot, power steering failure light flashed on and wheel became totally locked. Certainly there was no possibility that i could turn it. Turned car off to call dealership, and after a few minutes i re-started the car. Power steering responded and i drove to dealership, then home. If i had been in moving traffic when the steering failed, a serious accident would have resulted. I now…
ODI 10504107
Steering
The power steering on my 2011 explorer has locked many times but i was never in a position to have time to snap a picture or remember exactly what the code said when it came up, but i had been telling my dealer that it was occurring often. This past time it did it i was turning right on a road and it locked up so my speed was slow so i could manage to come to a stop and put the vehicle in park and shut it off and…
ODI 10503583
Electrical System · Steering
Vehicle has had problems from month 3 of purchase. Cooling fans blew, sunroof rattles, but the worst was a few months ago when backing out of parking space and heard a pop. The steering wheel bolt had broke. Took to dealership and they had it for 2 days to fix it. Contacted ford motor corporate and never received call or email back from them. Then i noticed the steering wheel never seemed straight. It always turned…
ODI 10520072
Steering
As i was driving my ford explorer one morning on a secondary road probably around 40-50mph, all of the sudden the following warnings were displayed on the dash board: "power steering assist fault" and "service advance track". These warnings made the steering wheel get extremely heavy and difficult to maneuver. I managed to pull over on the side of the road, and turned off the car for a minute. When i started it…
ODI 10526289
Steering
On wednesday 2/5/13 i was driving on highway going about a constant speed of 55 mph. All of a sudden i see a warning pop up that says power steering assist fault and my steering wheel locked. Even to make slight curves in the road where extremely difficult. I barely had time to pull over on the side of the road in traffic before getting hit. Also, my turn signals were not functioning. I turned the vehicle off and…
ODI 10496581
Steering
The power steering assist function turned off and the vehicle wouldn't steer. The traction control was also disabled at the same time. The occurred first in my driveway and then the next day in a parking lot at a local business. After turning off the car and restarting the issue was cleared from the computer and the steering resumed working. The vehicle was towed to the local ford dealer for repair after the second…
ODI 10487663
Service Brakes · Steering
Brakes make a grunting/grinding sound when braking shortly after being stationary. When this phenomenon happens on a downward slope, drive gets the feeling that brake effectiveness is reduced greatly. Owner has brought car to dealer a total of 4 times and was able to replicate noise one time. *tr
ODI 10481207
Steering
On four separate occasions beginning in 2012 i was making a left or right turn when the steering wheel locked up, the power steering light and traction assist light came on the car shut itself off. I was only a going a few miles per hour. On the fifth occasion in may 2013 i was traveling through a secured green light making a left turn, probably going about 25 miles per hour when the power steering and traction…
ODI 10513829
Electrical System · Steering
I was driving to work going about 55mph give or take 5mph when the steering went stiff and made it hard to steer through the turns. It was worse when i had to make slow turns. If i had to avoid an accident quickly i don't think i would be able to avoid it. When i got to work shut the car off turned it back on and i guess it reset because the steering came back. When i t happened again i called the brewster ford and…
ODI 10547332
Steering
While driving a warning light came on stating i lost power steering. I could not steer my car. I was able to pull over. I shut off my car and restarted it and power steering came back. *tr
ODI 10478826
Steering
Driving on the side street when steering wheel suddenly became very stiff after a very slight steer to the right making it impossible to steer. Warning lights appear on instrument panel. Turned off engine and re-starting enable steering again. Same incident happen again within a week, luckily i am driving on side street and same incident happen again. Never drove car on freeways for fear of losing steering control.…
ODI 10481055
Steering
On oct. 30th the steering locked up while driving on i-95 south going roughly 65 miles per hour. The steering locked and would not allow for the wheels to be turned. We were lucky it happened on a straight piece of the highway. My wife was able to slow the car in time so that the vehicle could be driven onto the side of the road slowly enough that she could keep it on the berm. The car was turned off and when she…
ODI 10550155
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. The contact was driving approximately 2 mph in a parking lot hen an immediate loss of power steering occurred with the illumination of the warning indicator. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer who stated that the electronic steering gear required replacement. The part needed for the repair was on back order and the vehicle was scheduled to be repaired when the…
ODI 10477404
Steering
On the morning of september 25th, my wife was driving her 2011 ford explorer awd limited to work and the epas power steering shut off. She was luckily close to work and not driving in any curvy terrain, and was able to park the vehicle with great exertion. I came out and switched cars so that i could drive it to the dealer. The epas was working again when i turned on the car. I brought it to the dealer where they…
ODI 10484602
Steering
Pulling into a parking lot off of a highway power steering froze and was difficult to move. Turned vehicle off and on again but still had same issue and could not turn steering wheel. Turned power off, took key out of ignition and got out of vehicle. Went back in and restarted vehicle and steering seemed to be normal again. Dropped off at dealer the next day. It has been 10 weeks and it still has not been fixed,…
ODI 10486120
Steering
As i was driving through the mall parking lot, power steering failed & several warning lights lit up. I was in process of turning when power assist failed and i almost struck a parked car. I turned the vehicle off and restarted (power assist was then working). I immediately drove to my ford dealership where it was discovered i needed a new steering rack assembly. To the best of my knowledge, this incident is…
ODI 10476972
Steering
I was backing out of my driveway and when i tried to turn the wheel i could not. There was a warning lite on the left of dash that came on showing power assist steering failure. Turned car off then back on and it reset and was now working. *tr
ODI 10475970
Steering
While driving approximately 40 mph the power steering light came on and the power steering immediately stopped working on my 2011 ford explorer. Luckily there was a turn lane to my right i could move into to stop the car and attempt to reset the system. I was lucky. I can only imagine what could happen if this were to happen on a winding mountain road. I took my explorer to the closest dealer to be looked at. I was…
ODI 10475200
Electrical System · Steering
Intermittently, while driving, the advanctrak and terrain management system warning light illuminated, and the "service advanctrak" warning appeared. At the same time, the power steering failed to work, and the "power steering fault" warning appeared. The turn signals also stopped working during these episodes. This has happened 5 times since september 9, 2012, all while driving the vehicle, including yesterday. In…
ODI 10478696
Steering
During a late afternoon drive on the local freeway and under dry weather conditions, i was driving my 2010 ford explorer at approx. 70 mph when suddenly the luxury of power steering vanished. Immediately, it was difficult to steer, especially when driving on surface streets at slower speeds and attempts to park. Within moments of the power steering going away, a pop-up window appeared on my dash board instructing me…
ODI 10475233
Steering
Started to back out of the garage and the steering wouldn't move. Chime went on and "power steering assist fault" appeared in the display next to the speedometer. Shut the car off waited then restarted the car and things functioned normally. Will call ford dealer as this could be dangerous, steering was very, very hard to move and i'm a healthy male in the mid 40's. I don't know what my wife would do if this…
ODI 10474222