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
I was driving on a major hwy when i lost the ability to properly steer the vehicle at 55 mph, luckily i was able to get to the side of the road with a lot of effort. At the time my 4 year old and 4 month old were in the vehicle and luckily no one was injured. I called my husband in a panic and he came to pick me up. When he got there the power steering fault light was on and the terrain management system would not…
ODI 10473909
Steering
Driving slow speed with 1year old and 3 year old babies power steering failed. Warning light came on. Gladly i was close to home and vehicle was picked up by roadside assistance will see what ford says tomorrow. *tr
ODI 10473850
Steering
Power steering stopped working. Cannot drive car. Error message "power steering assist fault". *tr
ODI 10473731
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
While pulling into a busy intersection (attempting to turn left at a t intersection) the power steering failed. I received errors on the cluster stating that power steering and stabilitrak had failed. I was unable to steer the car into traffic; luckily there was a driveway a few degrees off center from the t and i was able to pull in there. *tr
ODI 10475661
Electrical System · Steering
I was driving my parents and my toddler daughter back from visting a sibling (approx. [redacted]) when we stopped briefly to take a break about 2 1/2 hours away from home. When i started the car up again, i received warnings related to a power steering failure and advance trac failure. The car had no power steering and there appeared to be something wrong with the blinkers as well. On tuesday, following labor day) i…
ODI 10475217
Steering
As coasting to a stop light from approximately 35 mph down to 5 and maybe even completely stopped, the service advance trac warning light came on and then noticed power steering was nearly lost. I was in the left lane and was able to pull over to a side street, stop and restart the car, and then it drove fine. Taking it into a dealer for evaluation today and have notified a ford person via online message board. *tr
ODI 10473706
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the power steering failed while the contact was attempting a left turn. The contact shut off and restarted the vehicle and the power steering performed as designed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis where the steering gear shift was replaced. The traction control warning light illuminated after the repairs. The…
ODI 10488009
Electrical System · Steering
POWER STEERING FAILED. *TR
ODI 10475071
Steering
This vehicle has experienced multiple (20+) power steering failures. It typically occurs while i am driving on the taconic state parkway, a [redacted] in westchester county, ny. The power steering failure occurs quickly with little time for the driver to react. You simply get a small chime with an indicator on the dash stating "power assist failure' followed by a message stating 'power steering failure'. By the time…
ODI 10473887
Steering
I was making a left hand turn, when the warning message came on letting me know the "power steering assist failed" and then lost all power for steering. I was able to pull over, stop & restart the vehicle and the power steering came back. I immediately took the car to the dealership and the electrical power steering unit will have to be replaced along with the 'rack & pinion' attachments. I tow a boat from time to…
ODI 10473242
Steering
While turning right at about 6 - 10 mph the steering failed and vehicle was extremely hard to control. Luckily no damage or injury, would have been very unsafe if happened at higher speed. *tr
ODI 10472955
Power Train · Steering
After stopping at a stop sign, i began to accelerate through an intersection. Approximately half way through the intersection, the power steering was lost and a chime sounded with a message stating"power assist failure" and then another message of "service advancetrac" were shown in the dashboard display. I was able to continue through the intersection and pull over to the side of the road. I turned the vehicle off…
ODI 10472624
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
I was traveling approx 60mph when an alert from the dash sounded, the steering wheel vibrated and 2 messages appeared on the onboard messaging system: 1) "power steering assist fault" and 2) "service advance trac". At that time i lost all power steering ability. I am very fortunate that i was driving on a straight stretch of road at the time as i am unsure if i could have kept the vehicle from going off of the road.…
ODI 10472703
Electrical System · Steering
(my wife as on her way to our daughter's one month doctor's appointment. She had just began moving from a traffic light when a bunch of lights on the dash came on and the vehicle became very hard to steer (found to be stabili-trac errors and faulty electric power steering). She managed to get the vehicle onto the shoulder without harm. After reading in the owners manual, she found that with this issue, turning the…
ODI 10479282
Steering
I was driving down a steep and curvy road and the steering locked and the power steering failure light came on along with the all terrain assistance failure light. Luckily no one was behind me and i was able to pull over ... I turned the car off and the failure light remained for both the power steering and all terrain. I turned the car off when i arrived at my destination and the fault came back about 10 minutes…
ODI 10472448
Steering
A warning message saying "service autotrac" came on, following quickly by a power steering warning message. At that point, i could no longer steer the vehicle enough to continue driving. *tr
ODI 10472406
Steering
Terrain management assist fault and "power steering assist fault" warning lights pop up and steering locks up while vehicle is in motion. Hard to regain control of steering and have to muscle car over to curb and turn off engine and restart car to get drivable this has happened on two occasions. Vehicle again at ford dealer. First occasion last week and dealer could not replicate issue, reprogrammed computer and…
ODI 10472743
Steering
Driving along and the power steering has failed three times. Turn car off and restart and it works again. Taking to ford dealer on august 27 for review. Same as inhtsa action number: pe12017. *tr
ODI 10472618
Steering
Driving around a fairly sharp curve of 2-lane country highway with no shoulder and deep ditches at about 60 mph when car suddenly pulled to the right. Felt like i had a flat tire pulling me off the road. Looked at instrument panel and saw lights indicating power steering assist fault and loss of traction control. Very hard to keep vehicle on roadway, but luckily with no one behind me, i let my speed reduce as i…
ODI 10479705
Engine And Engine Cooling · Steering
Power steering assist disabled and associated warning light enabled. Vehicle had been stopped with engine running and in gear. Disable occurred when i started to move forward. Problem corrected itself after turning off and restarting vehicle. Continued to drive vehicle. Occurred a second time, approximately 1 week later, while turning into a parking space. Power steering was again enabled by turning off and…
ODI 10478398
Electrical System · Steering
The management terrain and power assist warning lights came on. Then i had no power steering. It became very difficult to steer and control car. This has happened at low speed 3 times and at a dead stop 3 times. I have been able to reset by turning the car off and re-starting. *tr
ODI 10472602
Steering · Traction Control System
I was slowing down and getting into the left turn lane. The light was green so i started to turn left and the traction light system came on, both lights, and the steering system failure alert came on and i lost all power steering and almost hit a pole. It was a nice day, no rain or moisture. The pavement was dry. *tr
ODI 10472104
Hydraulic Power Assist System · Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. The contact stated that while stopped, the traction control and power steering warning lights illuminated. The contact turned on vehicle and the power steering assist failed. The contact had to turn the vehicle off and restart in order to resolve failure momentarily however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection but the technicians were…
ODI 10473869
Steering
Started parked explorer and went to back up. The power assist steering fault light came on at the same time as the service advance trac light. I was unable to turn the vehicle at all.tried backing up and going forward but the steering wheel would not move. Next i shut the engine off and turned it back on. The failure lights would not clear and the steering was still locked. Called our local ford dealer and they me…
ODI 10471934
Steering
Power steering failure when driving at speeds of 10-15 miles per hour. The power steering locked up without warning and then the power steering fault light came on. I was able to pull over to the side of the road with but with great difficulty. I shut the vehicle off and immediately turned the vehicle back on and the power steering did not return. I shut the vehicle off a second time and let it sit for 60 seconds…
ODI 10470436