2012 Ford Explorer Steering Problems
- 168
- 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 168 stored complaint records:
- 6 indicate a crash
- 3 indicate injury
- 1 indicate fire
What owners report
- power steering · 132 records
- steering wheel · 35 records
- steering assist · 33 records
- assist fault · 22 records
- needed replaced · 14 records
- steering failed · 13 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 1–30k mi | 61 |
| 30–60k mi | 35 |
| 60–100k mi | 24 |
| 100–150k mi | 20 |
| 150–400k mi | 16 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Steering
Power steering failed during a turn making controlling the vehicle difficult. Warning lights for power steering assist, traction control and terrain monitor came on. After shutting down the car and restarting the vehicle the problem was cleared. *tr
ODI 10549007
Steering
While driving on the highway steering wheel became stiff and a message appeared "power steering assist failed". Vehicle was very hard to steer but i managed to turn on flashers, reduce speed and steer safely to the side of the road. I turned the vehicle off and called for assistance. While waiting for help i restarted the vehicle to try to maneuver to a safer roadside position. At that time the power steering seemed…
ODI 10547920
Steering
Power steering fault with advance trac and terrain management faults. Power steering was lost. This has occurred multiple times at low, medium and high speeds. This is a serious safety issue. Vehicle was shut off and then restarted and the faults were gone and power steering was restored. *jb
ODI 10541815
Steering
The power steering suddenly went off. This happened twice in 24 hours. I took it to the ford dealer right away. I am glad that my 16 year old driver was not at the wheel when this happened. This is unacceptable for a one-year old new car. Safety must come first. Repair cost is estimated at $2200. Please look into a recall, as i have heard this is very common. Please work with ford to remedy this obvious mechanical…
ODI 10536834
Steering
The power steering pump quit working 2 times on my mothers suv. Vehicle was taken to ford twice because they did not fix it the first time. Saw recall but explorer was not in the list. I am a mechanical engineer and was driving the vehicle on both occurrences. It is my ethical responsibility to report this issue. I also work in automotive field and i know this was a failure of the power steering. I do not want my…
ODI 10641834
Electrical System · Power Train · Steering
This is a continual problem report one 8/10/13 19,000 miles: power steering light came on and power steering went out while driving vehicle <15 mph and back ceiling light came on and wouldn't go out. Ford: 8/13/2013 said ceiling light shortened out battery and caused power steering to go out - ordered light bulb came back in 3 days to replace light bulb - they said power steering was fixed. Report two 9/23/13 23,891…
ODI 10554105
Steering
After having multiple issues with the power steering failing while driving our 2012 ford explorer, the power steering finally gave out completely. The vehicle now has no power steering and is very hard to drive. This has also affected the electronic traction control. The vehicle is less than 2 years old, so this is very unacceptable. Ford needs to find a solution to this before someone gets in a serious accident and…
ODI 10537473
Steering
I was driving the vehicle down the highway when the steering went stiff and several lights on the dash came on. I immediately slowed down and struggled to steer the vehicle of the side of the road. Once to the side of the road, i called the dealer they acknowledged this a common problem in the new explorers and that if i turned the vehicle off and restarted it would reset the system and to bring it to dealer…
ODI 10532043
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving 70 mph, the steering wheel seized as the traction control warning lamp illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering unit needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 39,000 and the current mileage was 40,000.
ODI 10534104
Steering
Power assist fault, service advancetrac, terrain management system fault. Disables power steering and terrain management systems. Vehicle immediately becomes extremely hard to steer and very dangerous. Has occurred 3 times and is a serious safety issue. *tt
ODI 10537819
Steering
Loss of power steering while driving - service advance trac & terrain mgmt system fault warnings has happened twice in the last 2 weeks. Problem clears after restarting car. Would be very dangerous if my wife or kids were driving the vehicle. *tr
ODI 10526112
Steering
Driving to work on june 25, 2013 (20,420 miles) on the highway going 55 mph when a "power steering assist" fault code popped onto the screen and with very limited steering capabilities was able to pull off of the highway, turn off the engine for 10 minutes and the error corrected itself. On may 9, 2014 (30,513 miles), after coming off a winding road turned onto a straight lane, power steering assist fault code…
ODI 10594372
Power Train · Steering
I was driving in a parking garage and the terrain management system and power steering systems became disabled. The car was very difficult to handle once the power steering was lost. When i parked the car, shut the car off and restarted, the power steering appeared to be back but the terrain management system continued to show an error. I will be contacting the dealer today. I have seen similar complaints listed…
ODI 10521005
Steering
While my wife was driving our 2012 ford explorer, the power steering went out and the "service trak system" error message appeared. She was on a major freeway and had to manually pull off the freeway to safety, which was very difficult with out the power steering. Once she turned off the car and restarted it, the error went away and power steering was normal. This is a dangerous situation when driving on a major…
ODI 10521056
Electrical System · Service Brakes · Steering
The vehicle power steering and power brakes shut off while driving making pulling over and stopping very difficult for a mature male driver. I find it difficult i can only imagine how difficult and dangerous this could be for my wife or any smaller or less experienced driver. This happened multiple times during regular driving on fairly smooth surface normal conditions. *tr
ODI 10557190
Steering
Power steering went out and service trac system error message appeared. Vehicle went into manual steering, which was so stiff, my wife was unable to steer the vehicle. After cycling the ignition, the car returned to normal. This concerns me as the safety of my family was at stake. If my wife had been on a busy highway, she might have been in an accident. Ford knows of this problem with their 2011 and up explorers.…
ODI 10520744
Steering
I bought my 2012 ford explorer in january 2012, and had no problems for several months. Recently, when starting the vehicle the "power steering assist fault" warning started coming on. After turning off the ignition and re-starting the engine, the warning went away and i regained power steering. About 6 days ago, i drove 15 miles to work, and the same "power steering assist fault" warning came on and stayed on -…
ODI 10513080
Electrical System · Steering · Traction Control System
May 2013 (13490 miles) was driving 30 35 mph power steering went out, traction control light went on, i turned off and restarted. All was ok. Took to dealer and dealer replaced the steering rack december 23,2013, (21173 miles) was driving 40 mph power steering went out, traction control light went on. Would not reset by turning on and off. Drove to dealer with no power steering and dealer reset computer and sent me…
ODI 10561076
Engine And Engine Cooling · Steering
I was driving when the steering wheel jerked. The steering immediately became very hard to operate and the engine appeared to lose power. Indicator lights came on about the same time the steering jerked. The lights said "service advance trac" and "terrain management system fault". I had to pull of the road and just trying to make to left turns to pull into a parking lot took all the strength i had in both arms. My…
ODI 10510570
Steering
My wife was getting on the freeway with left blinker on to merge lanes and the power steering assist light came on the dashboard and then the power steering quit. My wife with a fully loaded car with kids on board was thankfully able to slowly muscle the car on to the shoulder. She then powered the car off and then restarted it which seemed to fix the problem. Luckily this incident did not happen on curvy road or…
ODI 10509214
Steering
I was traveling at 55 mph on route 322 in pa. I was in the left lane, the car just turned off and the power steering fail light came on also the systemtrac error light came on. I had no steering. I had to pull in front of a semi in order to get to the side of the road. I almost got killed. It is currently at sloan ford in columbia tn. They say it is the rack and pinion steering. The car is 1 year and 6 months old.…
ODI 10508352
Steering
I was driving the car down a busy highway when it turned off and i received a power steering fault warning. I had to pull of the road and almost got in an accident. After that the power steering would not work on the vehicle. It was impossible to turn. I googled this and noted this is a problem that you are looking at: this is from the huffington post: federal safety regulators are investigating complaints that the…
ODI 10508256
Steering
Lost power steering while driving. Two warning lights came on-terrain management system fault and service advance trac. Power steering returned after shutting engine of and restarting. Took to dealer and they found two warning codes on the computer, but ford said problem had to be reverified before they could repair it. *tr
ODI 10507030
Steering
Power steering loss while driving. Steering becomes difficult. Must shut off car and restart to recover power steering. Happens often. Taken in for service and source of problem was not isolated or fixed. *tr
ODI 10648610
Rack And Pinion · Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford explorer. The contact stated that the engine was started and both the power steering and power assist warning lights illuminated as steering wheel became hard to turn. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who inspected the vehicle and located the failure at the rack and pinion, which failed due to an electrical shortage. The vehicle was not repaired because the rack and pinion was on…
ODI 10493444