2013 Ford Explorer Steering Problems
- 375
- 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 375 stored complaint records:
- 5 indicate a crash
- 1 indicate injury
- 1 indicate fire
What owners report
- power steering · 140 records
- steering wheel · 36 records
- steering assist · 28 records
- steering failed · 16 records
- power assist · 12 records
- steering failure · 12 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 60–100k mi | 159 |
| 100–150k mi | 86 |
| 30–60k mi | 59 |
| 1–30k mi | 36 |
| 150–400k mi | 12 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Steering
With the car parked overnight, i started the vehicle and put the transmission into reverse to exit my driveway. There was a loss of power steering. "power steering assist fault" alert on dashboard. Drove it for about 250 meters with no power steering, stopped, powered off the vehicle, started it back up, still had limited power steering, and additional alerts including "service advance trac" with esc off lights.…
ODI 11281770
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. While driving 55 mph, the steering seized without warning. The contact managed to veer to the shoulder of the road and turned the vehicle off and back on, which failed to reset the steering wheel. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the power control module failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle…
ODI 11278641
Steering
My wife was driving down a back road by our house with our 3 children in the back and myself as a passenger. The vehicle while traveling at roughly 40mph had a light flash that read service advance trac. She then lost all power steering and could not pull off the road. She could only brake. We shut the vehicle off and turned it back on. It regained steering for a few miles and then it happened again shortly after in…
ODI 11278163
Steering
SUSPENSION TOE LINK
ODI 11283012
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. While driving approximately 20 mph, the power steering suddenly malfunctioned and the steering wheel became very difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was towed to all american ford in old bridge (3698 u.s. 9, old bridge, nj 08857) where it was diagnosed that the steering wheel control module was faulty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not…
ODI 11269861
Steering
Upon starting the vehicle the warning indicator "power steering assist failure" message appears and there is no power steering. Turning off and restarting sometimes resets the warning and power steering will return but not always. There is a current recall with the same problems (14s06) but my vin falls outside the manufacture date. Reached out to fomoco and they verified there are no recalls and there have never…
ODI 11269340
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
While driving (second incident, it was repaired by ford motor vehicle for the same thing last year) my steering wheel became uncontrollable. The vehicle kept pulling me to the left, i almost had a head on with the oncoming vehicle. I was so shook up, i pulled off the road and waited for help. My husband tested it since and the pull is quite noticeable.
ODI 11269855
Steering
Electric power steering stopped working and restarted several times while driving on multiple occasions in city and highway turning and going straight forward and now has stopped working completely
ODI 11289051
Steering
I have had intermittent issues with the power steering going out. Generally when i start the car. I can usually restart it and it works fine. Just recently, the power steering completely failed while driving. It is still not working. Just took it in to the ford dealer for repair. They are telling my that my vin# is not part of the power steering recall, but clearly it has been affected by the recall of the ford…
ODI 11268623
Steering
Cranked up car this morning and the power steering assist fault light came on. Could not turn steering wheel. Tried again later and could drive it to the ford dealership 1.5 miles away. They said there's no recall. And it's $2300 to replace the steering gear. Has 107000 miles on it
ODI 11266907
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. While driving 40 mph, the steering wheel seized and the power assist default warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. Suburban ford of ferndale ([redacted], ferndale, mi 48220, [redacted]) was contacted and informed the contact to bring the vehicle in for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. An independent…
ODI 11267082
Steering
Power steering assist light turns on which causes loss of steering capability.
ODI 11267010
Steering
Lost power steering. The power steering will intermittently work and you will get a power steering assist fault notice. There is a recall for this issue (15s11) but for some reason this explorer was not included due to the manufacture date. I believe that recall needs to be extended to cover all of the vehicles affected. The vehicle is almost unsteerable when this happens and is not safe to drive.
ODI 11266790
Steering
On the evening of 04oct,2019 my vehicle experienced the failure outlined in nhtsa recall #14v286 (power steering failure). Ford needs to expand the number of vehicles covered under this recall as this is a major safety failure that could result in injury, loss of life and/or property damage. Ford does not have a policy or procedure on file to deal with vehicle owners like my self i believe that this is highly…
ODI 11266714
Steering
There is a recall for 2013 ford explorer for power assist power steering failure. My vehicle based on vin number is not included(it is a 2013 as well) i have a power assist power steering failure and ford refuses to acknowledge the issue. I have a case number with ford: cas - 24449952
ODI 11266702
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. While attempting to turn the vehicle, it became difficult to maneuver the steering wheel as if the power steering failed. The contact stated that she also heard a grinding noise coming from the dashboard area of the vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact spoke with tri ford inc (located at 12610 illinois 143, highland, il 62249, [redacted]) and…
ODI 11267066
Steering
The car steering stops turning and stiffens while i am still in motion. It is the most terrifying thing ever.
ODI 11258836
Steering
On two separate occasions, to include the morning of september 27, 2019, when the 2013 ford explorer was turned on, an error message stating 'power steering assist fault' appeared on the dashboard screen. The vehicle was stationary at the time of the error message. The power steering was disabled and it was extremely difficult to turn the steering wheel. We contacted ford about the issue and we were told there was a…
ODI 11258481
Steering
Sudden power steering failure while driving cruising speed.. Car became extremely limited to handle. Ford tech verified and pulled code u3000:61 requiring replacement of steering gear.
ODI 11266944
Steering
While driving at normal highway speed, my power steering suddenly failed. The car became immediately unable to drive.
ODI 11258463
Steering
2013 ford explorer ltd started having issues with power steering. Warning icons came up on lower right dashboard, showing lack of traction control, then text warnings "service power steering now" and "service advanced trac". After parking the vehicle and trying to use it again found steering essentially locked. Steering wheel can be turned with a lot of effort, but vehicle is unsafe to be driven. Contacted ford to…
ODI 11256600
Steering
I was hearing a grinding noise when turning. It got too loud and took it to dealership. They told me that the rack and pinion has to be replaced. It got so bad that i could potentially lose steering control when driving. I'm concerned this is a big safety issue and this failure shouldn't happen in this low mileage. I only have about 77k miles on my explorer and i've been driving it gently.
ODI 11255178
Steering
On august 30th, having driven to the pool a short distance from my house, i was unable to unlock the steering wheel to drive home. I maneuvered the wheel a bit and it unlocked. The next day was a different story. I could not get it unlocked to drive home from the pool no matter what i initially tried. I found in the owner's handbook that i should turn off the vehicle for a couple of minutes then try again. It did…
ODI 11258694
Electronic Stability Control · Steering · Visibility/Wiper
The power steering went completely out. Steering wheel locked up & the turn signal & wipers wouldn't work. At first , i could turn the vehicle off & it would reset but it started happening more often at a low speed or when i would put the vehicle in reverse. It went completely out in august 2019. My particular 2013 ford explored didn't have a recall for this & it cost $2,300 to fix.
ODI 11289283
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. While accelerating from a stop, the power steering failed and the power steering assist warning indicator flashed. Cook county ford (1000 s hutchinson ave, adel, ga 31620, [redacted]) was contacted and stated that diagnostic testing would be needed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and was informed that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The contact was…
ODI 11243281