2016 Ford Explorer Steering Problems
- 163
- 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 163 stored complaint records:
- 5 indicate a crash
- 2 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
What owners report
- steering wheel · 57 records
- power steering · 52 records
- rack pinion · 21 records
- steering rack · 18 records
- steering assist · 13 records
- turn steering · 11 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 30–60k mi | 88 |
| 60–100k mi | 39 |
| 1–30k mi | 25 |
| 100–150k mi | 3 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Steering
At startup a warning appeared on the dash reading "steering loss- stop safely" along with others concerning advance trac, terrain management, and hill assist. Upon trying to turn the steering wheel it was locked completely. Not just hard to steer like the power steering quit - it was locked tight. It was towed to a ford dealer and the tech thought he would drive it into the shop, but could not because he agreed the…
ODI 11140626
Steering
Internal electronic failure in the steering rack. Explorer is two years old with only 44,173 miles. Steering failed while driving!!
ODI 11139624
Steering
While turning the steering wheel wether stopped or moving, there was a popping/clunking noise. Sometimes the clunk noise was louder, sometimes it wasn't as loud. Noise could be felt and heard from steering column and floorboard. Steering wheel would also grab at times where you physically had to force the wheel to turn. This seemed to happen more at slow speeds. While doing a service on the vehicle, i inspected all…
ODI 11130956
Steering
Bought the 2016 explorer limited with roughly 28,000 miles on it. Ran great for about 2,000 miles and then started noticing a pop/clunk noise when turning the wheel to the right going 5mph or less. Mainly happened when pulling into and out of parking spaces. Would also randomly do this while parked. Took into 2 ford dealerships and surprise, they couldn't replicate the problem. Was told to keep driving it and if it…
ODI 11129716
Steering
While driving my 2016 ford explorer on a state hwy at 55 mph, suddenly bells and warning on dash indicating steering failure issue. Within 1 block, i was unable to steer at all. Had to be towed. Told by dealership that the power steering gear was bad. Told by the dealership the cost to repair would be $2200. Vehicle has 76,000 miles. Very unsafe condition had it happened in heavy traffic. Could have resulted in…
ODI 11129277
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
While driving down the road my power steering went out. I have around 50,000 miles on my 2016 ford explorer. I have had it worked on 3 times and it continues to have the same issue. This is a serious safety issue for the people in the car and those on the road. Many people have complained about this issue, yet ford has not issued a recall.
ODI 11128471
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. While driving approximately 70 mph, the power steering failed. The vehicle was driven to flagship ford ([redacted], baldwin, wisconsin 54002, [redacted]) where it was diagnosed that the power steering unit was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to be repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall on the…
ODI 11124473
Steering
When driving my ford explorer 2016 the steering wheel started making a sound when the wheel was turned, both when turning from a stop or going around a curve. It would also catch and sort of stick when the wheel was turned and wouldn't easily turn back to normal after the turn or curve had been made. We took it to the dealer and the rack and pinion has to be replaced, costing $1885. It was not safe to drive bc of…
ODI 11128215
Steering
Power steering failed while driving the car on a busy public street. Extremely difficult to maneuver the vehicle safely off the road.
ODI 11123448
Steering
A week ago while backing out of my garage the "steering fault" alarm came on my dash, so i stopped pushed the ok button and it went away. Continued to back out and steering the was fine. This week it has happened twice again already. One time was when i just started the car. I wondered what could be gong so i tried to turn steering wheel while still parked and it was a little more difficult and i could hear a…
ODI 11119861
Steering
Ok let's start with the fact that we've had steering issues from the start with this vehicle. We paid $700 to fix or band aid the problem last month. So, when it came time for our summer vacation we actually considered renting a car because we still didn't think it was right. Rent a vehicle when we have an almost brand new vehicle in the garage with a $500 a month car payment?!?! Against our better judgment, we took…
ODI 11123883
Steering
Steer fault assist light cake on going down the highway at 70mph while on vacation. This is the second time we will be repairing the steering. Our vehicle is a 2016with under 40k miles on it. Ridiculous and very dangerous!! We only owned foreign vehicles ie. Honda, toyota and never had any issues. This vehicle has been a headache from the start...we loved the look and features. Honestly, you can't judge a vehicle…
ODI 11119266
Steering
After reaching 43,000 miles. The epas light came on and was unable to steer safely. 6 hrs from home. Currently getting repaired total bill is $2000. I was driving , pulled over to get gas, killed the engine, got the fuel, started it back up and thats when the light came on for the steering assist fault. This is a safety hazard. There is multiple issues online about this happened. A recall was created on earlier year…
ODI 11118347
Steering
The problem started while driving at highway speed. I can best describe it as a "stickiness" at about 5 degrees off center. There was a noticeable "catch" where it would become difficult to turn and i would have to force the wheel to keep turning. This very distracting at highway speeds, and potentially dangerous. In the following weeks, the problem has gotten worse, to include intermittent shuddering, that feels…
ODI 11123136
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. While driving approximately 70 mph, the power steering suddenly failed and made the steering wheel very difficult to turn. During the failure, the "steering fault" and "service advance trac" messages displayed. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer (toms ford, 200 hwy 35, key port, nj) where it was diagnosed that the power steering assembly was faulty and needed to be…
ODI 11115150
Steering
Complete loss of power steering while driving my explorer. Was doing 70 on the highway. 65,000 miles on vehicle only have had the suv for 2 years. 2300 to fix the problem. We were driving when we lost power steering control of the car with my entire family in the vehicle (wife and 3 kids under 12)
ODI 11115064
Electronic Stability Control · Steering
At highway speeds (70mph) power steering and traction control systems went out. Diagnostics flashed onto the dashboard - "steering loss stop safely terrain management system fault service advancetrac hill start assist not available" power steering and traction control systems were offline. I was able to drive the vehicle back to my house five miles away, but am unable to move the vehicle out of it's parking spot.
ODI 11113990
Electrical System · Steering
While driving on the freeway (75 mph), several alerts popped up out of nowhere - hill assist error, steering control error, terrain assist error, stability error. It told me to pull over immediately. Once i stopped my car and restarted it, my power steering was no longer working. This has happened twice now - both times on the freeway. It's extremely dangerous to have steering go out - i'm concerned for the safety…
ODI 11113953
Steering
Second steering failure incident. Ref cpmplaint 11111323 inching up to stop sign when wheel froze. Dash error as follows: "steering fault service now(this was in red) "service advance trak" (this was in yellow) put car in park.turned engine off and restarted then regained power steering.
ODI 11112030
Steering
My wife was backing her 2016 ford explorer limited out of the garage when warnings regarding power steering assist failure, terrain management system fault, service advance trac appeared on the instrument cluster and she lost the ability to steer the vehicle. Luckily she was basically stationary at the time. This was the first incident of this type, and unlike other reports i have read, restarting the vehicle did…
ODI 11112569
Steering
My 17 year old son was driving this vehicle when the steering wheel "froze" i would describe it as the old manual steering systems. He was driving on a state route going straight ahead into a curve when it happened. Fortunately, there was a large gravel lot ahead for him to steer straight into. I don,t buy fords' claim that the steering functions and only difficult. Tell that to a frightened young driver or an…
ODI 11111323
Steering
I took my truck to the shop on wednesday and dropped it off due to numerous lights coming on when driving. The light would read "steering fault service now, service advance trac and hill start assist not avalable". I took pictures of the lights when they would come on and have documentation of that. When the lights come on, i also lose power steering and am unable to drive my truck. This has almost caused me to have…
ODI 11111187
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. While driving 70 mph, the steering fault service, service advance track, and hillside indicators illuminated. Also, the electrical power steering failed. The contact was able to steer the vehicle to a circular ramp off the highway and parked the vehicle. The contact restarted the vehicle an hour later and the power steering returned to normal. The vehicle was taken to the…
ODI 11112337
Electrical System · Steering
Originally i had a light coming on when driving down the road saying "steering fault service now" it would come on and go off or occasionally i would have to pull over and restart my truck to reset. After about a week i started having multiple lines come on at one time flashing at me while driving saying "service advance trac, hill start assist not available, service advance trac and steering fault service now".…
ODI 11110267
Steering
Steering gear failed causing the car to be very difficult to steer at low speeds, especially when turning right.
ODI 11110998