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
Noticed a grinding noise in the steering column about 30 days ago. Just ignored it until the steering started to stick. Getting ready for a road trip and decided it was too much of a safety issue to ignore. Ford dealer said the problem was with the power steering rack an pinion with a repair cost of $2100. It has to be fixed so the vehicle is safe to drive once again.
ODI 11113654
Steering
2016 ford explorer with 44789 miles steering wheel locked while driving. Drivers please beware of this issue
ODI 11163223
Steering
The steering column went out at 38,000 miles. The motor is dead and entire thing needs to be replaced.
ODI 11100129
Steering
Steering is making grinding noise and is very difficult to turn, at times when entering curves or driving. The steering wheel gets stuck when you have to firmly grasp it and it then jerks you either direction. It's a safety issue, it's losing steering control. Going to jerk me into oncoming traffic or pull me off the road. I have children and this is our primary car to drive and we are afraid of the steering. It…
ODI 11091703
Steering
2016 ford explorer started making a noise when turning the steering wheel. Was driving on the interstate at about 60 mph and the steering became jerky and didn't want to steer. This was at somewhere around 38000 miles. I took it to the ford dealership when i got home and was told it needed a right tie rod end. The tie rod end was replaced at a cost of $200+. The ford explorer continued making a noise at a low speed…
ODI 11101888
Steering
My 2016 limited ford explorer with about 38000 miles began making a noise when turning the steering wheel. I was driving on the interstate and the steering was jerky and would hang. Took it to the ford dealership when i returned home and they replace the right tie rod end at a cost of $200+. The explorer continued to make a noise at low speeds. Wife said that the steering was jerky when she drove it. Took it back to…
ODI 11101878
Steering
The eletric power steering failed. And would fail and then be ok after restarts but would fail while driving the car and make it very difficult to steer at all speeds, often locking itself during a turn and requiring significant effort to correct. Often dangerously hard to steer at highway speeds. I noticed this was a previous issue with ford vehicles...
ODI 11091391
Steering
My wife and i were traveling in our 2016 ford explorer on saturday when the steering wheel started "sticking" while going around curves. I was driving at 60-65 mph on a four lane highway, going around a curve to the left when the steering wheel stuck and had to be forcefully pulled back to straighten up. I slowed the vehicle to about 45 mph and was preparing to pull over to the shoulder when messages started…
ODI 11082612
Gear Box (Other Than Rack And Pinion) · Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. While driving 5 mph, the steering wheel made an abnormal noise without warning. The vehicle was taken to jps ford ([redacted], arcadia, la 71001, [redacted]) where it was diagnosed that the steering gear assembly needed replacement, but the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 51,000.
ODI 11097907
Steering
We were driving our 2016 ford explorer limited (34,731 miles) through town at approx. 25mph, slowed down, and attempted to make a right hand turn onto a town road, but our vehicle would not turn. At the time we had no idea what was happening except that the vehicle wasn't steering. After we came to a stop in the middle of the road we realized that we could still turn the vehicle if we manhandled the steering wheel.…
ODI 11083469
Steering · Suspension · Wheels
2016 for explorer sport - purchased brand new. Vehicle has 15k miles now and i am hearing a loud popping / creaking sound that occurs when turning the steering wheel either left or right when the car is in motion. It's most noticeable at a slower rate of speed when turning into a parking space or turning from a complete stop. Today, on 3 separate occasions, when turning left the steering locked up and i had to jerk…
ODI 11075009
Service Brakes · Steering
Tl* the contact owned a 2016 ford explorer. While driving approximately 70 mph, an abnormal noise was heard from the front of the vehicle. After the noise was heard, the vehicle lost steering and brake functionality. As a result, the contact was involved in a side impact collision with the median wall and the vehicle overturned. The side air bags deployed prior to the crash. The failure occurred without warning. The…
Crash reported · 2 injuries
ODI 11082532
Steering
I was driving my pregnant wife (31 weeks) and my 22 month old daughter to church this past sunday (1/14/18), when we entered a sharp left hand curve. We got to the halfway point in the turn when the steering wheel completely locked up and sent us into a ditch and bank. Thank god nobody was coming in the opposite direction or we could have been seriously injured or worse! There was absolutely no warning; no light, no…
Crash reported
ODI 11063620
Steering
While driving the vehicle, alarms go off and a notice saying 'steering assist fault' is displayed. This has happened 4 different time at random. 1 time, the steering completely went out and the vehicle lost all power steering. This is a huge safety concern as this is a family vehicle transporting very young children.
ODI 11045342
Steering
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. While operating the vehicle, the power steering suddenly failed and made the steering wheel very difficult to turn. During the incident, the "auto steering system faulty, hill start assist not available, service advance track, and torrain management system fault" warning messages displayed. The vehicle was taken to currie ford in valperaso, in where it was diagnosed that…
ODI 11034125
Steering
At highway speed my steering locks up and takes great effort to steer. Then loosens for a bit unless kept in the same position for more than say 30 seconds then locks up again. Sometimes worse than others. I almost hit a barriers at 75 today 10/5/17.turns are worse than straight. I was told that the ford electronic steering rack needs to be replaced at a min. Cost of $1800 as i have 55000 miles on my 2016. This is…
ODI 11031981
Steering
I purchased a 2016 ford explorer 5 months ago. The car had 38k miles when purchased and now has 42k miles. Lately i have had issues with the steering when in curves the steering wheel locks and gets very stiff and you have to fight it to get the wheel straightened out to keep from wrecking. I took the car to the local ford dealer who stated that the rack and pinion needs replaced costing $1900.00. Ford stated that…
ODI 11032138
Steering
Was driving on the freeway going about 70mph and an alert popped up on the dash that said terrain management system fault. Followed by another alert that said service advancetrac. Followed by another alert that said our traction control was turned off. The vehicle was still driving fine so we drove to the nearest exit to turnnoff the car and restart it. While we where pulling off the exit ramp going about 30mph the…
ODI 11025483
Electronic Stability Control · Service Brakes · Steering
Was traveling down a city surface street when another vehicle tried to beat me to getting onto the same street i was traveling on made a sudden turn before i could get to his location. Upon trying to maneuver and avoid a collision the vehicle suddenly did not respond to the maneuver and instead veered off the road and crashed into a residence. Steering failed to function as intended, abs system also failed to…
Crash reported
ODI 11034214
Body · Seat Belts · Steering
Since purchasing this vehicle in december 2016 i have had seatbelt retractable mechanism in the third row replaced; i have had the navigation system replaced; i had to have the keypad on the door panel replaced; i have had to have the power steering epas replaced (most recent). Most happened while the vehicle was stationary thank goodness. The navigation system did go out while driving.
ODI 11013793
Steering
On july 26 at about 10:40 am i was driving my stock (no added equipment) 2016 ford explorer (platinum edition). I had just merged from northbound i-680 onto westbound i-580 (northern california). I was moving at a constant freeway speed (about 60 mph) from lane #5 (rightmost lane) to lane #1. A few seconds after entering lane #1 the power steering failed. A warning appeared on the vehicle warning indicator that the…
ODI 11010804
Steering
Steering/rack: problem began with an intermittent noise (clunk) in the front end of vehicle. Took to dealership while under full warranty. They failed to document my concern. Noise became more frequent and turned into more of a grinding sound while steering while the vehicle is stopped or moving slowly. Had problem looked at by mechanic doing oil change who sent me back to dealership stating i needed a new rack…
ODI 11079118
Steering
While driving at speed the power steering failed going into a corner, at the same time the battery warning light appeared on the dash. It was a dangerous curve. I drove the car the next day and it happened a second and third time. Waiting for dealer response it is unsafe at the least or worse....
ODI 10983046
Steering
Steering making noises and hard to steer going down the road
ODI 11161717
Steering · Suspension · Wheels
When driving on a highway at approximately 70mph, i completely lost control of my vehicle for no known reason. I veered across 3 lanes of traffic and back across 2 more. Cars were swerving around me and miraculously i was not in an accident. I pulled over to the side of the road and other cars traveling behind me at the time did too. We couldn't see any reason why the car wasn't working properly so after catching my…
ODI 10959706