2011 Ford Explorer: check engine light

Filed Jun 20, 2025 · Steering · 205,616 miles · TN

The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized and failed to turn to the left or the right. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired due to the cost. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included, and the contact was informed by the manufacturer that the warranty had expired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 205,616.

Filed May 22, 2023 · Airbags, Electrical · OH

The dash lights go off then it's says starting rebot. Air bag lights stay on. Check engine light on says miss firng. All Carfax report was forged. Dealer said needs new engine but was not told by seller. No one will fix it they say not worth the price for car. I over paid big time. Got lied too.

Filed Feb 17, 2022 · Steering · CA

steering wheel gets hard to turn anywhere. a light turns on when this happens but, I couldn't read it as I was trying to get safely out of the road. it has happened to me a couple of times. sometime it happens as I turn the car on once I put the reverse gear on it gets hard I'm able to notice this before I move so I turn the car off and when I turn it back on it fixes itself. but, last few times its happened while driving once in the highway. I was told this could be triggering my check engine light on, which now is always on, according to the shop where it was taken for a check up it is something related to a misfire of the fifth cylinder. they think it is more related to a factory defect.

Filed Nov 23, 2021 · TX

While driving with my 2 minor daughters a high-temperature light came on and then seconds later low pressure and engine light came on. Suddenly my 2011 Ford Explorer engine turned off and stopped in the middle of two busy highways stranding us. Towed to an auto shop where I was informed that the water pump bearing had come apart got into the engine and caused the timing chain to jump time. Now my 2011 Ford Explorer does not work and a replacement engine was going to cost $7700 plus the labor and work to tear it down which would exceed the almost $10,000 value of the vehicle. All over the internet, all I see is water pump/engine defaults for the same reason. This is obviously an ongoing issue that needs further investigation and mandatory replacements. Stranding us in the center of the highway was dangerous enough that my towing insurance told me to call the police because of where we were stranded not to mention my vehicle that is had zero issues is now nonoperational and has left me with a catastrophic financial and mobile deficit.

Filed Mar 31, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · 90,000 miles · OH

Driving at 35+ entering on ramp MPH the car lost all power and just stopped. The engine shut off. No warning lights or alarms went off beforehand. Once the car stopped, the engine light came on, the low pressure lamp too and an alarm sounded. I called a tow truck and had it towed to (told me my engine was milky destoyed)two dealears then to ford. They called this morning and said the water pump went out causing catastrophic damage to the engine. The engine has to be replaced. They quoted $8,000.00. Had to get a $10,000 loan. [to replace steering and engine] this is the first one (it seems to be headed in the same direction but only sooner) *please help me I can't afford this again**while driving on the highway, my power steering went out without warning. I lost all power steering and then the power steering alarm came on. Took it to ford and had the power steering replaced at a cost of $1800.00. Then, less then 2 weeks later while driving at 40 MPH, the power steering went out again. And again, no warning lights until the power steering wen out. Ford said it was because my tires had low tread and I needed to replace my front tires, which we had them do. 8 months ago, the transfer case went out and had to be replaced also when placed in park vehicle shut off completely showing a low pressure oil lamp. Happened in my first engine now it's happening in this new one and its not 2yrs old yet just got the new engine may/ june of 2019. The first engine wasn't 10 years old . The first engine all this happened approximately between 2016 and 2019 ongoing until 2019 I guess the water pump gave up.o1 o1 2020 for the second engine on the same course as the first

Filed Feb 15, 2021 · Engine · 178,000 miles · MO

Driving at 35 MPH the car lost all power and just stopped. The engine shut off. No warning lights or alarms went off beforehand. Once the car stopped, the engine light came on and an alarm sounded. We called a tow truck and had it towed to ford. They called this morning and said the water pump went out causing catastrophic damage to the engine. The engine has to be replaced. They quoted $8,000.00. 8 weeks ago, while driving on the highway, my power steering went out without warning. I lost all power steering and then the power steering alarm came on. Took it to ford and had the power steering replaced at a cost of $1800.00. Then, less then 2 weeks later while driving at 40 MPH, the power steering went out again. And again, no warning lights until the power steering wen out. Ford said it was because my tires had low tread and I needed to replace my front tires, which we had them do. 8 months ago, the transfer case went out and had to be replaced.

Filed Dec 16, 2019 · Engine, Fuel system · 48,000 miles · AZ

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. While driving, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to jones ford casa grande (1932 n pinal ave, casa grande, az 85122, (520) 836-3100) where it was diagnosed that the engine block was mixing with the oil. The vehicle was repaired. On another occasion, the power steering was locking consistently, and the interlock and advancetrac warning indicators illuminated. The failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer and was repaired again. The contact stated that the power assist warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the same dealer where the gears and alignment were reset. The contact also mentioned that the check engine warning indicator continued to illuminate. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer where it was determined that an unknown part needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure continued. The contact stated that the fuel filter neck assembly also needed to be replaced. The evaporator canister was replaced and the technician informed the contact that the fuel tank was leaking fuel. The vehicle was not repaired because the fuel tank was no longer manufactured by ford. The contact stated that the vehicle remained at the dealer and was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

Filed Nov 22, 2019 · Acceleration, Engine · 131,000 miles · NC

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. While driving 40 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle was sluggish and lost power. Also, the brakes and steering became inoperable and the oil pressure and check engine warning indicators were illuminated. The contact also heard an abnormal cranking noise. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who stated that the water pump failed and oil was in the coolant. The dealer and manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was 131,000.

Filed Jul 26, 2019 · Engine · 135,000 miles · MO

My 2011 ford explorer was in motion on a city street when the water pump immediately failed. This happened without warning. There were no check engine lights or warning signs. My temperature gauge shot up and my engine seized. The engine is unable to be turned on at this time.

Filed Jun 15, 2019 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 178,805 miles · VA

Engine damage due to overheating. Regular and required oil changes are documented and implemented as scheduled. No other engine or vehicle malfunctions during the course of ownership, except regular oil changes and tire replacement. However, on may 15, 2019, vehicle sensor notified oil change needed. Five days later vehicle stalled at local motel due to decreased power, rocking motion of car and luckily we were able to slowly turn into local hotel to cut off engine and get to safety. After 2 hours of letting vehicle set and cool down, local mechanic, checked and said we had enough oil in vehicle and not sure what happened. Was able to drive vehicle home, with no sensors on dashboard alerting us to any further problems. Three days later, with no visible sensors flashing, car began to exhibit rocking motion not sputtering motion as I began to pull out in four-way intersection, and approaching traffic heading my way. Then suddenly, car regained power and was able to continue to proper lane as if nothing was wrong. After traveling another 1.6 miles, car just starting losing power, check engine, low oil pressure light, temperature light warning all appeared suddenly. I was able to drift in middle lane in front of dealership where vehicle was purchased. I immediatedly turned vehicle off and walked to dealership to get help in moving vehicle off the road. After 3days of waiting, duncah dealership in christiansburg, va, notifed us that head gasget was cracked and over 7,000 repair bill was needed to fix engine repair. As noted before no major problems has ever been repaired or replaced regarding this vehicle. During the two incidents regarding the vehhicle losing power, without no visible vehicle sensor notifications is of great concern to us regarding our safety in driving our vehicle. Thankfully, we weren't on a major highway.

Filed May 10, 2019 · Engine · 110,000 miles · LA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2011 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, an abnormal fume odor was inside the vehicle. The engine warning light illuminated. An independent mechanic diagnosed and recommended to repair the exhaust system. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. A dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 110,000.

Filed Jan 7, 2019 · Engine · 104,000 miles · GA

My 2011 ford explorer only has 104k miles. In october of 2018 the car repeatedly shut off while driving home from work with no indication that anything was wrong. The next day it happened again, when I got it to finally turn back on the check engine light came on. I took it in to be checked and was told the antifreeze has spilled into the engine and we would need to replace the entire engine! I bought this car brand new and have had numerous problems including the steering lock recall as well as needing the radiator replacement in the first 3 months of my purchase. Also, no indication prior to those incidents either! I currently have this car sitting in my driveway and no answers from ford. The cost to fix is over 6k! I noticed a recall being issued for this problem, however my model car is not included! This should include all ford vehicles.