Power Steering Assit is intermittent and Steering Efforts increase to an unsafe level.
2012 Ford Explorer steering complaints
Page 5 of 13: complaints 101 to 130 of 361, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an unknown speed and driving around a curve, the power steering assist warning light illuminated, and the steering wheel became firm. The contact was able to drive to the residence. The following morning the contact started the vehicle, and the steering wheel was firm with the power steering assist warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to be diagnosed and the mechanic stated that the vehicle was experiencing the failure listed in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V286000 (STEERING). The contact stated that an Extended Warranty for the failure had expired. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that the Extended Warranty had expired. The failure mileage was 215,002.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the power steering assist fault warning message appeared on the instrument panel. The contact used excessive force to drive the vehicle to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a steering gear failure. Upon investigation, the contact discovered the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) which he linked to the failure however, the VIN was not included. The contact called the manufacturer and was informed that the vehicle was not included in the recall or under warranty. The contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 143,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while reversing, the "Electronic Power Steering Assist" message displayed, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. After turning off and restarting the vehicle, the failure had self-corrected, and the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was later driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering gear was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was previously serviced under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The contact was concerned that the same failure had occurred after the recall repair had been performed. The failure mileage was 80,639.
2012 Ford explorer has a recall 14s06 which my vehicle allegedly isnt apart of , but for some reason im having this issue. Which is extremely dangerous
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while making a right turn to drive into a parking lot, he experienced a loss of power steering functionality. The "Service Advancetrac" and "Service Power Steering Now" warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where the contact was made aware that a steering Extended Warranty had expired. The vehicle remained at the dealer awaiting a diagnostic test and repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised to file a complaint with the federal safety agency hotline. The failure mileage was 133,182.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, there was an audible chime heard along with the message to "Service Power Steering" before the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer. The cause of the failure was unknown. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not covered under the Manufacturer’s Extended Service Program which was related to the failure. The manufacturer was contacted but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 170,000.
While driving down the middle of a busy interstate suddenly the power steering was lost and a power steering assist warning appeared. Vehicle was almost impossible to control with no steering. After making it off the roadway and into a local business and turning the car off, when I turned it back on the warning was gone and the steering worked normally. This is definitely a life threatening failure and it happens without warning.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 30 MPH, several unknown codes appeared on the instrument panel and the steering became difficult to maneuver. The driver was able to stop on the side of the road and turned off the vehicle for a few minutes. When the vehicle was restarted the power steering functionality resumed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the code was an electric power steering failure and informed the contact of an unknown recall that was related to the failure. The manufacturer was notified and stated that the vehicle had to be taken to a dealer for diagnosis to confirm the failure and once confirmed, the repairs would be covered by Ford. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the electric power steering failure was confirmed. The manufacturer informed the contact that the vehicle was previously repaired under an electric power assist recall. The contact was also informed that the vehicle was out of warranty and that the manufacturer would not cover the repairs. The vehicle was assumingly previously repaired under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The approximate failure mileage was 142,000.
EPASS STEERING GEAR The power steering locked up on me while driving in town, thank goodness I was not on the freeway. I was finally able to steer it off the road, with incredible difficulty going 10 miles per hour to do so. The dealer says it is customer satisfaction issue and not a safety issue. I never received any letter that informed me of the problem. My vehicle just turned over 150,000 miles and they say it is out of warranty. It is about to cost me over $2500. The vehicle is at the dealership now, as I had to have it towed there. No warnings except right before it locked up.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 25 MPH and turning left onto a street, the vehicle lost power steering assist and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stopped and turned the vehicle off and placed the vehicle in neutral(N) and with help was able to push the vehicle off the roadway. The contact stated he did not notice any warning lights being illuminated. The vehicle was towed back to the residence and later driven to a dealer. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the rear toe link and suspension needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, however, the contact stated that the steering failure reoccurred. The contact researched online and related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program Number: 15N01 (EPAS Steering Efforts). The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.
Steering Assist alert for power steering. Has continued to go out on numerous occasions in which steering is nearly impossible to turn wheel. Verified with mechanic and believed to be in regards to recall : 14V286000. Called ford with no assistance. Researched online with several issues. Almost crashed with 5 children in the car.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while pulling out a parking lot, the steering wheel seized, and the contact was not able to move the steering wheel. The service power steering assist message was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the residence and then to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle that the was not under recall. Additionally, the vehicle was previously repaired under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 131,000.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while his wife was attempting to reverse out of the garage, the steering wheel became difficult to steer. The message “Power Steering Fault” was displayed. The contact stated that his wife turned off and restarted the vehicle and the message disappeared. The contact stated that the power steering assist became operable; however, the failure recurred while driving. The contact stated that his wife was able to continue driving to the residence in a straightforward direction. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact associated the failure with the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.
When my car starts in the morning I receive a warning that the power steering is not working. I cannot turn the wheel and am at the point where I have to stop and start my car until the power steering comes back on. I am very concerned that this will happen while driving and I will be in a serious accident. I do not want to drive the car on the highway. I took this to Ford in Feb 2022 because Firestone informed me that there was a recall for this issue. Ford said the warning had been cleared after taking my car for about 3 days. This keeps happening so I called Ford twice in September 2022 and they told me the recall was expired. I took this to Lorentz this week and they confirmed the power steering issue and recall.
Power steering suddenly failed. Power steering assist light would come on spontaneously, but go off again after vehicle was restarted. Took vehicle to a local shop and was informed about the recall. Ford refuses to make repair claiming mileage has exceeded. Vehicle was not included in original recall, and we have received no paper work informing us about this recall
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the power steering warning light illuminated. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle and the warning light disappeared. The contact stated that on another occasion, after restarting the vehicle the warning light remained illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the contact was informed that the steering rack assembly needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 120,000.
The vehicle loses steering ability at highway speeds. I have taken it to my local mechanic and been told it is a programming issue from ford. It was reprogrammed by ford several times under the previous steering recall.
Power steering failed while driving the car. Car displays warnings of Power Steering Assist failure, Service AdvanceTrac, and Terrain Management System failure. I took the car to my dealer, who advised that the issue is tied to Ford recall 15N01 and my vehicle would need a new steering rack, however, Ford denied the warranty coverage as outside the 10-year time period. When I contacted Ford to note that the May 17, 2019 letter posted on the federal safety agency website to dealers and service centers appears to waive the 10-year time and 150,000 mile limitation for warranty coverage, Ford refused to pay for the repair and stated that the federal safety agency notice was not an official Ford document.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the power steering warning light illuminated and the steering wheel became difficult while turning the steering wheel. The contact stated that the steering wheel shuddered as he had attempted to steer the vehicle. The contact stated that he pulled into a parking lot and turned the vehicle off. The contact restarted the vehicle and the power steering warning light illuminated and the vehicle lost power steering assist. The contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering rack and electric power steering assist system needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.
The contact's wife owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while his wife was driving 30-35 MPH, the steering wheel seized and the message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed. The contact was able to veer to the side of the roadway. The contact stated that upon turning off and restarting the vehicle several times, the steering wheel regained power steering functionality. The contact's wife was able to drive to the residence; however, the failure reoccurred the next day. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact's wife that she had to pay a repair fee as the vehicle had previously received the one-time free repair under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000. The contact stated that they paid out of pocket to have their vehicle repaired.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering assist warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering assist needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the federal safety agency. The failure mileage was 125,394.
Power steering locks while driving on highways forcing me to stop on side of road to restart vehicle. Vehicle pier steering no longer working. Took to mechanic and they advised it was a recall issue 13S14 - called Ford and was told the recall was already performed on the vehicle. Either not properly performed or this vehicle is a defect.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at 10 MPH, the power steering EAS warning light was illuminated. The contact continued driving to her residence. However, the steering wheel became difficult to steer. The contact towed the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering), however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
This last weekend, while my daughter and her boyfriend were driving over a very treacherous mountain pass on their way to Aspen, Independence Pass, the power steering system suddenly went out in her car. It’s NO EXAGGERATION to say that had my daughter’s boyfriend not been driving the vehicle, they likely would not be alive today. The vehicle is nearly impossible to maneuver safely with no power-steering, particularly on a winding mountain pass, and my daughter’s boyfriend, who is a very strong athlete, had difficulty driving them to safety. They ended up sleeping in their car near Aspen, because they could not drive safely to their intended destination. We were told that the power steering assist system failure was similar to a recall, but falls instead under a "customer satisfaction program" and Ford was willing to repair it free of charge for ten years only. Even though the car has under 150k miles, we were 8 months beyond the ten year period to have it fixed at no cost and are now told it will cost thousands to repair out of pocket. There is a ten year free repair coverage period and even though it’s a 2012 (and now 2022) because the vehicle was originally purchased in 2011, we have “missed” the coverage period by just a few months to have the part fixed at no cost and this will now cost us thousands of dollars to fix, which we don’t have. When purchasing, were shown the Carfax report, told everything looked fine, and signed as casually instructed. Obviously, from the layman’s perspective, the words “Customer Satisfaction Program” on the Carfax report did not raise any red flags with us, nor was it pointed out as something to look into or be aware of. We just bought this Explorer less than 2 years ago from a dealership for nearly 10K and are 500 dollars shy of paying it off. This defective part nearly cost my daughter and her boyfriend their lives. This should be a safety recall, not labeled "customer satisfaction program." Gravely misleading.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH and attempting to make a turn, the vehicle was difficult to turn. The power steering assist warning light was illuminated. The contact bought power steering fluid; however, she then became aware that the power steering was an electronic power steering, not a hydraulic power steering. The vehicle remained at the location of the failure and had a friend take her to the local dealer. The dealer diagnosed the failure as an electronic power steering assist failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
My wife was travelling on a state highway when she came to a curve and began slowing for the curve. She then started into the curve to the right when her power steering system had a failure. She could not steer the vehicle and the vehicle went straight into the oncoming lane which had a dump truck travelling in it. They both were able to come to a stop before a collision. My wife then shut her vehicle of and restarted the vehicle and the problem went away. She took a picture of the instrument cluster that had a message of "Power Steering Assist Fault". The vehicle has made the same fault message two more times since this first incident. This is a dangerous safety issue.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 20 MPH and slowing for a traffic sign, the power steering failed while turning to the right. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to safely stop the vehicle. The contact drove the vehicle to her residence without a power steering assist. The contact drove the vehicle to a dealer to be diagnosed. The mechanic determined that the steering gear and rear bushings needed to be replaced. The rear bushings were replaced; however, the steering gear was not repaired. The failure persisted. Additionally, the vehicle now constantly would steer to the right and the contact had to compensate to keep moving in a straight line by counter-steering to the left. The contact researched and found that the steering failure was related to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 168,000.
Service AdvanceTrac Warning light illuminated, power steering fail...second time this happened around the same time last year. Also, right and left turn signals do not stay on while turning.
The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 151,000.
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