2013 Ford Explorer: stuck in gear or won't shift

Filed Jul 23, 2025 · Steering, Transmission · 183,340 miles · AL

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle went into LIMP Mode and stalled. The power train warning light was illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road, turned off, and restarted the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and it was determined that the steering gear rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 183,340.

Filed Feb 9, 2023 · Electrical, Transmission · NC

at any speed the Explorer would go into "limp Mode"....NO THROTTLE...Terrian Management Error would appear and the wrench sign,,,,,dash lights and terrain knob light would go off....at highway speeds, with no warning, this could be a deadly situation.....taken to our local Ford dealership.....they had no idea what happened....COULD DO NOTHING...after some research we decided to have them replace the THROTTLE BODY, at our "out of pocket" expense.....driven the car three times with no problems.....but after the first time it happened, to my wife, we went like 2 months without a problem...then it happened again...three more times before we took it in......YouTube is full of folks having the same problem....Explorers and F-150 trucks......you can stop and turn the car off...wait about 20 secs and restart...everything was back to normal...TIL THE NEXT TIME.....my Wife refuses to drive the car again til it is FIXED.....I drive it twice a week only....2013 Ford Explorer LTD....V6

Filed Aug 1, 2018 · Driver assistance · 79,000 miles · CA

I was driving on the freeway at around 65/70mph when suddenly my car shut down. The wrench light illuminated, and the dash said to "check manual" and all power was lost in the car. It was a terrifying experience. I was in the fast lane during the morning commute and my car completely shut down and I had to safely navigate getting over 6 lanes of traffic. Thank god no one was injured because this could have been deadly. The car went into "limp mode" I took it to a ford dealer today and it was diagnosed as a defective electronic throttle body. I was told it is not covered by the ford extended warranty which should cover it for 10 years or 150,000 miles. I called ford and they also told me it was not covered. This is contrary to all the research I have done and the agreement ford reached with the federal safety agency.

Filed Jun 30, 2017 · Transmission · 102,700 miles · MN

Loss of drive control transmission shifts out of first gear and rpms go up to rev limit, but no or extremely slow forward motion like the vehicle is stuck between 1st gear and neutral. Happened twice from a cold start several months between occurrences. Start vehicle, back out of driveway, stop, change to drive, move forward about 200 feet and the shift from 1st to second gear does not happen correctly like the vehicle is stuck in 1st gear or neutral. Very unsafe, can cause accidents. Also some unexpected hard upshifts / downshifts.

Filed Sep 9, 2016 · Transmission · 50,600 miles · AL

Vehicle will not shift into park. Receive message "shift to park". After several attempts, will eventually shift to park (so far). Familiar with several complaints of same issue on ford explorer and expeditions with center console

Filed Jun 30, 2016 · Engine, Fuel system · 46,000 miles · FL

Fuel throttle body error p2111 has happened 5 times in 3 days, causing great distress to me and my family. This is a potentially deadly defect and it seems many others are having the same issue. What occurs is that a wrench appears on screen with the error message "terrain management system fault" and the vehicle goes into "limp mode," even at highway speeds, causing the accelerator pedal to become unresponsive.

Filed Apr 21, 2016 · Engine · 45,000 miles · FL

When driving loss of power happens. Can not accelerate! Car goes into limp mode. Can happen at any time without warning. Car has 40k miles. Very dangerous if driving on the freeway. It has happened 3 times in the last week.

Filed Jul 28, 2013 · Engine, Transmission · 9,500 miles · FL

On a night with light rain, after traveling 1.5 hrs with cruise control on, I pulled off interstate exit to make a phone call. I did not turn engine off. After call I proceeded to get back on interstate, while merging back onto interstate I accelerated hard to attain merging speed, when I merged safely in front of semi the engine shook violently and lost power. To avoid being hit, I jerked vehicle into emergency lane. The check engine light was flashing and the car placed in limp mode. I turned the vehicle completely of and restarted the engine and every thing appeared to have returned to normal. I later read that night that the f150 with same engine was having similar problems. I took the vehicle to ford the following monday. The service advisor informed me that ford has been having the same problem with my engine that is in the ford f150 in humid areas. He stated that large amounts of condensation forms in the intercooler when driving for long periods without utilizing turbo, then next time you accelerate hard the turbos suck all the condensation into the engine causing a misfire and puts engine into limp mode. After a week of them contacting ford engineers and running test, they told me they cannot repeat problem and the engine did not store any codes in the ECM from the problem. Ford also told the dealer that I'm the only person with a 2013 explorer with the 3.5 ecoboost engine that has ever reported problem. Since then I have read about two lawsuits which have been filed against ford involving the ecoboost engine and included the 2013 ford explorer sport. Apparently this statement is not true. This is a very serious safety issue for me and my family. The ford company is apparently denying the issue exist, leaving me to drive a vehicle that can potentially put my family others with the same vehicle in harms way. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).