The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 75 MPH, the steering wheel was difficult to maneuver. No warning lights were illuminated. The contact then stated that the following day, while her husband was reversing out of the driveway, the steering wheel seized as an unknown steering warning light was illuminated. The contact's husband drove back into the driveway and the vehicle was no longer operable. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering gear assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle remained at the dealer awaiting the parts for the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the federal safety agency Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000. The contact stated that the recall applies to model years 2011 to 2013 but not to their 2014 model.
2014 Ford Explorer steering complaints
Page 7 of 18: complaints 161 to 190 of 500, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I have a 2014 Ford Explorer sport. I notice the airbag light went on. I ran my obd scanner, initially it gave B00A0 and B0061 error codes. After a couple weeks, my EPS doesn’t work after I turned the engine on, it won’t turn left or right. It went away after turning off and back on. It happened again after couple of days, i was leaving the gas station and the message went on and i tried to restart the engine twice, but it still didn’t fix it, but i had to leave cause there are people behind me waiting. I tried to drive forward and just end up blocking the way cause I couldn’t turn the steering wheel and people are getting upset. Thank God it worked after the 3rd restart. Then 3rd time it happened, it didn’t went away after how many times i turn off and on the engine. When I scanned it error code C1B00 came out and a message on the dashboard saying steering assist failure service required. Then i tried again after few mins later same message pops out as well as collision warning not available and service advance trac. I took it to the mechanic, said it was the clock spring that need to be replaced. But as soon as I picked it up from the mechanic after they change the clock spring, same problem reappeared. The first couple of time, a restart fix it but on the 3rd time the power steering just disabled again. This time the mechanic said it needs a new rack and pinion and it’s on back order and no idea when they will have it available.
Completely and suddenly lost power steering. It appears to be a major issue with Explorers. A recall was made for explorers up to 2013, but the problem persists in additional year models. It is a very expensive repair and it appears to be a manufacturing flaw.
Loss of steering in my 2014 Ford Explorer. Traction light’s and “Steering Loss” came on warning me to “Stop Safely”
I was driving home from dropping my kids off at school. I was on a main road and I lost the power steering on my vehicle while I was driving, I had to turn off the road a make a few more turns to get home. When the power steering went out a light went on saying my ETS and warning my PAS was out. I did not get this warning PRIOR to losing power steering. The warning came after I had lost power. My car had to be towed to the Ford dealer in town. They informed me I needed a steering rack due to PSCM failure but they were unable to find the part and had no idea when they could fix it. I contacted a dealer 2 hours away and and was told they could get it in 1-2 weeks. I had to tow the car to them. It then sat in their lot from May 27th to August 31, 2022, waiting to get the part in. Final repair bill was $2300, on top of the towing charges and the first dealer charges to “ diagnose”. The car had 77,000 miles and is a 2014 Ford Explorer. The safety issue is my greatest concern, losing power steering with no warning, while on a busy road you need to turn off of, could have easily caused a major accident. To find out this is a known problem with Ford Explorers and nothing has been done to fix the issue across the model years affected is beyond concerning. And the fact that it took 3 months to even get the part in to fix the vehicle. And the numerous other people who have had the same issue, tells me this is something that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later, before someone is gravely injured.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the steering wheel became firm and required excessive force to steer the vehicle. The contact stated that no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed her of an existing recall for the steering wheel. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure and the dealer confirmed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact then stated that on another occasion while driving out of her driveway, the steering wheel became firm and she was unable to turn the steering wheel. The contact stated that the vehicle was inoperable. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the federal safety agency Hotline. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
Car has been hard when turning since last year.also, on highway while traveling at 55mph car drifting from side to side.
Clicking noise from inside steering gear.
The power steering went out and it was discovered the steering rack and pinion need replaced. This is available for inspection upon request. It is unknown when this can be fixed so I am without a car until then. Upon research this is a common problem for this year and model of car. There was no warning messages, I just all of a sudden did not have power steering and was not able to steer my vehicle.
Electric Power Steering locked up. Almost killed me my fiance. And my 2 kids.
Steering went completely out in a curve while my wife was driving. She had to manually steer the wheel to keep from wrecking, and it was very hard for her to turn. This isn’t the first issue I’ve had with the steering, but I’ve researched and other years of explorer with the same issue have recalls but not the 2014s. It’s VERY dangerous for my 110lb wife with our 4 children to drive a vehicle who’s steering may go out at any moment. There were never any dash lights to indicate any problems. I will be getting it serviced soon. Please put out a recall on the 2014s before the steering goes out and ends up killing someone.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the steering wheel seized. A message indicating a steering rack failure was displayed. The contact was unable to veer to the side of the road. The contact stated upon turning off and restarting the vehicle, the steering wheel operated as needed; however, the failure reoccurred several times while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the vehicle was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was unknown.
Power steering stopped working while my family and I were an hour from home. Dash warning said Power Steering Fault Stop Safely. Drove home with no power steering and parked it. Have not driven it since. Started the vehicle multiple times, inspected all fuses and breakers, all intact. All research points towards a fault in the Electric assisted power steering.
I was driving home on the Bonne Carre Spillway Bridge from New Orleans to Baton Rouge and the warning lights came on while my car started swerving. Needless to say, I was Terrified when the warning message on my dashboard said, "Steering fault Service now" and both swervy line warning lamps under the directional panel on the dashboard came on. I had no steering power and had to drive 45 mph all the way to Baton Rouge on I-10 almost getting run over by 18 wheelers and other vehicles. I have 163,303 miles on the truck. Thank God for the Hollingsworth Ford Dealership employees (Lori) who were able to take my vehicle that same day. They had to tow it into the work bay, because the system completely froze up on them the following day. There is already a 2014 - 2017 Ford Explorer recall for Northeastern states, but Louisiana should be included also as we have a lot of flooding which can be worse than snow and ice nowadays. I have had to rent a vehicle for a month now and do not have anymore money to rent. I am over 50 years old so you can imagine how my body will be worn out if I have to take a bus to work. I know my truck was probably made in the same plant as the other 22 states vehicles who are included in the recall. I should NOT have to pay for these repairs!!! Please Help Me get Fair treatment as a 2017 Ford Explorer owner. I Appreciate your help.
Steering started grinding and has slight resistance when turning left when trying to pull the wheel back to straight. Upon taking it to my repair shop, they have found that the electric steering rack & pinion component needs to be replaced. When they contacted Ford for this part, it's on national backorder with no ETA. There were no warnings to this happening, no lights, no other issues, this just started out of the blue. Obviously with the part being on national backorder, this is happening with more than just my vehicle and yet Ford is not issuing a recall. How long can I drive this for waiting on the recall? I don't have another vehicle to use to get to/from work.
- Power steering failed - My safety as well as the safety of my children - Research shows that many people have had the same incident, some have been in accidents others have not. Luckily I was able to drift off to the shoulder of the road without an accident. There were no cars around me at the time. - Waiting on Ford Dealership to call me back - Once my power steering failed there was a warning light stating that it failed and I needed to pull over safely. This happened after my power steering failed not before.
Vehicle lost all power steering, traction control, and AdvanceTrac features due to electronic steering gear failure(ASE certified diagnosis). Very dangerous, and costly problem for a vehicle with only 100k miles.
While driving down freeway at 65 mph, noticed on curves, steering was becoming "glitchy." Upon getting off freeway, noticed warning light for Loss of Accutrac warning came up on the message center. Turned engine off and looked under hood to see if there were any visible problems, no visible problems. I proceeded to turn ignition back on and red warning came up loss of power steering. I was able to drive vehicle to safe place, however with no power steering. 2014 ford explorer was then towed to dealership for repair/service. Contacted by dealership that the rack and pinion (electronic power steering) needed to be replaced and reprogrammed, not under warranty and cost would be $3200.00. It has been a month with no repair and part still on factory back order. Apparently 2014 is not under the recall for previous and post years (not sure why). Mileage on vehicle is 49500. My opinion is that Ford should cover this under recall, serious safety issue with vehicle.
The contact's sister owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his sister was driving 75 MPH, the power steering assist fault warning message appeared on the instrument panel. The steering wheel became firm and his sister was unable to drive the vehicle. The vehicle was initially towed to a hotel; the next day, the contact drove to his sister's location and towed the vehicle back to her residence. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer where he was given an estimate for the repair and was informed that the part for repair was on backorder. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic where it remained in their possession. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.
Steering has become stiff and unable to turn wheel. Have recall for toe link scheduled, but Ford says if steering is that tough than it’s not just the toe link causing issue.
Electric power steering failing while driving. Loss of power steering assist cause vehicle to become hard to steer at speed, no warning lights. Took to mechanic who reproduced the problem but said they could not do anything and it had to go to the dealer for repair.
While turning into a parking lot the steering wheel locks up and almost impossible to control the steering. This will cause me to have a wreck. It will reset when the vehicle is cut off and back on. Ford had a recall on the 2013 models for this reason because it locks up the steering wheel it is a dangerous thing. I need help I read there is alot of people with this issue with their 2014 explorers around the same millage. There needs to be a recall on this
I was on my back from NJ and all of a sudden my vehicle had a power steering fault and Terrain managment fault, I had just decided to resolve the issue by turning the vehicle on/off again, and it worked, it got me safely home but the terrain managment fault persisted, I was confused and unsure whether to keep on driving, forward from that, it felt harder to steer and slow my vehicle down, while i was going at the speed limit at one point I had attempted to stop before a red light and my vehicle even though brakes were pushed, stopped after the red light. I managed to have parked my vehicle at home, and all the faults came through "Power Steering Fault", "Terrain Managment Fault", the car steering wheel refused to turn, and my vehicle has now been in the dealership for a week, due to the amount of ford explorers that have the same issue, I have not yet gotten by car issues diagnosed from them. If it were to have happened sooner it may have lead to a vehicle accident involving 5 people. This issue is persistent and has to be looked at and resolved
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while exiting a parking spot, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated that the power steering failure warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer where it was diagnosed with needing the rack and pinion to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but experience the same failure after the repair on two separate occasions. The vehicle has not been repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 18,712.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist with the power steering assist warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 155,044.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at 10 MPH and making a turn, the steering wheel locked. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" and "All Terrain Maintenance" were displayed. The contact turned on her hazard lights. The contact stated as she turned off the vehicle and restarted it, the steering wheel regained power steering. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic at two different occasions. The independent mechanic diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the rack and pinion was replaced twice. However, the failure persisted. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. Additionally, the steering wheel seized. The contact associated the failure with the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The dealer and the manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 113,000.
I am un able to steer my vehicle almost got into an accident on my way to work . I lost all steering function and lights displayed for power steering assist . I feel this issue needs to be part of the recall amd include 2014 explorers seems to be a common complaint as I was reading and very unsafe.
Cranked car and began to drive home. Noticed there was a grinding noise when turning the steering wheel at low speeds. After approx 10 miles, while driving on a straight road, the steering wheel started jerking to the left and then automatically straightening itself up and then jerking to the right. This happened two times within a 6 mile distance. The second time it happened, there were two orange notifications that popped up. One said Service AdvanceTrac and one said Steering Fault Service Now. After that, the vehicle became extremely difficult to maneuver. I almost hit other vehicles several times as I was driving on a 6 lane divided road so traffic was on either side of me and the steering wheel wouldnt stay straight. Upon arriving at my destination, the vehicle sat in the driveway for 2 days until it could be towed to the shop. Upon cranking the vehicle, an orange notification popped up that said Service AdvanceTrac, as well a red notification that said Steering Loss Stop Safely. Problem persisted, vehicle had to be manhandled to be able to steer the wheel to get it loaded so it could be taken to the shop for diagnostic. Tech duplicated issue and diag as needing a new steering rack but cleared codes and vehicle began running as designed but quickly malfunctioned again. Mileage 142885 at time of fault.
Power steering went out while driving the vehicle and steering wheel was extremely difficult to maneuver. Received error “steering assist fault service required”
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