Driving down the highway at 70 MPH I received a terrain management fault on the dash board and then a power steering fault and then I lost power steering. I pulled over and turned off the vehicle. Restarted and started to drive home had the same issue and lost power steering again. Restarted a second time and was able to make it home.
2015 Ford Explorer steering complaints
Page 7 of 13: complaints 161 to 190 of 348, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The rack and pinion steering went out on our 2015 ford explorer and had to be replaced. The vehicle started making a weird rubbing noise at low speeds. When I googled the issue, I found out that ford had a recall for 2011-2017 ford explorers for the rack and pinion steering, however they were only for vehicles manufactured in chicago and apparently my vehicle was not covered by the recall. I have attached repaid invoice. The cost of the repair was over $2500 (see jobs 1 & 2 on the attached invoice.
Popping/knocking noise when turning at low speed, gradually get getting more severe over time. In addition there have been instances where the car has not turned as the steering wheel is moved. Ford garage has diagnosed this as a steering rack and pinion unit problem. With on 40k unacceptable early failure of this component with a $3,000 repair cost.
My steering is very difficult. It does not turn at times. I never got a recall notice on this, although there was a recall ending on august 19. 2019. It is when turning when driving--wither pulling out of an intersection, moving from a parallel parking position, and also driving on the road. Ther3e is a recall as follows:recall rear suspension toe link replacement the federal safety agency recall number: 19v435 the federal safety agency date:jun 10, 2019 ford recall number: 19s17 status:11 - recall incomplete I did not receive the recall notice to have this fixed. It continues to get worse and I fear that it will cause a crash.
Got in my 2015 ford explorer this morning started the car backed out of the driveway and it would not steer no power steering at all. Apparently there is a steering module within the steering column that gets locked because of traction control? Apparently if this module needs to be replaced the whole steering column needs to be replaced. There are several incidents on social media that this has happened while people have been driving on the highway.
I got in my 2015 ford explorer this morning started the car backed out of the driveway and it would not steer no power steering at all. Apparently there is a steering module within the steering column that gets locked because of traction control there's be several accounts on social media where this has happened when people are driving down the freeway.apparently if this module needs to be replaced the whole steering column needs to be replaced at a cost of over $3,000.
Popping/knocking noise when turning at low speed, gradually get getting more severe over time. In addition there have been instances where the car has not turned as the steering wheel is moved. Ford garage has diagnosed this as a steering rack and pinion unit problem. With on 77k this seems to be an unacceptable early failure of this component.
Turned on vehicle, backing out of my driveway, car making a strange sound as I tried to turn steering wheel. Could not turn wheels, car would not turn. I managed to fight the steering wheel and pulled back into driveway. I'm extremely concerned and very uncomfortable with this situation. Upon research I understand this problem has happened to other consumers, ford must take responsibility for this issue before someone is killed.
The power steering assist alert came on. We followed the manual suggestion of pulling over, turning off vehicle and restarting and it did not repeat. It also didn't happen again for weeks. Today that alert and another power steering warning came on and there is no power steering. We live on a plateau with curvy roads down to any repair center so are fearful of driving now. Why does a vehicle with under 60,000 miles even have a section in the manual about what to do about a warning that will most likely cost you $2500 (per ford dealer in springfield tn) and cause a dangerous driving situation? We tried several times today and received the warning each time. We never left the driveway.
Driving on mn 61 in maplewood mn. Without warning the power steering went out the lite came on that steering needed servicing now! Managed to get to a safe place to stop then drove it to signal garage in west st paul, without power steering. It cost me $2,789.00 to have the steering repaired. They replaced the whole power steering and aligned the front end. The vehical has only 96,000 miles. It appears the steering is too close to the catilistic converter and the turbo, there is a heat shield but it not enoff to prevent the electronics from overheating. You cannot replace just the electronics you have to replace the whole steering.
Rear tow link snapped while wife was driving on interstate at 70 MPH, lost control, fishtailed across traffic lanes before regaining control and pulling over. Wife was scared to death. Had towed to ford service center. Told it was a recall issue, repaired free of charge. Repaired and picked up the car. Two days after repair, 7 year old grandson and I were driving 65 MPH on hwy when rear tow link snapped again, lost control, fishtailed across traffic lanes before regaining control and pulling to side of highway. Grandson and I were terrified. Towed to ford service center, repaired toe link and replaced rear tie rods. Told the tie rods where so wore out that vehicle was unsafe to drive. No mention of tie rod issue from previous service center. Picked up car after all repairs completed. Four days after picking up vehicle, rear toe link snapped, while same 7 yr old grandson and I were driving north on interstate at 75 MPH. Lost control, fishtailed across busy traffic lanes, crossed the median and hit reflector post on the edge of the southbound lane before regaining control narrowly missing on coming traffic. Reflector post hit an oncoming car causing damage to the drivers door and side mirror. Grandson and I are in shock, scared to death as we almost hit a car head on. Car towed to same ford service center for repair. When we went check on car was told by the staff that he would give me the keys very hesitantly because he felt the vehicle was unsafe to drive. Did not take car because we are terrified to drive it as we have almost died while driving on three separate occasions. All within 400 miles of driving. Have yet to take possession of vehicle. We are now stuck with a vehicle, and a loan, that we are too afraid to drive. I've had to see my therapist to discuss the level of stress, anxiety and fear. Grandson will not get in a car alone with me as he is to afraid.
Power steering went out and will cost over 2000 to fix
Making right turn and steering fault assist light came on and no power steering and vehicle went off to the left side of the road. Vehicle is being repaired at jones ford and new steering was installed and found defective and new part is on order for installation for the second time.
Vehicle began to exhibit a popping noise while turning the steering wheel at low speeds or while stopped. Initially began only while in reverse, slowly progressed to forward motion as well. Generally occurs only when turning the wheel clockwise. Took to independent mechanic who diagnosed it as faulty electronic steering rack, however due to design could not perform further diagnosis. Entire rack replaced under extended warranty. Mileage of vehicle is approximately 80,000, issue began approx 78,000 miles. No dash lights illuminated, no failure or loss of steering at speed.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the steering ceased without warning. The contact maneuvered the vehicle to the side of the roadway and the vehicle was restarted. The vehicle then operated as designed. The vehicle was taken to mike burch ford blackshear (304 ware st, blackshear, ga 3151) and it was confirmed that the power steering assist was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.
Lost power steering at 33558 miles and took to dealer fir repair. They cleaned power steering control module terminal contacts and applied grease. 1000 miles later warning light came back on "steering assist fault service now" while driving on a highway. Took vehicle to dealer and now they have to replace the the power steering control module. First repair cost $323.54. Cost to replace steering control module will be about $2300.00
95k miles. I stopped to use restroom and cane out started car to alarms that said 'steering assist failure service required. It had no power steering. After much research I have found this was recalled from one factory but it seems the issue is much wide spread. I was able to stop and restart and it cleared up only to go out while driving
Vehicle in motion on interstate highway which was being resurfaced. Upon the transition from smooth pavement to pavement which was being scraped for resurfacing, the "power steering assist failure" and "service advancetrac" messages were displayed and there was no power steering assistance and the directional signals only work by holding the stalk in the proper position manually. This occurred twice during a trip from charlotte, nc to fort worth, tx. In both instances, the road conditions were the same - transition from smooth to undulating pavement.
The vehicle suddenly loses power steering. Has happened at highway speeds of 55mph, at lower speeds 25mph, and while stopped in a parking lot. Vehicle becomes near impossible to steer. Error messages occur including power steering fault, power steering assist failure.
I bought my 2015 explorer back in 2018 with the popping noise in the steering. I was told back then it was normal. As time went on, the popping noise has become worse. I have addressed it over the past week, and have determined two things. 1, the tsb put out by ford for the thrust washers on the axles is a waste of money. 2, the rack an pinion should be the true recall on the 2011-2015 ford explorer, and possibly newer models from what I have read. Mine was troubleshot down to the rack and pinion today by my mechanic, and just like everyone else here, it's going to cost $2300 to replace. I have had the same problems of the steering locking up over prolonged sitting as well. This is alarming and should be addressed by the federal safety agency, sooner rather than later.
Driving on a two lane highway and the power steering completely failed. We were told by the dealership where we purchased the car to bring it in but it sounded like "steering assist fault" since that was the error message, duh.it was cost $500 for an alignment? Replaced faulty rack and pinion gear and checked alignment(should be ok since they aligned it the same day) total bill $2291.00 this is a 2015 explorer limited that has been in the shop several times for car a carbon monoxide leak in the cabin of SUV for repairs, power seat repairs and interior door panel coming apart.
While driving, ford explorer dash wrench light indicator turns on then suddenly you loose power and control and braking, technical disabled. You have to come to a rolling stop. Then turn on car again to remove wrench light.
I was driving my 2015 ford explorer sport on a road. Suddenly, the car showed an error steering assist fault and service advance trac message on dashboard. The steering wheel became very hard to rotate and I avoided the accident. The car was uncontrollable and because of this, the turn indicator knob had some issues. I had to keep holding the indicator knob in order to turn on right/left indication. I had to put so much extra force to rotate the steering wheel during turning. This was a very dangerous scenario. I stoped the car in a parking lot, turned off the car, and waited for 5 minutes to turn on. After that the car worked well for few more minutes. The same error and issue started happening again after few minutes so I took the car to ford dealership. They checked the code and found steering gear issue, failure code u2011:49. This is a major issue related to safety. It can cause fatal accident because of uncontrollable steering wheel issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 ford explorer. The contact stated that while his wife was driving 25 MPH, the steering wheel ceased without warning. The steering wheel was aggressively turned to the left and to the right and resumed normal operation. The vehicle was taken to world ford pensacola (6397 pensacola boulevard, pensacola, fl 32505) to be diagnosed which was still pending. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact to file a complaint with the federal safety agency. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.
Driving at 20mph over a bridge, my toe link snapped, causing me to lose control and veer off the road losing control. I lost complete control over my steering and tires remained turned, losing all control and ability to drive. The toe link was serviced because there was a recall. However, this was the second time the toe link was fixed on this vehicle. Now, only months after purchasing this vehicle, there is another issue regarding the toe link and bushings. Ford and dealership refuse to cover the charges because recall has already been serviced. My concern is that the problem will be fixed temporarily for a fourth time and will snap as I am going faster speeds than the 20 MPH I initially lost control at. There needs to be another recall on my already recalled part, otherwise there will never be any safe driving distance in this vehicle.
Steering assist fault like came on while driving. I was unable to steer. Luckily nobody was hurt. But this could have been deadly for myself, granddaughter and anyone else around. There was no warning. No sounds nothing. I see ford had recalls for up until 2013 for this problem, but I don't see any for 2015. And from reading information it has caused accidents injuring people. I would like to see a recall on this
Power steering stopped while driving. This is not a typical power steering pump, it is electronic. When a normal one fails, you can still steer easily when moving. It only becomes hard when stopped or moving slow. The electronic one gets extremely hard even at highway speeds. I have brought it to the dealership which diagnosed it as the rack and pinion. I have seen online that there are many that have failed with the same issue for multiple years from around 2011 on which tells me it is fairly common even on vehicles with low mileage.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving and attempting to make a left turn, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to carriage ford inc (908 e. Lewis and clark pkwy, clarksville, in 47129, (612)284-4444) to be diagnosed. The strut bearings were replaced however, after test driving the vehicle, the contact was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired at a cost of $2,300. The contact was concerned that the failure was due to a defect in the manufacturing of the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 54,000.
Front end popping noise was noticed after 50,000 miles. Was told to disregard, it was normal. At 67,000 noise became louder, sensation in steering wheel felt, loss of steering momentarily. This happens when sitting still, while driving and especially while making sharp turns. Ford just quoted $2100 to replace. I've seen many more complaints related to this. This is a huge safety concern and a risk for anyone who drives the vehicle. Why hasn't there been a recall issued yet?
I was driving on highway 45 in illinois in my 2015 ford explorer and was slowing down for a red light when my power steering failed and a warning came on in the vehicle information display stating "steering assist fault " service required. I was three blocks from the ford dealer and drove there. Steering was very difficult and I was fortunate to be so close to the dealer. A tech did a pin point inspection on the vehicle and the next day I was told that there was corrosion in the power steering control module terminal contacts. Grease was applied and I was charged $323.00 . I was advised that if this happened again that I may need to replace the power steering control module on the vehicle and this would cost $2300.00. This vehicle has 33500 miles on it and is garage kept with regular maintenance . I asked why the terminal contacts weren't checked during regular maintenance which was done three months ago and was told it is not part of the inspection .
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