While driving at 75 MPH the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering, the wheel jerked and I almost ran off the road. Then the steering made grinding noises. The dealership wants $1500 for the part and just as much or more for the labor, not covered under warranty and the vehicle only has approximately 77000 miles on it.
2016 Ford Explorer steering complaints
Page 12 of 19: complaints 311 to 340 of 532, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The rack & pinion motor failed on this vehicle after only approximately 40,000 miles. In this instance it did not cause an accident. However, I understand that these motors are failing at a relatively high rate and steering could lock up in these vehicles while driving.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. The contact stated that at start-up or while driving and attempting to turn in either direction, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to bozard ford lincoln (540 outlet mall blvd, st. Augustine, fl 32084, (904) 824-1641) to be diagnosed. The strut tower and steering gear needed to replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted however, no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage 78,105.
Our 2016 ford explorer with 44k miles is making knocking sounds while turning. The sound was intermittent at times so not all turns made the knocking sound.we had it looked at by a mechanic and he said the rack and pinion steering is going out. He explained in more detail, but the gist of it is a repair cost of $2k on a vehicle that's not paid off and extreme hazard to drive. This is a critical concern for many ford explorer owners that have reported the same issue. Please investigate.
Steering fault light came on twice in two days, both instances happened after taking off from a stoplight. Took the vehicle in the dealership where they read the codes and it came back the steering assembly was failing. They proceeded to tell me that the steering could go out any minute. The vehicle only has 57k miles on it but of course isn't covered under power train warranty. After googling the issue, it seems as though this is a very common problem and the dealership conveniently had the a steering assembly in stock. Not sure what the hold up is for ford to issue a recall! This could kill someone.
We own a 2016 ford explorer, and having major issue with steering assist fault service required. Which means new rack system at $2,100 +. I've read so many other people with same problem, and even with past explorers with recalls. Why has ford not recalled this problem as they did with past explorers?? It's a death trap, and you will likely wreck when this happens. I'm the lucky one this time..
While operating the vehicle we noticed overtime a clicking noise coming from the front of the vehicle as we drove down the road making turns and backing up out of a parking space. We have read about instances of people experiencing a problem driving and trying to steer the car and it locking preventing steering of the vehicle. This happened temporarily to us so I am reporting it as it can be worse down the road as a safety hazard to us and other people on the road. The vehicle only has 40,000 miles and should not be experiencing these types of issues so early and ownership. We drive the vehicle less than 10000 miles per year.
While sitting at a stop light multiple warning sensors went off and we lost all power steering once we started to accelerate the car. We took the car to our mechanic who said that the entire rack and pinion needed to be replaced. This car has 53k miles on it. I have two small children and had this happened on a busy road, it would have put all of us in extreme danger. There was no previous warnings, it just went.
This is a police vehicle and while responding to an emergency call, the steering faulted with a steering fault warning on the dash. The steering wheel locked with very little control of the vehicle. Thankfully I was able to place the vehicle in neutral and shut down and restart the vehicle as I was on a straight away! This reset the computer and steering returned. It has happened again since this occurred, this is going to kill someone!
While driving on the highway (65 MPH speed limit) my power steering suddenly stopped working. At the high speeds I had very little control of steering. I would turn the car off & the power steering would come back, then a few minutes later would go out again until the power steering no longer worked. Had to have it taken to the garage where they said the entire steering rack needs to be replaced. This is over $2100 repair on a fairly new vehicle and should never happen. The gentleman at the garage alluded to it being a defective part but ford customer service will do nothing about it. It is 100% on me to get repaired. It was very scary & lucky no accident occurred with the sudden loss of steering ability. It is currently at the garage waiting for the part to be shipped.
Our steering wheel locked up while turning in an intersection. There was also a knocking noise when we would turn the wheel to the right. When we took it to the ford dealer they said that the steering gear had gone bad and was most likely caused by a leak in the power transfer unit of power transfer fluid. The service technician indicated that there was nothing that we did as drivers to cause the ptu to leak. We have seen many reports about the steering gear problems in the year and model of our vehicle. The cost to repair the steering gear and the leak was over $5000.00.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the steering wheel ceased with the trac control warning light illuminated. The steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact drove the vehicle to her residence. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. An authorized dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure however, informed the contact that the VIN was not subjected to a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 81,000.
Saturday june 20th 2020 the hill assist message came on as did the ABS and traction control lights came on. There is no power steering and both axles are making a clicking noise. I have learned that this is the rack and pinion electronic power assist system. Epas unit has failed. Luckily it was in my cul de sac turning around and not on the freeway. My wife predominantly drives this vehicle. The steering is very difficult to move. The vehicle only has 64,000 miles on it. Is this a private recall? I have spoken with a couple of other explorer owners that ford "took care of it" for them. I have ordered the part, but it will not be there for a week. This car is well taken care of and is normally driven on city streets and occasionally on the highway.
6/21/20 - stopped for gas after driving approximately 150 miles on the interstate. Cranked car and steering would not work. Dash notices: steering assist fault service required; service advancetrac; hill start assist not available; traction light showing off. Drove car home with no power steering. Called selling dealership and was told probably cost around $2000 to repair. Searched on line and found hundreds of complaints about this but no recall from ford. Purchased new and now has only 61k miles. Ridiculous!
I started hearing a knocking in the front end and the steering was very loose, when I turned right at first and on occasion to the left mechanic said if I had gone much further it would have broken all the way and I would have lost all control of the SUV.
I would like to share my ford experience with my 2016 ford explorer limited edition that was bought from higley ford. At 64,000 miles... Yes 4,000 over my warranty my computer module fried and I had to replace that... $1500 out of my pocket... Then last summer my AC quit working followed by my drivers side seat heater and mirror on my visor... Then here recently I could smell something like burnt rubber and found out some seal popped off so oil was leaking.... Which is in a spot that you can't get to unless you take things apart...then now just found out my rack and pinion went out... The steering (part alone costs $1500)!!! I was told I should have bought the extended warranty and that was all I got. Really!!!!!!! Especially the rack and pinion! How the hell does that go out...I'm a night nurse that drives to work and back and that's about all! I've never been in an accident, in the ditch and I don't tear around in my car. I can understand maybe a computer thing happening because well... Computers are computers... But all of those things going wrong with 1 vehicle! And it's supposed to be a nice vehicle!!! Let me just say... I feel very screwed.
I was driving my 2016 ford explorer on my last left turn to my house the vehicle's power steering completely locked up I wasn't able to steer my vehicle I had to push the SUV back to the house.there was 3 lights came on come on the dash board with these messages.. 1 hill start assist not available..(I don't think that its equipped with this future) press the ok bottom.second light.. Service advance track third light..steering assist fault service required.cant drive the vehicle any more. Now there are 203 complains just on steering most are all about steering wheel locking up.this is something way serious most of this SUV's are the wife car always pack with children. The federal safety agency and ford should really look n to this just before one of our love ones is driving on the freeway at 75 MPH and it locks on them it would be a terrible accident.now if the federal safety agency and ford knows about this problem they should be held responsible for lost and or damage that my occur.if this was something small and cheap to fix the owners of this SUV would probably fix it but we are talking about $2300-$3000 dollars. We are talking about 4 year old SUV with this kind of a problem its a $18000 SUV.. Its is a problem that ford with no hesitation should be fixing....people please upload your problems let them know we are the consumer they are who they are because we buy from them they should be more responsible.
The 2016 explorer experienced a clucking sound and the steering would hitch while turning at approx 50k miles. Vehicle was taken to dealer but dealer could not recreate. At 60k miles there was a constant clunking and steering sticking while turning the wheel. Vehicle was returned to dealer for review, dealer confirmed the rack and pinion was failing and was a major safety issue. Dealer also confirmed they have to replace many rack and pinions for explorers and it is a problem but hey can only do what ford instructs. After review on the site, there are over 200 complaints for the same issue with the rack and pinion system that occurs from 30k to 60k miles. This is an issue that is not being dealt with by the manufacturer and needs to be addressed since most of these vehicles are now hitting this mileage range.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. The contact stated that the power steering electronic control module failed on several occasions while driving and attempting to steer the vehicle in either direction. The vehicle was taken to mitchell selig ford (801 bloomfield ave, windsor, ct 06095, (860)688-3651), where the power steering rack was replaced at the owner's expense for $2,200. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 81,000.*dt
At about 60,000 the steering started catching. At any speed this happened. It would feel like the tires were in a rut, then all of a sudden it would break free, and the vehicle would suddenly swerve over about a foot. It has gone on to a grinding noise. Very unnerving to drive at highway speed! Ford tells me the steering rack is bad, and since it's out of warranty, they will not cover repairs. I've owned quite a few non-ford vehicles with over 150,000 miles and never had a steering issue with them.
Steering becomes stuck while making a right or left turn. This happened on a stop light while turning. It also has a sliding/grinding feel when turning the wheel while in idle. Issue seems to be a manufacturing problem with ford vehicles that have the electronic steering wheel system.
I went to pull out of my driveway and my vehicle's power steering completely locked up and I was unable to steer my vehicle. I managed to at least back it straight back into my driveway to be out of the road, and called the closest ford dealership to me. I had 3 lights come on my dash with these messages; hillstart assist not available, service advancetrac, and steering assist fault service required. My vehicle had to be towed to the dealership, and the entire power steering has to be replaced, which the repair costs $2300 to fix. If I would have been moving at a faster speed this could have been a much worse story, because when the steering locked up you could not turn the steering wheel at all. I have filed a complaint with ford directly, and they have said there is nothing they can do, but this is a known problem and a lot of others have had the exact same issue with their vehicle. But yet they refuse to issue a recall on this.
The rack & pinion steering broke and ford is refusing to include it in the recall they have on this exact problem.
2016 explorer xlt with 70k miles and the power steering started to fail requiring the steering rack and pinion to be replaced. Symptom included sticking and unpredictable steering while stopped and at all driving speeds and conditions.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle pulled to the right with an abnormal clunking sound coming from the steering column. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The vehicle was not repaired. Freedom ford (3941 admiral peary hwy, ebensberg, pa 15931, (800)215-0042 and the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 36,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. The contact stated that the steering assist, hill assist and traction control warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated that there was an audible sound in the vehicle. The vehicle loss power steering assist and the vehicle became difficult to steer. The contact drove slowly to the residence. A dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not subjected to a recall. The approximate failure mileage was 88,000. *bf consumer stated steering wheel was stuck and could not turn at all.
After getting my airbag recall taken care of I noticed the steering started getting tight more and more after 2 days it was really tight until it rained and it got loose again but the street line sensors and the rumble stopped working. One day after the rain dried the wheel tighten up again where I can barely turn it. I ask ford about it and they said I had to get a diagnostic for $179 to determine what was wrong. Also have a problem with the emissions passing because the air filter sensor is not working. Trying to get an outside mechanic . Ford is a ripoff.
Steering became difficult for turning and reversing in to my driveway. I was driving on major highway and able to fortunately get off and return home. But when I got in my car a few days later to take it to autoshop, the steering wheel did not move at all and so had to have my car towed
I got into my car one morning and the car made a terrible sound when turning the steering wheel left to right. The steering also wants to stick when going around a turn. I took it to a ford dealership where the said the rack and pinion was going bad and is common in my year of car and mileage. They said at any point my car steering could completely be lost. How dangerous especially when driving with a toddler?!?!
Steering makes a popping sound while turning the wheel at slower speeds. This is contributing to the steering slipping while driving. The explorer has 53000 miles on it. Out of pocket at a cost of $2,200 to $2,500 dollars for a premature failure of steering system components. These premature/defective steering problems can lead to deaths or serious injuries while driving.
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