The steering makes popping and grinding noise when turning left or right. Also at times the steering is hard, there is resistance . I have to use two hands force-ably to turn. At fist I thought this was an isolated indecent but realize its getting worse over time. Was roughly around 65,000 miles when I first noticed popping noise.the vehicle has approximately 80,165 miles on it. The majority is highway miles.
2016 Ford Explorer steering complaints
Page 13 of 19: complaints 341 to 370 of 532, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 MPH, the vehicle loss power steering assist and the steering became firm. No warning light illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to the residence. The contact also stated that the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic after the failure recurred with several additional unknown warning lights illuminated. The contact was referred to mountaineer ford located at (615 eisenhower dr, beckley, wv 25801) and an unknown repair was performed however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 88,000.
On february 4, 2020, my wife's 2016 ford explorer (VIN# [xxx]) had an odometer reading of 29,265 miles when she began to notice serious safety concerns after the steering system had malfunctioned while turning at intersections, driveways and parking lots. During one incident, the steering system temporarily locked up and make a distinct clunking sound; it almost caused my wife to hit another car during a left hand turn at an intersection. She is the primary driver of this vehicle 99% of the time to transport our grandchildren while the remaining 1% has involved my commute to work. Our reynolds ford of norman dealership failed to duplicate the steering malfunctions we experienced. They also made it known that our extended five-year warranty would not cover any repairs related to the steering system. On march 6, 2020, according to the federal safety agency there were seven recalls, one investigation and 918 complaints on the 2016 ford explorer. Of those 918 complaints, 189 were related to the same safety related steering problems experienced by our vehicle. Many of those 189 complaints also indicated that the vehicle owners had to pay out of pocket at a cost of $2,200 to $2,500 dollars for a premature failure of steering system components. Ford needs to accept responsible and own up to their premature/defective steering problems to prevent deaths or serious injuries. I should not have to pay for defective/premature steering components. At this point, I have zero quality and safety confidence with my current steering system and replacement parts. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
I bought my certified preowned 2016 ford explorer on october 22 2019. I have had it for 4 months. Yesterday while I was driving I noticed when slightly veering to the right that the wheel pulls hard towards the right and it it hard to pull the wheel back to the straight position. I tested this on the left side and it does the same just not as hard to pull.
Advancetrac and steering fault warning lights came on while driving. Steering locked up and became extremely difficult to safely steer off roadway.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 5 MPH, making a left turn the steering wheel ceased with the remote hill start assist not available service advance trac, power steering assist warning light illuminated. The contact veer to the shoulder of the road placed the vehicle in park turned the vehicle off and back on which failed to resume normal operation. The vehicle was towed to bommarito ford located at (675 dunn rd, hazelwood, mo 63042, (314) 895-0600 where a diagnostic test was still pending. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 28,000.
The steering makes popping and grinding noise when turning left or right. Had vehicle inspected at a trusted garage I use, they said that the rack and pinion was shot. The vehicle has approximately 53165 miles on it. The majority is highway miles.
While going to back out of my driveway, I'm in reverse and moving and go to turn the steering wheel and it is locked and I get a "hill start assist not available, service advancetrac" now mine you this car is only 4yrs old with 25k miles on it. According to all the other complai ts I've read I've gotten off easy in the fact I was in my own driveway and not driving anyways with my children in the car, which is the main vehicle they would be in. Had towed to local ford dealer and told its the pinion in the steering column not covered under my 5yr, 60,000 miles warranty and will cost $2,247 pkus tax to fix. Absolutely ridiculous. 4 years old barely driven at 25k miles to have this crazy expensive fix that I cannot afford! Where is the recall on this known problem? Are we waiting for someone to die? Is that what it takes? If it happened while taking ny kids to school who knows what could have happened. Please do the right thing.
My car was completely totaled in an accident on 10/21/19. I received very serious multiple brain bleeds, facial lac, facial & head fx's & a severe tbi. My mom rec a concussion, facial lac concussion & a fx clavicle. We stopped at the stop sign & moved to the center between the 4 lanes & stopped again & we were hit by a large roll on roll off rock carrying dump truck in the middle of the lanes. The car was completely totaled & I was in a coma & airlifted to a trauma ctr approx 40 mins away, but I was in resp arrest & not expected to live. It is unknown exactly what caused the unsafe conditions, however I never cross straight across the traffic & we had been on a very very bumpy intersection the fri before the acc on monday & the car had not been driven since that 5 hr trip of extremely bumpy rough road conditions on interstate 95 coming through part of nc, all of sc & part of ga.
I purchased this vehicle in april of 2019, with about 31k miles on the odometer. It was a returned lease. In january of 2020, at just over 41k miles, the steering gear failed as I was pulling into the parking lot at work. I had no problem turning the wheel to the left, but as soon as I turned the wheel even slightly right, there was an awful clicking noise, almost like something was grinding in the wheel well. I limped it over to the ford dealership a mile away and they told me the steering gear had failed. I was outside of the 3 yr/36000 mi warranty, and apparently the 5 yr/60000 mi powertrain warranty only covers the steering housing, not the gear itself, so I was on the hook for the entire fix - $2200 at this point. The service advisor at ford said it wasn't due to any neglect or "outside influence" - it just failed and there's nothing I could have done to prevent it. I find it hard to believe that something so catastrophic and expensive should be failing at 4 yrs/41k mi. Ford can't actually expect people to replace a $2200 part every 4 yrs/41k mi, right?! Luckily I was doing about 5 MPH when the gear failed - other people have been driving at highway speeds, and this issue is surely going to injure and/or kill people, if it hasn't already. Ford needs to rectify this issue!!
I purchased this 2016 for explorer limited in august of 2016 with 18,000 miles on it. Now at just below 60,000 miles in january of 2020, I had the experience of my steering gear going out which in turn cost me $2200.00. Who would of thought that after only 3 years, the steering gear would go bad in a practically brand new vehicle? While driving the vehicle, the steering wheel would lock up and I would have to forcefully turn it to veer back in my lane on the city streets as well as on the highway. In michigan, that was really dangerous especially in the snowy conditions. I don't understand how there is not a recall on the obvious defective parts. There is no way a driver can brake the electronic steering gear.
While driving 70 MPH on i81 in va the power steering on our 2016 ford explorer with less than 70,000 miles died. The only warning was a message on the dash saying "lane keeping syst malfunction" and "steering assist fault." after wrestling the car to a safe site I shut if off. Upon restarting the car the steering returned to normal. While driving to the nearest ford dealer to have it checked out if failed again. The dealership performed pinpoint test b for u3000 code stored in the pscm. Their recommendation was replacement of the electric power steering gear asy (p/n fb5z3504w) at a cost of $2,300. I inquired if there were any recalls or safety bulletins issued regarding premature failure of the power steering in which they indicated there wasn't. This is a safety issue, the car is difficult to control at high speeds and almost impossible to control at slow speeds especially if your making a turn. Without strong upper body strength, you can easily have an accident. Based on my experience with this issue, I strongly recommend a safety bulletin and a recall be issued.
Loss of ease of steering driving in frigid wind chill night time north dakota weather. My wife was strong enough to strong arm steer and drive the vehicle the 40 plus miles home. A definite safety issue- an internet search revealed numerous complaints and complete steering failure on the electronic steering apparatus installed on this make and model. The repair costs could amount to $3000. The fact that these problems and steering apparatus failure is occurring on lower mileage vehicles is very concerning. Our vehicle has 56,700 odometer miles. This issue is definitely a safety issue and ford motor company must be held accountable. The nearest ford dealership is 75 miles away from our rural farm location- I expect I will have to transport our vehicle to the dealership for repairs.
I have a 2016 ford explorer that was purchased brand new 3.5 years ago. It has 55k miles on it, which isn't what I consider many miles, and is driven by my wife 90% of the time to and from work and we use it for longer drivers with our 4 year old daughter. I just received word, after I took the vehicle in for a grinding noise in the steering column, that the steering rack and gear has failed. I have seen others talk about this problem and it is a very big safety concern in my opinion. If this thing failed on the highway at a faster speed and my wife and child were in the car and she had limited steering control it could have been disastrous and tragic. I see on carcomplaints.com I am the 165th case of this happening. I wanted to make you aware of this and hopefully you can make the 3rd recall on this vehicle happen in the near future (had 2 already) please reach out to me with any questions.
At slow speeds 20 MPH and less there is significant noise when driving over bumps or transitions. At very slow speeds less than 5 MPH and turning steering wheel the steering will get stuck or hesitate and make a clunking or popping sound. Seems to be stabilizer bar related. Its progressively getting worse. I also have an engine surging issue at slower speeds of 30 MPH or less.
When turning the steering wheel to the right there is a distinct clunking sound. I have read multiple blogs where many similar stories are being told and it seems there's a defect in the steering gear expierencing internal failure prematurly. Owners are saying their vehicles will drift in the lane and the steering becomes loose and uncontrollable. Ford dealers are charging $2,500 to replace the parts causing this extreme safety issue. This needs to be recalled and fixed now, who can afford such an expensive repair on something this critical. Ford needs to step up and take responsibility. We took our vehicle in at 56,000 and they said nothing was wrong. At 68,326 miles we took in again because it got worse. This happens when you turn to the right and I hear it at slow speeds when parking or just right turns.
I went on vacation with my family for a week. We took my car to airport and parked it from 11/8-11/16. I had no problems on the drive to the airport, but when we came home, almost immediately, while pulling out of the parking space (still stationary) I heard a rubbing nose coming from what sounded like the steering column. Due to my son's always being in the vehicle I didn't want to chance anything since it seemed to be steering related. I took it to a mechanic who ended up telling me that it was my steering rack. He also informed me that on the year's before mine they had to issue a recall due to similar issues as mine. I've noticed that there are a lot of people with the same year and model that still have this problem even though it isn't a recall anymore for some reason. Luckily I caught mine before it cause a serious issue, being that people have said this causes their steering to completely lock up.
When turning the steering wheel to the right there is a distinct clunking sound. I have read multiple blogs where many similar stories are being told and it seems there's a defect in the rack and pinion. Owners are saying their vehicles will drift in the lane and the steering becomes loose and uncontrollable. Ford dealers are charging at least $2000.00 to replace the parts causing this extreme safety issue. I know of the recall for the rear suspension but this is very different. This needs to be recalled and fixed now, who can afford such an expensive repair on something this critical. Ford needs to step up and take responsibility. My vehicle has 65,000 miles. This happens when you turn to the right and I hear it at slow speeds when parking or just right turns.
While operating the vehicle, approximately 45mph, the car started to jar, then the power steering was lost, moments later the dash lit up with a slew of traction and steering warnings.less than a mile from home I wrestled it home. No leaks observed, my husband started it, and tried to turn the wheel, seized completely. Towed it to northhampton ford in massachusetts the following morning. After diagnosis the steering rack and computer control has to be replaced. $2800+ to repair. Ford knows of this, please issue a recall..help..
When turning the steering wheel to the right there is a distinct clunking sound. I have read multiple blogs where many similar stories are being told and it seems there's a defect in the rack and pinion. Owners are saying their vehicles will drift in the lane and the steering becomes loose and uncontrollable. Ford dealers are charging at least $2000.00 to replace the parts causing this extreme safety issue. I know of the recall for the rear suspension but this is very different. This needs to be recalled and fixed now, who can afford such an expensive repair on something this critical. Ford needs to step up and take responsibility. My vehicle has 65,000 miles. This happens when you turn to the right and I hear it at slow speeds when parking or just right turns.
I was driving down the highway and I got errors saying my advace trac system needed to be serviced. Also that my power steering failed and I needed to pull the vehicle over safely. I was going about 65mph and my power steering went out!. I had to take an offramp shortly after (I was on my way to work) and it was difficult to steer the vehicle. Very dangerous!
I started to feel strain on the steering wheel, and since I started feeling that tension on nov. 5th, it has increased to a heavier tension that whenever I move my steering wheel to turn in my car, something is happening to my wheel, and it is grinding together. The steering rack and pinion seem to be the thing that is grinding together to make my steering wheel have tension and be unsafe.
My vehicle was in motion, when I heard an odd noise. I stopped and decided to move only to hear a grinding noise any time I turned steering to left or right. Went to the chantilly ford dealership in virginia. It was diagnosed as a steering rack pinion problem which cost just over $2000
The power steering was inoperative when stationary and the vehicle was parked overnight in my garage and temp was below freezing. The steering was locked up and you could not turn the steering wheel. After the vehicle was running for about 20 to 30 minutes (trying to move steering wheel back & forth) it would let you then to turn the steering wheel. It did this 3 times and I had a ford dealer check it out. They replaced the steering sector and it repaired the problem. One of the times the steering locked up it also was binding when I started moving and turning the steering wheel. I feel if the steering sector failed in about 4 years is safety item and should be recalled and owners refunded for this type of failure. It cost about $2300.00 to have it repaired. If this failure happened when driving I would have lost 100% of the steering.
Issues started with several electrical glitches that occurred and still occur consistently with no resolution. Battery was "fried" and replaced, sync module was replaced, now the glitches include a frozen steering column while driving and a "charging system service now" light that comes on and off while stationary and driving. Also passenger side view mirror gets stuck outwards, interior electrical malfunctions. Truck is no longer under warranty and I am tired of paying $150 diagnostic fees with no resolution.
Steering locked up while driving, was able to slow down safely but could have been really bad if going at higher speed or around a curve. Was able to stop and really force wheel to turn a bit. Dealer stated I needed to replace rack and pinion. $2500, but more of a safety issue to me
Loud knocking in the front end when making turns. Assumed it was the sway bar bushing needing replacement based on searches, however after having the vehicle a week the dealership has determined that it is a faulty steering gear. I'm submitting this complaint so that there are more of these documented out there. My vehicle was still operational when I took it in, however reading similar stories and problems of other owners, it could have been worse and resulted in a loss of steering control. Additionally when talking with ford customer relations department they said at 37,500 the vehicle is out of warranty and they will not do anything to correct it. I'm concerned with such low mileage there appears to be a large risk to other owners.
Vehicle lurched into adjoining lane on interstate while going around a slight curve at about 70mph. I was able to get the car under control and pulled off the freeway. Luckily there was no one in the adjacent lane or I almost certainly would have hit them. I was close enough to home that I got the vehicle back (about a mile), but the steering would 'stick'/pull to the right or left when turning such that I had to force it back to center (would not return to center on its own). Limped home at about 10 MPH. Had the car towed to ford dealership who diagnosed a failure of the electronic steering gear and steering rack. They said they've seen this a few times with 2016 explorers. The ford technician was shocked that the vehicle was drive-able at all given the damage to the failed steering gear/rack. He explained that I could have easily lost all steering and had a major accident. The vehicle had been in no accidents or had any other incidents that could account for the failure. The ford technician stated that it looks like a complete failure of the oem parts. Replacement parts and labor cost approximately $2,100.
Certified pre-owned 2016 ford explorer with 56,000 miles. Electronic steering gear failed. Lost power steering. Luckily it happened at low speed while exiting a parking lot near home - no accident. $2,200.00 repair cost; no warranty coverage.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. While driving 60 MPH, the steering seized for approximately 20 minutes and the traction control and steering assist fault warning indicators illuminated. The contact veered to the shoulder of the road and turned off and restarted the vehicle; however, it did not resume normal operation. The vehicle was towed by an independent towing company to the contact's residence. Arundel ford (1561 portland rd, arundel, me 04046, (800) 889-7171) was contacted and scheduled a diagnostic appointment. The vehicle was not repaired and the failure recurred multiple times. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and did not assist. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.
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