What 821 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Ford Explorer Police Intercept

Air bag light on dash is on. Comes on and have taken it in several times to be fixed only to come back on

NHTSA ODI 11456349

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of electric power steering assist. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and directed the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA. The failure mileage was 133,837.

NHTSA ODI 11455907

In September 2021 the tranfer case craked and also cracked the transmission. I had both replaced. I got the car back in April of 2022 3 weeks later the tranfer case cracked again no waring lights no warn or symptoms indicating it was going bad just cracked.

NHTSA ODI 11455662

Driving the vehicle and the steering stopped working. Power steering assist fault was on the dash , along with the traction control failure.

NHTSA ODI 11455298

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost power steering assist. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed that an unknown steering wheel part needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that there was a previous recall for the steering associated with the VIN however, the recall had expired in September 2021. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.

NHTSA ODI 11454464

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed with electric power-assisted steering (EPAS) failure. The contact was informed that the EPAS needed to be replaced. The dealer referred the contact to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but declined the EPAS replacement. The failure mileage was approximately 139,000.

NHTSA ODI 11453646

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 25 mph, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering wheel needed to be replaced however it was on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 240,000.

NHTSA ODI 11453367

At approximately 122,000 miles, my 2012 Ford Explorer had no power steering and error messages came up on the dash. It was towed to my local Goodyear where 7 error codes came up. They replaced the battery and 4 out of the 3 error codes went away but power steering was still locked up and not drive-able. They advised me I needed to take it to a Ford Dealership. Had to wait 2 weeks for an appointment at my local Ford Dealership where they advised me my Steering Gear needed to be replaced. After researching this, there was a recall on this. My vehicle fell under this recall, however it was just 5 months past the 10 year manufactures warranty expired. My local dealership advised me they tried to have it covered but Ford denied their request. How convenient that it was just 5 months outside of the expiration date. We called Ford customer care and they basically said "too bad". There are several hundred complaints on this SAFETY issue and Ford customer care said "it's NOT a SAFETY recall". How is this not a safety problem? So now I am out $3000 that I didn't have on a faulty vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11451184

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 15 MPH, the steering wheel locked inadvertently, causing him to lose control of the vehicle and the vehicle drove off the road. The contact depressed the brake pedal and was able to stop the vehicle. The warning message "Power Steering Failure" was illuminated. The contact was able to continue to drive the vehicle by forcefully steering the steering wheel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering gear needed to be replaced and the repair could be completed under the Customer Satisfaction Program: 15N01. The dealer submitted a claim to SSSC but the claim was denied. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that the vehicle should be repaired under the Customer Satisfaction Program: 15N01. The manufacturer contacted the dealer and the dealer resubmitted a claim to SSSC; however, SSSC denied the claim as the vehicle had exceeded 150,000 miles. The contact also referenced NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The contact followed up with the manufacturer and was referred to NHTSA for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 250,000.

NHTSA ODI 11450473

while driving the car the following errors popped up Service Advance Trac and Service Power Steering Now, once errors popped the steering because difficult for driving without a large amount of pressure being applied for steering. I had children in the car and this could of become worse, but was thankful it was a straight shot to home. Fear is that this will happen to the next person driving with their children and it will be a more dangerous problem

NHTSA ODI 11449506

The hinge of the hatchback has cracked. water enters into my car through the rear right hinge. The water then runs down my 3rd row right seat belt. Down into the storage area for the spare. Mold has started growing. this is a safety hazard. I have searched and seen multiple complaints of the same issue. I purchased this car in 2018. And noticed from day one of rain. I also noticed the previous owners have tried to remedy with some type of caulking or glue. The car had been inspected by my mechanic.

NHTSA ODI 11448930

While driving my automatic power steering light came on and I was unable to easily steer the vehicle either at the speed I was going nor when I slowed down. Thankfully there were not that many cars in the parking area I turned into as I was unable to park within lines of a parking space. I called aaa to tow the car home, but the steering functionality had returned. I do not feel safe driving until this is repaired. It has not yet been repaired.

NHTSA ODI 11448846

Heavy rain causes water to leak inside vehicle. Repaired sunroof on which electrical parts was “burned” out due to water leakage. Water continues to leak inside of vehicle through driver and 3rd row (driver side) seatbelts. Googled issue and looks like many people are having this problem. There is no way that dealership was not aware of this issue as it definitely rains in Indiana where car was purchased. Just would like this to be known and fixed as this can cause not only electrical issues (sunroof went out, radio dashboard has problems) but also health issue as mold can form in vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11447805

My vehicle lost power steering on December 4th, 2021, 10 days after the extended warranty date. After waiting several weeks for my vehicle to be fixed my power steering rack was finally replaced. An independent mechanic replaced the power steering rack the first week of January, 2022. I picked up the vehicle on 011122 and it drove fine. Approximately 15 miles later, the service power steering message appeared and I lost power steering again.

NHTSA ODI 11447178

The contact's husband owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon startup of the vehicle, the power steering assist had failed as the power steering assist fault warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. After another man attempted to steer the vehicle, the contact left the vehicle in the parking lot and got a ride home. The next day, the contract called for a tow; however, the power steering functionality returned. With the tow truck following behind her, the contact was able to drive the vehicle to an independent mechanic. After a diagnostic test was performed, the mechanic informed her that he was not authorized to service the vehicle and advised her to take the vehicle to a dealer. The contact was then able to drive the vehicle to a dealer where she was given an appointment for a diagnostic test. The contact was able to drive the vehicle home and was instructed by the dealer to not drive the vehicle until it was repaired. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

NHTSA ODI 11445915

Upon starting the vehicle dash lights illuminate saying power steering assist faulty. Following this the hill descent and traction control lights illuminate with a faulty code and then abs. Car was scanned with multiple error codes and cleared but the problem reoccurs. Looking into recalls there is one of power steering but the car is outside of the warranty with having 177,000 miles and just over the 10 years. Reading other peoples reports this needs to be recalled, it’s putting lots of peoples lives at risk and they aren’t even aware of the problem ford fails to acknowledge.

NHTSA ODI 11445770

The power steering on the vehicle stopped working while driving. The vehicle is currently at Ken Groody Ford in Redlands, CA (Formerly Redlands Ford). The vehicle gave a yellow Service Power Steering Soon indication and the steering became sluggish. Shortly after, within minutes, the indicator came on in red and the vehicle was unable to be effectively steered. This is the second time this has occurred on this vehicle. The first time was two years ago in November 2019 and was repaired at the same dealership.

NHTSA ODI 11445125

I had my vehicle taken to a local ford dealership for recall 14S06 in 2017. The computer was reprogrammed but nothing was replaced. I have had the "Power Steering Assist Fault" numerous times in the last 4 years but I never lost power steering. On December 3, 2021, I received the same message; however, on this occasion I did lose control of my power steering. Upon diagnosis, it appears my rack and pinion need to be replaced at 117000 miles and 10 days over program number 15N01.

NHTSA ODI 11443122

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 20 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated that the power steering assist warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with needing the power steering rack replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.

NHTSA ODI 11442454

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 70 MPH, the steering wheel locked up and was difficult to maneuver. The power steering assist fault message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with rack and pinion failure with codes U3000-49, U3000-96, and U3000-72. The rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was included in a recall for the steering however, the vehicle was 24 days past the 10-year warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 148,000.

NHTSA ODI 11441466

While driving 2 hours from home, service power steering light came on, steering became impossible to turn by myself. My friend and I turned steering wheel together to get vehicle off main road. We walked to the closest auto parts store to buy power steering fluid assuming there must be a leak. Instructed that it was electrical and needed to be repaired by mechanic. Closest Ford dealer was 40 minutes away and was very honest that if I had vehicle towed to them that my car would not be looked at for close to 2 weeks. Got car to local dealership and was told that it would be $2,000 to repair. No recalls or problems were mentioned to me by dealership. Did research to find that many people are having the same problem and called dealership back. They said there was not an actual recall but that there was an extended warranty placed on the part up to 150,000 miles. Like everyone else on the complaints page, my car is over that. 165,000 miles for me. Sounds like Ford did some good negotiating and was able to keep this from going to a full recall even though so many problems. I realize I won't be spared the economic loss of $2,000 but am very glad that I did not end up in an accident to find out about the well hidden problem!!!

NHTSA ODI 11440470

The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the service power steering warning message was illuminated, and the vehicle became difficult to steer. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on three separate occasions for failure. The first time the vehicle was taken to the dealer, it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion were faulty. The dealer replaced the rack and pinion; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back a second time to the dealer, and the dealer cleaned the power steering connector. The failure recurred a third time. The vehicle was taken back a third time to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14E001000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 173,000.

NHTSA ODI 11439770

As we were driving the car with the children, 4,6 and 13 the car suddenly became unable to steer as we were driving down a busy shopping mall area. The steering wheel became locked and heavy. It turns out that the steering assist motor is known to fail on these vehicles and Ford only covers them up to 150,000 miles, and my specific vehicle has 154,000 miles. This should be a recall.

NHTSA ODI 11438742

Back up camera reversing rear images which is very dangerous. Also the camera often times just doesn't work at all.

NHTSA ODI 11438511

Water coolant leaking out, engine over heating. Having to constantly add coolant and limiting driving of the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11438509