What 2,224 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Ford Explorer Police Intercept

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating. Additionally, coolant was discovered leaking from the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the water pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11494863

The PTU (Power Transfer Unit) was engineered without a drain plug and described by Ford as "Maintenance Free" for the life of the vehicle. Due to the close proximity of the PTU to hot exhaust components, small fluid capacity, and no recommendation by Ford to be serviced for the life of the vehicle, my PTU started failing within warranty under 50,000 miles. The propane smell within the cab of the vehicle is a tell tale of the PTU fluid breaking down under severe heat conditions, spewing out of the vent and flashing on the surrounding exhaust components. This was not diagnosed at that time by my local Ford dealer, so the problem continued until the PTU finally failed out of warranty at approximately 71,000 miles. Research confirmed that this PTU design failure has been recognized by Ford and that it can lead to a complete failure while the vehicle is in motion, causing loss of control and risk to lives. Recognition by Ford of this problem in the 2013 model year Explorer is self evident, as later model years incorporated air dams to direct air to flow over the PTU to help with cooling, and incorporated drain plugs and recommended service intervals to properly service the PTU. There have been thousands of premature PTU failures in Ford vehicles, but Ford has not yet issued a recall or replacement PUT's with a drain plug for serviceability for my 2013 model year. My PTU had to be replaced at my cost with another non-serviceable PTU, that will no doubt fail prematurely. I am concerned that my vehicle could pose risk to my family's safety in the future, because the repair that was done by my Ford dealer is not a long term, complete solution.

NHTSA ODI 11494620

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds when the power steering would suddenly fail to make it difficult to maneuver the vehicle and or seize complete movement. The contact stated that when the failure occurred they would park the vehicle and maneuver the steering wheel until they were able to gain control. The contact had made an appointment with the dealer but not taken the vehicle to be diagnosed as of yet. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 190,000.

NHTSA ODI 11493861

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while having routine maintenance performed on the vehicle, the mechanic noticed there was no coolant in the reservoir and the water pump was leaking. The contact was informed that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 115,000.

NHTSA ODI 11493142

I was driving the kids to school and the power steering assist light came on and then the steering went and the vehicle became very hard to steer. I called Ford twice and spoke to two different representatives who said because my vehicle was not built between May 17, 2010 and February 28, 2012 there was nothing they could do, upon looking at the over 1500 complaints on this website over 620 are for this same issue with 2013 explorers built just outside of the above dates. Does there have to be injury, fatality or fire before this is addressed.

NHTSA ODI 11492787

Every now and then, the "Power Steering Assist Fault" light would come one, usually once I parked or when I first started the car. When I would turn off the car and restart, the light would no longer be on and there were no power steering problems. This went on for a month or two. It seemed like it was just a faulty warning light. Then one day while at my daughters school, thankfully, I was parked, my "Power Steering Assist Fault" light came on and power steering no longer works. The car is extremely difficult to turn and is not safe to drive.

NHTSA ODI 11492634

Water pump leak after 123000 miles. Antifreeze got in engine and may have damaged the engine. No warning given. Found anti freeze under vehicle in garage. Ford website expects water pump to last 150K miles. Had to have vehicle towed to repair shop. Estimate around $3k to repair. Read on Ford forums of many folks having similar experience. Why no recall on these issues?

NHTSA ODI 11492669

I have owned this car since 2013 - since it was new. For the 2nd time, I am getting messages saying "switch to park" when I put the car in park. The first time was in 2017 after about 48000 miles. When I took it to the dealer they replaced a part of the transmission. Now again it is happening in 2022 at almost 72000 miles. Obviously the replacement part is just as bad as the original - probably worse since the 2nd time it only lasted about 24000 miles. I now have had to pay to replace a part of the transmission 2 times. Is this a message I could have ignored? Is it only a faulty sensor? Or is the transmission really not in park? Who knows what else it wrong with the transmission. If you google "switch to park ford explorer" you will see that there are many many others with the same problem. Even the dealer's service person when I brought it in to be fixed a 2nd time said they see this problem a lot. I have bought and driven Fords for the last 40 years - usually past 100000 miles each - and have never had this problem occur.

NHTSA ODI 11492392

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65-70 MPH, the steering wheel became significantly difficult to steer. Additionally, there was an abnormally strong burning odor coming through the A/C vents. The contact stated that she lost control of the steering wheel and the vehicle veered towards the opposite lane of traffic. The contact depressed the brake pedal and the vehicle stopped. The contact then contacted the Highway Patrol who drove the vehicle to the side of the road. The contact stated that the power steering assist fault message was displayed with another unknown message. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined the failure was associated with NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was then towed to another independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the power steering motor and electrical wiring had experienced an electrical short. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not provide any assistance. A case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

NHTSA ODI 11491795

This vehicle has had recurring instances of failed power steering. It will happen at low speeds where the power steering malfunctions and does not work until the car is shut off and turned back on. This can be especially dangerous when driving near other people or cars when we experience loss of control. Thankfully no collisions have occurred yet but it’s is an issue that has been recurring. There was a recall set out for electrical power steering failure - #14V286000. Unfortunately this recall only affects 2011-2013 FORD Explorers up until Feb 28, 2012 while this one was made Mar 7, 2012 (just a week outside of the recall). This was frustrating because the vehicle is experiencing every symptom that the recall #14V286000 states it fixes.

NHTSA ODI 11491109

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the steering wheel failed to operate as needed. The power steering assist message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact notified the dealer of the failure and was informed that there was no open recall on the vehicle. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and informed him that his vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.

NHTSA ODI 11490968

Driving on I95 South in Daytona Beach, Florida during crowded weekend event traffic, the lane assist malfunctioned, would not turn on and then immediately experienced power steering failure. Both warning and failure lights illuminated on the dashboard. The power steering is electric and turning the wheel was near impossible. I had 4 occupants in the vehicle and almost caused a very severe accident crossing lanes of traffic to attempt to reach the shoulder. It is near impossible to turn the wheel and although the car is driveable, its not steerable. Found out that the NHSTA campaign # 14V286000 describes the same issue as I have. Ford recall #14S06 is that recall but the issue I now have is my vehicle was built 1 day after the recall parameters. The car is sitting unable to be safely operated, and I'm asking for NHSTA to extend the dates of original recall from February to March to include this vehicle in the existing recall for the necessary repairs.

NHTSA ODI 11490575

The 2013 Ford Explorer power steering stopped working at 89,100 miles. The mechanic we took it to said this should be a recall. Mechanic provided me with recall 14S06, which describes my problem. I called ford and the vin didn’t come up as in this recall. I think it needs to be added to the recall, Mechanic says steering rack needs to be replaced. Lots of people have same problem it’s not safe and too expensive. We bought this car brand new and it can’t even steer after less than 90k miles. I hope others complain

NHTSA ODI 11489386

The water pump failed and left my family stranded in northern New Mexico. This issue overheats the engine making the vehicle un-drivable. Super dangerous and apparently very common in ford explorers.

NHTSA ODI 11488485

The contact's wife owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while his wife was pulling into the driveway, the steering wheel locked inadvertently. A message indicating a power steering system failure was displayed. The contact's wife parked and turned off the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure persisted upon starting the vehicle the next day. The dealer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that they could not assist as the VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

NHTSA ODI 11487193

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 5 MPH and parking the vehicle, she heard a loud noise coming from the engine fan and the temperature gauge was rising. The contact stated that while her brother was inspecting the vehicle, he noticed a leak underneath the vehicle, and the radiator fluid was low. The contract called two local dealers: Fort Mill Ford (801 Gold Hill Rd, Fort Mill, SC 29708: (803) 948-8202) and Rock Hill Ford (1884 Canterbury Glen Ln, Rock Hill, SC 29730: (803) 573-4302) and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 148,650.

NHTSA ODI 11486345

No incidents steering makes loud noise

NHTSA ODI 11486186

While driving home from work on the 95 (highway) I noticed that I could barely control the steering in my 2013 Ford Explorer. Fortunately I was able to make it home and my husband arranged to have it towed to a mechanic who inspected the vehicle and advised us that it had a rack and pinion failure. He mentioned that it would be very dangerous to attempt to drive the vehicle with this issue and that the total cost to repair would be over $4K. I recently replaced the engine on this vehicle which cost me over $2K. I do not have the $4K at this time to replace the rack and pinion. This is extremely upsetting. Is there any recall will this issue?

NHTSA ODI 11486224

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the second-row driver’s side seat belt had malfunctioned and would not safely secure the passenger. The contact indicated that the seat belt buckle mechanism had failed and could not be latched. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were both notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 76,000.

NHTSA ODI 11485872

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at a slow speed, the steering wheel failed to operate as needed with the Traction Control warning light illuminated. The contact attempted to reset the battery; however, the failure persisted. The contact notified the dealer and the manufacturer of the failure and was informed that the VIN was not under recall. The contact linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 165,000.

NHTSA ODI 11485597

As stated in the 2 of the articles in this year make and model range 2013-2018 Ford explorer. The car has been up to date with maintenance, after a couple thousand miles after the oil changed was. I then took the car to a mechanic shop and was told the water pump and thermostat were failing. I stopped driving the car and decided to take it to a ford dealer. After visiting Palmetto Ford in Miami. I was told the car did not have an open recall for this vin and they did not cover it. It is evident that the problem has been present in many ford explorers in this year and has been a safety concern since the car overheats while on the road. I will need to have a recall placed on my vin number so that i can take this to a ford dealer and get it resolved asap so that i can get back to my normal living as I do not have a transportation and happen to be losing time from work and spending money in rides. My vin number is provided in this report Vin: [XXX] 2013 Ford Explorer Limited Recall 16v925000 (engine and engine cooling) https://www.bing.com/search?q=2013+ford+explorer+water+pump+recall&cvid=744c57e549d049c2bbcd35d89655cedd&aqs=edge.0.0l3.8405j0j1&pglt=41&FORM=ANNTA1&PC=U531 https://www.carproblemzoo.com/ford/explorer/water-pump-problems.php#:~:text=The%20contact%20reference%20manufacturer%20recall%20number%3A%2016s46%20campaign,not%20assist.%20The%20failure%20mileage%20was%20approximately%2065%2C000. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI 11484748

[XXX] 13 recalls listed two of which are the electronic power steering and traction control. I bought this vehicle and less than five days later the power steering goes out. So I'm going to loose my job and I could have lost my life yet Ford is denying there are any recalls and refusing to fix them. I am also a veteran and this is the last bit of bad news I can bare. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI 11483860

Power steering control module causing power steering to stop and loss of control to car. I took to auto shop and had codes reset and happened again with in an hour.

NHTSA ODI 11483740

My water pump failed while driving which made the car overheat and instantly shut off while driving. I have maintained the engine. The internal water pump is leaking the coolant into the motor. Why an internal water Pump?

NHTSA ODI 11482787

Steering Assembly Part E5BZ3504AM failed while driving down the interstate. Initially power steering was lost but as it was driven further on the interstate, there was more play in the steering wheel, to the point I was struggling to keep it steady in the lane. This put my entire family and those around me at risk. Vehicle is currently unsafe to drive. Explorer is at local dealer. The dealer states the part is on indefinite backorder with > 10,000 of the Steering Assembly parts on back order across the US. Our local dealer has a total of 3 2013 Ford Explorers awaiting this part. This sounds like a material defect that should be addressed by the manufacturer.

NHTSA ODI 11482607