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

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle however, the vehicle failed to regain steering functionality. The contact stated that the All-Terrain System and Forward Collision warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic and the contact was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.

NHTSA ODI 11443242

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the power steering assist fault warning message would appear on the instrument panel. The contact also stated that excessive force was needed to steer the vehicle while driving at various speeds. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer where they confirmed that the electrical power steering was defective. The contact was informed that his vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 152,000.

NHTSA ODI 11442286

Right rear brake caliper has failed twice. Tire shop diagnosed problem both times. We’ve replaced the caliper and brakes on the car the first time and are in the process of getting parts to fix again Started hearing loud popping noise from front end and now we have a grinding noise when turning steering wheel. When driving the vehicle the steering catches when turning right or left causing it to feel like it isn’t stable. The car feels like it wanders on straight stretches and you have to fight the steering. Husband diagnosed rack and pinion. Problem now is we can’t get parts

NHTSA ODI 11441813

The Power steering failed on my 2013 Explorer XLT. I Brought my vehicle to my local Ford dealership service center: Corwin Ford Reno 3600 Kietzke Ln, Reno, NV. 775-329-8800. The service representative told me that the vehicles core steering had an internal failure and that it would take up to 2 months to get the parts and cost $3,173.39 to affect the steering repair. I asked and was told that Ford has over 1,300 of these specific steering units on back order. This tells me that they not only burned through their reserve supply of that part, but that they also have a demand for 1,300 more ! This is an obvious safety issue which has rendered my Explorer un-drivable. If the failure had occurred at high speed the consequences could have been grave! Apparently, I'm not the only one experiencing this specific issue. In my opinion, the steering was inadequately engineered, resulting in premature failure. My Explorer is my wife's daily driver. It has never been taken "off road" or subjected to any other duress. It is strictly a city/highway vehicle. After contacting Ford (Case No. CAS-34220695-K8P5P6 CRM:0222477) and voicing my concern, All that they offered was to expedite the parts request. I am 63 years old and have owned 16 automobiles, 9 have been Fords. Never have any of them required any service to the steering mechanism, much less a total failure of that system. Ford has an obvious problem with this part and I should not be required to pay over $3,000.00 to correct their engineering shortcumming. I respectfully request that you intervene on my behalf and attempt to resolve the issue. There are no open recalls or warranties on this vehicle at this time.

NHTSA ODI 11441364

Electric power steering inop. POWER STEERING ASSIST FAULT displayed.

NHTSA ODI 11439704

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to turn and with an abnormal sound. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated she was able to drive to her residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000. Vehicle has been sold.*JB

NHTSA ODI 11439385

I have been having problem with my emergency brakes , the brake light system is present and i have took it to brake check and they inspected it and they said everything look good i have had this problem for several months

NHTSA ODI 11439182

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle was jerking. The contact stated that the vehicle lost power steering assist before the driver lost control of the vehicle. The traction control warning light was illuminated along with the service power steering message displayed. The driver sustained injuries to her arm however, no medical attention was provided. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 188,000.

NHTSA ODI 11438871

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle and moving to the passenger seat, he smelled a strong gasoline odor. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The contact looked under the gasoline tank and saw gas leaking onto the floor. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle could not be repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V227000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) because the VIN was not included. The contact contacted a second dealer - Don's Ford (5712 Horatio St, Utica, NY 13502) who confirmed that the information of the previous dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11438041

I drive a 2013 Ford Explorer Limited 4WD. While driving to the store last week I entered a roundabout when suddenly the wrench icon showed on my dash with a message display that read, "terrain management fault." The car would not accelerate even when I pressed the pedal all the way to the ground. My momentum took me out of the roundabout where I pulled over in a parking lot. As I put the car in park It begin to shake in idle. I turned the engine off and waited a few seconds then tuned it back on. The car drove just fine after that for about two days then this incident happened again twice in one day. I took the vehicle to the local ford dealership and they said they could not get the issue to present again so there was nothing that they could do. I took the car back home and it has happened a few more times. This is a total of about 7 times in the past 3 weeks and Ford cannot help remedy this issue. These incidents have put my family in dangerous situations. When researching online I found multiple accounts of this same issue. According to online forums it looks like it may be a problem with the throttle body.

NHTSA ODI 11438045

All doors sporadically do not unlock. Sometimes it one sometimes it’s two sometimes it’s three. The back doors locked and will not unlock with the key fob, the indoor lock controls, or manually attempting to unlock the doors. The rear doors cannot be opened from the outside or inside when the locking mechanisms stop working. It poses a large risk when there are children in the car. And the front doors can be opened from the inside when the locking mechanisms stop working. It seems as though the locks start to act up when the weather is below 60°F. It is so sporadic that we can’t risk to take our family or children anywhere as we have to maneuver them out of car seats to get them out through front doors instead. I have taken our vehicle into our local Ford dealer for inspection upon which they stated that a specific component wasn’t working and it needed to be replaced, although that’s not the case considering how sporadic the locks are. They work when it’s warm and usually during the spring and summer, but all of a sudden when it’s below 60° they only want to work every so often. They should be a safety recall considering when people can’t get out of their car it poses a large risk. There are no warnings for this happening, and I don’t believe that the Ford dealership is even aware of what causes this as I’ve seen on many online forums that a lot of Ford owners have this problem. This has been going on since we purchased our car in June 2020

NHTSA ODI 11437786

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with needing the rack and pinion replaced. The vehicle was repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The failure mileage was approximately 99,000.

NHTSA ODI 11437805

Power steering assist fault. Lost power steering while driving.

NHTSA ODI 11437844

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that after restarting the vehicle, the power steering assist fault message displayed, and the steering wheel was very difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering rack was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the NHTSA campaign 14V286000 (Steering). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 134,000. THE CONSUMER STATED VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL DO TO NOT BEING MANUFACTURED AT A PARTICULAR PLANT.

NHTSA ODI 11437351

1. Water Pump leaking, Explorer ran hot, needs new water pump and transmission cooling line. 2. Steering suspension has a left and right popping sound, while turning steering wheel. 3. Steering knuckle has play in it while parked and engine is off.

NHTSA ODI 11436060

The steering got harder to steer and it is almost impossible to turn when you are pulling out

NHTSA ODI 11435925

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that after the vehicle was serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V746000 (Suspension) the vehicle experienced rear-end stability issues causing the vehicle to fishtail while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 111,000.

NHTSA ODI 11435557

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 80 MPH, the power steering failed, and the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The contact was able to drive to her residence. The contact's uncle drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic since it was difficult to steer the vehicle. The mechanic diagnosed the failure as a power steering failure and informed the contact that there was a recall. The vehicle was not repaired and remained with the independent mechanic. The dealer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.

NHTSA ODI 11434653

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the steering wheel stiffened with the "service power steering" and service advance track" messages on the instrument panel. Despite the failure, the contact was able to drive the vehicle home using excessive force to steer the vehicle. Once the contact arriver at her residence, the steering wheel became more difficult to steer. The contact's husband was unable to turn the steering wheel. Both the dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and both informed her that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The contact also stated that prior to the failure, the steering while would remain locked in the turn position and that she had to manually adjust the steering wheel to correct the steering. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11434461

Driving it and lost power steering and the wheel got very hard and almost crashed my Explorer

NHTSA ODI 11434173

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the power steering assist failed, and the steering wheel was stiff and became difficult to turn. The power steering assist and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to drive to his residence. The dealer was made aware of the failure and scheduled an upcoming appointment for diagnosis. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 82,410.

NHTSA ODI 11434271

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the contact started to smell an abnormal gasoline and exhaust odor inside the vehicle. The contact started to feel a burning sensation in her eyes and chest. Additionally, the contact developed a headache and rolled down the windows, turned off the air conditioner to eliminate the odor inside the vehicle. The contact decided to drive back to the residence because of the fumes. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the vacuum pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The local dealer was contacted to have the vehicle diagnosed a second time however, the contact was informed that there was an out of pocket cost for the inspection. The contact declined the inspection due to the cost. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 88,500.

NHTSA ODI 11433796

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon starting her vehicle, the steering wheel would lock up with the power steering warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact called the independent mechanic and was informed of NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) which he linked to the failure. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed her that the vehicle was not under recall. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and the contact was provided the same information as the dealer. The manufacturer filed a case. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was unknown. Consumer stated it happened several times.

NHTSA ODI 11433595

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while his wife was driving 55 MPH, the power steering assist warning light illuminated. The steering wheel locked up when the warning light illuminated. The vehicle was restarted, and the driver pulled over to the side of the road. The driver was waiting on the two trucks to arrive to tow the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.

NHTSA ODI 11433036

The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 MPH, the power assist steering fault message displayed on the instrument panel and the power steering malfunctioned, causing the steering wheel to become very difficult to turn in either direction. The traction control message was also displayed and the vehicle loss functionality. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified, and the contact was informed that the vehicle was included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the failure listed in the recall. The failure mileage was 177,000.

NHTSA ODI 11432926