What 1,671 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 Ford Explorer Gas

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while her son was driving at an undisclosed speed, he became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring increased effort to maneuver the vehicle. The steering assist disabled warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the steering gear. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11659482

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. The contact stated the steering wheel had seized. The contact stated that the failure had occurred while turning and almost caused a crash. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed electronic steering rack. The contact was informed that the electronic steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11657773

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The traction control warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that the spindle rod, steering gear assembly, fuse, hex nut, and bolt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 102,745.

NHTSA ODI 11648361

Power steering assist is constantly going out.

NHTSA ODI 11643327

Power steering failed during normal operations. This occurance was in 2021. Paid Ford over $2000 to perform repairs. Now January 2025 same issue occurred. This safety hazard needs to be addressed

NHTSA ODI 11642875

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 2 MPH, the message "Loss of Power Steering Assist" was displayed. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized and was difficult to turn to the left or to the right. The contact stopped the vehicle, turned it off, and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle regained power steering functionality. The contact had the vehicle towed to an independent mechanic. The vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the power steering assist had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering). The manufacturer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

NHTSA ODI 11642748

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while reversing, the steering wheel failed to turn as intended. The contact noticed an abnormal grinding sound coming from the vehicle. The contact used added force to turn the steering wheel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed power steering unit. The contact was informed that the power steering unit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

NHTSA ODI 11640722

Steering sounds like it has a groaning noise, I took it into a shop and they noticed it too while I was getting my transmission rebuilt. They could not figure out what the problem was or where it was coming from but assumed it was from the tie rod boots on one side of the car, but all the research I’ve been doing and all other comments about it have been for the rack and pinion starting to fail. It started happening about a month ago (early December 2024) for me where after sitting overnight the steering didn’t want to turn, that stopped happening, but now while driving the steering locks up and breaks free, and you can hear a groaning noise when turning the wheel both left and right when stationary or at low speeds.

NHTSA ODI 11634507

Hi my name is [XXX] and Im an owner of a 2014 Ford Explorer sport my vehicle is at the service department for almost 2 months already before i took the vehicle into the dealership to get fix i was going to have a car crash thanks to the front tires of the car. Both front tires locked and the car slide really bad that day the steering wheel went loose and i wasnt able to control the vehicle. I took it to the service department at a ford dealership where I was told that the ABS was falling the computer module was not working and the traction control has an issue too INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11633816

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized with the traction control and check engine warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the power steering control module (PSCM) had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 131,856.

NHTSA ODI 11631282

The vehicles steering stopped working with no warning and a Steering Assist Fault alert came on the dashboard.

NHTSA ODI 11630992

The electric steering went out on my way home on a very curvy road. The rack and pinion apparently has failed. Please recall this part to get it fixed before someone gets hurt.

NHTSA ODI 11627096

Lane keeping system malfunction. Steering assist malfunction. I have no power steering and it’s hard to control vehicle. Ford diagnosed that I need a new steering rack and sensor.

NHTSA ODI 11623742

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality, causing the steering wheel to become difficult to turn in either direction. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the steering rack was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 60,346.

NHTSA ODI 11620671

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 MPH and making a left turn, the vehicle suddenly lost power steering functionality. The traction control and the electronic stability control warning light were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where the contact was informed that the failure might be related to the power steering control module(PSCM); however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. No further information was provided. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 170,000.

NHTSA ODI 11618053

My vehicle has been experiencing the "death wobble". I've done research online and I've seen other people complain about the issue as well as videos. Whenever I drive my vehicle, I hear noises coming from the front end such as scraping and my steering wheel wobbles and it's excessive while on the freeway. I've gotten the wheel bearings replaced, tires rotated, replaced front passenger tire, breaks and rotors replaced. My axel and car were lifted in the air with no damages.

NHTSA ODI 11617680

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH and attempting to make a left turn, the power steering failed without warning. The contact depressed the brake pedal and turned the vehicle off. After waiting for a while, the contact restarted the vehicle and continued driving at slower speeds. The contact noticed that when the steering wheel was turned to the left or the right, the steering wheel seized and jerked the steering wheel and the vehicle moved in the direction as intended. The vehicle was taken to a body shop where the vehicle was inspected, and the contact was made aware that the vehicle had an electric power steering assist, not a hydraulic power steering fluid system. The contact was referred to the dealer for assistance. The dealer was contacted, and an appointment was scheduled; however, the vehicle had not been taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 149,000.

NHTSA ODI 11616136

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal sound and lost power steering functionality. No warning light was illuminated. The contact research and was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not drivable and was towed to an independent mechanic to be diagnostic tested. The contact was informed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

NHTSA ODI 11615594

My steering system needs to be replaced. While driving, my steering became very hard to control. My vehicle sways and I wrecked bc of it. Ford said it’s the steering gear that needs to be replaced for $2600. My driver and lane keeping assist lights came on when this started happening. My car needs a new sensor because of the wreck as well. This has prevented me from attending to everyday activities such as work. I have lost so much money and will probably lose everything I have like my home because of this. Ford needs to fix this now!

NHTSA ODI 11615137

The whole power steering system has failed as it was being driven in a parking lot. It was at low speeds so no crash involved but was almost impossible to control or turn steering wheel. It said "power steering system needs serviced" but had been working fine when I parked it just a little while before.

NHTSA ODI 11615186

The steering wheel failed out of nowhere and is now making a hub bearing grind sound the vehicle tells me “power steering assist fault”.

NHTSA ODI 11615019

I was making a u turn and the power steering all but gave out on me. And a message came up on the dash saying “ steering assist fault service required. Luckily I was going at a very slow speed and was close to home. This could be a major problem if on a freeway

NHTSA ODI 11615064

While driving the Ford Explorer the Electronic steering fails and can cause a crash.

NHTSA ODI 11614370

Steering noise. Steering will randomly lock up or extremely difficult to gain control. My car is a 2014 Ford Explorer bought new. 2011-13 & 2015-16 have recalls for steering issues realted to same symptoms and safety risk. Ford will not recall or procide cistomer care for this known safety risk for 2014 models.

NHTSA ODI 11613430

The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle had lost power steering functionality with a message to “Drive Safely” displayed. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 MPH, the steering wheel seized, and the vehicle became difficult to maneuver. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and inspected the vehicle but was unable to find the cause for the failure. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to the destination where the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but was not diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and it was confirmed the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer opened a case for the failure. The manufacturer had referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 180,000. The VIN was unavailable.

NHTSA ODI 11612860