What 1,747 owners told NHTSA about the 2015 Ford Explorer

Driving 65-70 mph on highway headed home steering seemed a little stiff going into a curve then cleared up. 10 miles further down the road the steering seems a little hard to keep in my lane and then felt normal again. Coming into town slowing down to about 35-40 mph Service Advancetrac soon light came on. I slowed down as there was no where safe to pull over safely and turned on hazard lights until I could look for a spot to pull over and call my husband. Drove a couple more miles and pulled into a parking lot just as the steering loss light came on and all steering capability was lost. I’ve seen many complaints from owners of same make and model with this problem. Makes me curious why there is no recall on this year model when there are calls for this on previous year models

NHTSA ODI 11469973

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized. The contact manually steered the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with power steering module failure. The mechanic informed the contact that the power steering module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 81,000.

NHTSA ODI 11464521

Steering locks up while driving, no warnings or anything just cannot steer the vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11464279

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The Power Steering Assist Fault and Service Advance Tract messages were displayed. The contact veered to the side of the road and waited. The contact continued driving the vehicle using extra effort to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.

NHTSA ODI 11464055

The Ford electronic rack and pinion system just failed. No warning light, no advance notification. Driving vehicle down road and abs ability to steer vehicle becomes impossible. Stopped vehicle and brought to dealership. In any other circumstance this could have led to a crash with injuries or death. Googled problem, and innumerable instances of this happening with Ford vehicles. Surprised this isn’t a recall item already!!

NHTSA ODI 11463830

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 25 MPH and making right turn, the steering wheel suddenly malfunctioned and became difficult to turn causing the vehicle to drive off the road. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 163,000.

NHTSA ODI 11462208

Electronic power steering failure, no warnings no lights on dash, steering completely bound up was unable to control vehicle, vehicle came to a halt on side of road narrowly missing a service pole, powered off vehicle and started again, steering was active but decided not to risk driving and called a tow

NHTSA ODI 11461235

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH, the power steering failed to operate while the power steering system and advance track warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000. The VIN was not included.

NHTSA ODI 11460927

Electric power steering rack and pinion failure -- no communication to steering module. Currently available for inspection but may require immediate repair or sale of vehicle due to requirement of drivable vehicle. Inability to steer may have resulted in damage to person, vehicle and/or property if not immediately realized and car parked. Problem confirmed by independent service center (AAA Carolinas service center). No inspection of vehicle or component by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others. No warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, although irregular but continuous issues with sensor re: putting transmission in park for 2+ years.

NHTSA ODI 11459664

Rack and pinion failure while driving vehicle at speed. Unable to turn steering wheel without strenuous effort. Terrain Management fault, Advance Trac fault and Steering Assist fault lights/warnings indicated on dashboard.

NHTSA ODI 11459323

The steering system failed twice without notice. The car would not steer while running, nearly causing an accident. The problem had been reproduced and confirmed by the dealer. Uknown if the component was inspected by the manufacturer. There were no warning lamps or messages, the steering simply stopped responding and locked up.

NHTSA ODI 11449280

When making a right hand turn I noticed that the car began making knocking/thumping noises. Shortly after those noises began, when I attempted to turn left the steering wheel got stuck in the left turn position. I had to jerk the steering wheel hard to get it to straighten out. If I had not been able to get it straightened out I could have driven off the road or into oncoming traffic. Ford had to replace the entire steering rack and the dealership acknowledged that this is a known issue for 2015 Explorers.

NHTSA ODI 11449133

I was driving and my power steering failed. The following messades appeared on my dash: Terrain Management System Fault Service AdvanceTrac Hill Assist Fault Electric Power Steering Failure. I was able to turn off the car and turn it back on again and the messages went away and my power steering worked again. A few days later, same issue occurred and the power steering never came back. Very hard to turn currebtly. I did some research and found that Ford had issued a recall for the same issue in previous years for the Explorer. I also found thousands of other owners had the same issue with the 2015 Explorer. Ford needs to step up and issue a recall on the 2015 Explorer for the power steering issue gefore someone is injured or killed.

NHTSA ODI 11445929

The steering on my 2015 Explorer, the rack and pinion, is broken. My SUV has only 55K miles and has never been driven off-road. For repairing this issue, the cost is $3300. I called Sheehy of Gaithersburg, from whom I purchased the SUV, and told them the problem after finding out that this was a known issue. According to them, they are aware of it, but there is no remedy at this time. I was a bit bewildered because there was a remedy, i.e., fix the rack and pinion. Nevertheless, I was told that it was okay to drive with faulty steering despite the safety issue; furthermore, I won't be reimbursed if I decide to fix it. I am just so disappointed that Ford is okay with taking such a position, especially since it is a known safety issue.

NHTSA ODI 11440990

I was driving my Ford Explorer and pulling a trailer behind it. I was about half way through a left hand turn at a major intersection when the power steering stopped working and my vehicle jerked hard to the right. Myself and my family were put at risk due to me barely being able to control the vehicle enough to avoid a collision with another vehicle, a telephone pole, and a curb after the steering system failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealership where the entire steering system was replaced at the cost of $2,500 to my family. There were no indications of any problem before this occurred.

NHTSA ODI 11440682

Explorer has approximately 69k miles. Rack and pinion has to be replaced. Rubbing sound when wheel is turned and steering wheel 'sticks' when turned. Power steering power is also affected. Not under warranty. Checked by independent repair shop.

NHTSA ODI 11438308

Was driving at a speed of 45 mph. Suddenly my power steering went out. Could barely steer it. A steering assist fault service required and advance trac system lights came on. My 4 wheel drive did not work. I have had this vehicle for 3 years and only put 20,000 miles on it. It has a little over 100.000 miles on it. It is gonna cost me 2400.00 to have this issue fixed. I noticed a lot of 2015 Ford Explorer Sport vehicles are having this concern! Please help us!! Thank you so much!

NHTSA ODI 11437701

The rack and pinion is bad and grinds when turning. Yes vehicle is available for inspection if needed. no warning lamped have shown up to date other than major grinding when turning.

NHTSA ODI 11435656

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his son-in-law was driving, the power steering assists error message was displayed however, the vehicle was still drivable. The contact stated that the turn signal failed to stay in place while signaling left or right turn. The turn signal switch failed to operate. The contact stated that several days later while driving the steering wheel was difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to the dealer a month later where the failure was diagnosed as the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was currently at the dealer for repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

NHTSA ODI 11434866

My son-in-law was driving our car with his family and the power steering went out while on the highway. The error message on the car was “Steering Assist Fault Service Required’. He could barely control the car to get it off the highway and back home. My husband took it to the dealership the next day but the error message had disappeared. The dealer was unable to diagnose the problem because they couldn’t get the diagnosis code for the issue. Then I was out with my step daughter driving the car and the power steering went out, same error message along with a new error message that read “Steering Fault Service Now”. This has happened several times so we took the car back up to the dealership and they have told us that they can’t replicate the problem and can’t get the diagnosis code so they can’t fix anything. The car has been with them for five days. I explained to the service writer that this issue keeps happening and the car keeps giving us the error message. Are we supposed to just wait until it goes out again and we end up in a horrific car accident? I have read incidents on this site with the same year, make and model all talking about the same issue yet Ford hasn’t recalled the 2015 Explorer to fix this problem. We have photos of the error messages and showed the service writer yet as it stands now they can’t do anything.

NHTSA ODI 11434227

I drove to a soccer tournament with my wife and 3 small kids over 2 hours away from my home. about 5 mins away I received an alert that my advance trac system was disabled. When I was pulling in the hotel parking lot I received a warning that I had a steering system failure and to stop the vehicle. At this point it the power steering was totally disable and I barely missed hitting a parked car due to lack of steering control. I was able to guide the Explorer to an open space in the hotel parking lot. I was totally frustrated and terrified because if the failure had happened just two minutes earlier I would have likely crashed at highway speeds! So I was stranded in a new town 2 hours away from home with no idea how I was going to get home or how to get my Explorer diagnosed. I had the Explorer towed to a nearby dealership. (Midland Ford in Midland Michigan) to get it diagnosed. In the meantime I had to find away to get my kids and my wife back home 2 hours away before Monday morning (School & Work) without a car and on a Sunday. I was able to to find a way home but we arrived very early Monday morning. I am now facing a repair job of $2600. I surely do not think that I should pay for what is apparently a common and known defect for my Explorer. A clear safety issue that put me and my family at risk while leaving me stranded 2 hours from home.

NHTSA ODI 11432811

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The "Steering Assist Fault Service Required" and "Service Advance Track" messages were displayed on the instrument panel. The contact pulled into a nearby parking lot. The contact stated she turned off the vehicle and when she restarted the vehicle, the steering wheel was easier to maneuver. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact stated that the failure had been reoccurring while driving. The dealer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle in for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.

NHTSA ODI 11432831

Power steering assist light came on and I lost my power steering all of a sudden. Stopped car turned it off started again and it worked for a minute then came back on.

NHTSA ODI 11432612

Electronic steering assist gear failed and complete loss of steering was experienced. Driver was traveling at 45 MPH at the time of failure which could have resulted in serious injury or death. Ford was contacted 72 hours ago and has failed to make contact.

NHTSA ODI 11427807

Multiple times I have started vehicle and the “steering assist fault service required” light has come on. Never stays on for long and still able to drive car. Spoke with Ford dealership and they said I need to bring it in when the light is on. Well the light has come on as well as “service advance Trac” light and now I can not drive my car. Have lost all power steering. I have looked up recalls and see that this has been a problem for 2011-2013 and a lawsuit in process for 2016-2018. Not sure why 2015 is not also a recall because I have seen multiple complaints for the same problem. I believe this is a Ford problem and should not have to pay to have this fixed. I am lucky I was still in my driveway when this happened. I now have to pay a towing company to get my car to dealership to have serviced, when it could have been taken care of multiple times if it was included in recall.

NHTSA ODI 11426657