What 2,429 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Ford Explorer

STEERING WHEEL NOT MOVING, NOT ABLE TO CONTROL IT.MILAGE ON CAR 42,000. CAR TOWED TO A DEALER. THEY FOUND, THAT THE RACK AND PINION IS COMPLETELY LOCKED AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. ESTIMATE REPAIR AT 2,400. WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER IT. A CASE WAS OPEN WITH FORD.

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POWER STEERING GOES OUT WHILE DRIVING CAUSING UNCONTROLLED STEERING.

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I HAVE 28,452 MILES ON MY CAR AND THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT. I GET A WARNING WHICH SAYS STEERING ASSIST FAULT SERVICE REQUIRED, TERRAIN MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FAULT, AND SERVICE ADVANCE TRAC ERRORS UPON STARTING MY VEHICLE. IN RESEARCHING THESE ERRORS, IT SEEMS TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH FORD EXPLORERS AND A COSTLY ONE TO FIX. I BELIEVE THIS TO BE A MANUFACTURE DEFECT, DUE TO THE SHEER NUMBER OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS AND LOW MILEAGE. IN ADDITION, THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY PROBLEM IF ONE WAS TRAVELING DOWN THE ROAD WHICH ALSO SEEMS TO HAPPENED.

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STEERING WHEEL LOCKED

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POPPING NOISE WHEN TURNING RIGHT. PRIMARILY WHEN IT IS COLD. NEEDS A STEERING RACK WITH ONLY 50K MI AND 2 YRS OLD. DEALER WOULD NOT LET US DRIVE IT UNTIL PART CAME IN. THEY PUT US IN A RENTAL AT THEIR EXPENSE AND WE HAVE HAD A FULL SIZE QUAD CAB TRUCK. STEERING RACK IS ON BACK ORDER WITH FORD AND WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR 16 DAYS AND NOTHING IS IN SIGHT. DEALER IN BEDFORD VA. HAS TAKEN GOOD CARE OF US.

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STEERING NOISE IS A WHEN TURNING.

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED AND THE STEERING FAULT SERVICE AND SERVICE ADVANCE TRACK WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO CENTURY FORD OF MT. AIRY (302 CENTURY DR, MT AIRY, MD 21771, (301) 829-2800) WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE STEERING RACK NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 66,135.

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AT APPROXIMATELY 35000 THE STEERING STARTED TO SLIP AND BECOME PERIODICALLY UNRESPONSIVE. AT 35975 MILES IT FAILED COMPLETELY WHILE DRIVING ALMOST LEADING TO AN ACCIDENT. IT WAS TAKEN TO A FORD DEALERSHIP WHERE THEY SAID THE ENTIRE STEERING SYSTEM WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED AND QUOTED $3000 FOR THE REPAIR.

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MY POWER STEERING HAS BEEN MAKING A SNAPPING NOISE AND I'M AFRAID OF CATOSTROFIC FAILURE. I NO LONGER TRUST DRIVING THE VEHICLE, IT HAS ONLY 36,000 MILES.

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WITH LESS THAN 30,000 MILES, MY STEERING BEGAN TO BIND WHEN TURNED FULLY TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT. THIS WAS ONLY NOTICEABLE AT LOW SPEEDS, BUT DUE TO MY CONCERNS ABOUT THE SAFETY HAZARDS OF STEERING FAILURES I TOOK IT TO DEALER FOR AN EVALUATION. THEY REPORTED THAT THE STEERING MODULE HAD FAILED AND IT WOULD COST >$2300 TO REPAIR. MY WARRANTY EXPIRED DUE TO TIME (42 MONTHS) SO UNLESS FORD OFFERS A WARRANTY EXTENSION I WILL HAVE TO PAY AN EXORBITANT AMOUNT FOR WHAT SHOULD NEVER FAIL - CERTAINLY NOT WITH LESS THAN 30,000 MILES. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED HAD I NOT BROUGHT THE CAR IN IMMEDIATELY, BUT THE NEED TO REPLACE THE STEERING SYSTEM SUGGESTS IT WAS VERY SERIOUS.

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2016 FORD EXPLORER WITH 44789 MILES STEERING WHEEL LOCKED WHILE DRIVING. DRIVERS PLEASE BEWARE OF THIS ISSUE

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STEERING MAKING NOISES AND HARD TO STEER GOING DOWN THE ROAD

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2016 FORD EXPLORER LIMITED 40K MILES, IDENTIFIED MY STEERING WAS LOCKED UP 3 WEEKS AGO, I ATTRIBUTED IT TO SEVERE COLD TEMPERATURES. I CONTACTED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY ADVISED THEY CANNOT TROUBLESHOOT UNTIL IT HAPPENS AGAIN. FRIDAY NIGHT 12/7/18 WHILE DRIVING IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC ON A ONE WAY SLUSH COVERED ROAD, I LOST THE ABILITY TO STEER MY VEHICLE. I HAD TO MANUALLY STEER MY VEHICLE TO SAFETY, IT WAS INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS AND SCARY.I WAS ABLE TO PULL IT ONTO A SIDE STREET AND IT HAD TO BE TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. I AM THANKFUL I WAS NOT GOING ANY FASTER THAN 30MPH WHEN THIS HAPPENED. I HAVE FOUND 71 REPORTED INCIDENTS WITH FORD EXPLORERS OF THIS YEAR LOSING STEERING AMONG OTHER MAJOR PROBLEMS. I AM WAITING A CALL FROM THE DEALERSHIP AND CONTACTING FORD IN THE INTERUM.

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BEGAN HEARING A KNOCKING NOISE WHEN TURNING RIGHT. ONLY HAVE 38K MILES (2K OUT OF WARRANTY) AND IT IS GOING TO COST ME $2,000 TO FIX THIS STEERING PROBLEM.. THIS IS TOTALLY DISAPPOINTING ON A CAR WITH THIS LOW MILEAGE.

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WHILE DRIVING THE STEERING STARTED TO MAKE NOISES WHEN TURNING LEFT OR RIGHT. WHILE TURNING THE WHEEL, THERE WAS A COMPLETE DIFFERENT FEELING WITH A SMALL LIKE BUMP AND THEN THE WHEEL WOULD TURN VERY FREELY WITH THE CAR WHEELS NOT TURNING. DROVE STRAIGHT TO FORD DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID I CANNOT DRIVE IT BECAUSE THE STEERING SHAFT HAD TO BE REPLACED FROM FAILURE. THEY DETERMINED THIS WITH A VERY SHORT TEST DRIVE IN THEIR OWN PARKING LOT.

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AT STARTUP A WARNING APPEARED ON THE DASH READING "STEERING LOSS- STOP SAFELY" ALONG WITH OTHERS CONCERNING ADVANCE TRAC, TERRAIN MANAGEMENT, AND HILL ASSIST. UPON TRYING TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL IT WAS LOCKED COMPLETELY. NOT JUST HARD TO STEER LIKE THE POWER STEERING QUIT - IT WAS LOCKED TIGHT. IT WAS TOWED TO A FORD DEALER AND THE TECH THOUGHT HE WOULD DRIVE IT INTO THE SHOP, BUT COULD NOT BECAUSE HE AGREED THE STEERING WAS COMPLETELY LOCKED UP. THE TECH TELLS ME HE WAS ABLE TO RESTORE STEERING BY CLEARING OUT SOME ABS CODES THAT WERE STORED. THIS IS CONCERNING BECAUSE IT SEEMS THERE IS A COMPUTER FAULT CONDITION WHICH LOCKS UP THE STEERING COMPLETELY. THE TECH NOW SAYS THE RACK AND PINION MODULE IS MAKING A LOUD NOISE AND THEY PLAN TO REPLACE IT. THANKFULLY THE VEHICLE HAD THIS PROBLEM AT STARTUP AND NOT WHILE IN MOTION AS THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO CONTROL OVER VEHICLE DIRECTION.

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INTERNAL ELECTRONIC FAILURE IN THE STEERING RACK. EXPLORER IS TWO YEARS OLD WITH ONLY 44,173 MILES. STEERING FAILED WHILE DRIVING!!

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WHILE TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL WETHER STOPPED OR MOVING, THERE WAS A POPPING/CLUNKING NOISE. SOMETIMES THE CLUNK NOISE WAS LOUDER, SOMETIMES IT WASN'T AS LOUD. NOISE COULD BE FELT AND HEARD FROM STEERING COLUMN AND FLOORBOARD. STEERING WHEEL WOULD ALSO GRAB AT TIMES WHERE YOU PHYSICALLY HAD TO FORCE THE WHEEL TO TURN. THIS SEEMED TO HAPPEN MORE AT SLOW SPEEDS. WHILE DOING A SERVICE ON THE VEHICLE, I INSPECTED ALL STEERING COMPONENTS. WHILE ANOTHER PERSON WAS TURNING THE WHEEL, I COULD HEAR POPPING IN THE RIGHT SIDE STEERING BOOT THAT COVERS THE INNER TIE ROD END. I GRABBED THE BOOT AND SHOOK IT AND COULD HEAR METAL RATTLING INSIDE OF IT. LEFT SIDE DID NOT MAKE ANY NOISE. I REMOVED THE BOOT OFF OF THE RACK AND PINION AND FOUND 2 PIECES OF METAL THAT WERE HANGING ON THE GEAR OF THE RACK AND DAMAGED. THE PRICES OF METAL APPEARED TO BE A GREASE SEAL AS THERE IS RUBBER ATTACHED TO THE INSIDE PIECE(SEE PICTURE ATTACHED). FROM LOOKING AT THIS, IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THE HANGING METAL PIECE COULD GET HUNG UP ON THE CORKSCREW GEAR CAUSING CLINCH NOISE AND ALSO CAUSE THE STEERING TO GRAB. I DID CUT BOTH PIECES OFF FOR SAFETY AND IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING IT INTO THE FORD DEALER OF THE CERTIFIED WARRANTY WILL COVER IT. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS ISSUE AND I HAVE SEEN MANY COMPLAINTS OF THIS SAME ISSUE WITH NO FIX NOTED BY FORD.

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY AND WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS LOW SPEEDS, THE RACK AND PINION WITHIN THE STEERING WHEEL FAILED. WHILE MAKING A RIGHT TURN, THE CONTACT HEARD A KNOCKING NOISE COMING FROM THE STEERING COLUMN. D'ORAZIO FORD (1135 SOUTH WATER STREET, WILMINGTON, ILLINIOIS 60481, (815) 476-5205) WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND DIAGNOSED THAT THE RACK AND PINION WAS FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 75,000.

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BOUGHT THE 2016 EXPLORER LIMITED WITH ROUGHLY 28,000 MILES ON IT. RAN GREAT FOR ABOUT 2,000 MILES AND THEN STARTED NOTICING A POP/CLUNK NOISE WHEN TURNING THE WHEEL TO THE RIGHT GOING 5MPH OR LESS. MAINLY HAPPENED WHEN PULLING INTO AND OUT OF PARKING SPACES. WOULD ALSO RANDOMLY DO THIS WHILE PARKED. TOOK INTO 2 FORD DEALERSHIPS AND SURPRISE, THEY COULDN'T REPLICATE THE PROBLEM. WAS TOLD TO KEEP DRIVING IT AND IF IT GETS WORSE TO BRING IT BACK IN. DROVE IT FOR ANOTHER FEW THOUSAND MILES WITH IT HAPPENING INTERMITTENTLY. FINALLY AFTER HEARING THE NOISE MORE CONSISTENTLY AND EVEN FEELING THE STEERING SLIGHTLY JERK TO THE SIDE ON ONE OCCASION , I TOOK IT BACK INTO A FORD DEALERSHIP. THEY WERE FINALLY ABLE TO DUPLICATE THE SOUND THIS TIME AND SAID IT NEEDED A NEW STEERING RACK. THIS INCLUDES THE WHOLE RACK AND PINION. SO FAR SO GOOD. MY ISSUE IS I'VE BEEN READING ABOUT ALL THESE EXPLORERS WITH SIMILAR ISSUES (MOST OF THEM WORSE THAN MY CASE) AND CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHY THEY'RE HASN'T BEEN A RECALL? SOME EXPLORERS STEERING LITERALLY LOCKS UP WHILE DRIVING BASED ON ALL THE COMPLAINTS I'VE READ. I FEEL I WAS ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES CATCHING THE PROBLEM BEFORE IT GOT WORSE. NOW I'M KEEPING MY FINGERS CROSSED THAT THE PROBLEM DOESN'T COME UP AGAIN LIKE I'VE HEARD ALSO HAPPENS. OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING IS FAULTY WITH THE STEERING ASSEMBLY. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN TO A CAR THIS NEW?

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WHILE DRIVING MY 2016 FORD EXPLORER ON A STATE HWY AT 55 MPH, SUDDENLY BELLS AND WARNING ON DASH INDICATING STEERING FAILURE ISSUE. WITHIN 1 BLOCK, I WAS UNABLE TO STEER AT ALL. HAD TO BE TOWED. TOLD BY DEALERSHIP THAT THE POWER STEERING GEAR WAS BAD. TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP THE COST TO REPAIR WOULD BE $2200. VEHICLE HAS 76,000 MILES. VERY UNSAFE CONDITION HAD IT HAPPENED IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. COULD HAVE RESULTED IN INJURY OR DEATH.

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WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD MY POWER STEERING WENT OUT. I HAVE AROUND 50,000 MILES ON MY 2016 FORD EXPLORER. I HAVE HAD IT WORKED ON 3 TIMES AND IT CONTINUES TO HAVE THE SAME ISSUE. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE CAR AND THOSE ON THE ROAD. MANY PEOPLE HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS ISSUE, YET FORD HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL.

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WHEN DRIVING MY FORD EXPLORER 2016 THE STEERING WHEEL STARTED MAKING A SOUND WHEN THE WHEEL WAS TURNED, BOTH WHEN TURNING FROM A STOP OR GOING AROUND A CURVE. IT WOULD ALSO CATCH AND SORT OF STICK WHEN THE WHEEL WAS TURNED AND WOULDN'T EASILY TURN BACK TO NORMAL AFTER THE TURN OR CURVE HAD BEEN MADE. WE TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THE RACK AND PINION HAS TO BE REPLACED, COSTING $1885. IT WAS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE BC OF THE STEERING WELL STICKING.

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE POWER STEERING FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO FLAGSHIP FORD (850 FERN DRIVE, BALDWIN, WISCONSIN 54002, (715) 684-4520) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE POWER STEERING UNIT WAS FAULTY AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BE REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL ON THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 52,000.

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OK LET'S START WITH THE FACT THAT WE'VE HAD STEERING ISSUES FROM THE START WITH THIS VEHICLE. WE PAID $700 TO FIX OR BAND AID THE PROBLEM LAST MONTH. SO, WHEN IT CAME TIME FOR OUR SUMMER VACATION WE ACTUALLY CONSIDERED RENTING A CAR BECAUSE WE STILL DIDN'T THINK IT WAS RIGHT. RENT A VEHICLE WHEN WE HAVE AN ALMOST BRAND NEW VEHICLE IN THE GARAGE WITH A $500 A MONTH CAR PAYMENT?!?! AGAINST OUR BETTER JUDGMENT, WE TOOK IT FROM PA TO FL, WELL ALMOST. ALONG I-95 IN SOUTH CAROLINA AT ABOUT 11PM THE STEERING SEIZED WITH OUR FAMILY IN THE CAR. WE HAD TO GET A HOTEL ROOM, RENT A CAR AND LEAVE THE POS IN SC TO CONTINUE OUR VACATION. IT'S NOW ALMOST 3 WEEKS IN AND IT'S STILL IN SC. WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN FOREIGN CAR PEOPLE. WE HAD A HONDA PILOT FOR 12 YEARS, NEVER A PROBLEM WITH IT. IF THERE WAS A PROBLEM, IT WAS COVERED BY THE AWESOME WARRANTY OR IT WAS A RECALL. LOTS OF RECALLS, MANUFACTURER AND HONDA. WHICH, UP TILL NOW I THOUGHT WAS A PAIN IN THE ASS! NOW, I GET THAT AT LEAST THEY HAVE ENOUGH INTEGRITY TO HAVE RECALLS! FORD MOTOR COMPANY HAS THE WORST WARRANTY AND 0 INTEGRITY! WE LOVED THE LOOK AND FEEL OF THIS VEHICLE. LOOKS DEFINITELY AREN'T EVERYTHING...LESSON LEARNED. WE WILL TAKE THE LOSS ON TRADING IT IN AND GOING BACK TO HONDA, TOYOTA OR NISSAN TO KEEP OUR FAMILY SAFE. I GUESS FORD IS WAITING FOR A FATALITY?!?!

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