Home · 2016 Ford Explorer · Complaints
What 2,429 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Ford Explorer
These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.
527 of 2,429 complaints match · Steering · clear filters · page 22 of 22
Mar 13, 2016SteeringElectronic Stability Control (esc)
I RECENTLY RECEIVED A 2016 FORD POLICE UTILITY (EXPLORER) AS A NEW PATROL VEHICLE. WHILE ON PATROL I SUDDENLY LOST POWER STEERING. I RECEIVED A STEERING ASSIST FAULT MESSAGE ON THE DASH, AS WELL AS A TRACTION AND STABILITY CONTROL ERROR MESSAGE. THE VEHICLE HAS 935 MILES ON IT. I HAVE READ WHERE FORD HAS HAD PROBLEMS IN THE PAST WITH THIS STEERING SYSTEM. AS A POLICE OFFICER I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT THE LOSS OF POWER STEERING WITH NO WARNING COULD RESULT IN A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR OFFICERS DRIVING THIS VEHICLE, AS WELL AS CIVILIANS DRIVING THE CIVILIAN MODEL. AS OF THIS COMPLAINT THE VEHICLE IS AT THE DEALERSHIP WAITING TO BE FIXED. FORD NEEDS TO GET THIS SYSTEM WORKING CORRECTLY.
NHTSA ODI 10846306
Feb 26, 2016Steering
WHILE MAKING A TURN ON A LOCAL STREET POWER STEERING WENT OUT. I WAS ABLE TO PULL TO THE SIDE SHUT OFF THE VEHICLE AND WAITED A MINUTE AND RESTARTED NO FURTHER ISSUES. I HAVE OWNED MANY EXPLORERS INCLUDING 11-13 AND NOW 16. THE 16 HAS 12K MILES ON IT.
NHTSA ODI 10838706
← Newer
Working with the data? Download all 2,429 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 22, 2026
How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your
pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the
full 2016 Ford Explorer verdict →