NHTSA Complaint #11014892 — 2014 FORD EXPLORER

ON JULY 20, 2017, WHILE PULLING THE VEHICLE OUT OF MY GARAGE, THE POWER STEERING FAILED. A WARNING LIGHT ABOUT TRACTION CONTROL CAME ON. THINKING THE TRACTION CONTROL HAD INADVERTENTLY BEEN PRESSED, I TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND THEN ON AGAIN. THE VEHICLE BEGAN FUNCTIONING NORMALLY AT THAT POINT. ON SUNDAY, JULY 30, 2017, AS MY HUSBAND WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, WITH ME AND 3 OF OUR CHILDREN AS PASSENGERS, THE POWER STEERING FAILED AGAIN AND WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON SIMULTANEOUSLY ABOUT TRACTION CONTROL BEING TURNED OFF AND POWER STEERING ASSIST NEEDING SERVICE. THE STEERING WHEEL WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO MOVE. TURNING THE VEHICLE OFF AND THEN ON ONCE AGAIN SEEMED TO RESET THE POWER STEERING AGAIN. I CALLED AUTOFAIR FORD OF HAVERHILL, MA THE NEXT DAY AND THEY TOLD ME TO BRING THE VEHICLE IN THAT AFTERNOON. ON THE WAY TO AUTOFAIR FORD, THE POWER STEERING FAILED AGAIN. AUTOFAIR DIAGNOSED THE ISSUE AS A FAILED STEERING RACK AND REPLACED THE STEERING RACK AND PROGRAM SYSTEM FOR A TOTAL OF $1721.90. UPON RESEARCHING THIS ISSUE ONLINE, I LEARNED THAT THE 2011, 2012, AND 2013 FORD EXPLORERS HAD THE SAME OR VERY SIMILAR ISSUE AND THERE WAS A RECALL. IN ADDITION, I FOUND MESSAGE THREADS ON VARIOUS WEBSITES OF 2014 FORD EXPLORERS HAVING THE SAME OR SIMILAR ISSUES AS WE DID. LUCKILY, WHEN THE POWER STEERING FAILED ON MY VEHICLE, WE WERE ABLE TO KEEP THE VEHICLE UNDER CONTROL AND AN ACCIDENT DID NOT OCCUR; HOWEVER, IF SUDDEN SHARP STEERING WOULD HAVE BEEN NEEDED, THERE LIKELY WOULD HAVE BEEN ONE. IN ADDITION, A FAILURE SUCH AS THIS ONE SHOULD NOT OCCUR ON A VEHICLE THAT IS BARELY 3 YEARS OLD WITH ABOUT 48,450 MILES ON IT. WE HAVE HAD ALL REGULAR RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCES PERFORMED ON THIS VEHICLE AT AUTOFAIR FORD, FORMALLY REGAN FORD, FROM THE TIME OF PURCHASE AS A NEW VEHICLE.