NHTSA Complaint #11396435 — 2013 FORD EXPLORER

FORD HAS A RECALL CASE 14S06 FOR THE POWER STEERING ON 2011-2013 FORD EXPLORERS. IN THIS RECALL IT NOTES THAT INDIVIDUALS WILL EXPERIENCE A LOSS OF POWER STEERING. MY 2013 EXPLORER IS NOT INCLUDED IN THAT RECALL BUT, IS EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUE AND IS NOT COVERED UNDER THIS RECALL. AT SLOW SPEEDS YOU CAN HARDLY TURN THE WHEELS...MAKING IT A HAZARD ON THE ROAD. MY WIFE CAME GOT OUT OF WORK AND WENT TO MAKE THE 5 MILE DRIVE HOME WHEN SHE NOTICED SHE COULD HARDLY STEER THE VEHICLE OUT OF THE PARKING LOT AT WORK. A MESSAGE CAME ON NOTING POWER STEERING ASSIST FAULT. MY WIFE IS A VERY SMALL AND STRUGGLED TO TURN THE WHEEL BUT, MANAGED TO GET IT HOME. IN TALKING WITH THE DEALERSHIP AND FORD CUSTOMER CARE, THEY NOTE THE RECALL DOES NOT INCLUDE HER VEHICLE AS IT WAS MADE AT A DIFFERENT TIME OR IN A DIFFERENT BATCH AND IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE RECALL EVEN THOUGH IT IS THE SAME ISSUES EXPERIENCED BY THOSE THAT HAD LOSS OF STEERING IN THE RECALL. FRUSTRATED THAT FORD IS ALLOWING VEHICLES THAT ARE EXPERIENCING THIS TO BE ON THE ROAD. AT THE TIME OF FILING THIS COMPLAINT, THERE WERE 1339 COMPLAINTS ON THE 2013 EXPLORER AND 481 OF THE COMPLAINTS WERE ON THE STEERING, THE MOST OF ANY CATEGORY, AND YET FORD IS NOT STANDING BEHIND WHAT SEEMS TO BE A MAJOR ISSUE IN THAT YEAR AND MODEL. MY VEHICLE HAS 86,000 MILES ON IT. MANY OTHER VEHICLES HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS SIMILAR ISSUE AROUND THE SAME MILEAGE FROM WHAT I CAN GATHER.