2011 FORD EXPLORER Power Train Problems

WHILE DRIVING THE CAR DIES AND THE YELLOW WRENCH LIGHT APPEARS. THIS OCCURRED TWICE IN ONE DAY. THE FIRST TIME IT OCCURRED I WAS JUST BEGINNING TO ACCELERATE. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER AND RESTART THE CAR. THE SECOND INCIDENT OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER AND RESTART THE CAR. I IMMEDIATELY BROUGHT IT TO A FORD DEALER WHO HAS HAD THE CAR FOR THREE DAYS AND CANNOT FIND OUT WHAT IS WRONG. *JS

PLEASE REFERENCE PREVIOUS COMPLAINT CONFIRMATION NUMBER 10475098, SEPTEMBER 11, 2012. THE PROBLEM IS A COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST THAT OCCURS INSTANTANEOUSLY, WITHOUT WARNING. THIS PROBLEM WAS SUPPOSEDLY REPAIRED BY MY FORD DEALER LAST FALL (SEPTEMBER, 2012) BY REPROGRAMMING A CONTROL UNIT. THE PROBLEM HAS NOW BEEN RECURRING AGAIN, ALMOST WEEKLY (THREE TIMES IN FOUR WEEKS). I FEEL THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. DURING THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT, MY WIFE WAS DRIVING BY HERSELF. SHE DOES NOT HAVE THE STRENGTH TO DRIVE THIS CAR WITHOUT POWER STEERING ASSIST. LUCKILY SHE WAS TRAVELING IN A STRAIGHT LINE AND COULD BRING THE CAR TO A STOP. IF SHE HAD BEEN TURNING A CORNER OR ROUNDING A CURVE, SHE WOULD HAVE GONE OFF THE ROAD. I HAVE SEEN ON THE INTERNET THAT OTHER DRIVERS HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. I WILL TAKE THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALER, BUT FORD...

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THIS ISSUE HAS OCCURRED. THE FIRST TIME I WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AND IT CORRECTED ITSELF. CURRENTLY I CANNOT PHYSICALLY STEER THE VEHICLE AND WILL HAVE TO HAVE IT TOWED. WE WERE IN THE MOUNTAINS LAST WEEKEND SO THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS ISSUE. I HAPPEN TO BE A MALE WITH THE CAPABILITY AND CAPACITY TO HANDLE EXTREME SITUATIONS AND I DOUBT THAT I COULD AVOID AN ACCIDENT IF THIS WERE TO HAPPEN WHILE DRIVING. I WAS SEARCHING FOR FIXES AND SAW THAT A FEW CASES HAD BEEN REPORTED. MAKE THIS A PRIORITY AS THE ELECTRONICS IN THIS VEHICLE ARE SEVERELY FLAWED AND SOMEONE WILL GET KILLED SOON. *TR

I WAS IN A PARKING LOT WHEN MY STEERING WHEEL LOCKED UP AND A SERVICE POWER STEERING LIGHT CAME ON. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND IT FIXED ITSELF HOWEVER I WAS DRIVING ON THE 12TH ON THE HIGHWAY AND IT HAPPENED AGAIN. *TR

ENGINE OVERHEATS WHEN IDLE, OR IN SLOW STOP AND GO TRAFFIC. I HAD THIS ADDRESSED ONCE BY FORD DUE TO A BULLETIN, BUT IT SEEMS TO BE DOING IT AGAIN. *TR

PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE FOR MY WIFE A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO. AT FIRST EVERYTHING WAS FINE BUT THEN AT ABOUT FOUR MONTHS WE STARTED HAVING ISSUES WITH THE WINDOW NOT ROLLING UP. THE DEALER TOOK CARE OF THAT ISSUE WITH NO PROBLEMS. THEN WE TAKE IT IN FOR THE SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE (OIL CHANGE/TIRE ROTATION) & OUR TIRES HAD INSIDE CUPPING IN WHICH THE DEALER DOES NOTHING ABOUT & STILL HAVE NOT. AT AROUND 22K MILES MY WIFE NOTICES THE VEHICLE STARTING TO JERK WHEN STOPPED OR MOVING. OVER THE PAST 8K MILES THIS GETS WORSE & GETS TO WHERE THE VEHICLE HAS STALLED OUT NUMEROUS TIMES (STILL OR MOVING). I HAVE MADE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DEALER TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE. NOT SURE THE CAUSE YET. *TR

I WAS TAKING MY KIDS TO SCHOOL AND WAS ACCELERATING AFTER A STOP. THE POWER STEERING WENT OUT AND I LOST ALL POWER. THE POWERTRAIN MALFUNCTION LIGHT CAME ON WITH THE WRENCH SYMBOL. I WAS ABLE TO GET INTO A DRIVEWAY AND TURN THE CAR OFF. WHEN I RESTARTED IT EVERYTHING WAS BACK TO NORMAL. FIVE DAYS LATER I WAS AGAIN DRIVING WITH KIDS. THIS TIME I WAS GOING ABOUT 35 MPH ON A ROAD WITH NO SHOULDER. THE CAR LOST POWER. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE HAZARD LIGHTS ON AND RESTART IT BEFORE I WAS REAR ENDED. THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED A SERIOUS WRECK. THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT SAID THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE ISSUE AND THERE WAS NO HARD FAULT DETECTED BY THE CAR'S COMPUTER. SO I JUST GET TO KEEP ON DRIVING AND HOPING FOR THE BEST. *TR

AFTER STOPPING AT A STOP SIGN, I BEGAN TO ACCELERATE THROUGH AN INTERSECTION. APPROXIMATELY HALF WAY THROUGH THE INTERSECTION, THE POWER STEERING WAS LOST AND A CHIME SOUNDED WITH A MESSAGE STATING"POWER ASSIST FAILURE" AND THEN ANOTHER MESSAGE OF "SERVICE ADVANCETRAC" WERE SHOWN IN THE DASHBOARD DISPLAY. I WAS ABLE TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE INTERSECTION AND PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF AND WHEN I RESTARTED IT, THE POWER STEERING WAS WORKING AGAIN. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IT HAS HAPPENED IN THIS VEHICLE. THE FIRST TIME WAS IN JUNE OF 2012, BUT I WASN'T AWARE OF THIS WEBSITE TO REPORT THE PROBLEM. I ALSO DID NOT MAKE AN APPOINTMENT AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR IT TO BE LOOKED AT AS IT SEEMED LIKE A RARE EVENT. *TR

I WAS PULLING OUT OF MY GARAGE AND ONLY GOT ABOUT 6 FEET OUT OF THE GARAGE AND I IMMEDIATELY LOST POWER STEERING - THERE WAS A MESSAGE SHOWING ON THE DASH "POWER STEERING MODULE FAULT". 2 DAYS BEFORE THIS HAPPENED THERE WAS A VERY HARD SHAKING IN THE FRONT END. YOU COULD SEE THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT SHAKE. THE FORD DEALER SAID THAT WAS CAUSED BY A PROBLEM WITH THE DRIVE SHAFT. AND ALSO SAID THAT FORD IS AWARE OF PEOPLE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE DRIVE SHAFT ALSO. *TR

WHILE I WAS DRIVING MY 11 YEAR OLD SON AND HIS FRIEND, I LOST ALL POWER STEERING. WHICH MADE IT VERY DIFFICULT TO KEEP CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. I MANAGED TO GET TO THE SHOULDER THRU TRAFFIC. THIS COULD OF CAUSED A SERIOUS ACCIDENT AND HARMED ALOT OF PEOPLE NOT JUST THE PEOPLE IN MY CAR! I GOT THE EXPLORER TO THE DEALER SHIP AND IT HAS BEEN THERE EVER SINCE, THIS IS NOW 7 WEEKS AND COUNTING. FORD STATES THE PART IS ON BACK ORDER. I AM NUMBER 560 AND LAST COUNT 2 WEEKS AGO THERE WERE OVER 800 OF THIS PART ON BACK ORDER. THIS IS OBVIOUS A RECALL ISSUE IF THAT MANY CONSUMERS ARE HAVING THIS SAME PROBLEM. THE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME IT WAS UNSAFE TO DRIVE! WHY HAS THIS NOT BE PUT INTO RECALL YET. DOES SOMEONE HAVE TO GET SERIOUSLY HURT BEFORE THE SAFETY OF...

THE STEERING FAILED WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE ON 4 OCCASIONS IN MY BRAND NEW XLT. THE FIRST THREE TIMES IT HAPPENED I RETURNED IT TO THE DEALER TO CHECK IT OUT AND FIX THE PROBLEM. EACH TIME (THREE TOTAL) THE FORD DEALER SERVICE DEPARTMENT RETURNED IT TO ME AND TOLD ME IT WAS FIXED. WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE IN NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS THE STEERING WOULD SUDDENLY STOP WORKING, WARNING CHIMES AND LIGHTS ON THE DASHBOARD "SERVICE ADVANCE TRAC", "POWER STEERING ASSIST FAULT", "TERRAIN MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FAULT" AND TRACTION CONTROL FAILURE AND TRACTION CONTROL OFF LIGHTS GLOWING WHILE IN MOTION. ALMOST CRASHED THE VEHICLE EACH TIME IT HAPPENED. THE VEHICLE WOULD ALSO SLOW DOWN EVEN THOUGH MY GAS PEDAL POSITION NEVER CHANGED. WHEN IT HAPPENED THE 4TH TIME, I ALMOST WAS IN A FATAL ACCIDENT WITH A TRACTOR TRAILER AND REALIZED FORD MOTOR CORPORATION IS NOT INTERESTED IN FIXING THIS PROBLEM...

2011 FORD EXPLORER WAS PARKED. STARTED CAR AND POWER STEERING FAILURE LIGHT CAME ON ALARMS SOUNDING AND STEERING WHEEL WAS LOCKED, YET CAR WOULD BACK UP ...STRAIGHT. PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT WHEN CAR WAS STOPPED AT A LIGHT IT SEEMED TO HAVE A TRANSMISSION SLIP OR JUMP. AFTER WAITING FOR AN HOUR FOR TOW TRUCK THE EXPLORER STARTED FINE AND STEERING SEEMED TO WORK. TOO NERVOUS TO DRIVE. CAR WAS TOWED TO FORD DEALER. *TR