2015 Ford Explorer Steering problems

Out of nowhere the steering assist quit when i turned on the car in question on to go work in the morning. Luckily for everybody it did not happen while on the road like many of the cases i have read about. Now i'm facing a $3,000 bill to repair a very common problem Ford refuses to recall.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving into a parking lot at approximately 20-25 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering assist functionality. The message "Power Steering Assist Fault" was displayed after the failure. The contact was able to continue driving and pulled into a parking space, where the vehicle remained overnight. The vehicle was in the process of being towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing and repair. The failure mileage was approximately 99,000.

Intermittent locking of steering wheel while driving for about 8 months. Now it has complete loss of power steering. [[redacted]] says service advance trac and complete steering loss pull over safely. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Power-assisted steering fails repeatedly. No warning lights, codes, or alarms are presented or shown. Steering reverts to manual control only and becomes very difficult to turn. This presents a potentially serious safety issue. Power-assisted steering returns to normal operation but fails again intermittently and repeatedly. Ford has not issued a recall and the price is exorbitantly expensive for consumer. additionally , only a dealer can replace or program the failing parts, consumer cannot replace them on...

I was driving at 65 mph on the highway when the light for the steering came up and the power steering shut down. I had a hard time to turn the steering wheel until I was able to exit the road. I shut the car down and restarted and everything was ok, but there is a problem because the light came up again. More cars with same problem.

ABS module has failed. Causing a number of other safety systems to be deactivated. Power steering, traction control, drive mode selection, and braking. All these lights are illuminated on dash. Independent auto repair shop verified this ABS module has failed and there is no replacement parts from Ford.

Total loss of Power Steering ! Warning light display: "Steering Assist Fault", "Service AdvanceTrac", turn signals unable to lock and release. Hard Fault codes present: U3000 96-C8, C200D, 49-48 C1B00, 64-48. This problem started somewhere in the last quarter of 2025, it started with intermittent and sudden loss of power steering, while driving, which is very much a safety issue, especially when my wife does not have a lot of strength in her arms while trying to maneuver a vehicle with manual steering...

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the power steering feature was intermittently inoperable. There was no warning light illuminated. A technician attempted to diagnose the vehicle, but no diagnostic trouble codes were retrieved. The contact was informed that the failure could not be duplicated. The contact stated that the failure had progressively worsened, causing the power steering to become inoperable. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 123,000.

This 2015 Ford Explorer XLT - The power steering goes out. Multiple times. No recall with many many of these vehicles reporting to have the same problem. I was 200 miles away from home when this happened. The steering becomes extremely stiff and jerks. Making it very dangerous.

My Ford Explorer has less than 97,000 miles on it and im experiencing popping noises and slight play in steering. upon inspecting the tie-rod I found that the rack and pinion had play in it. the vehicle hasn't been wrecked so there's no reason I should be losing my steering rack under 100k miles.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle became difficult to maneuver. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the front ball joint and lower control arm needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The contact researched and was made aware of an unknown recall; however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 197,000.

on 8/1/25 service steering assist light came on, vehicle was driven to the auto repair shop with no hard codes to diagnose. Vehicle was driven towards home on 8/6/25 and lost all steering within a matter of seconds while on the highway at 60 mph. Steering assist light came on and stabilitrac light flashed. Vehicle had to be towed and rack and pinion needed replacing. Once fixed the vehicle was driven until 9/23/25 infrequently when the steering assist fault came back on and vehicle would not move as steering locked up and the rack and pinion needed to be replaced again. 12/13/25 steering assist light came on while backing up and steering locked up. This is terrifying to say the least.

I am filing an official safety complaint regarding my 2015 Ford Explorer Sport 3.5L due to a dangerous and sudden power-steering failure that occurred while I was driving with my children in the vehicle. There were no warning lights, alerts, or symptoms leading up to the failure. The power steering went out instantly and without any indication that something was wrong. The moment it failed, the steering wheel locked up and became extremely difficult to turn, nearly causing multiple accidents. I had children in the...

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on four occasions when the vehicle was started, the message "Steering Assist Service Required" was displayed. The contact stated that the steering wheel was very stiff and would not move. The vehicle was restarted, and the vehicle operated as needed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

I was going to the pharmacist. When I started my vehicle there was an alert for ""steering assist fault service required". I tried to turn the steering wheel and it would not turn. I could not use my vehicle.

Steering wheel when turned to right or left makes a loud screeching sound. It was brought to dealership and diagnosed that the steering wheel computer is failing and only way to fix is to replace the entire steering wheel rack. 5k to replace. Vehicle was inspected in April '25. Same issue has been happening constantly since. 80k miles Also, rear back up camera goes blank intermittently.

Power steering service required message Power steering instantly failed at 55 mph Warning messages for AdvanceTrac and Terrain Assist Blinkers only work if held after all this Every other motorist in the road at the time (this morning) was put at risk as the vehicle was nearly impossible for my wife to steer. Multiple dealers claimed there is no recall for this. After online investigation, it appears there are quite a lot of instances of this happening. Vehicle is available for inspection upon request. It has not been inspected by any dealer, police, insurance or any others.

I was in a parking lot when the electric power steering went out. Couldn't turn wheel at all

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 50-55 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The message "Power Steering Failure -Service Immediately" was displayed. The contact was able to pull over to the side road. The contact was able to drive to an independent mechanic, where the vehicle was diagnosed and determined that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 139,160.

The factory installed headlight screw punctured the coolant line of my 2015 Ford Explorer causing my transmission to stop working properly. This resulted in a $725 tow bill and $1,067.56 in repairs. The certified mechanic verified that the screw was an original part and it punctured the line, likely after some time rubbing against it. The transmission did not appear to be damaged however my safety was at risk trying to pull over to when the vehicle would no longer shift gears. I have a video of the leak that lines up with the screw placement but was not able to upload it...I am happy to email it to you.

The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the power steering assist was inoperable. The failure occurred while the contact's husband was stopped for fuel. The driver turned on the vehicle and the steering wheel had seized. The engine maintenance warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion and steering needed to be replaced; however, the vehicle was not repaired by the dealer. The contact stated that an independent...

As I was parking my 2015 Ford Explorer Sport, a warning appeared on the instrument panel stating "Power Steering Assist Fault," and the steering suddenly became so difficult that I was unable to move the vehicle. Although this has only happened once, I'm very concerned about the possibility of it occurring again - especially while driving on the highway. Losing the ability to steer could put my family's lives, and the lives of others, in serious danger. I have read numerous customer complaints about this exact issue on the NHTSA website. It's time for the manufacturer to issue a recall for these vehicles and fix the problem before someone loses their life due to this defect.

The power steering assist in my vehicle is becoming progressively worse, I would welcome an inspection. Basically, the power steering assist will vary throughout the sweep of the steering wheel. During a turn or lane change the power steering may feel normal, be non-existent, or alternate between the 2 conditions, often requiring significant force to steer the vehicle (vehicle speed seems to make no difference.) This condition is an obvious safety risk for vehicle occupants or any other vehicles, pedestrians, or...

When you are in park and the car is on there is a lot of play in the steering wheel and it sounds like something is broken and when you are driving, the steering wheel and car itself starts shaking. I believe it is the rack and pinion as everything the dealer quoted it was the rack and pinion and steering box. it is now undrivable because we took it to the dealership and couldn't afford the parts and labor to fix it even though it was clearly a manufacturing issue.

I own a 2015 ford and the power steering system just stopped working with abs and traction being lost as well. My husband owns a 2016 Ford F150 and has the same thing going on with his truck. I am seeing this is being reported as a common problem with Fords electric power steering.