2011 FORD EXPLORER — Complaint #1900904
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about STEERING:RACK AND PINION filed June 9, 2023
NHTSA complaint #1900904 (ODI reference 11526218) concerns a 2011 FORD EXPLORER and was filed on June 9, 2023. The owner reports the failure occurred on June 2, 2023. The vehicle had 186,000 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Florida based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as steering:rack and pinion, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same FORD EXPLORER cohort independently describe similar steering:rack and pinion failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2011 FORD EXPLORER shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist with the power steering fault message displayed on the instrument panel. The failure occurred on two separate occasions. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced; however, the dealer confirmed that the warranty had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V286000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 186,000.
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 1900904 |
| ODI Number | 11526218 |
| Date Filed | June 9, 2023 |
| Failure Date | June 2, 2023 |
| VIN | 1FMHK7B83BG |
Similar STEERING:RACK AND PINION Complaints for 2011 FORD EXPLORER
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the steering wheel became very firm. The power steering assist fault warning light
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE WOULD VEER TO THE RIGHT WITHOUT THE CONTACT MOVING THE STEERING WHEEL. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE RACK AND PINION
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 FORD EXPLORER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THERE WAS A LOSS OF POWER STEERING WITH THE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.