Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2011 Ford Explorer owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owned a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, turned off, and unoccupied, the vehicle caught fire. The contact was in her residence, and a neighbor knocked on her door, making her aware that the vehicle had caught fire. The fire has been extinguished by the local fire department. The fire department indicated that the failure may have occurred due to a wiring malfunction in the vehicle. A police report was not filed, but a fire report was filed and was unavailable. There were no injuries reported. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 200,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the "Service Power Steering" warning light illuminated along with several unknown warning lights. The contact stated that she was able to drive to her residence with the warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that while driving up her driveway, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated that she turned the vehicle off and shifted to park(P), turned the vehicle off and on and the failure persisted. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to a manufacturer Customer Satisfaction Program Number: 15N01 (EPAS Steering Efforts). The failure mileage was approximately 220,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the APIM (Accessory Protocol Interface Module) had become defective which caused the front and rear defrosters to not operate as needed. The contact also stated that the APIM failure had caused the rear backup camera to not function. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer and was provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
on december of 2022 the power steering go out during I was driving with my family and the steering it was very hard to keep control of the steering I almost lost control of the vehicle the good news is no car it was around me I try to do my best to get home safety .after the mechanic diagnostic he mention it this ..ON MAY 2014 FORD COMPANY ISSUE A RECALLFOR THE 2011 -2013 FOR EXPLORER FOR A DEFECT ON THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM ..so I contact ford and they tell me I have to repair the total out of my packet becouse they cant see any recall but my car it was made during the time frame the recall it was made I really not understand why they can even look this problem I cant imaging if I was on the higway on high speed I really scared after I deal with this problem
My rear view camera was replaced in August 2019 as it stopped working. It was an expensive costing $1000 to repair. It just stopped working again. Car has 100500 miles and this is excessive for what I consider a safety feature in a car this large. I was just told by Ford the backlog for a new camera nationwide is greater than 240 units and some customers have waited over 6 months. I searched online and found many complains on model years 2011 forward due to a bad design flaw that allows moisture in a wiring harness causing corrosion / failure. In my opinion, Ford needs to step up to root cause and provide options other than a complete replacement that only temporarily solves the issue
My 2011 ford explorer steering randomly went out . As I researched I realized that there was a safety recall 14s06 for that particular car. Apparently that recall was announced in 2014( before I purchased the vehicle) the previous owner took the truck to the dealership the have the pscm checked and no codes came back so it was only reprogrammed which is suppose to prevent steering loss which is what I am currently dealing with. The dealership is not trying to replace the part free of charge as stated in warranty although they know this is serious safety issue on this vehicle . They are trying to charge me 2800.00 to have the part replaced.
The power steering has fully stopped working , the car cannot be steered, this started to happen on the road, I had to steer the entire weight of the car myself, at fast speed it was difficult but not impossible, at slow speed and zero speed or while the vehicle is stationary it was impossible or unmovable to steer. there were no warning lamps about this, the Ford dealer has not detect this in my vehicle's previous recall, further vehicle has two more recalls this year, that have been cited this year by the dealer. this needs to be addressed on their recalls because this can cause a very severe problem on the road
When I turned my Ford Explorer on yesterday, the Power Steering Fault light came one. This has happened in the past, but when I shut off and restart my car, it has always reset and worked. But yesterday, it didn't reset. Besides the power steering, the Advance Trac light is also on. My blinkers will not stay engaged unless I hold the lever. I can't get in to the Ford Dealer for a month. It is very difficult to drive without the power steering working. The warning lamps came on when I started the car. Thankfully this didn't go out when I was driving.
While driving in the rain, I lost power steering and had several unrelated waring lights come on. Dash lights flickered. Engine continued to run normally but warning lights came on and off. I was able to drive to a safe location and turn the car off. When I restarted the car everything was normal including the power steering. This happened 2 more times on the 12 mile trip home. In the last 60 days this has happened 3 more times during a rain. On one of these occasions the steering came back on like normal with out me stopping.
While driving the vehicle on a busy street, proceeded to steer car to turn at an intersection and the steering started failing and was extremely hard to steer. The message appeared electronically, saying service power steering now and car then shut down. We immediately got car to independent mechanic. Was not aware of any vehicle recall, but seems to be repaired. Happened very recently. Early Nov. 2023.
Electrical complaints in other Explorer years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2011 Ford Explorer?
NHTSA has 95 complaints about the electrical system of the 2011 Ford Explorer, 8% of the model year's 1,197 complaints. The component named most often is software (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2011 Ford Explorer electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 2011 Ford Explorer, though it has 6 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2011 Ford Explorer electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 56,000 miles, and 22% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 2 crashes, 1 fire and 1 injury to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.