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 owns a 2011 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was recently repaired under an unknown steering recall. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The steering assist, traction control, and an unknown warning light were illuminated during the failure. The contact stated that the vehicle would regain power steering functionality a day or two after the failure. The failure had recurred three times within the month. The contact had contacted the dealer who diagnosed that the power steering rack needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The manufacturer confirmed that the vehicle was out of warranty and referred the contact to NHTSA for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 142,000.
The battery charging system comes on while drive at normal speed and the steering becomes very hard and then everything shuts down and if you are lucky you might make it off the side of the road. This is very scary as I live in a rural around where you can't always get over in an appropriate area. In the past I could let it set for a minute and restart it and would be fine. Recently had to have it jump started for it to run again and then seems fine. Just last night/this morning it was so bad that we had to let it sit for several hours before we could get it to jump start it again. I have saw that others have had similar complaints. When I searched my VIN number it says there is no recalls but when I was searching for recalls it mentions the power steering as a recall. The recall was prior to me purchasing this unit. …
2011 Ford Explorer was just returned two weeks ago for national recall on electronic power steering control module failure. On August 21st at 9:30 am my wife was approaching a red light. She applied the brakes and felt an immediate power loss issue with the breaks. She impacted the vehicle in front of her around 15 MPH. Air bags were not deployed at time of accident. She did noticed the terrain management failure light was illuminated at time of impact. My wife did not feel the anti lock brakes engage, nor were there any skid marks visible on the road. Minor front end damage is evident and radiator was leaking fluid. Insurance company has been notified about recent recall.
2011 Ford Explorer xlt: failure of 2011 Ford Explorer passenger blend door actuator. Have had to replace this actuator three times in 12 months. Failure occurs slowly. Failure begins with clicking sound present for 10 seconds upon starting A/C or heater and turning off of A/C or heater. Issue progresses to clicking sound present throughout entire time A/C or heater is used. Issue then progresses to complete failure and not working. Vehicle purchased from Ford dealer. Ford certified used with approximately 70,000 miles. Issue started occurring at approximately 90,000 miles.
On July 4, 2012, was driving on the highway getting ready to exit in about 100 yards, as I was decreasing speed I heard and felt a light bang, the car seemed to surge like it was the transmission and brakes were pulsating, and had no power steering. Car pulled severely to the right almost hitting the guard rail, could not steer. Jammed on breaks, fortunately in the slow lane, and pulled over. Power steering light and hill descent control fault came on, shut the car off and turned it back on power steering then worked but the traction control light on center console did not work until the next day when I took it to the dealer. Dealer kept car for 2 days, returned it to me with no found no fault. …
I was making a right turn onto a service drive to go on the expressway. As I was completing the turn I lost the power steering & the car started to decelerate. I got 2 messages on the dashboard, the only one I paid attention to was "service advance track", I think the 2nd message was about a loss of power steering. If it was, it was because of the advance track breaking. I was able to pull over to the side of the road & stop the car. Shutting the car off & restarting did nothing to clear the problem. When I looked up advance track in the owner's manual it explicitly said if the advance track broke the car would decelerate & power steering would be lost & the car would need to be towed, it should not be driven if this happened. I then called the dealer & was told I would need to have the car towed in. …
While driving, power steering assist abruptly fails, as does advance trac stability control. The vehicle becomes much harder to control. If the car is in a turn when the steering fails, the steering wheel lurches and tries to re-aim the vehicle straight ahead, disrupting the turn. Dashboard warnings confirm the steering and advance trac failures. Also, the turn signal sustain fails, so using the turn signal requires constant pressure on the signal arm. On average, this problem has recurred every 2000 miles, at any speed. Turning the car off and restarting "fixes" the problem temporarily until the next failure. Two trips to the dealer for examinations have resulted in no answers - both times the results of leaving the car for several days have been shrugged shoulders and "we couldn't duplicate the problem, and there is no trouble code. …
I was driving on a major street during heavy afternoon traffic. The steering became extremely difficult and I could barely turn the wheel. The warning lights for advanced traction failure and power steering assist fault came on. I also noticed the terrain management control was no longer illuminated. I tried to turn off the road into the driveway but it was extremely difficult. I am a reasonably strong adult woman and had to use all my strength to turn the wheel even slightly while slowly moving. When I managed to get the car into a safe place I put the car in park and turned it off. When the car was started again, it returned to normal and I was able to drive it. Three days later, the same thing happened with another driver while I was a passenger. The older male driver had similar difficulty steering and turning the vehicle. I took the vehicle to the Ford dealership for service. …
After having epas replaced (@hall Ford ellizabeth city, nc) under recall 15n01 after complete power steering failure. We began a 700 mi. Road trip home and began to experience spontaneous traction control interaction with our driving input which affected either power distribution to the axels, braking ability, and steering ability. After making it nearly 300 miles the electronic stability control completely went out along with what felt like ABS control seemed like it intervened sporadically. We also recieved a dash prompt that the fuel filler inlet needed checked as well. Upon arrival to a Ford dealer along our route (sheehy Ford, warrenton, va) they pulled the codes listed and appeared to be a litany of codes nearly a page and a half long. They cleared the codes and drove the vehicle. …
Engine damage due to overheating. Regular and required oil changes are documented and implemented as scheduled. No other engine or vehicle malfunctions during the course of ownership, except regular oil changes and tire replacement. However, on May 15, 2019, vehicle sensor notified oil change needed. Five days later vehicle stalled at local motel due to decreased power, rocking motion of car and luckily we were able to slowly turn into local hotel to cut off engine and get to safety. After 2 hours of letting vehicle set and cool down, local mechanic, checked and said we had enough oil in vehicle and not sure what happened. Was able to drive vehicle home, with no sensors on dashboard alerting us to any further problems. …
Traction Control complaints in other Explorer years
Frequently asked questions
How common are traction control problems on the 2011 Ford Explorer?
NHTSA has 32 complaints about the stability & traction control of the 2011 Ford Explorer, 3% of the model year's 1,197 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2011 Ford Explorer traction control problems?
No. NHTSA lists no stability & traction control 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 traction control problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 36,000 miles, and 33% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 0 injuries to stability & traction control 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.