The 2011 Ford Explorer is one of America’s favorite SUVs of all time. It’s a classic. But it suffers from some pretty serious problems, including the power steering going out, toe links breaking, and higher-than-average levels of carbon monoxide in the cabin.
Key Points
- The 2011 Ford Explorer‘s biggest problem is with the power steering. More than half of the nearly 800 complaints on the NHTSA website point to the steering going out or the wheel locking up, with new complaints rolling in years after these issues have been addressed with recalls.
- Over a million Explorers have been recalled for a potential fracture in the rear suspension toe link, with the most recent recall taking place in late 2021.
- There is currently an open NHTSA investigation to determine whether the 2011 Explorer’s higher-than-average carbon monoxide levels pose a serious risk to vehicle occupants.
2011 Ford Explorer’s Power Steering May Malfunction and Wheel Could Lock Up, Despite Recalls
Of the 2011 Ford Explorer’s 793 complaints on file with the NHTSA, 484 are classified under steering. The pattern here is pretty easy to spot. An Arizona driver reports “making right turn at traffic signal… warning light came on stating power steering assistance loss.” In South Carolina, a driver reports “power steering went out, along with warning notices of service required.” A driver in Pennsylvania complains that “the steering locks in mid-turn while in motion.”
Either the power steering goes out, forcing the driver to really lean into the wheel to make a turn, or the wheel locks up entirely. Also, a recall for steering lock was issued in early 2014, but this covered just 300 units in total.
A few months later, a recall was issued for the loss of power steering assist, this time for nearly two hundred thousand Explorers with the model years of 2011 to 2013. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the end of the story, as the NHTSA complaints page has hundreds of complaints on file for loss of power steering over just the last few years alone.
Ford sold just over 135,000 Explorers in 2011. With nearly 500 steering complaints on file, we can roughly round these numbers out to an incident rate of 1 in 270 units experiencing major issues with the steering. If you really like the Ford Explorer and you can find a great deal on a 2011, you may be willing to live with those odds. But make sure to at least get those available recalls taken care of.
Toe Link Fracture Leads to Huge Recalls for 2011 Explorer
The 2011 Explorer’s biggest recall was issued June, 2019 for around 1.2 million units under the model years 2011-2017. That’s not quite every single Explorer dated 2011 to 2017, but it’s close enough that you can almost guarantee your 2011 will be affected.
This recall addressed a potential toe link fracture in the rear suspension. The toe link is one of those very small, but very important components, helping to keep the rear wheels pointed in the right direction. Without the toe link, the wheel is free to turn at whatever angle it pleases, so preventing this piece from fracturing is of critical importance.
The recall saw Ford dealers inspecting the toe links and, where necessary, replacing the whole rear wheel knuckles free of charge. A followup recall was issued in September, 2021, this time for just over 126,000 2011-2013 units sold in certain states. The replacement parts in these vehicles had the potential to seize up, creating the very fractures they were intended to prevent.
Once again, the recall saw Ford dealers inspecting and replacing the parts as necessary. The recall process on this issue has been pretty thorough, but remember that the most recent recall was issued just a couple months before the time of this writing. So we might not have heard the last of this problem.
Open Investigation on Exhaust Odor
The NHTSA launched an investigation into exhaust odor claims relating to 2011-2017 Ford Explorers, with over 2,000 drivers complaining of dizziness, headaches, and even loss of consciousness. The investigation was opened in 2016, then in 2017, the initial investigation was followed up with an engineering analysis, which is still open.
At present “no substantive data or actual evidence has been obtained supporting a claim that any of the alleged injury or crash allegations were the result of carbon monoxide poisoning.” That is not to say that there have definitely been no accidents owing to carbon monoxide poisoning, just that there’s no definitive evidence that there have been, either.
Some evidence, however, suggests that “CO levels may be elevated in certain driving scenarios, although the significance and effect of those levels remains under evaluation as part of the engineering analysis.”
At present, there’s no way of knowing exactly how the investigation will turn out. But long story short: you’re not imagining the exhaust odor. Many Explorers do seem to have an issue with safe ventilation of carbon monoxide. However, it’s unclear if the exhaust fumes are concentrated enough to pose a serious risk to drivers and occupants.
Photos: Ford
