There are 3 stored owner reports matching the steering leading-label group for the 2000 Ford Explorer Sport in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 3 of 3 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 FORD EXPLORER SPORT. WHILE STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT, SMOKE APPEARED FROM THE STEERING COLUMN. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THE MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH IN THE STEERING COLUMN FAILED. THEY FURTHER STATED THAT ONCE THE SWITCH FAILS, IT COULD CATCH FIRE. THE VEHICLE CANNOT BE DRIVEN UNTIL THE SWITCH IS REPLACED. THE VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY AT THE DEALER FOR REPAIR. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS PRIOR TO THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 79,000.
GEAR SHIFT FELL OFF WHEN TRYING TO BACK OUT OF DRIVEWAY. THE ENTIRE STEERING WHEEL SHAFT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THANK HEAVENS WE WERE IN THE DRIVEWAY AND NOT ON THE ROAD.*CN
THE ENGINE HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE, THE STEERING WHEEL STARTED TO SMOKE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THERE WAS A MECHANICAL DEFECT IN THE STEERING COLUMN. *JB THE KNOCKING WOULD ONLY OCCUR IN THE FALL AND WINTER MONTH'S. ON ONE OCCASION THE WHILE SITTING AT A RED LIGHT, SMOKE STARTED COMING FROM THE STEERING WHEEL. *SC
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 29, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.