There are 8 stored owner reports matching the steering leading-label group for the 2001 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 8 of 8 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)WHEN TILTING THE STEERING WHEEL DOWN IT SHUTS EVERYTHING OFF. THEN, WHEN PLACING IT BACK TO THE NORMAL POSITION EVERYTHING COMES BACK ON, THE BRAKE LIGHTS/TURN SIGNALS, AND CONSUMER HEARS AN ELECTRICAL BUZZING INSIDE THE STEERING WHEEL.*AK
FAILTURE OF BALL JOINTS DUE TO NO GREASE FRO M FACTORY. *AK
THIS IS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM.DEPENDING ON THE POSITION OF THE STEERING WHEEL, THE TURN SIGNAL ARM DOES NOT STAY IN POSITION, AND THE TURN SIGNAL DOES NOT OPERATE. IN ORDER TO MAKE IT WORK YOU HAVE TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL TO ANOTHER POSITION AND TRY AGAIN.
WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH AND KEEPING STEERING WHEEL STEADY VEHICLE WANDERED TO LEFT LANE ON ITS OWN. DEALER REPLACED STEERING MECHANISM, BUT VEHICLE STILL PULLS TO LEFT. *AK CUSTOMER STATES VEHICLE DRIFTS TO THE LEFT WHEN TURNED STEERING WHEEL AND WILL NOT TURN COMETIMES TO THE RIGHT. *YH
WHEN DRIVING ON SLIGHT UPHILL ROADS AND MAKING TURNS LEFT OR RIGHT, LIKE ON RAMPS TO FREEWAY AT VERY SLOW SPEEDS, 5-10 MPH, VEHICLE IS HARD TO CONTROL. GOES ALL OVER ROAD, BRAKING MAKES IT WORSE. DEALER REPLACED STEERING GEAR AND TIRES. DID NOT REMEDY. TO DEALER 9 DAYS ONE TIME, ANOTHER 14 DAYS.*AK CONSUMER ALSO STATES ENGINE MAKES A GRINDING NOISE RIGHT AFTER START-UP.*JB
POWER STEERING MOTOR PROBLEMS WITH FRONT END. ALSO TIRES. CONTACTED DEALER, AND DEALER COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG.*AK
MY PURCHASED NEW $30,000 2001 FORD 2 DOOR EXPLORER SPORT DIES OFTEN CAUSING NO BRAKES OR STEERING. IN 2001, IT DIED AND ROLLED OVER WITH NO STEERING OR BRAKES WHEN MY WIFE WAS DRIVING HOME, LEAVING HER STRANDED UPSIDE DOWN. FORD WOULD NOT RESPOND AND LOCAL DEALERS WOULD NOT OR COULD NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. IT STILL DIES AND ALL RECALLS WERE PRESUMABLY DONE, INCLUDING THE FIRESTONE TIRES WHICH WERE THE BEST PART OF THE VEHICLE. NUMEROUS LETTERS TO FORD WERE NEVER ACKNOWLEDGED. I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A REFUND ON THIS VEHICLE. CAN YOU HELP ME? *TR
CONSUMER STATES THAT VEHICLE HAS EXCESSIVE VIBRATION THAT CAN BE FELT AT 45MPH OR GREATER MAKING IT HARD TO MAINTAIN CONTROL WHILE DRIVING. DEALER HAS REPLACED TIRES, DRIVESHAFT AND THROTTLE ASSEMBLY BUT PROBLEM IS STILL OCCURRING. MANUFACTURER INFORMED THAT CONSUMER THAT THE PROBLEM IS A "TECHNICAL DEFECT" THAT IS CONSIDERED NORMAL ON THIS MODEL. TS
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.