Problems · by component
2012 Ford Explorer electrical system problems
64 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2012 Ford Explorer cite electrical system, 8% of all 830 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
64
8% of all complaints
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
3
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
What owners say about the electrical system
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“Had to pull over to chnage my tire and when attenpting to put my hazard lights on, or warning lights they did not work which resulted in several cars almost hitting me because I could not signal my lights. The way Ford designed the 2012 Ford Explorer hazard light button is flawed. Its not an actual button and relies solely on the touch screen which failed.”
“Hello I’m a concerned citizen and I have a question about the Ford recall on the back up cameras, I have 2012 Explorer and my camera has been acting up for a while the same way that ford has mentioned, so I was wondering why isn’t the Explorer not included in this recall.”
“The contact's wife owns a 2021 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his wife was driving, on at least three occasions, the steering wheel became very stiff. The contact's wife was not able to turn the steering wheel, so the vehicle was stopped and restarted each time. The contact stated that an unknown message was displayed, and the power steering assist warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where DTC: U3000 was retrieved, and the tech was asked to check for bad connections. The failure was not duplicated, and the vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to a second dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the ground wire had corrosion around the grounding bolts and that the bolts needed to be cleaned a reinstalled. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 111,000.”
“My vehicles power steering alert came on suddenly while driving home. My cars steering wheel completely locked up while I had my children in my vehicle. It was very scary knowing we could have been in a wreck due to this issue. It’s. Not under recall but under the customer satisfaction program but I do not have funds to cover this. No dealership near me is able to tow and a tow would be a lot for me. I had a family friend tow us when my steering went out in town but was still charged an arm. I need this looked at because there’s been recalls for this before. My families lives were put at risk and that’s completely unacceptable.”
“Sometimes putting it in reverse the rear camera doesn’t come on. Have to wait sometimes a minute before camera will come on. It doesn’t happen all the time. I read that ford is having problems and has a recall on some vehicles but my year doesn’t show up.”
“The contact owns a 2012 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while his wife was driving 70 MPH in the passing lane, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated while the driver was decelerating, the vehicle started shuddering significantly. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated, and a message advising of a power steering failure and to service the vehicle immediately was displayed. The tail lights and the hazard lights became inoperable. The driver was able to pull to the side of the road. The driver was able to continue driving at a lower speed. The contact stated that his daughter and his [XXX] grandchild were passengers in the vehicle during the failure. The contact stated that the vehicle was uncontrollable while driving at higher speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the power steering gear motor and an unknown parts needed to be replaced. The contact related the failure to Ford Campaign Number: 15N01; however, the dealer informed the contact that the manufacturer declined to cover the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The…”
Showing 6 of 64 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 4, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.