This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
When driving down I-75 headed to work, doing 65 mph both my windshield trims flew off my car an started making a loud rattling noise. It scared the crap out of me! how has this not been recalled?
Substantial amounts of water is leaking into the interior of the vehicle when parked or in motion. Water intrudes thu the front dome light, the side, the rear seat belt, and other areas. Water was standing in the front passenger seat feet area and it filled the rear spare tire wheel well. Had purchased extended warranty from the Ford dealer when I purchased the vehicle. Took it back to the dealer who cleared the two rear drains on the sun roof, but that does not solve the issue. Dealer ran diagnostics in a water closet they have in their shop. Diagnostic report notes "water is found coming in from the tail gate body seams" dealer explained that the seam sealer is applied at the factory during manufacturing prior to the painting. Apparently this factory sealer has failed. Unclear if sealer compound was defective, or was improperly applied. Bottom line is the factory seal has failed, the seams are now compromised resulting in this safety issue. The 3rd party extended warranty that Ford sold me is supposed to cover seals and gaskets, but apparently there is fine print deep in the bowels of the contract that excludes body issues even if the root cause is poor materials, poor quality, or workmanship by the manufacturer. Dealer indicated this issue has been observed previously on this model. Simple web searches show a large number of complaints for this and adjacent model years but yet recall yet for the issue. I contacted Ford's support line to file a complaint. No resolution as of this writing. Dealer also indicated that the repair would require a body shop.I went to the body shop owned by the dealer and received a preliminary estimate of $738. They emphasized "preliminary" as they're unsure how extensive the seam seal failure may be. This issue not only impacts the safety (water and ice in interior) but also creates a health hazard from mold, mildew, sickening smell.
The front hood paint has bubbled and peeled off the front edge. Appears to have bubbled in more places, now awaiting even more peeling. Obviously a paint defect. Although I will enter a date - it's been a constant defect. (speaking with other Ford Explorer owners - a common complaint.) #2 also, for several years the car driver door sensor (?) light (hence the ceiling lights) stay on (although the ceiling eventually turns off while driving). This indication that the door is ajar / not closed is frequent and often and has been looked at by the Ford dealership in Virginia several times - with no repair / fix. It is not constant but frequent.
We recently began smelling a pungent 'sulfur' or 'rotten egg' like smell that comes and goes in the interior cabin of our Explorer while driving the vehicle. Typically this seems to occur while or just after driving at freeway speeds/accelerating. We believe this is in line with other instances people have had in Explorer of possible exhaust leaks into the interior cabin space of the vehicle. We have 83,000 miles on our 2013 AWD 3.5L Explorer limited. We took our vehicle to a Ford dealer under customer service satisfaction program service # 17N03, but they stated our specific VIN does not apply to this service & thus would not cover that service fix for this issue.
The weld seam sealant used above the tailgate has failed and begun cracking, allowing rainto enter through the poorly done welding, and drips into my cargo area through the rear speakers, down the seatbelt, and onto my seats. Luckily I have a cargo liner which helps avoid my seats from getting soaked. This happens whether parked or moving.
Metal body cracking on upper area panel where liftgate hinges are. Creating water damage to the interior part of the third row. This has been ongoing for about two years and the cracks are getting bigger.
The contact owns a 2013 Ford Explorer. While driving at unknown speeds, the passenger side windshield trim detached from the vehicle. In addition, the driver side windshield trim was hanging from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer (reuther Ford, 1325 mcnutt St, herculaneum, mo 63048, (636) 931-9393) where it was diagnosed that the brackets fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was 87,000.
The vehicle is rolling away while in "park". it is the exact problem described for other Ford vehicles but the Explorer is not on the recall list. We have experienced this occurrence twice now. The first time it occurred, the vehicle rolled out of our garage and into fence and tree. The second time, it rolled out of a parked spot while my wife was in the driver seat and clearly observing the transmission was in "park".
Noticed leak into spare tire well years ago and jones Ford in N. charleston could not find a leak. 8/13/2018 took our vehicle in for the same exact problem and found the water pours down the third row seatbelts anytime it rains. There is now mold in the carpeted area below the 3rd row seats. The leak happens while the car is stationary, driving, anytime it is raining.
I have a door ajar light that will not turn off first it was just the driver side now it is affecting both the driver side and passenger side. The doors will not lock when in motion and the interior lights will not turn off.
I purchased this vehicle new from the Ford dealer in 2013. First issue, front edge of hood the paint has been bubbling and coming off. Rust is underneath. Ford refused to do anything about it. Second issue and most important, we have been losing the power steering function while driving, this has caused erratic steering as the electric power steering seems to turn on and off. The steering will bind and when you try to control the vehicle and over compensate and the electric steering re-engages, I'm all over the road. My vehicle was not part of the recall and Ford refuses to do anything about the issue other than fix it for $1900-$2300.
The front A-pillar moldings separated from the body of the vehicle and caused a safety hazard to others in traffic. This occurred while operating the vehicle at approximately 60-65 mph.
Noticed water leak coming out of seat belt harness area in third row. Water leak is causing entire area to become wet in third row. Mildew smell is now present. Afraid there may be mold growth causing health issues. I put towels around the seatbelt to catch water and they are soaked when I change them out. Rain water comes leaked on when the car is parked or while in motion. I am not aware of where the leak is starting or how to fix.
I purchased a used Explorer in late June of last year with approx 25000 miles on it. The A-pillar molding flew off in traffic last week and I just found out, these parts are not covered under warranty. This is an obvious defect that Ford needs to replace and repair at no cost to the consumer.
Paint peeling on hood. The front edge of the hood has peeling paint. It began just after the 36 mo warranty expired and Ford has not made any efforts to solve the problem. I recently saw another Explorer, same year, model with even worse peeling paint on the hood. I have included the picture of that car as well.
There are faulty welds in the roof seams under the rear lift gate. This allows water to escape inside the vehicle, along the headliner, and down the rear passenger seat belts. Water accumulates in rear cup holders and floor boards. Issue was repaired once before, failed again not even a year later.
The passenger side seat belt in the second row refused to latch while the vehicle was stationary or in motion. The dealership stated that it was not covered under our warranty. The sun/moon roof has leaked on several occasions causing me to pay out of pocket for repairs. The repair shop indicated that we should blow air into the tubes to keep them clear even though we always park in the garage and at work there are no trees around the parking lot to have anything be able to get into the drain tubes. I have owned several vehicles with sun roofs and never had them leak or need to be blown out even when they were stored 100%V outside. Again not covered by warranty even though we had less than 40K miles and a Ford certified pre-owned warranty. This is a bad design and should be a recall. The sun roof was stuck open on 3 occasions. The driver side window trim pillar flew off when I was driving down the highway. I was told that it was not covered by warranty and had to pay out of pocket to have it replaced at the dealership. It is now coming loose again and I do not expect it to last much longer with how loose it is. It is a danger to anyone driving behind me as it could fly off and cause an accident. This is a bad design and should be a recall. These events happened over multiple dates but we were not aware of a way to complain about all of these problems as we were told they were not covered under the warranty.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Fort Myers, FL, USA