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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
29,480 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2015 Ford Explorer engine problems

engine problem

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2015 Ford Explorer Owner Comments (Page 4 of 11)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #154

Oct 062020

Explorer

  • 60,600 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Check engine light came on at 60,600 miles. Mechanic says it is a crankshaft/cam shaft correlation code. Timing chain needs to be replaced. Ford acknowledges it is an issue and they've made a ltr specific to the repair. However, there are no parts available to fix it and may not be available for one month or longer. Can't drive the car and can't GE5 it fixed. Vehicle is 5 months outside of warranty. Ford won't budge.

- Duluth, MN, USA

problem #153

May 012020

Explorer 6-cyl

  • 97,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the occupants became nauseous and ill and experienced headaches. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer who performed service to repair a possible carbon monoxide leak under the manufacturer's service campaign number: 19N05. No further information was available. The contact indicated that the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 97,000. Consumer took the vehicle to 2 different dealership and nothing was done about it. Consumer no longer has the vehicle.

- Columbia, SC, USA

problem #152

Sep 052020

Explorer

  • 46,000 miles
The Explorer only has 46000 miles on it and the water pump failed causing coolant to leak. We park it in our garage and I'm very observant so I noticed almost immediately my wife drives this with our children in it and we bought it because it was supposed to be built Ford tough and I was expecting at least 100,000 miles before things like this would start happening. If I didn't notice right away the car may have overheated and could have left my family on the side of the freeway or in the middle of a lane. I took it the local dealer for diagnosis and repair. This is where I found out it was actually the water pump. The total cost to replace the water pump just under $2800 because it is actually in the engine. Fords recommendation is the water pump should be replaced at 100,000 miles and should actually last 150'000 miles. There must be some admission of responsibility on their part because the service writer at the dealer assured me that the part has been upgraded since original design based on a 'B' at the end of the part number. A company like Ford should stand behind their product and if they know there is a issue they should fix it.

- Santee, CA, USA

problem #151

Sep 012020

Explorer

  • 70,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving the 2015 Ford Explorer I can smell exhaust entering the cabin of the vehicle, especially under acceleration. I found this to be an issue in the 2016-2017 models, via a tsb 17-0044, but not the 2015. I am experiencing the same issue. I have contacted Ford and they seem unaware of the issue and requested that I take it in at my expense to diagnose and "possibly" find the issue on a per hour rate. I believe that this is causing my 6 year to get car sick, only in this vehicle, and my wife to feel tired and have body pains as she is the one who drives it the most.

- Naples, FL, USA

problem #150

Jul 042020

Explorer 6-cyl

  • 1 miles
While driving, Ford Explorer dash wrench light indicator turns on then suddenly you loose power and control and braking, technical disabled. You have to come to a rolling stop. Then turn on car again to remove wrench light.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

problem #149

May 022020

Explorer 6-cyl

  • 108,708 miles
It is the same problem back as before. When you accelerate or go up a hill you have an horrible emission odor. I have had this fixed, but it is back.

- Crane, TX, USA

problem #148

Mar 182020

Explorer

  • 76,502 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Purchased the vehicle 4 March, was gone for 10 days. In the days since then, I have experienced exhaust smells in the vehicle multiple times, to the point that I have become light-headed. Usually, the smells only happen when the vehicle is relatively stationary (I.e. stop sign, parked but engine still running immediately fter getting home, during acceleration from a stop, regardless of the setting on the HVAC system. I'm attempting to return the vehicle at this time after researching multiple lawsuits against for for the faulty design. Due to the elusive nature of the problem, I can't provide photographic evidence. Also, on-going shipping problems in America (due to covid 19 problems) have led me to not being able to sources parts to prove there is also carbon monoxide in addition to the normal aroma of car exhaust.

- Vacaville, CA, USA

problem #147

Dec 262019

Explorer

  • 73,500 miles
In December 2019 while driving at about 70 mph uphill on interstate highway at nightime, the engine suddenly lost power. Depressing the accelerator pedel had no effect and the transmission acted as if it was shifted to neutral even though it was still in drive. The engine RPM seemed to dropp to idle speed. I lost forward motion rapidly. I had to cross two lanes of high speed traffic to pull onto shoulder. It was a very dangerous manuever as there was considerable traffic and I had to react quickly. I had to cut in front of cars moving much faster than I was, causing them to have to brake heavily. The engine continued to run for a while at about idle speed once I reached the shoulder, but would the vehicle would not move forward. All lights on vehicle, including emergency flashers, worked fine. Within about a minute of getting to the shoulder, the engine started running rough and then shut down entirely and would not restart. I lifted the hood and saw nothing obviously wrong. After several minutes, I attemptedd to restart the engine. The engine restarted immediately and ran with no problems and I was able to continue with my trip.

- Mechanicsville, VA, USA

problem #146

Sep 192019

Explorer

  • 92,000 miles
On my 2015 Ford Explorer XLT, the water pump which is encased inside the cyclone/duratec engine, broke and leaked coolant which was mixed with the oil, tge oil pan and the oil pump causing complete engine failure. There was no advance warning and Ford has not issued a recall although a number of models have been affected. This caused me to have to replace my engine at my expense. Ford Motor Company has not taken any steps to resolve my or this issue with the vehicle owner having to resolve the issue at their own expense.

- South Plainfield, NJ, USA

problem #145

May 012018

Explorer

  • 30,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. While the vehicle was parked outside of the garage, the contact smelled exhaust fumes inside and outside the vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to dch Ford of thousand oaks (located at 3810 thousand oaks blvd, westlake village, ca 91362, (805) 409-3895) where it was diagnosed that the air filter was faulty. The contact was unaware of the repairs, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 30,000.

- Moorpark, CA, USA

problem #144

Sep 192019

Explorer

  • 93,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Beginning in 2007 and continuing through the present, Ford has equipped millions of vehicles sold under the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brand names with the Ford cyclone engine, also known as the duratec engine. Unbeknownst to purchasers and lessees of these vehicles, the Ford cyclone engine contains a defect in design, manufacturing, materials and/or workmanship that causes the water pump to suddenly and prematurely fail'before the end of the useful life of the engine'and can lead to catastrophic engine failure. Affected vehicles Ford edge2007'2010 Ford edge2015'present Ford edge 2852011'2014 Ford explorer2011'present Ford F-150 2822015'2017 Ford flex2009'present Ford Fusion sport2010'2012 Ford taurus2008'present Ford Taurus X2008'2009 Lincoln mkx2007'2010 Lincoln mkz2007'2012 Mazda 6 (3.7L)2009-2013 Mazda cx-9 (3.5L)2007 Mazda CX9 (3.7L)2008-2015 Mercury sable2008'2009

- South Plainfield, NJ, USA

problem #143

Oct 272019

Explorer

  • 70 miles
The first incident was about 9months ago I was driving with my 3 year old on highway at about 65mph the car locked up steering the wheel. The car was moving all directions on three lanes and it was very hard for me to atempt to steer as the wheel was very tight. It finally went down to 0 mph and I pulled over thanking god I did not crash. The lights were flickering all over. Attempted to trade at a dealership regor dykes in Texas bc I was scarred to drive it. They fixed it as a trade then got sued and returned it back to me and took my new car back. Then yesterday I left home to take all my kids to school 3. and got to 40 mph and it did it again luckily we were not on a highway. This time when it hit 0 mph it was still driveable but would not accelerate above 40. I'm scarred for my life in this car and there is nothing I can do about it. It is now parked and I dont know what to do.

- Lubbock, TX, USA

problem #142

Oct 252019

Explorer

  • 103,000 miles
When the vehicle is not in motion and the climate control is active, a burning oil smell comes from the vents. The fumes irritate the eyes and respiratory system. There is no visual sign of any fluid leaks.

- Eagar, AZ, USA

problem #141

Oct 102019

Explorer

  • 61,902 miles
Ford Explorer 3.5L ecoboost engine timing chain stretch @ 61,902 miles... $2500 repair bill on a very well maintained and preventative maintenance schedule minded owner. Also, at 42K miles the lumbar bag on drivers seat deflated and won't inflate...

- Roswell, GA, USA

problem #140

Oct 262019

Explorer

  • 113,562 miles
It's popping up low engine power and it will shut down everything from lights to blind spot detection. It just started doing this after running through a small water puddle.

- Clinton, KY, USA

problem #139

Sep 172019

Explorer

  • 54,000 miles
The police interceptor utility was being driven with windows down in a parking lot when a foul odor was smelled by the officer, followed by the carbon monoxide alarm activating. The reading on the co alarm was 127 ppm. The vehicle was taken to hilltop Ford and a repair was made to the egr purge valve. The vehicle was returned to service and within a couple of days the co alarm activated again, however no smell accompanied the alarm. The vehicle was being driven during the activation. The co alarm is a honeywell bwc2R-M. the vehicle was taken back to hilltop Ford and after remaining with them for a month, a field service engineer tested the vehicle with specialized equipment and was unable to duplicate the complaint. No repair was made. All prior recall work had been performed on this vehicle.

- Hercules, CA, USA

problem #138

Oct 072019

Explorer

  • 55,000 miles
Strong odor of exhaust in cabin of vehicle

- Orland Park, IL, USA

problem #137

Aug 082019

Explorer

  • 91,273 miles
Both exhaust manifolds were cracked. Removed and drilled out broken studs and installed new converters. I heard a noise for a day or two and brought it in and they said this was the issue. I maintain my vehicle regularly at the Ford dealer and never indicated a problem. They said no recall but I googled it and I see many complaints with the same issue for my year, make and model.

- Howell, NJ, USA

problem #136

Aug 062019

Explorer

  • 72,960 miles
Wastegate issues. Decrease in power and acceleration causing safety hazards while driving. Pulled onto a highway while in traffic (65mph) and I couldn't accelerate as needed when pulling onto a highway and was nearly rear ended.

- West Plains, MO, USA

problem #135

Apr 012019

Explorer

  • 74,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. While driving 40 mph, the vehicle stalled and the check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. However, the mechanic stated that the throttle body needed to be replaced. Haldeman Ford (640 us-130, East windsor, NJ 08520, (833) 668-9583) was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 74,000.

- New Egypt, NJ, USA

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