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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 0
Average Mileage:
28,293 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 1 of 11)

problem #207

Jul 162024

Explorer

  • miles

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

Car kept overheating and I checked the antifreeze. Several times during the week it was empty. Took it to PepBoys and found out the water pump was faulty.

- Orlando, FL, USA

problem #206

Jun 142024

Explorer

  • miles
Sudden Unintended Acceleration of the vehicle when slowing to park vehicle. This has happened on 2 occasions- both scenarios the same: slowing and turning left into a parking space, foot on the brake, almost to a complete stop and the vehicle suddenly accelerates out of control. the 1st time into a tree, the 2nd time into a parked/unoccupied vehicle. The brake was applied w/o response, the vehicle would not stop. I am certain my foot was not on the gas. Fortunate no one was injured.

- Corona, CA, USA

problem #205

Jan 142024

Explorer

  • miles
Water pump and timing belt failure, causing overheating and leaving driver stranded and posing threat for engine failure.

- Newberry, FL, USA

problem #204

Jan 242024

Explorer

  • miles

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

Water pump inside the engine went out and was leaking coolant all over the engine and transmission. Caused the engine to over heat and the cabin heat to fail. Risk of fire with fluids on engine. Problem so common there is a class action lawsuit but no recall.

- Mason, OH, USA

problem #203

Dec 022023

Explorer

  • miles
Premature water pump failure on 2015 Ford Explorer Limited with 51,000 miles. Noticed coolant leak while changing oil. Took it to a mechanic that pressure tested cooling system to discover water pump is leaking.

- Lincoln, NE, USA

problem #202

Oct 112023

Explorer

  • miles
While driving at 40 mph the car suddenly lost power. The accelerator would not respond. We were luckily able to coast downhill and get on the shoulder. This has happened four times in six months. The car is not safe for highway driving.

- Bethesda, MD, USA

problem #201

Aug 232023

Explorer

  • miles

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

Leaking water pump

- Crete, IL, USA

problem #200

Aug 012022

Explorer

  • 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. During the failure the message "Terrain Management Fault" was displayed along with the wrench icon. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated normally, and the message and the wrench icon were no longer displayed. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions and at various speeds. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.

- Pocatello, ID, USA

problem #199

Jul 282023

Explorer

  • miles
Turbocharger oil supply tubes leaking onto exhaust manifold Same engine as the recalled 2016-2017 Models

- Sullivan, ME, USA

problem #198

Jul 012022

Explorer

  • miles
Last year the water pump needed to be replaced at 99,500 miles. It cost upwards of $2,000 to be replaced. Fast forward now, a year later the check engine light is on, the car is not accelerating properly and it is back in the shop. The shop called and said it is not as simple as fixing the sensors. They have to look further and thinks it may be the timing chain which would be another $2,000. When it was in the shop a year ago fixing the water pump they said the timing chain at that time looked good. I am so frustrated that the water pump is not a part of a recall since our shop said they are seeing this all the time with Explorers with about 100,000 miles.

- Oceanside, CA, USA

problem #197

Jul 292023

Explorer

  • miles

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

My 2015 ford explorer water pump has failed sending coolant all over. The water pump in an internal component of the engine. I am lucky that I caught the water pump failure when I did and it didn-??t completely catastrophically fail. There are numerous reports that the water pumps catastrophically fail and send coolant and metal particles into the motor causing it to also catastrophically fail. If my engine failed while driving on the highway I could have been seriously injured or killed or worse I could have seriously hurt or killed somebody else. I brought my car to ford 7/21/23 where they did general diagnostic tests everything was negative and nothing was found and I was sent on my way. On 7/29/23 I noticed I had a puddle in my driveway and there was definitely a leak I brought my car back to ford where they spent an entire day diagnosing. I was quoted $2500 and my car will take a week to fix. Ford has not offered to pay for any of the repairs even though these poorly manufactured water pumps continue to go bad on thousands of vehicles. There are multiple class action lawsuits against ford for this reason!

- Oxford , MA, USA

problem #196

Jul 102023

Explorer

  • miles
I have a 2015 Ford Explorer. I have had it inspected by a mechanic at the dealership where I purchased said vehicle. I also have taken it to Ford dealership in my town. My car runs perfectly fine then it doesn-??t. I have been stranded numerous times and I have replaced the battery in the smart key as they said that would be the problem. I have had the computer reset to my car. When it happened last my camera to help me back up stopped and I was almost in a very bad wreck with my children and grandchildren in my car. It just died!!! I am now sitting in a parking lot at 93 degrees and it again won-??t start and know one knows why. I have done everything I can and have been told. I don-??t hot rod in my vehicle. Someone for the love of god please help me. I don-??t have the money to keep doing this not to buy another vehicle.

- New Ross , IN, USA

problem #195

Mar 012023

Explorer

  • miles
3/23 I noticed my coolant reservoir was empty. The vehicle was involved in a minor accident in 12/22 and so I thought coolant slowly leaked out due to the accident. The vehicle was repaired at a collision center so I was concerned they didn't repair or totally missed the leak. I filled it up and took the Explorer for an oil change and that is when the mechanic informed me that I had a small coolant leak. I contacted the collision center and my insurance and both were stating that was from wear and tear. They also proceeded to tell me that is a big issue with the Explorers and certain other vehicles. They mentioned a lawsuit was filed in MA because of this issue. The leak start to get worse, causing me to constantly refill the reservoir with coolant. Always had to have coolant in the vehicle because you just never know. I take the EXPLORER to Ford for a diagnostic and they confirmed it was the internal water pump. This seems to be an issue and recalled because of a defective part or the way the vehicle was built. The leak can happen at any time and mine had 114,000 miles. My other 2010 Ford F150 has 180,000 miles and I have never had this issue. Needless to say, I had to for over $2,300 for the dealership to repair.

- Arlington, TX, USA

problem #194

Apr 302023

Explorer

  • 65,417 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made an abnormal sound. Additionally, the contact stated that while the vehicle was idling, the vehicle was shuddering. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who informed the contact that the crankshaft pulley needed to be replaced; however, the part was not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 65,417.

- Newport News, VA, USA

problem #193

Jun 082023

Explorer

  • miles
I have a recall on rear suspension I have called to have the repairs done several times I was given response of they didn't have the parts needed and would take several weeks. Rear suspension is very unsafe and now the engine cooling component is causing issues with over heating and not giving any warning lights on dash and am afraid found cause fire or some unsafe issue

- Sherwood Forrest, CA, USA

problem #192

Jun 022023

Explorer

  • miles
While driving the temp started to fluctuate, causing the car the shut down in traffic. I had no clue what was happening. The only warning I got from the vehicle was a check engine light. This should not be possible. I understand the design is meant to protect the engine, but what about the driver. This was horrible and I've seen hundreds of others with this same issue. This needs to be recalled. In addition, it will cost me 4000 to fix this...while the pump itself only costs 200. The labor is the other 3800. This is a horrible thing to do to drivers.

- Hueytown, AL, USA

problem #191

Apr 192023

Explorer

  • miles
Waterpump

- Stacyville, ME, USA

problem #190

Feb 012023

Explorer

  • miles
Water pump died at 80,000 miles. Seems in my research this is a common probably with class action lawsuits

- Eureka, CA, USA

problem #189

Mar 222023

Explorer

  • 128,000 miles
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with a thumping sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that when the ignition was turned to the on position, the vehicle failed to start with the lights illuminated inside the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 128,000.

- Nashville, TN, USA

problem #188

Oct 192017

Explorer

  • 110,492 miles
When driving the vehicle, I can smell gas fumes which caused nausea. I didn-??t know it was worse in the back of the cabin where my children sit until I sat back there for a 3 hour trip. The smell was stronger there which led to headache, nausea and fatigue. It doesn-??t seem to come from the vent, it seems from the entire body of the vehicle. This puts my children-??s health at risk. And all of our lives because if we travel far enough breathing this in, it can lead to exhaustion which can cause a crash and put others-?? safety at risk. I-??m surprised to see there is no recall, yet, it-??s been reported that there have been 1.5 million complaints. We are having the issue fixed next Wednesday, but we will be without a car (ford is not providing a loan vehicle) and the bill is extremely expensive. This is clearly something wrong with the way the vehicle was made and is not fair as consumers that we not only have to breathe this in, but pay for the repair that has clearly been an issue for a majority of police vehicles out of 1.5 million complaints. Please help us.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

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