I have owned my 2016 from purchasing brand new. It has always been garaged and detailed. I noticed last week that my hood right on the very front is starting to bubble and will not doubt rust and peel. I went to an auto body shop who I have dealt with for years. Was advised that this is and was an ongoing issue with Ford since 2000 when they switched over to aluminum panels. Cost to replace hood and paint is $2,695.00. I saw that there actually was a class action suit on this issue with Explorers but it was dismissed in May 2021.

I contacted Ford Motor Corporate this a.m. and am waiting to hear back if they will do something to assist me in paying to have this repaired. I have owned Fords for over 50 years and this is totally unacceptable if they do not do something to make good on this issue that has been brought to their attention on thousands of vehicles and yet never did a recall to correct it over all the years from as far back as 2003.

My vehicle is in impeccable condition with only 31,000 miles and now this through no fault of me but rather the fault of Ford Motor. Hopefully they will make good and stand behind their product.

2016 Explorer Platinum. 72k miles. Engine surging on every warm start. Dealer not able to repair. Not sure what it is. Front windshield trim almost blew off, had to stop and pull it off then glue it back on when I got back home. Side lower trim on drivers door was falling off, plastic connectors broke. Infotainment system was extremely laggy and the GPS didn’t work at times. Even after dealer update it still didn’t work properly. Rear roof seal around back door hinges was cracking causing water to leak inside. Hood is aluminum and the paint will bubble on pretty much all Explorers and come off. Transfer case is a sealed unit not allowing for any servicing or fluid changes. Transmission did not shift smoothly and would probably need to be rebuilt, dealer checked software and said it was up to date.

I bought this car used and only kept it for a few months before trading it back in for a VW Atlas. Much better built vehicle and super roomy.

I’m very disappointed in the lack of quality from the Explorer and am ashamed that Ford would make a car with this many known issues and not covet under a recall. I’m so happy to be done with this car.

Bought new about 1 1/2 years ago and just noticed 2-3 bubble spots on the front edge of the hood. I've not yet approached a dealer about repair/replacement as I'm anticipating this will only aggravate me even more.

Update from Jun 1, 2018: As expected- dealer states this is out of warranty due to mileage being 54,000. Not sure what the mileage has to do with a known paint issue other than being a technicality.

I do find it odd that they would choose not to accept responsibility to a known issue, especially with a customer that drives so much they purchase a new vehicle every four years...and makes decisions about the company fleet choices.

I noticed the paint bubbling on the hood and took it to the dealer where I bought the car from. They said that they would call me when they had an opening in their body shop. So far, it's been two weeks and no phone call.

Update from Apr 8, 2018: Friendly Ford, of Roselle, Il., said that they went to Ford and got approval to REPLACE my hood rather then repair it. The hood was replaced under warranty but I'm concerned that the new hood will eventually do the same thing. My complaint was satisfactorialy taken care of.

While I was washing the car I discovered rust on the hood of the car, I was surprised on a car from 1,5 year old. I contacted the dealer and they told me to come by to repair this under warranty. I was even more surprised when I dropped of the car and the service writer that they only patch up the hood. Probably it is going to come back and Ford doesn't accept it as warranty a second time. It seems to be a very common problem and Ford knows about it but doesn't do anything. I contacted Ford to file a complain but they don't do anything with it.

So we just ordered this 2016 Ford Explorer In November 2015. Custom to what we wanted and when it came we already notice some problem. They fixed what we saw, than we had it detailed and our person who did it just washed it and found a lot of divots and dent marks. Called Ford and had them look at it and to take care of it. It took forever and lots of miles on this suv before it was fixed. They kept calling it a production vehicle which I guess every one that comes out of the factory should be a production vehicle right. We went rounds and rounds and had Corporate involved. They finally fixed it and we got it back in December 29,2015. They don't care about people they make lots of money a year and we all are just numbers to them.

Picked up my 2016 Explorer Sport after dark and did not get a chance to look it over very well in the sun light. Next day, I notice several spots in my hood after I get it home. One appears to be a pimple or something under the paint, one looks like a crater as I can see down to the primer, and I have two small clear bubbles. See the pictures for yourself. Took the vehicle back to the dealer and Ford says they will repaint it. Well, take a look at the 2011-Present complaints on the explorers and you can quickly see that having them repaint your hood is not a good idea. So I ask to have a new hood put on. I get told that is not an option. So I have a BRAND NEW vehicle with FACTORY defects and Ford will not make it right. This will be my last Ford product. I sure hope everyone who is considering an explorer sees this prior to purchasing one. I wish I had. If you don't care about the appearance and quality of the vehicle then this is the SUV for you. Also, while I was at the dealer I looked over the only other Shadow Black Explorer they had and it also had the same issues just in different locations!