Was driving home from a long trip and about 50 miles from home my A/C quit . Knowing how fords are about cooling systems I took it to my mechanic, where I was told the horrible news! the water pump is located in a weird place and and leaked a few drops on to my A/C coil which tripped my A/C system. .So now My car is found on road dead, (FORD) with a 4,200.00 repair bill ,,,,,,,,,,never again will I trust a ford ....never ever ..DO NOT BUY A FORD PRODUCT they do not stand behind their design flaws Its I've only had this car 2 years and drive it 4000 miles a year and keep up with the Maintenance ...shame on ford for selling such a crappy product to a grandma on a fixed income ,

Like other Ford owners this is a complaint to file regarding the defective water pump on the 2016 explorer.

THE COST FOR THIS WATER PUMP REPLACEMENT RANGES FROM $1500 TO $2000 IF LUCKY. TO ACCESS THS WATER PUMP THE MECHANIC NEEDS TO REMOVE AND DISASSEMBLE SOME ENGINE THE PARTS. THE TIMING CHAIN ALSO NEEDS TO BE ADJUSTED . YOUR WONT ABLE TO DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE UNLESS THIS IS FIXED. THE OTHER MAIN PROBLEM IS WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU HAVE NO BUDGET 0 BALANCE FOR REPAIR COST. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO HERE>

Vehicle overheated, I'd stop and check and notice the coolant level was very low, so I let the vehicle cooled off and I added coolant. After I parked, I notice a drip, so I had a mechanic diagnose it and he said it was the water pump, but he couldn't do any big jobs at the moment, so that was 65.00, diagnosis wasted.

I took it to the Ford Dealer and they also said it was the water pump and it will be over 3200.00 to have it replaced, and anyways they check to see if I had warranty and my extended warranty expired about 3 months ago, and the warranty on the vehicle for the engine is 5 years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first, so everything will have to be out of pocket. I am waiting on the call to take the vehicle to the dealer and have it fix.

Since I'm not even at 60,000 miles yet and I am not the only one with this problem, the Ford Company should help out with the cost of the repairs.

I had an oil change on November 19 at 97,750 miles. After the oil change, I noticed a burning oil smell for a couple days. Took my vehicle back to the dealership (where the oil had been changed) and they said the issue was actually the water pump leaking and needing to be replaced. They said the repair would cost $1,500. I don't know a ton about cars, but I know water pumps are fairly inexpensive, so I did some research on why it was so much.

It turns out that Ford designed this vehicle, and many of its others, to have the water pump inside the engine, so it's really hard to get to. I also discovered there is a class action lawsuit for this very issue. Hundreds and hundreds of people have seen their water pumps fail prematurely, even though Ford says they are designed to last to 150,000 miles at least. This is a drop in the bucket...

I have had nothing but major problems with this Explorer (2016): exhaust/emissions problems that made me sick for weeks, sudden loss of power/ability to accelerate while driving on the highway multiple times, seat heater failed at 75,000 miles... the list goes on. Don't buy one of these!

I bought the Ford Explorer used. with 104,000. I am a foster parent and needed a 3rd row desperately. I traded my dream car for this piece of junk. I had the car less than a month and the heat and air went out. While wating to get that fixed, the water pump busted. It's an internal belt driven water pump so it was a dealership fix only. It was covered under extended warrenty and got fixed thank heavens. I have had my car back only a month and now the transmission is going out. It's slipping and started doing so after Ford repair the water pump, which required driopping the drive shaft. And now my actuator in the dash has stopped working and will only work on defrost. This car is a LEMON. I will never buy another FORD. I did research on this vehicle and never read water pump issues until after it happened to me. The vehicle only has 107,600 miles and I'm getting rid of it.

At first it felt like it was missing. I had it to the mechanic and they couldn't determine the cause or reproduce it. That;s because the morons didn't drive it. How can one claim to not be able to reproduce the problem if it's not your car and your not used to the sounds it makes and you don't drive it?

I have 2016 Ford Explorer with 73,000 miles with the 3.5L engine. Had minor leak of coolant show up on lower part of A/C compressor. Upon investigation it looks like the leak is coming from the weep hole of the waterpump. The BAD part of all of this is, on the 3.5 Duratech engine in the explorer (and other transverse mounted models) the waterpump is inside the timing cover. The waterpump is driven by the timing chain. To replace the waterpump you have to remove all camshaft timing drive components. 10.5hrs labor according to flat rate book.

After investigating this issue on other complaints I have heard that the bearing in the waterpump are the normal failure mode. When that happens all of your coolant then goes into the engine and causes damage to the engine crankshaft bearings.

I guess I should feel lucky that mine is not a full engine replacement?

FORD dealer was $2,300 and local repair shop is $1,500. I choose local repair shop and not FORD. The vehicle is in the shop for repair now.

Thanks FORD for a crappy idea of having a waterpump inside the engine.

Update from Mar 20, 2020: I should have selected that this issue was a Pain in the Ass not just a nuisance