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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
32,843 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.

2016 Ford Explorer drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2016 Ford Explorer Owner Comments (Page 1 of 9)

problem #178

Jun 262024

Explorer

  • 156,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormally loud grinding sound. The contact stated that the front end of the vehicle seized, and the vehicle started rolling. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road and noticed that the gear box had blown out. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the gear box had fractured and damaged the transmission front assembly. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 156,000.

- Columbia City, IN, USA

problem #177

Aug 262024

Explorer

  • miles
Randomly whilst driving, my dash had multiple error messages pop up and my power steering went out completely. The error messages were as follows: Service AdvanceTrac, Terrain Management System Fault, Hill Start Assist Not Available, & Power Steering Assit Fault. This keeps happening intermittently, while I am driving. This causes a serious safety issue, for my steering wheel to lock up while I am driving! I did get the codes for the errors and they are as follows: U0420-41, C0051-67, U0151-00, U0131-00. My ABS system failed check, as well. This is a known issue with Ford vehicles, as there have already been recalls for previous models. According to [XXX]: "Ford has recalled earlier model year Explorers with power steering problems before. In 2014, Ford recalled certain model year 2011-2013 Ford Explorers, saying these vehicles -??may experience an intermittent connection in the electric power steering gear, which can cause a loss of the motor position sensor signal resulting a shut down of the power steering assist.-?? According to Ford, this issue -??may increase the risk of a accident.-?? In 2015, Ford recalled certain model year Ford Fusion, Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, Mercury Milan, Lincoln MKS, Lincoln MKT, and Lincoln MKZ vehicles. According to Ford, these vehicles had -??electric power steering assist systems that may shut down as a result of a steering motor sensor fault.-?? As a result, -??[i]f the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash-??. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Warren, MI, USA

problem #176

Aug 262024

Explorer

  • 102,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing significantly rough idling while in drive(D) or while in reverse(R). Additionally, the contact stated that while accelerating from a complete stop, the vehicle jolted and hesitated to respond. The contact also stated that the vehicle shuddered while driving at various speeds. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the failure was related to TSB Number: 20-2271. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the TSB was superseded and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.

- Locust Grove, GA, USA

problem #175

Aug 232022

Explorer

  • miles

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

My car started shaking while i stopped (like at a red light, stop or traffic) I had it diagnosed ($175) and was told it needed to have the transmission changed, my explorer was 6 yrs old with less than 50k miles. I have never hear of that happening as the car well kept. New transmission cost me $5585.40, it seems that every year this car has a new problem. I feel so ripped off this shouldn't happen on a $50k car.

- Annandale, VA, USA

problem #174

Jul 152024

Explorer

  • miles
The torque converter failed in my explorer while driving, making it act like it was in neutral. Luckily I was on a small road with little traffic, and able to pull over to a side street before my car was complete undrivable. If this happened on the highway or while turning, it probably would have cause a major issue or accident. NO warning lights on my dash and NO problem codes reported on OBD scanner tool. Ford has put out their own CSP for this issue a while ago and when I asked about it they told me it was expired. How can something they know is an issue expire? Dealership repair confirmed it was the torque converter and has to rebuild the transmission. I even found a service bulletin ford release about this problem, so they know about it.

- Kennesaw, GA, USA

problem #173

Jul 132024

Explorer

  • 97,393 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while at a red light, the vehicle was shaking abnormally. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was drivable and was driven to a dealer. The dealer replaced the motor mounts and informed the contact that the torque converter and transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall for the failure. No further assistance was provided. The contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,393.

- Toms River, NJ, USA

problem #172

Jul 222024

Explorer

  • miles

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

While driving vehicle down the road, steering locked up. Vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed as a bad rack and pinion. This vehicle has 84,000 miles and should not already have issues with the rack and pinion. This incident, could have put my family and many other people's lives/vehicles at risk.

- Niles, MI, USA

problem #171

Dec 132023

Explorer

  • miles
The transmission suddenly downshifts causing rapid deceleration, if on the freeway could have caused an accident, the Ford garage could not duplicate the problem, there were no warning lights and no computer codes

- Savannah, GA, USA

problem #170

Jun 062024

Explorer

  • 56,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle failed to exceed 25 MPH or shift out of 1st gear. Additionally, the contact stated that while shifting to reverse(R), the vehicle failed to respond as needed. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

- Streetsboro, OH, USA

problem #169

May 292024

Explorer

  • miles
The power transfer unit is broken. Symptoms are vehicle shuddering, vehicle sounds like it is going to stall. This could cause a major accident at any moment.

- Roach, MO, USA

problem #168

Jun 032024

Explorer

  • 90,060 miles

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

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the contact heard a loud clanking noise coming from the transmission. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the flex plate was cracked, causing transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,060.

- Bausman, PA, USA

problem #167

Jan 122024

Explorer

  • miles
While driving on the interstate my transmission decided to stop working. I was not able to safely get off the interstate because this happened going up an incline. My explorer will not shift into any gear and the cost to replace the transmission is $5300. Ford stated that the recall #20B27 was completed on my car in 2020 but when I called after the transmission died they stated that my VIN was not eligible for the #20B27 recall. So, how was it completed if they are now saying the recall wasn-??t for my car? My explorer is a 2016/2.3L/6F35 Transmission code/built in Chicago. Ford needs to recall and replace every transmission in these explorers. With so many complaints and transmission failures/problems I-??m floored that nothing has been done to remedy this situation that many explorer owners are experiencing. Do better Ford.

- Norwich, CT, USA

problem #166

Feb 052022

Explorer

  • 90,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 60 MPH and attempting to stop or decelerate, the rear tires were slippery and failed to stop as needed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an unknown local dealer however, no failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

- Santa Ana, CA, USA

problem #165

May 242024

Explorer

  • 98,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, he was alerted to smoke emanating from underneath the vehicle by another driver. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the power transfer unit, after observing that the unit was leaking fluid onto the exhaust, resulting in a brief fire. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 98,000. The VIN was not available.

- Paoli, PA, USA

problem #164

May 162024

Explorer

  • miles
My car has 84000 miles on it. The car recently over heated, I checked the coolant level, and it was low. I filled it to the required level and the warning went away. 2 weeks later it came back, I brought it to the mechanic and was told that the engine needs to be replaced. That it is recycling exhaust from the engine back through the coolant system and that cylinder 3 is misfiring. I spent over an hour on the phone with Ford who repeatedly stiff armed me on any sort of assistance with the issue or information on expected or estimated failure rates for these issues. The car is currently at the mechanic where I have an estimate with a $12,000 price tag on it. To make this worse, in October of last year I was driving down [XXX] and when I went to exit the highway, there was a loud clunk and the car revved up real high before it started to move. This put me and all the drivers exiting this very busy off ramp in danger. At 74,000 miles I needed a new transmission because that loud clunk was me losing actual gears in the transmission. That repair cost right around $10,000 and again, Ford does not care. There were no warning lights with this issue, it just happened and left me in a very precarious predicament at a very busy intersection. The transmission has since been replaced for roughly a $10,000 price tag and now I am looking at another $12,000. All I want is Ford to do what is right. I could have been killed in that intersection or my car could have caught on fire recently with the engine issue. The financial strain of having to do 2 major repairs on a car that is relatively new and only had 74,000 for the transmission and 84,000 for the engine is unbelievable and unacceptable. Through research I feel that this transmission issue should be covered under an extension of the Customer Satisfaction Program #20B27 or #20N07 as the transmission issue fits the descriptions nearly perfectly. Built "Ford Tough" is apparently just a sales pitch. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S

- Fort Myers, FL, USA

problem #163

Apr 202024

Explorer

  • miles
I filed a complaint yesterday 5/4/24. The complaint number is #11586924. Yesterday I gave you the details of what happened with my transmission and when it happened. Today I want to give you the Manufacturer Comm. Number. From Ford Motor Co. the service number is SSM46069. It states that Ford knew there could be a problem with some 2015/2016 vehicles equipped with 6F50/6F55 transmissions built on 11/02/2015 and through 2/01 2016 may exhibit no reverse, 3rd and 5th gear. The service bulletin goes on to explain what would cause the transmission to fail and how to repair the damage. This tells me Ford should be responsible to the consumer. My safety concern is this; I was traveling at 30 - 35 mph when the tranny failed and, not knowing at the time, I lost 3rd, 5th and reverse gears. There was a noticeable decrease in my cars speed. At that speed, I was able to control my car and get stopped. Picture if I was on a 5 or 6 lane highway traveling at 60 - 65 mph and the tranny failed. The results could be deadly. I am sure I'm not the only owner that has had this safety issue. Kindly investigate this safety issue asap. Thank you.

- Williamsport, PA, USA

problem #162

Apr 202024

Explorer

  • miles
I own a 2016 Ford Explorer. My Wife and I bought the car In Jan. 2016. On April 20th 2024, I was on my way to work when a warning came on the dash that said "check manual" and displayed an open end wrench. The car hesitated and then continued on. I was not far from the Ford Dealership where I bought the car so I went there. The service writer was working that day so I left the car at the dealership and called for a ride. On 4/23/24, the service writer called me and said the transmission was shot and would need to be replaced. My bill would be approx $5954.81.

- Williamsport, PA, USA

problem #161

Apr 102024

Explorer

  • miles
I was driving and everything felt and looked normal. Out of the blue a pop noise, car was smoking. Had to have it towed. Mechanic said the transfer case blew like a grenade. It nicked my transmission as well. I was broke down in an intersection. No warning signs.

- Fillmore, UT, USA

problem #160

Apr 052024

Explorer

  • miles
While traveling at highway speed (55mph), the transfer case "exploded" resulting in catastrophic failure and fluctuating power and impaired driveability. Defect has been confrimed by independent local repair center.

- Tetonia, ID, USA

problem #159

Mar 182024

Explorer

  • miles
The transmission began slipping causing poor control at higher speeds using the cruise control or passing gear. Only about 42,000 miles on the vehicle and no financial help from Ford. Service for a new transmission was $7667.11at Dave Sinclair Ford, 7466 South Lindbergh, St. Louis Missouri, 63125. 314-892-2600

- Sunset Hills, MO, USA

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