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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
4 / 0
Average Mileage:
37,864 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 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2016 Ford Explorer Owner Comments (Page 3 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #59

Aug 142019

Explorer

  • 98,500 miles

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

Issues started with several electrical glitches that occurred and still occur consistently with no resolution. Battery was "fried" and replaced, sync module was replaced, now the glitches include a frozen steering column while driving and a "charging system service now" light that comes on and off while stationary and driving. Also passenger side view mirror gets stuck outwards, interior electrical malfunctions. Truck is no longer under warranty and I am tired of paying $150 diagnostic fees with no resolution.

- Pawling, NY, USA

problem #58

Oct 302019

Explorer

  • 65,235 miles
Airbag warning light appeared on instrument gauge @ approx 65,000 miles. The concern is for the rear seat restraint systems that have airbags built into the seatbelt shoulder straps. This design flaw by Ford Motor Co has resulted in faulty wire harness systems for the seat belt airbags. Ford is not taking action because there is no official "recall" even though this is a well known design defect. Ford is leaving the responsibility up to consumers to pay out-of-pocket for this repair @ a $660 cost!!! this is absolutely unacceptable as we are talking about arguably the most important safety feature of a modern automobile...the airbags!!! Ford clearly cannot stand behind their own products from a safety standpoint, so consumers such as myself are forced to pay the $660 charge in order to protect the passengers (often children in our scenario) in the backseat or take the deathly risk of safety airbags not deploying in an accident scenario? you've got to be kidding me. Extremely shameful and disappointing that one of the biggest automobile manufacturers in the world cannot stand behind it's own safety products. This needs to be issued a recall pronto...this is people's safety we are talking about here!

- Hampton, NH, USA

problem #57

Nov 282018

Explorer

  • 32,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. While driving 70 mph, the steering column seized and the steering column warning indicator illuminated. The contact pulled the vehicle to the side of the highway, pressed the "ok" option on the message board, and was able to resume normal driving. Also, while driving 55 mph and hauling a trailer, the "hill start assist not available" warning indicator illuminated. The contact pressed the "ok" button and the warning light disappeared. In addition, the ABS, steering fault service now, and service track warning indicators illuminated at various times while driving. During the failure, the contact pressed the "ok" button again and the warning indicators disappeared. The contact took the vehicle to sunnyvale Ford (650 E el camino real, sunnyvale, ca 94087, 408-215-9949) and was informed that the repairs would cost $400. After a diagnostic was performed, the dealer determined that the warning indicator illumination was linked to a faulty battery. The dealer wanted to test the vehicle's trailer hitch cable to determine if that cable was linked to the failures. It was diagnosed that the steering rack was the cause for the system failure and the dealer provided an estimate for the repairs. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 32,000.

- Sunnyvale, CA, USA

problem #56

Oct 102018

Explorer

  • 45,000 miles

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

Standard driving drug with no crashes. Airbag light began coming on intermittently while driving in early to mid October of 2018 (around 45,000 miles). After a full week of the light staying on vehicle was taken to dealership. The harness connector was loose. Five to seven days after repair the light began coming on intermittently again. A second dealership said the gardens connector was loose. Two to the weeks later the light came on and persisted. I was told in late may that it was the wiring harness before the front passenger seat. After some issues with the dealership, it was taken to the dealership that originally fixed it in October 2018. This time both the passenger wiring harness and airbag were replaced. Over $800 and 3.5 hour appointment for the actual fix. Pictures from initial service are attached.

- Scottsville, KY, USA

problem #55

Mar 152019

Explorer

  • 80,000 miles
Required a new transmission. Reported initial problem at 58,000 miles the dealer could not find a problem while car was still under warranty. Car was experiencing a hesitation during acceleration. At 80,000 miles the transmission had to be replace (out of warranty). Require new battery and cables after batter "exploded" corroding the battery cables. (68,000 miles). Required a new water pump at 86,000 miles.

- Rocky River, OH, USA

problem #54

Jul 222019

Explorer

  • 48,000 miles
At approx 48,000 miles, airbag light came on. Car was not moving, was parked for 9 hours after a day of work. Nothing hit, no impact. Ford dealer diagnosis: Airbag harness/connector issue traced back to rear passenger seat behind driver. 1.5 days work and $478.93 charge, not a warranty or recall repair. Airbag circuit inoperative. Fix is per tsb16-0001. I am keeping the parts the dealer is replacing. Requires removal of rear seats/replace/splice connector. Dealer not forgiving.

- La Grange, KY, USA

problem #53

Jul 102019

Explorer

  • 92,000 miles

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

2016 Ford Explorer - the backup camera will come on while traveling down the highway at 55-60 mph. Will cause it to loose power, the RPM's drop right below 1000, the wrench symbol comes on, and it will barely move down the road. A screen will pop up on occasion saying hill assist is unavailable. You have to pullover, turn the car off, open the driver door to make sure the radio and all goes off, wait exactly one minute, and then you are able to crank the vehicle up to be able to move. I have taken to dealership, and all they say is it's a sensor inside the transmission, and all they can do is clear the code out. They say that it is saying my vehicle is trying to engage in reverse while going down the road. This sounds like a huge safety issue especially when I have had others say the same thing has happened to them as well. I have reached out to the dealership in regards to my warranty, but I have yet to hear back from them, and it has been over 2 weeks. I have also reached out to the sales representative several times, and I have yet to hear from him. I contacted them because while looking at the paperwork it said it had a limited power train warranty, but it was purchased as a pre-certified used vehicle with an unlimited power train warranty they were offering for vehicles with lest than 80,000 miles. I have not had it a year yet. I have an email from the sales rep himself stating that it is unlimited. It was purchase in September of 2018.

- Danielsville, GA, USA

problem #52

Jul 092019

Explorer

  • 42,000 miles
The steering failure light came on about 2 weeks ago and I brought to dealer. They said it was not the steering but the battery putting out the wrong voltage and caused the sensor to come on. Today I actually lost steering on the vehicle while driving about 30 miles on a local street. The street curved and I could not turn the wheel. The steering fault light came on and car said that the terrain assist and hill assist was disabled (was not using). I was able to put my hazards on, and struggle with the steering to pull over. I only have 42000 miles on this vehicle and have had numerous electrical problems with this car, including replacing the apim. I have a 16 year old, that just started driving with me in this car, and I do not think it is safe. I truly believe there is some wiring problem or electrical problem that Ford is ignoring. I see many people posting this same dangerous steering fault issue, and it not getting fixed.

- W Hempstead, NY, USA

problem #51

Jul 052019

Explorer

  • 53,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. While driving 20 mph, the instrument panel lights flashed on and off. The contact also stated that the rearview camera was not functioning properly. The vehicle was taken to dublin Hyundai (located at 6015 scarlett ct, dublin, ca 94568, (925) 803-7700), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 53,000.

- Castro Valley, CA, USA

problem #50

Jun 012019

Explorer

  • 64,000 miles
Wiring/battery problem. Positive post on battery corroded along with wiring going to post. Replaced positive wiring and accessories wiring along with a new battery. Positive post started to corrode again now the battery dies randomly and needs jump start

- Sioux City, IA, USA

problem #49

Jun 032016

Explorer

  • 10,000 miles

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

Problem first appeared on June 3, 2016 with about 10,000 miles. I was driving on interstate 95 past philadelphia airport about 9:30 am at about 60 mph. The vehicle had been driven from a cold start for about 20 minutes. It was raining moderately. The backup camera suddenly appeared on the screen in the center console and the transmission shuddered slightly. I also noticed that the dashboard drive indicator, which normally is lit red when in drive, was white, as were all the other indicators (R, N, etc). I jiggled the shifter without pressing the shifter button but that did not fix the problem. The transmission appeared to be still in drive since the car still had power and was not slowing down. It lasted for about 15 seconds and then the display returned to normal and the D indicator returned to its normal red mode. About 30 seconds later the problem returned and stayed for 10 to 15 seconds and then again reverted back to normal. This behavior repeated one or two more times in the next couple of minutes. After this series of events the car seemed to be normal for the rest of my 1.5 hour trip and has been fine until Aug 13, 2016 when the same behavior happened again. This could be a serious safety problem if it gets worse if for nothing else than it is certainly a distraction and may result in transmission damage and loss of control. I did talk to the service manager at my Ford dealer (sheridan Ford, rt 2 kirkwood highway, wilmington de) on July 21, 2016 when I was getting an oil change and I described the first incident. He did not seem very concerned. He said that they had never heard of that happening but did not have me write anything down. I told him that if it happened again, I would contact Ford and the dealer. The problem has occurred 12 more times. I have told the dealer about it every time. I have further text documentation.

- Wilmington, DE, USA

problem #48

Jan 072019

Explorer

  • 68,000 miles
1. right rear passenger heated seat suddenly stopped working. The light turns on briefly but shuts off. I have seen multiple complaints about this issue but not on this site. 2. front cameras became fogged this winter and are useless now showing a cloudy screen. 3. every time I put the vehicle in gear I get a message stating park aid fault check park aid #1 and #3 are known problems and have happened to multiple owners of 2016 Ford Explorer.

- Superior, WI, USA

problem #47

May 292019

Explorer 6-cyl

  • miles
2016 Ford Explorer. Consumer writes in regards to inadvertent opening or closure of rear cargo door. The consumer stated when the rear cargo door inadvertently closes it strikes the occupant on the head or back.

- Sayre, PA, USA

problem #46

Apr 222019

Explorer 4-cyl

  • 43,000 miles
The airbag warning light has come on. In taking the car to the dealership, this was traced back to Ford's error code dtc B141B and/or B141C. This error code has to do with Ford installing a defective wiring harness for the rear seat inflatable airbags and could cause them to fail to operate during a collision. The dealership (sheehy Ford, midlothian, va) refuses to repair the vehicle. I also contacted Ford Motor Company twice (5/29/19 and in April 2019) and they also refuse to repair the vehicle despite it being an obvious safety defect that should be covered under their safety restraint warranty. The fact that Ford is refusing to stand behind the safety of their vehicle has me concerned.

- Moseley, VA, USA

problem #45

Apr 242019

Explorer

  • 103,448 miles
Loss off power steering and stability control

- Forest Hills, NY, USA

problem #44

Mar 082019

Explorer

  • 38,000 miles
The airbag controller light is on on the dash. I had a diagnosed and my dealership and they come to say that the wiring harness control in the rear airbags is damaged and needs to be replaced. The dealership I said this is a significant issue that has been noticing in 2016 Ford explore models more and more. I am curious if this is a safety recall that needs to be taken care of by Ford.

- Brooklyn, WI, USA

problem #43

Jan 232019

Explorer

  • miles
Navigation and radio screen keeps going out or turning black rear passenger door lock won't lock or unlock.

- Heath, OH, USA

problem #42

Sep 232018

Explorer

  • 3 miles
On a city street experience loss of accelerating power while coming to stop and crossing an intersection the vehicle will star at a snail pace bringing up the speed to 40 mph on limp mode since the vehicle service wrench tool and air bag light up on the dash board vehicle will not respond pushing down on the gas pedal.

- Lynwood, CA, USA

problem #41

Aug 272018

Explorer

  • 72,400 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. While driving 35 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning and lost power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to steve rogers Ford (located at 9760 oh-64, waterville, oh 43566, (419) 878-8151) to be diagnosed. The mechanic was unable to retrieve a fault code or duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent and primarily occurred during hot, humid weather with the air conditioning activated. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,400.

- Waterloo, OH, USA

problem #40

Sep 082018

Explorer

  • 24,275 miles
I was driving on the nys thruway around 70-75mph and the car decelerated to 55mph then was like in a coast mode. The wrench light came on and it said see manual. I pushed the pedal all the way to the floor and it would not go any faster. I was able to coast to the side of the road. I turned car off and then turned it back on and pushed ok to the see manual. I was then able to drive it. We could of been killed if someone was behind me. I brought in to dealer and said they really didn't find anything wrong or see any info on the computer when car was hooked up. Very scary as I have read online more people have had this happen to them.

- Warners, NY, USA

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