Print this page

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

Find something helpful? Spread the word.
Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2016 Ford Explorer:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

2016 Ford Explorer Owner Comments (Page 5 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #19

Sep 282016

Explorer

  • 9,859 miles

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

2016 Ford Explorer [xxx] lost power and would not move in middle of busy highway. Vehicle was noted to have a sputtering sound and appeared to be firing on only a few cylinders. Turned vehicle engine off and restarted no help vehicle would not move with accelerator pedal in full open (floored) position. After opening hood and disconnecting neg terminal of battery vehicle operated fine for approx 10 miles and then same occurence. Again fault cleared and ran fine to nearest Ford dealer. Initial diagnosis by dealer was codes P2111 and P2112. Dealer stated found recall 16B32 followed instructions and reprogrammed PCM and clear codes. Customer departed dealership service bay and repeat above mentioned malfunction before off the dealer lot. Returned to service bay and dealer stated that throttle body was changed. Vehicle appears to be operating normal at this time. This is a safety issue that should be investigated. My wife was driving the vehicle when this first occurred in busy mountain highway here in southern wv and was nearly hit by numerous vehicles before vehicle could be drifted backwards down the mountain where in order to get vehicle off of highway. Service adviser indicated that he had seen several similar problems with the 3.5 liter engine in Ford Explorer. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Mount Hope, WV, USA

problem #18

Sep 222016

Explorer

  • miles
The vehicle keeps losing fuel and fuel has to be replaced every other day. Took vehicle into Ford dealership to be checked out and was told vehicle is safe to drive. Gas can be smelt and visibly gushes after fueling in stationary position. When vehicle is in drive motion, gas leaks slowly. Also, while driving the vehicle jerks and will slow down acceleration.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

problem #17

Aug 232016

Explorer 4WD 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 8,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, the vehicle lost power. In addition, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 8,000....updated 12/14/16

- Terre Haute, IN, USA

problem #16

Sep 132016

Explorer

  • 10,900 miles

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

This is the second time this happened to me while driving my 2016 Explorer limited. My car has every option available. A few months ago as I was turning onto the highway a "lane keeping sys malfunction" alert came across my display and my steering locked in place. I could not turn my steering wheel at all. I had a sketchy vehicle for my first vehicle and knew that I needed to put the car in park and turn it off for a few seconds and restart the car. Doing this freed my steering wheel and I was able to drive to the dealership. The dealership ran diagnostics and came to the conclusion that the sensitivity was set too high. Ffw months later. 9/13/16 I am driving back at about 65 mph, from a dr. Apt on a busy road and the car tells me my steering is malfunctioning to service my vehicle. My game plan was to pull over safely and run a vehicle health report and call the dealer. Seconds later I get the same message along with lane keeping malfunction & my steering locked. I had to come to a complete stop on the middle of a busy hwy with a car coming at my rear and throw it in park and kill my engine and restart my car for the steering to unlock. I spoke with the service dept. After they ran diagnostics and my vehicle is "spitting out codes like crazy" and was told it may be a module in my computer that controls steering & lane keeping systems or my key fob is not being detected by my computer and is not sending an alert and my car thinks it is being stolen. Crazy. Definitely not safe. This is my daily driver. I have 4 small children. I live in my car. Please research this and issue a recall. This is not safe at all. Thankfully I was not on an interstate going 70+ mph. Also my car was purchased Dec 2015 and was a dealer trade from a tx dealer.

- Morse, LA, USA

problem #15

Sep 102016

Explorer

  • 11,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. While driving 55 mph, the vehicle decelerated to a complete stop independently and the wrench warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 11,000.

- Bowie, MD, USA

problem #14

Aug 252016

Explorer

  • 7,000 miles
The rear hatch opens and then while someone is loading the back of the car (with groceries, etc.), the hatch starts to close. The hatch hits the person and does not reverse. Instead, the hatch tries to close even tighter on the person who is trapped underneath. The vehicle was parked. This happened on several occasions and closed on me, my son and my dog. This is the 4th major problem with this brand new car!

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #13

Aug 102016

Explorer

  • miles

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

While driving on a busy highway with my three children I lost all power to my vehicle just barely making it out the way of a seni truck. The Explorer was purchased in March of this year brand new to avoid problems like this. Does someone have to be killed before a recall is issued"!?!?!"!!!

- Jacksonville, CA, USA

problem #12

Aug 102016

Explorer

  • 10,350 miles
Vehicle was proceeding and all power to throttle stopped. Power steering went out. Vehicle coasted to stop in traffic turn lane. Ford stated this is a problem with vehicles throttle body

- Clifton, VA, USA

problem #11

Jul 302016

Explorer

  • 7,500 miles
2016 Ford Explorer shuts off while driving. It's a known issue, but the vehicles are still being sold and no recall or systematic way of replacing it. I was on the highway and the vehicle just slowed down to a crawl twice. Ford offer no solution. I checked online and this seems to be a problem many people are experiencing. I almost got hit twice trying to get to the shoulder lane.

- Columbus, GA, USA

problem #10

Jun 192016

Explorer 6-cyl

  • miles
2016 Ford Explorer. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle complete loss of power, airbag, check engine and powertrain warning lights illuminated at various times and accelerator malfunction. The consumer stated while driving on a main road, he heard a loud thud accompanied by an immediate and complete loss of power. The engine was still running, but the vehicle quickly lost speed and the accelerator was not functioning. It seemed as though the engine was idling. The consumer was able to maneuver the vehicle safely out of traffic and had the vehicle towed to the dealer. The dealer informed the consumer, the throttle body needed to be replaced. Also, there was a recurring electrical issue that he experienced in January 2016 with the first month of delivery. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for service on two separate occasions due to dead batteries.

- Boca Raton, FL, USA

problem #9

Jul 152016

Explorer

  • 14,306 miles

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

I rented a 2016 Ford Explorer from avis at the portland (me) airport (avis vehicle #40933351). On Friday, July 15th, the unit stalled as I pulled into an intersection. The accelerator was non-responsive and the car moved at a very reduced rate of speed. Several lights on the dashboard lit up - check engine, airbag, and a note came up to check the owner's manual. I was able to finish crossing the intersection at the slower speed and pull to the side of the road. I shut the car off and restarted it and it operated properly for a while. Later that night, I stopped at a stop light. When the light turned green, I made a left hand turn. Once again, the accelerator stopped working and the dashboard lit up with multiple warning lights. I pulled to the side of the road and called avis roadside assistance. The person on the line told me this was a common issue with Ford Explorer and that I had to turn the car off, step on the accelerator, then put my foot on the brake and restart the car to clear the fault but the check engine light would stay on. The check engine light stayed on but I was able to pull back onto the road at full speed. Approximately 1/4 mile down the road I stopped at a traffic light. Once again, I began to cross the intersection when the accelerator stopped working and the dashboard lit up. I pulled over and reset the car as I had done before and proceeded to drive away. A few hundred feet away, the accelerator stopped working again and the dashboard lit up. I was able to pull over, reset the car and drive away. This is an extremely dangerous condition that needs to be fixed immediately. The accelerator stops working without warning and the car only travels at a very slow speed that is not controlled by the accelerator. 3 out of 4 times it happened in the middle of an intersection. If there was oncoming traffic, I would have been hit.

- Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA

problem #8

Jul 142016

Explorer

  • 3,921 miles
With only 3.9 K miles the vehicle stopped acceleration and turned off. I was able to turn the car on, however, the vehicle would only move at idle speed while in drive. Fortunately I had enough to idle my way to the side of the road. The part that went out was the throttle body. Although the manufacturer replaced the part on the vehicle, I feel that they have been very irresponsible in not recalling this part and advising buyers that the car has a "faulty" throttle body. Everyone at Ford that I have spoke to almost immediately knew what the issue leading me to believe that I am not the only person that has had this issue. This issue could have caused a severe accident if the car would have shut off or de-ccelerated while driving at a high rate of speed.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #7

Jun 142016

Explorer

  • 5,098 miles
Was driving along busy road making a left turn at rush hour across two lanes of traffic. Car simply died. No response to accelerator. Wrench light on. I could have been hurt badly. Was able to get car out of traffic. Was told this is a severe problem with throttle body and Ford is aware of this. Car has less than 5100 miles on it. This needs to be a recall situation.

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #6

May 072016

Explorer

  • 1,000 miles
Hi I need help we are having issue with our 2016 Ford Explorer Sport we only have it for 3 months 2K mileage, we noticed the hood vibrate at 65mph or over on freeway, I brought it to my nearest Ford dealer, "Ford serramonte" on 05/16/16 the service manager name henry said they are aware of it but couldn't do anything & they are waiting for Ford to find the solution to fix it, but they didn't even check the hood. I contacted Ford customer care team on 05/18/16 & they open a case, case number: Cas-9514452-P1Y5C2 tara melvin costumer care manger handling the case. We are prostrated because it's brand new car & already has a lot of problems, it was distractive driving the vehicle so I'm scared specially I'm always with my 1yr & 4yrs old son, they just told me to wait & it's been more than a month now & still haven't fix the problem. We bought this SUV thinking it's a reliable & safety car for our family but there's to much issues, -battery died, I called the roadside assistance, the dealer said it might be the back up camera that consuming the power from the battery when the vehicle is not running, now the camera is backorder according to the dealer. We're scared it will happen again if we're on a trip. -low fuel economy, I'm only getting 12.6 avg mpg. Epa combined 18mpg, 16 city & 22 highway I been doing a research regarding about the hood vibration problem & finding this problem is been going around since 2013 & there's a lot of vehicle owner that have the same problem, my wife brother in-law has the same problem vibrating hood 2016 Ford Explorer limited. I attached some of the link regarding the same issue. Link forum: www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php"threads/my-Explorer-hood-vibrates-and-humming-noises.385592/ www.explorerforum.com/forums/index.php"threads/engine-noise-hood-vibrates.444789/#post-3532126 thanks!

- San Francisco, CA, USA

problem #5

May 072016

Explorer

  • 4,642 miles
While placing groceries into the trunk today the lift gate began to close spontaneously on my daughter and I. we were fortunate enough to jump out of the way before it closed. We tried to push on it but it continued to descend. The mileage is 4642. I have had 5 other issues with the lift gate spontaneously opening after I have walked away from the car. Thankfully I have been alerted to it when I hit the lock button on the key fob and get the open door signal. I have only been able to use the "hands-free" lift gate three times since I purchased the vehicle in February.

- North Charleston, SC, USA

problem #4

Apr 272016

Explorer

  • 7,200 miles
Cooling fan shut down noise, since new the engine cooling fan makes a lot of noise when "spinning down" at the fan comes to a stop/shutting down engine. Fan is working, but for how long?

- Avondale, AZ, USA

problem #3

Jan 182016

Explorer

  • 1,900 miles
Wife was driving car & stopped at traffic light, called me & said car filled with smoke & smelled burning, upon further investigation found cooling fan motor & fan shroud caught on fire

- Horsham, PA, USA

problem #2

Jan 182016

Explorer

  • 1,900 miles
Cooling fan caught on fire.

- Horsham, PA, USA

problem #1

Nov 212015

Explorer

  • 11,000 miles
While I was sitting in the driver's seat of my rental (the vehicle running and in park), I pressed #2 of the numbered buttons, next to the lock controls, and the seat started moving by itself. The seat moved up and forward, while the steering wheel moved down. My legs started to get compressed by the steering wheel, while at the same time my knees were being forced into the plastic pieces under the steering column. My body was being forced against the steering wheel. I tried to stop the seat from moving by using my body to create a force but the seat would not stop. When the seat finally stopped, my legs were in pain and I could barely breathe from the steering wheel being against my chest. I panicked and didn't know what to do. My husband had to open the drivers side door and use the controls to get me free. I was afraid for my life, I could've been severely injured. If my husband were the one to press the button while he was sitting in the drivers seat, he would have broken bones. My rental provider never showed us the features of the vehicle, nor were there any written warning labels in clear sight on the inside of the vehicle. My husband informed me after the incident that the numbered buttons on the door are a memory function for the seat. It is now a strong fear of mine that if I were driving this vehicle, and I accidentally pressed this button (thinking I pressed the lock control),that I would be in a car accident. The design of this memory function is flawed and needs to be corrected immediately before someone gets severely injured or killed. I am also fearful that the rental company will rent this vehicle to someone else, because a larger person than myself, will undoubtedly be injured or killed. Whether this is a factory preset or a function that had been programmed by a previous renter or the rental company, I am unaware, but it needs to be addressed.

- East Chatham, NY, USA

Not what you are looking for?