Print this page

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
8 / 0
Average Mileage:
27,657 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 engine problems

engine 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 18)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #279

Oct 032022

Explorer

  • 56,000 miles

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

The contact's father-in-law owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that an unknown fluid was leaking from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer where it was discovered that the water pump was defective and needed to be replaced. The contact paid for the repair; however, soon after the repair, the failure returned. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it remained in their possession. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.

- Dubuque, IA, USA

problem #278

Sep 302022

Explorer 6-cyl

  • miles
The water pump failed and is available for inspection. i was driving and my engine began smoking to the point of visibility loss and suffocating air fumes. I was forced onto an edge of the highway with a drastic drop into the road and had to evacuate my 5 and 2 year old daughters from their car seats. Had i not noticed the smoke im sure a fire would have put me and my kids at fatal risks. i had it taken to the dealer to check into the highspeed cooling fan. the service technician told me that he knew without checking that it was the water pump because ford knows that they have been faulty with issues up to catastrophic engine failure since their 2011 series ford explorer up to the current 2019 with the duratech 3.5 engine. it was inspected by the ford dealership. and i saw no warning or even problems prior that indicated an oncoming failure that could have endangered my kids or myself. After doign research, almost every ford explorer owner has had these issues and ford made a laughable fix to update our owners manual about the water pump. this disclosure should have been mentioned during the sale of the vehicle and had it been i would have chosen a different vehicle and manufacturing company all together. This has shown ford's negligence and complacency towards driver and consumer safety and they should have had the entire engine recalled. but thats appearantly to expensive. now i have a useless vehicle on my credit that i cant afford to fix because of their design issue and like many consumers i feel like ford owes it to us to fix these and offer a lifetime warranty for the water pumps. do your job correctly and with integrity and you wont have to fix so many problems.

- Farmington, MO, USA

problem #277

Sep 262022

Explorer

  • miles
Water pump failure, leaking antifreeze all over my brand new concrete

- Oshkosh , WI, USA

problem #276

Sep 192022

Explorer

  • miles

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

During inspection the dealership noted that the water pump was leaking coolant into the engine and must be replaced before catastrophic failure profit failure. The cost of the replacement is an excess of $3000

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #275

Sep 062022

Explorer

  • miles
Complete engine replacement recommended by Ford dealership. Vehicle had the Water Pump and Timing Chain replaced early 2022, has been running good since replacement but out of no where check engine light came on and started running sluggish. Had it towed to Ford and explained the engine is not building compression and recommended new engine. Since purchasing the vehicle brand new had several people we know also had to replace water pump but because of the design was $4000 to replace, find it strange with all the recalls on this vehicle that the water pump isn-??t included in the recalls. After hearing from other mechanics the compression could-??ve been caused by coolant leak (water pump) into the head gaskets. Basically one problem causing other problems but Ford not admitting any issues but redesigned the engine after 2016, sounds fishy to me.

- Youngsville , NC, USA

problem #274

Jul 162022

Explorer

  • miles
Air bag dashboard light turned in January 2022 until now part is back order. Secondly over heating problems at 60 mph on July 16, 2022 I was told it was the cooling fans and was fixed and didn-??t fixed the problem now I was told is the active grilled shutters malfunctioning

- Chowchilla , CA, USA

problem #273

Aug 272022

Explorer

  • miles

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

You can smell a sickly metal burning smell in the cabin when accelerating to get onto a freeway.

- San Tan Valley, AZ, USA

problem #272

Aug 152022

Explorer

  • miles
Water pumps failing with less than 50,000 miles causing coolant leakage and overheating

- Seattle, WA, USA

problem #271

Jul 312022

Explorer

  • miles
Check engine light came on low engine oil pressure light come on made loud knocking noise regular maintenance 147k miles vehicle is at mechanic shop estimate total $1500-$2500 to fix do not have money for repairs

- Anderson, AL, USA

problem #270

Jul 182022

Explorer

  • 180,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA for assistance. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V692000 (Power Train). The failure mileage was approximately 180.000.

- Catawba, NC, USA

problem #269

Jun 162022

Explorer

  • miles

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

On 6/16/22 my vehicle was put in the shop for overheating. It was a water pump leak. It is a timing chain run water pump. The water pump is located in the engine. It was a very expensive repair. Due to the amount of labor this took to fix I was out of a vehicle for almost a month. I paid for the repair. Less that a week after I got it back my AC stopped working. Back to the shop it went. More money later... Mechanic explained to us that the water pump is located on top of the compressor. When it leaked it got all over everything destroying it. Now I must get a new compressor. No telling what else it ruined under there. This is a huge problem with this year model of Ford. Matter of fact in Canada it has already been recalled. Why is this problem not getting recalled in the US? Many people have gone after Ford with no luck and one judge threw of the case.

- Tyler, TX, USA

problem #268

Jul 222022

Explorer

  • miles
Water pump broken. Causing engine to overheat. Please recall

- Brandon, FL, USA

problem #267

Jul 162022

Explorer

  • miles
2016 Ford Explorer water pump malfunction. Car runs hot and could cause engine failure.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #266

Jun 152022

Explorer

  • miles
A leak developed due to a faulty water pump. When I first noticed the leak in my garage I took the truck to a mechanic who told me there was evidence the leak had been going on for some time and that he could not do the repair due to the embedded location of the pump. After some research I see this is a big issue with explorers (especially 2016 models) and that the leak can mix with the engine oil causing permanent damage. I took this to Ford to be repaired at a cost of over $3K. Not sure how long I was driving with this leaking and what damage was done to the engine. This has been a known issue with many Ford vehicles and should be a recall

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #265

Jun 282022

Explorer

  • miles
The Duratec V6 engine in many models of Ford including Explorer 2011-2019 has a major design flaw in that the water pump is INSIDE the engine and fails frequently and abruptly. When it fails, the coolant immediately floods the engine and mixes with motor oil and the engine seizes immediately it could be in traffic in an intersection or anywhere. This should have been recalled. There is a class action already for this issue in Canada, same engine and manufacturer, moving thru the courts and certified as a class action there. The US seems to be behind. The NTSB should pressure Ford to recall all of these and repair them with a water pump assembly which is stronger. In my case, on a routine service visit to the dealer I was told that I had the beginning of a coolant leak on my 2016 Ford Explorer Limited, with only 65K miles on it. They required me to bring it back another day for diagnosis then shocked me by saying the water pump is about to fail and should be replaced but because of this design the entire engine must be removed in order to replace it. They also said it is a common failure and can recur. The repair costs $4000 almost all labor to replace a $200 water pump. But the problem is it can be replaced and within a month fail again with consequences of being stalled in traffic or the middle of an intersection. It is well documented online. They changed their design to correct the problem starting after 2019. A useful description of the issue is at: https://www.vehiclehistory.com/articles/all-about-the-ford-explorer-water-pump-recalls but there has been no recall in the US.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #264

Dec 282020

Explorer

  • 45,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the accelerator pedal was depressed and the vehicle started jerking and sputtering. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed. The vehicle was towed to the transmission specialist where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be rebuilt. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred a year later. The vehicle was taken back to the transmission specialist where the torque converter was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The contact stated the vehicle was shifting hard while driving and was jerking upon acceleration. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the engine mounts were replaced twice. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The contact became aware of Ford Technical Service Bulletin Number: 20-2271, which he associated with the torque converter failure. The independent mechanic informed the contact that the vibration caused by the torque converter failure was damaging the engine mounts, causing the engine mounts to be repaired often. The dealer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the manufacturer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

- Litchfield Park, AZ, USA

problem #263

Mar 272022

Explorer

  • miles
1) Engine consuming coolant - 102,000 miles 2) Gauge Temperature should be by default in the dashboard computer. This is not the case in the 2016 Ford Explorer. Complain: Consumers can not detect on time if the engine is overheating, because the gauge temperature is not visible on the dashboard. If you change setting to monitor any other component of the car - ex: tire pressure, others...the gauge temperature disappear from the screen.

- Doral, FL, USA

problem #262

May 242022

Explorer

  • 109,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle was vibrating while the brake pedal was depressed. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the water pump was leaking causing a mixture of the engine oil and coolant. The contact was also notified of a front axle failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 109,000.

- Lithonia, GA, USA

problem #261

Jan 092022

Explorer

  • 76,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the water pump was recently replaced. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the engine seized. The vehicle was coasted off the roadway. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the main bearing had caused damage to the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 76,000.

- Ellicott City, MD, USA

problem #260

May 192022

Explorer

  • miles
While driving approximately 70mph on the highway, the vehicle check engine light came on and the engine began shutting down with the over temp light on. We had to coast over 2 lanes to safely get out of traffic. Upon pulling over I noticed there was no coolant in the reservoir so i pulled the engine oil dip stick and could see evidence of coolant in the oil. After having the vehicle towed back home, I pulled the valve cover and could see the water pump shaft seal had failed and leaked coolant into the oil and the sprocket on the water pump shaft has been ground down. The vehicle has not been inspected by anyone other than myself but I do have pictures of the damage. There were no warning lamps prior to the incident and the oil was just changed 4 weeks ago with no signs of coolant in the oil.

- Toledo, OH, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »

Not what you are looking for?