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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
17,831 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 fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2016 Ford Explorer Owner Comments (Page 1 of 5)

problem #94

Mar 152022

Explorer

  • miles

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

There is a VERY STRONG sulfur odor emiting into the cabin without an engine warning light. Tested for error codes and inspected by Ken Towery in Louisville and the seriviceperson couldn't detect the source of the odor. The defect appeared at 98458. The smell causes me to gag and feel light headed. Please advise.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #93

Nov 022020

Explorer

  • miles
Exhaust leaks into cab under moderate to heavy acceleration with windows closed it is even worse when accelerating with the windows open

- Granger, IN, USA

problem #92

Feb 112021

Explorer

  • 123,519 miles
On multiple occasions transmission was slipping which led to an eventual complete failure. Explorer was on ca highway 76 going westbound when transmission failed. Driver wa forced to Dodge traffic and coast to an emergency stop at the right side of the highway. Explorer had to be towed.

- Murrieta, CA, USA

problem #91

Jan 032021

Explorer

  • 59,000 miles

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

During acceleration car smells like rotten eggs all windows need to be open to vent car and all passengers get nauseous. Dealer tried twice to fix problem but with no success.its getting impossible to drive the car on highway.Ford needs to do something asap.

- Bala Cynwyd, PA, USA

problem #90

Dec 202020

Explorer

  • 66,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. While driving the contact turned on the heat in the vehicle and smelt an distinct odor coming from the vehicle. The odor was strong the contact had to roll down the window in the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the failure as a carbon monoxide leakage. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 66,000.

- Pendelton, IN, USA

problem #89

Apr 162020

Explorer

  • 68,000 miles
The vehicle without warning, just shuts off. Even while going 65 mph on a highway. If your lucky, you can coast off the highway before you are hit. Ford refused to fix even though under warranty. So I had to sell it so I wouldn't be killed. Hundreds if not thousands have complained about the same thing.

- Barboursville, VA, USA

problem #88

Apr 012020

Explorer

  • miles

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

Exhaust is getting into the cab of vehicle when under moderate acceleration to pass vehicles and when the window or windows are open it is even worse.

- Granger, IN, USA

problem #87

Oct 282019

Explorer

  • 55,000 miles
Persistent emissions smell in cabin causing headaches for the driver. Roesche Ford in elmhurst Illinois conducted warranty work which consisted of "reprogramming" the car. The fix did not work and roesch filed an appel to Ford - who is denying liability and claiming the "reprogramming" is the fix. I have also filed a claim with Ford cas24714279. This is the exact same problem the police interceptor Explorer is having and is well documented - Ford has even set up a hotline for the police - but ignore the individual owner.

- Elmhurst, IL, USA

problem #86

Oct 082019

Explorer

  • 47,000 miles
Was driving down 95 @ 65 mph when all of a sudden, the car jerked and lost all power. Wrench light, check engine, and airbag light all came on. No power. No gas, limp mode. Code reader determined throttle body issue. Looked online, appears to be known issue ignored by Ford. I could have been killed

- Levittown, PA, USA

problem #85

Sep 032019

Explorer

  • 69,000 miles
Gas smell occur in the cabin. Makes me headache and shick

- Longview, TX, USA

problem #84

Aug 192019

Explorer

  • miles

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

Fume smell coming from vehicle while moving, can smell both inside and outside of car! seems like smell is more in front of car then in back once car is parked and I get out of car. I am feeling very unwell while driving; nausea, dizziness, stingy eyes and blurry vision. It is happening regardless of the heating/air being on/off. I have for days needed to drive with all windows down. My children feel sick as well. My husband can smell it, but this far has not been feeling sick from it. This happens no matter if I am driving city/highway/stationary/in motion, all the time. We have been feeling sick for a while but the smell is within the last week.

- Macungie, PA, USA

problem #83

Jul 012019

Explorer

  • 48,600 miles
While stationary, or sitting in vehicle while idling, carbon monoxide is detected in the cabin and I have been falling asleep and staying tired for rest of the day. This has been going on in the 2 months that I have had the new SUV. I suspected after I was told by a friend that this has been reported by sheriffs. I plugged in my home detector to check if that were the case. I am no longer idling without windows open if possible due to weather.

- Springfield, OH, USA

problem #82

Jun 252019

Explorer

  • 41,000 miles
Moving down a highway when with a sudden shutter and then a loud bang the car immediately lost power with blinding smoke in and around the car. Made it to the side of the road and had fire lapping up the drivers side rocker panel from under the car. Transfer case exploded with such force it damaged the transmission. Occurred at 41,000 miles on a three year old vechicle.

- Folsom, PA, USA

problem #81

Jun 272019

Explorer

  • 21,300 miles
I stopped at traffic light, I heard a strange sound, and the airbag light came on. I press the gas gas to cross intersection and car would only go 3 miles an hour, I managed to turn into side street, and turned car off. When I restarted car and I was able to accelerate and proceeded to drive to my destination, when I stopped at another red light it happened again and then engine light came on. I then turned off car and restated to find all warning lights off. I then drove to auto nation Ford dealership. They diagnosed with a throttle problem. When checking the internet I see a lot of people have had this same problem, it could have bee a very dangerous situation since this happened St an intersection.

- Corpus Christi, TX, USA

problem #80

May 272019

Explorer

  • 40,000 miles
I was driving along at about 55 mph with the cruise control activated. The pedals were not in the right locations so I decided to adjust them to a higher position with the button on the side of the steering column. When I did the adjustment, the engine went into a full throttle mode and would not let up. I pushed down on the brakes hard and vehicle slowed down and the engine returned to normal. When I took my foot off the brake the engine immediately went full throttle again and then back down again when I pushed the brake pedal down hard. This cycle continued even though I shut off the cruise control and tried putting the shifter in neutral. I was final able to pull over to the side of the road and shut the engine off. I restarted the engine after a few minutes and everything seemed to work normally. This was a very dangerous and scary event. I am afraid to drive this vehicle or have my wife drive it. I reported it to Ford but have not heard back from them at this time.

- Sparks, NV, USA

problem #79

Mar 212019

Explorer

  • 45,000 miles
On 3/21/19 I was driving when a car stopped in front of me and I hit them. My airbag went off and was smoking black smoke. There was also a fire, about 1.5 ft tall that appeared from the passenger side of the hood. I sat in shock until someone told me to get out. I got out and grabbed my 4 year old daughter. She was in a car seat and still secured after the accident. Thankfully we were not seriously injured. We sat watching my car quickly engulf in flames. By the time the fire department came the car was pretty much all burned. I lost a lot of valuable and sentimental personal belongings in my car which insurance does not cover the cost of. It was a terrifying experience to go through for my daughter and I. I do not believe that a minor accident should cause a fire like this. I have reached out for Ford multiple times and they will not investigate which I find extremely frustrating. I would like to prevent this horrible thing happening to someone else. Although we were not injured it could have been a lot worse, and even deadly.

- Hugo, MN, USA

problem #78

Apr 152019

Explorer

  • 70,000 miles
One morning, I began to smell a sulfur or gas-like smell inside the car. I thought nothing of it but it persisted from 5:00 a.M. -9:00 a.M. my 7 year old son even smelled it when entering the car. After dropping him off at school I drove to dealership to get it inspected. During that drive, with the windows cracked, I began to feel a dull headache, dizziness and muscle weakness. Once I dropped my car off for inspection and was out of the car I didn't feel any better and my headache and weakness got worse. My wife took me to the er out of precaution and after bloodwork was taken, I was confirmed to have had carbon monoxide poisoning. I am a non-smoker and my cohb levels were twice that of a non-smoker : 3.8% it was raining out so I could not unrolli windows as much as I wanted to. I was not driving with the A/C on, was not sitting idle. Minimum speed was 5-10 mph and max speed was 70 mph Ford identified the smell as a failing ptu but claimed there was no co present after driving the vehicle with a co sensor inside the cab. I have owned the vehicle for 32 months with no issue but I cannot ignore that I did in fact have carbon monoxide exposure immediately following the existence of the strong sulfur smell showing up. I am not convinced carbon monoxide getting inside the vehicle will not happen again.

- Severn, MD, USA

problem #77

Oct 142018

Explorer

  • miles
9/29/18: Remote start stopped working and car sputtered when starting. 10/14/18: After manually starting with push-button, white smoke filled my garage and car with 3 children. Explorer towed to brandon Ford dealership that day which happened to be a Sunday. As of today, I still don't have my Explorer back. I was informed that fluid got into the cylinder and the cylinder needs to be replaced. Unfortunately there is a backlog on this particular part. As I approach the 5th week with this loaner vehicle, I am wondering if there is more to the problem or if there is anything that anyone can do to help me get resolution.

- Brandon, FL, USA

problem #76

Mar 012018

Explorer

  • 72,000 miles
2016 Ford Explorer. When putting car in reverse there is a loud thud then when putting it in drive another loud thud that actually sounds like I hit something. Then when trying to give it gas it will act as if it is in neutral. The gas is pressed but won't go and engine will just rev. Then it will start cutting out as if it is going to die. I can only get up to about 30 mph during this time. After driving for a short time it's like it warms up and will quit. This problem is intermittent and I can go a week or two without it happening at all. And when it does happen it will only happen in the morning after the car has been sitting all night. I started pressing on the gas several times before starting (push button) and then before putting in gear will press on the gas several times and rev the engine and the cutting out symptoms will not happen however the thud noise happens intermittently still.

- Moscow Mills, MO, USA

problem #75

Aug 192018

Explorer

  • 51,800 miles
I began to notice a strong gas fume smell in the cab while driving. I have since taken the vehicle to a Ford dealership for repairs. The 'recall' repair for co concerns did nothing. I currently still have the strong smell inside cab.

- Lynchburg, VA, USA

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