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.
While driving on the highway, windshield trim flew off (2 different times, passenger and driver side). It scared me at first when it started to come loose because it flapped around and I wasn-??t really sure what was going on. And can-??t pull over or slow down on highway. When it broke off, it flew up in the air and almost hit another car. I was distracted trying to see what it was and where it landed behind me. So definitely a safety concern. Total repair cost $650
I was driving my 2016 Ford Explorer on I-65 October 19, 2023, in the afternoon. I thought something flew off of one of the two semis in front of me and hit my windshield on two separate times, within a few seconds of each other. When I arrived home, I checked to see if I had any damages, and I was surprised to see pieces missing from the passenger side of my windshield. This morning, October 20, 2023, I went to a local Ford Dealership and was informed there is no recall regarding the upper and lower pillars (windshield trim pieces). I called Ford Headquarters and was told they hadn't heard of this issue before, and I filed a claim. I researched and found two articles: January 31, 2023, USA Today and Carscoops, February 03, 2023, regarding NHTSA investigating these same pieces flying off of Ford Explorers, and I found pictures on the internet that look exactly like my vehicle when these pieces flew off.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the front windshield trim separated and detached from the vehicle. The dealer was contacted, and the dealer stated that the warranty did not cover the trim replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 82,300.
I know it was a Friday in April 2021 not sure what Friday. I was driving down I95 and noticed weather stripping from right side of windshield flapping and hitting the side of the car. Suddenly a piece of plastic flew off the car I am not sure but I do think it hit a vehicle behind me. I immediately pulled over and slowly proceeded on the shoulder incase the other car stopped. No car stopped so I proceeded home. I took the car to have vehicle fixed. Several Ford dealers and three auto repair shops stated "this happens all the time". What was really upsetting was the cost to replace the part. even more upsetting was no one wanted to fix it, advised that in Florida if you end up with a crack or chip in window, insurance will replace windshield. This part usually needs replaced when replacing windshield so told to just wait to you have to replace windshield. It doesn't hurt or cause leaks. But it looks crappy. now I see Ford Explorers all the time missing the trim piece. My vehicle almost all of the weather stripping has rotted away as well. I did just what everyone advised wait to I have windshield damage. BTW I am always needing to clean the windshield manually as my windshield washer has never worked properly from day one. Now it doesn't work at all. Fast forward just over a year later It was late May or early June 2022. I am again on I95 returning home after retrieving both of my parents death certificates (they both died 12 days apart) I again hear banging noise this time on left side of car. Luckily it was about the time I was about to my exit. I pull over and find the left side of window trim stuck in the left rear wheel well. and was flapping against the car. I was able to pry it loose and thankfully it didn't fling with force and hit someone or another vehicle. If Ford knows this happens all the time why do they not recall it. Heck I am tired of my transfer case constantly needing repaired. My steering even went out on this lemon of a car.
The plastic piece on the drivers' side of the windshield was loose and flapping. Before I could get it looked at and fixed, while driving down the highway one morning I heard a noise and in my rearview mirror saw black plastic shattering all over the road. If I didn't realize quickly what the noise was, I could have reacted and caused myself harm in an accident and if there were cars close to me, or a motorcycle or even worse a pedestrian, they could have been damaged or hurt. The missing piece has not been replaced or inspected so it is still missing. I had noticed the flapping plastic piece a couple weeks prior to the incident, a month tops.
- Windsor, NY, USA
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The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver-??s and passenger-??s side window trims detached from the window and struck the side mirror. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 79,000.
The passenger side windshield trim flew off while driving on the interstate with no warning. Other than it hitting the side of our car when flying off, no other incident occured. Nobody inspected the windshield trim as we installed a new trim piece we got on Amazon ourselves.
On August 20, 2022, the left side pillar molding unexpectedly came loose while driving and began flapping about. On August 24-25, 2022, we replaced both exterior a-pillar moldings and brackets at our own expense.
While driving normal speed on the freeway, the passenger windshield molding flew off. Also, the driver side side window meeting has flown off. Both replaced at my cost. Both of these objects flying off the car could impact or hit other motorists causing damage or potential injusry.
The trim on the passenger side pillar next to the windshield detached and flew off of the vehicle while driving on the highway. The trim piece was not recovered as it is unknown where it landed. There was traffic on the highway behind the vehicle and it could have hit another vehicle or later been run over by another vehicle if it landed on the road. The vehicle was subsequently taken to a Ford dealership to have the missing part replaced.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver-??s side trim detached from the windshield without warning. The contact then stated that the passenger side trim was also detaching. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that there was no recall on the VIN for the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to call the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, the rear seat passenger noticed that a black material had detached from the front of the vehicle. The contact stated that the plastic trim from the windshield had detached. The contact called and notified the dealer about the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Grand Rapids, MI, USA