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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
6 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
10,854 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.

2017 Ford Explorer body / paint problems

body / paint problem

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2017 Ford Explorer Owner Comments (Page 8 of 10)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #41

Jan 112021

Explorer

  • 43,000 miles

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

Paint in front of roof started bubbling do to corrosion forming under the paint. Ford wont cover it because it needs to have a hole for them to cover it.

- Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA

problem #40

Dec 262020

Explorer

  • 31,998 miles
I was on my way home and the roof rack broke and flew off my car while I was driving down the highway and almost hitting the car behind me. The car has 31,998 miles on

- Atkinson, NE, USA

problem #39

Aug 222020

Explorer

  • 60,000 miles
2017 Ford Explorer XLT roof rails detach. I was driving on the freeway when my right roof rail top piece blew off. Multiple cars had to swerve in order to avoid the flying piece. My left roof rail almost did the same thing. This, in my opinion, is a safety issue and should be recalled. Multiple people who I've talked to have the same problem. However these roof rails are assembled is unacceptable. I believe it has to do with their grey plastic securing clips. Thank you.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #38

Sep 302020

Explorer

  • miles

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

Driver side door entry keypad pillar molding, just fell off. It appears to be glued and after time the glue doesn't hold and the whole molding just falls off and hangs from the keyless wires while driving as it scratches up your paint. Dealer wants over $600 to replace.

- Torrance, CA, USA

problem #37

Jun 042020

Explorer

  • 55,000 miles
As I was driving down the highway I had one of my plastic windshield pillars fly off. I pulled over and retrieved it and glued it back on. About 6 months later I had my other side fly off, unable to retrieve it and about 3 months ago I had my first side fly off again also unable to retrieve it. I had one of the pillars hit a passing vehicle.

- Needville, TX, USA

problem #36

Aug 042020

Explorer 6-cyl

  • miles
I purchased a new 2017 Ford Explorer in July of 2017. It is just passed 3 years old and has just over 60,000 miles. I took the vehicle to licardi Ford in watchung, NJ to have them look and advise on paint that is bubbling on the front hood. After review they told me it was not covered under warranty since the 3 year, 36K mile has passed. I was also told the 5 year/unlimited mileage corrosion (perforation only) would not apply either. I was told the corrosion warranty would only apply if the corrosion would create a hole. Afterwards I called Ford customer service (case # [xxx]) and would be told the same as I mentioned above from the dealership. After further investigation on my part, I found there have been class action suits filed against Ford for this very issue. Those complaints show that Ford has been aware of such issue and has done little to correct. Furthermore, it is written that the hoods of the Ford Explorer are made of aluminum and would never rust through to create a hole therefore making the 5 year/unlimited mileage corrosion warranty next to useless. I feel this has been an ongoing issue that Ford is well aware of and should have changed its practices and methods to avoid future incidents. The 'bubbling' paint may be small now but will only grow and eventually crack and peel off negatively impacting the look and resale value of my vehicle. I would appreciate any assistance you can offer to get my car repaired and/or hold Ford accountable for their negligence. These defects are small and were probably forming long before I was able to see them for myself. Parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Scotch Plains, NJ, USA

problem #35

Jul 242020

Explorer

  • 42,000 miles

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

About a week ago my vehicle was idling, backed straight into the turnaround in my driveway with the car in park. The two passenger side doors were open. My daughters and I (unbuckled) sat there about ten minutes while the engine was cranked but in park, waiting on my husband to finish up grabbing things for the vacation we were getting ready to leave on. My two year old had moved to the driver's seat, and I was in the passenger seat. My daughter reached over and pressed the push to start button as she has a hundred times and killed the engine, but this time, when the engine turned off, something obviously caused the transmission to disengage and we were sent rolling down the hill behind my turn around. I tried to climb over and hit the emergency brake but was unsuccessful. We were finally stopped when our back end smashed into the second tree we hit. Fortunately no one was injured besides me, and it was relatively minor with just bruising, particularly since I'm 7 months pregnant. My car is now completely totaled as a result.

- Rocky Face, GA, USA

problem #34

May 202020

Explorer 6-cyl

  • 45,000 miles
On May 20th 2020, I drove the car from my house to the grocery store, an approximate 7 miles drive. I parked the car on the parking lot, a few seconds after leaving the car white smoke started to come from under the hood, as the seconds passed the white smoke converted into a fire in the engine, 5 minutes later the car was lost due to fire.

- Galion, OH, USA

problem #33

Jan 242020

Explorer 6-cyl

  • 0 miles
Bubbling paint on the hood.

- Dillsburg, PA, USA

problem #32

Apr 012020

Explorer 6-cyl

  • 46,000 miles
The front edge of the hood is pitting under the paint which is an in going Ford issue for decades now. Upon speaking with Ford, they tell me they can't help me because I don't get my vehicle service with Ford. So they are refusing to make good on a preexisting problem when I bought it brand new. These vehicles are predestined to have this issue because they refuse to correct the aluminum hood and paint conflict the vehicles have. I cannot attach photos negate your system is old and didn't take photos that were taken with hd cameras!

- Hopatcong, NJ, USA

problem #31

May 232020

Explorer 4-cyl

  • 51,000 miles

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

While driving on the highway the right side panel of the windshield flew off along with the rubber sealant. This caused the car behind me to swerve in order to avoid it hitting.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #30

May 132020

Explorer 6-cyl

  • 16,981 miles
Adhesive to the front door upper panel (securicode keyless entry keypad) did not adhere properly and the keyless entry pad and molding broke on the highway and flew off. This caused a malfunction signal to the liftgate (sensor registered as lift gate ajar, when effectively closed) interior lights won't turn off and liftgate won't open.

- Estero, FL, USA

problem #29

Mar 292020

Explorer

  • 36,700 miles
Roof rails on both sides have come loose, ejecting from vehicle on roadway. This issue has happened three times. After repair, the roof rail cap will stay on for around 1 to 2 months then become loose again. Both the roof rail assembly as a whole and the roof rail cap have been replaced. This is a poor design and could injure or cause death to pedestrians and other vehicle operators around.

- Toledo, OH, USA

problem #28

Feb 142020

Explorer

  • miles
Roof rail cover and trim pieces located on both sides of windshield have flew off while in motion multiple times. I have had these pieces replaced multiple times. Even on windy days I can hear these pieces rattling. Luckily these pieces have not hit another person or vehicle yet but upon further research this seems to be an ongoing issue with 2017 Ford Explorer. How is this not recall worthy?

- Heyburn, ID, USA

problem #27

Mar 152019

Explorer

  • 33,000 miles
Several problems with this Explorer. There was a noise in the engine compartment when the A/C is running and gibbons Ford tried to fix it several times. They tightened a heat shield twice. Replaced the idler and belt 3 times and finally changed the A/C compressor. Also the hood bubbled and they replaced the hood and repainted it. There also was a transmission leak and the alternator had to be replaced. They ended up buying the vehicle back due to the ongoing unresolved issues.

- Scott Township, PA, USA

problem #26

Jun 112019

Explorer

  • 20,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated the passenger side front door framework was faulty. The contact stated the door made an abnormal noise while driving about 10 mph. No warning lights illuminated. The dealership was contacted about the failure with the framework. The vehicle was taken to autonation Ford katy (20777 katy fwy, katy, tx 77450) but was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000.

- Katy, TX, USA

problem #25

Dec 122019

Explorer

  • 88,000 miles
While my vehicle was parked on my flat driveway my daughter backed her Ford edge into the rear of the Explorer at a low rate of speed. The Explorer which was not running and was turned off and in park at the time rolled off the driveway. Rolled through an open lot behind our house. The vehicle continued to roll through the open lot and crossed the neighborhood street behind our house. The vehicle then rolled through another vacant lot, and rolled down an embankment through another lot. The vehicle stopped only after striking a tree and coming to rest. In all the vehicle traveled approx 300 yards and had it not struck the tree it would have crossed a busy two lane road. I got to the vehicle it was locked and in park. There was a good amount of front end damage and there was no airbag deployment. I was able to drive the vehicle back to our house but it could not be driven any further.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #24

Oct 262019

Explorer

  • 10,000 miles
Roof rack rail cap departed the vehicle while on the freeway.

- Box Elder, SD, USA

problem #23

Sep 152019

Explorer

  • miles
Paint on the hood is bubbling, steering feels lose, and the instrument panel cracked do to cold temp....contacted Ford they dia ot help or did not car

- Norwalk Ohio, OH, USA

problem #22

Sep 112019

Explorer

  • 46,000 miles
On 09/11/2019, at approximately 6pm, we were traveling North on wv SR2 North approximately 2.5 to 3.0 miles North of the SR2 I-77 interchange. 2017 Ford Explorer was stopped, waiting on opposing traffic to clear, in order to make a left hand turn into the parking lot of church. Vehicle was rear-ended by a Dodge Dakota pickup truck impacting slightly off center towards the driver side of the vehicle. There were 4 occupants of the Explorer. The driver was a 39 year old male. The front passenger was a 36 year old female. In the second row were the other 2 passengers. On the drivers side was a 4 year old female, forward facing in a graco extend2fit car seat. The passenger side was occupied by a 7 year old male in an evenflo booster seat. All passengers were wearing appropriate restraining devices. All passengers were shaken up, with external injuries to both drivers side occupants. The proximate cause of the injuries was due to failure of the driver's seat. The seat base experienced a failure causing the seat back to fall back onto the 2nd row passenger, striking the passenger, and the headrest bent and partially detached. Prior to the accident, the seat back was fully upright and the seat was resting upon the legs of the juvenile female after impact. She suffered contusions to her legs from the seat impacting her and she suffered a concussion and laceration (requiring 9 external sutures as well as some internal ones) above her right eye, caused by either the head of the driver or possibly the headrest. The driver of the vehicle suffered a laceration to the crown of his head requiring 9 staples to close. The driver and the juvenile female were transported to marietta memorial hospital in marietta oh where they received treatment and were released. Responding to the scene was the waverly vfd as well as the wood county sheriff's office and St. Joseph's ambulance service.

- Parkersburg, WV, USA

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