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.
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).
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.
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.
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
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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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Vehicle was involved in a 2 vehicle accident. Explorer was rear ended by a vehicle (Dodge Dakota pickup truck) traveling approximately 55 mph while Explorer was at a stop, waiting to make a left hand turn. The impact was slightly off center to the driver side. The driver seat back collapsed backwards causing driver and rear passenger to collide resulting in lacerations and head injuries to both.
Excessive wind noise from the front cabin at highway speeds. Terrible on windy days as it gets worse. Best guess would be poor door seal around the latch area. Door rubber was previously repaired but no fix. Very noisy in cabin at highway speeds, and on both doors the grease around the control arm for the door has come away and become squeaky twice. Something doesn't seem to be aligned properly.
The leaning edges of car hood has paint bubbles. The local Ford representative stated this was a classic fault of Ford in later models with aluminum hoods. He stated that moisture will penetrate the paint and cause bubbles. He stated that Ford motor will not correct problem nor will they repaint at their expense.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. While the vehicle was undergoing a routine inspection by an independent mechanic, corrosion was found all around the vehicle. Broadway auto (1010 S military avenue, green bay, wi 54304, (855) 395-2127)scheduled a diagnostic appointment and confirmed that the VIN was not included in any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls. The failure mileage was approximately 3,092. The consumer stated the vehicle was damaged when a car wash chain broke. The car wash's door dropped on the vehicle and the chain wrapped around the vehicle causing severe damage. While awaiting the repair, the vehicle began to rust due to water damage from the car wash.
Roof rail covers have repeatedly blown off the vehicle while driving. They have been replaced by Ford under the 3 year/36K warranty 3 times on my vehicle, and have blown off on both sides. They are about 5 feet long pieces of plastic, and certainly present a hazard to cars on the highway behind me when they blow off. The design appears very poor, as they are snapped into place.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Scotch Plains, NJ, USA