— A Ford Explorer windshield trim recall may be necessary based on the outcome of a federal investigation into why 164 complaints have been filed about windshield trims that detached.
Owners of 2011-2019 Ford Explorers have complained a windshield trim recall should have already been ordered after watching their trim fly off the SUVs.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened the investigation into more than 1.8 million model year 2011-2019 Ford Explorers after receiving complaints such as these from two 2019 Explorer owners.
"Driving 70 mph on interstate the driver side windshield trim came off. Startled the driver and caused car behind us to hit it on their windshield and lost control for a short time. In looking at trim clips they are plastic and 3 of them were broken. I drove to a ford dealer and was told this is a problem but they have not recall on it. Components should not be falling off a 60K car."
And this Explorer owner says the detached window trim cost him hundreds of dollars.
"While driving on I-95 on 5/4, the RH windshield moulding broke off suddenly and flew off behind the car, fortunately not hitting another vehicle, although that could easily have happened."
The 2019 Explorer owner took the vehicle to a dealer which replaced components, costing the owner $432 because the extended warranty didn't cover it.
"This same thing happened to my previous 2013 Explorer in 2017-2018 timeframe! Apparently it is a well-known problem with all Ford Explorers since at least 2013, as many others have reported. But Ford has never issued a recall on this problem, and refuse to cover it under extended warranties."
Ford Explorer owners complain the detached windshield trim struck other vehicles and even motorcyclists traveling behind the Explorers. And in some cases other drivers lost control when the detached Explorer windshield trim smacked the windshields.
NHTSA will investigate the issue to determine if a Ford Explorer windshield trim recall is necessary for safety.
CarComplaints.com will update our website with results of the investigation.