10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 1
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 7 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 29,480 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 60 MPH, there was a strong abnormal odor intermittently coming from the inside of the vehicle. The failure occurred on several different occasions. The contact stated that it became difficult to breathe; there was no medical attention sought. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the place of residence. A dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.
- Clarksburg, MA, USA
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 35-40 MPH, the rear turbo failed. There were no warning lights. There was smoke emerging from the rear exhaust. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, while test driving the vehicle determined that the front turbo blew out and an engine replacement was needed. Additionally, the fan was moved by the turbo failure. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired.?The manufacturer was contacted, who referred to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.
- Lagrange, OH, USA
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle briefly shuddered before losing motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to restart. The engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the torque converter. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 20N07. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 127,000.
- Flowood, MS, USA
Had the car for about a year. After the last service I brought in car was fine for a few months, but just recently Had a coolant leak start, very slow but not good. Took it to the service department and they said The water pump is bad. I-??ve heard several case of this being a known issue but am learning that it has not been issued as a recall. Now expected to drop $5K on replacing the water pump on a known issue.
- Nashville, TN, USA
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the RPM increased to 6,000 and the vehicle lost motive power. In addition, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to two independent mechanics where it was diagnosed with a failed leaking turbo charger. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
i dont understand ford explorer has same recall i have a lot of recall on these and i cant take it off everytime its a recall. i work 7 days a week. Thats the reason i try to trade it in. But i still own a lot for it. I dont know to much about the explorer i brought from the carlot.
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
Car kept overheating and I checked the antifreeze. Several times during the week it was empty. Took it to PepBoys and found out the water pump was faulty.
- Orlando, FL, USA
Sudden Unintended Acceleration of the vehicle when slowing to park vehicle. This has happened on 2 occasions- both scenarios the same: slowing and turning left into a parking space, foot on the brake, almost to a complete stop and the vehicle suddenly accelerates out of control. the 1st time into a tree, the 2nd time into a parked/unoccupied vehicle. The brake was applied w/o response, the vehicle would not stop. I am certain my foot was not on the gas. Fortunate no one was injured.
- Corona, CA, USA
Water pump and timing belt failure, causing overheating and leaving driver stranded and posing threat for engine failure.
- Newberry, FL, USA
Water pump inside the engine went out and was leaking coolant all over the engine and transmission. Caused the engine to over heat and the cabin heat to fail. Risk of fire with fluids on engine. Problem so common there is a class action lawsuit but no recall.
- Mason, OH, USA
Premature water pump failure on 2015 Ford Explorer Limited with 51,000 miles. Noticed coolant leak while changing oil. Took it to a mechanic that pressure tested cooling system to discover water pump is leaking.
- Lincoln, NE, USA
While driving at 40 mph the car suddenly lost power. The accelerator would not respond. We were luckily able to coast downhill and get on the shoulder. This has happened four times in six months. The car is not safe for highway driving.
- Bethesda, MD, USA
Leaking water pump
- Crete, IL, USA
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. During the failure the message "Terrain Management Fault" was displayed along with the wrench icon. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated normally, and the message and the wrench icon were no longer displayed. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions and at various speeds. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.
- Pocatello, ID, USA
Turbocharger oil supply tubes leaking onto exhaust manifold Same engine as the recalled 2016-2017 Models
- Sullivan, ME, USA
Last year the water pump needed to be replaced at 99,500 miles. It cost upwards of $2,000 to be replaced. Fast forward now, a year later the check engine light is on, the car is not accelerating properly and it is back in the shop. The shop called and said it is not as simple as fixing the sensors. They have to look further and thinks it may be the timing chain which would be another $2,000. When it was in the shop a year ago fixing the water pump they said the timing chain at that time looked good. I am so frustrated that the water pump is not a part of a recall since our shop said they are seeing this all the time with Explorers with about 100,000 miles.
- Oceanside, CA, USA
My 2015 ford explorer water pump has failed sending coolant all over. The water pump in an internal component of the engine. I am lucky that I caught the water pump failure when I did and it didn-??t completely catastrophically fail. There are numerous reports that the water pumps catastrophically fail and send coolant and metal particles into the motor causing it to also catastrophically fail. If my engine failed while driving on the highway I could have been seriously injured or killed or worse I could have seriously hurt or killed somebody else. I brought my car to ford 7/21/23 where they did general diagnostic tests everything was negative and nothing was found and I was sent on my way. On 7/29/23 I noticed I had a puddle in my driveway and there was definitely a leak I brought my car back to ford where they spent an entire day diagnosing. I was quoted $2500 and my car will take a week to fix. Ford has not offered to pay for any of the repairs even though these poorly manufactured water pumps continue to go bad on thousands of vehicles. There are multiple class action lawsuits against ford for this reason!
- Oxford , MA, USA
I have a 2015 Ford Explorer. I have had it inspected by a mechanic at the dealership where I purchased said vehicle. I also have taken it to Ford dealership in my town. My car runs perfectly fine then it doesn-??t. I have been stranded numerous times and I have replaced the battery in the smart key as they said that would be the problem. I have had the computer reset to my car. When it happened last my camera to help me back up stopped and I was almost in a very bad wreck with my children and grandchildren in my car. It just died!!! I am now sitting in a parking lot at 93 degrees and it again won-??t start and know one knows why. I have done everything I can and have been told. I don-??t hot rod in my vehicle. Someone for the love of god please help me. I don-??t have the money to keep doing this not to buy another vehicle.
- New Ross , IN, USA
3/23 I noticed my coolant reservoir was empty. The vehicle was involved in a minor accident in 12/22 and so I thought coolant slowly leaked out due to the accident. The vehicle was repaired at a collision center so I was concerned they didn't repair or totally missed the leak. I filled it up and took the Explorer for an oil change and that is when the mechanic informed me that I had a small coolant leak. I contacted the collision center and my insurance and both were stating that was from wear and tear. They also proceeded to tell me that is a big issue with the Explorers and certain other vehicles. They mentioned a lawsuit was filed in MA because of this issue. The leak start to get worse, causing me to constantly refill the reservoir with coolant. Always had to have coolant in the vehicle because you just never know. I take the EXPLORER to Ford for a diagnostic and they confirmed it was the internal water pump. This seems to be an issue and recalled because of a defective part or the way the vehicle was built. The leak can happen at any time and mine had 114,000 miles. My other 2010 Ford F150 has 180,000 miles and I have never had this issue. Needless to say, I had to for over $2,300 for the dealership to repair.
- Arlington, TX, USA
- Wimberley, TX, USA