10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
12,195 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #62

Oct 232022

Explorer

  • miles
10/23/22 While driving at highway speeds - Interstate 39 - a large piece of the driver's side windshield trim flew off. We had no impact with anything that would have made it fall off - it simply came apart and landed on the road behind us. We have had the piece fixed since. Body shop could have photos still - if needed. No warning signs were present in the car.

- Edwardsville, IL, USA

problem #61

Jul 022022

Explorer

  • miles
I was driving down the Interstate in my 2016 Ford Explorer at approximately 80-85 MPH when a long piece of the windshield trim panel flew off of the car. I didn't realize what had happened until I saw the trim piece missing. Once I saw how big the piece was, I was immediately concerned that the trim piece could have hit another car and seriously injured someone. I took the vehicle to a Ford dealership service center to have the trim piece replaced. The vehicle was not inspected by anyone other than the Ford service center. There was no warning at all prior to the panel flying off. It didn't appear loose or flap in the wind, it literally just flew off.

- Des Peres, MO, USA

problem #60

Aug 212022

Explorer

  • miles
While driving on the freeway, the right front exterior pillar trim came off and flew back toward traffic behind me. That exterior trim was between the door frame and the windshield. Luckily it did not strike any other vehicle. It could have easily struck another vehicle and caused an accident and/or injury. Prior to the detachment, the trim in question did not appear to be lose or coming off. When I checked with my local Ford Dealer, the service technician told me he knew of many other incidents involving that particular trim coming off on both sides of the vehicle. The dealer replaced the trim at a cost of $500. I later did some research on the internet and found that this has happened to may other owners of Ford Explorers. I notified Ford of the incident, no recalls involving this equipment.

- Placentia, CA, USA

problem #59

Jul 012022

Explorer

  • miles
Passenger side windshield trim came loose on the freeway and flopped around violently then broke off and went flying behind us. Thankfully it did not hit vehicles behind us as it weighs several pounds and has pointy ends. We purchased this Ford Explorer brand new and it always had some wind noise at freeway speeds on that side. @ 46K miles and the trim replacement was not covered by warranty. The dealer said it is quite common and they see it regularly (and will happily take your $500 to fix it). I have seen several other Explorers (including one Police Ford Explorer) with this missing trim panel and you can find many aftermarket replacement brands selling them online and in auto parts stores. This must be a very common issue to justify several companies making replacements. This issue could be deadly if you are following behind a Ford Explorer when it comes off at speed. Ford has sold millions of these SUV's. Looking at the damage it appears the bottom plastic clip that hold the large trim piece fails then wind gets under the trim and breaks the other clips ultimately sending the part flying.

- Livermore, CA, USA

problem #58

Jun 102022

Explorer

  • miles
The side panel behind the front passenger and driver side windows detached while driving. Specifically, the passenger side window panel detached while driving approximately 60 mph on the highway, which caused flying debris that could have harmed other drivers. Three days later the driver side panel detached while driving on the freeway at approximately 60 mph; however, this panel stayed hanging from the car due to wires for the keyless entry. When the panel detached at 60 mph, the tailgate open indicator light turned on inside the car. To ensure our tailgate was secure and we would not lose items out the back causing more of a hazard, we navigate to the side of the highway. This placed my family at risk while other cars passed by at 60 mph. The tailgate was shut; however, we were unable to open the tailgate. The car indicted the tailgate is open; however, there was no way to open the tailgate from inside the car, outside the car, or from the key. This reduced our exit pathways if there was an emergency in the car and caused an uncertainty if the tailgate would at some point open on our three hour trip home. Since we were three hours from our home, we found a means to attach the hanging panel to our car and proceeded driving. About five minutes into the driving, the panel split in half. The top portion detached from the car causing a debris hazard. The half with wires remained hanging from the car. Prior to reaching to NHTSA, we reached to Ford to report the safety issue. They stated this is not a recall, took no information, and offered to provide NHTSA information for reporting any concerns we had.

- Arlington, VA, USA

problem #57

Jun 192022

Explorer

  • miles
- Molding piece and underlying bracket located between the windshield and side passenger window. Molding piece is long and over 24 inches long. - Became loose and detached completely during driving. -The issue first appeared when the vehicle had under 36000 miles- at that time a Ford service technician glued it to the underlying mounting bracket to remedy the problem. The issue happened to the same piece again within the last three months. A Ford service tech again glued the piece into place to secure. Four days ago the piece completely came off, while driving. The clips on the mounting bracket were completely broken. I have since had the bracket and piece replaced. -According to the service advisor at a Ford dealership, Ford released a notice to service depts advising them of the issue. According to the service advisor is a problem for 2015 and 2016 Ford Explorers This bracket was in stock at the dealership I went to.

- Vadnais Heights, MN, USA

problem #56

Mar 222022

Explorer

  • miles
While driving down the road the drivers side (A pillar molding) windshield molding broke loose with no warning and flew into traffic behind me. Fortunately this did not hit anyone or cause an accident this time, but it has the potential to do so. From discussing this with the Ford dealer near me it is a common problem with the interceptors and sport model explorers. The design of this is such that you don't know the clips are failing until a sudden andcatastrophic failure occurs.

- Mcminnville, TN, USA

problem #55

Feb 122022

Explorer

  • miles
In the 2016 Ford Explorer, both the driver and passenger side window trim has blown off while driving. The plastic clips break and cause the trim to fly off. It happened to me, and two other owners with the 2016 Ford Explorer that we bought at the same time. I have also seen it on many other Ford Explorers on the road.

- Estero, FL, USA

problem #54

Mar 042022

Explorer

  • miles
The A pillar of my car came loose while driving and is now flapping there. The A pillar on the other side was loose when I bought the car and the dealer fixed that one at that time. I fear these pillars coming loose and flying and hitting other cars while driving. Seems like a safety issue Ford should do something about.

- Castle Rock, CO, USA

problem #53

Aug 012021

Explorer

  • 47,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the side panel on the passenger-??s side detached from the vehicle. On another occasion, the plastic front pillar section on the passenger-??s side suddenly detached from the vehicle. The contact indicated that the failed body parts were attached to the vehicle by glue. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 47,000.

- Odessa, FL, USA

problem #52

Apr 012021

Explorer

  • miles
The a pillar cover have detached on both the driver and passenger sides. The cover that detaches while driving can create a road hazard for other users, increasing the risk of a crash. This issue has not been addressed by the manufacturer. I have observed several vehicles of the same make and model missing these same covers.

- Bakersfield , CA, USA

problem #51

Sep 162021

Explorer

  • miles
Passenger side piller trim detachment this has been an issue on the 2013 thru 2015 models and was issued a recall. Same thing is happening on the 2016 model. Drivers side is also loose. Many 2016 models are having this same problem

- Dequeen, AR, USA

problem #50

May 082021

Explorer

  • 58,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the contact heard a knocking noise from the front driver-??s side window. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and inspected the vehicle and noticed that the weatherstrip on the front driver-??s side door was detaching from the molding that held the weatherstrip from the windshield. The contact pushed the weather strip back into the molding and continued to drive back to the residence. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who inspected the vehicle and stated that the weatherstrip had loosened over time. The mechanic glued the weather strip back into the molding as a temporary fix and referred the contact to a local dealer for assistance. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and was informed that the molding needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000.

- Kingsville, TX, USA

problem #49

Aug 112021

Explorer

  • miles
On my 2016 Ford Explorer, the A Pillars on both the passenger and driver's side completely detached from the car while driving and flew back into the road while driving on the highway. The A pillars that detached could have easily hit another car/person and caused serious damage. My local Ford dealership inspected the car and pillars and confirmed this as a common failure. They have informed me that there is now a new version of this part because of this common failure. However, the part is currently back ordered and cannot be repaired on any timeline. They are currently duct taped onto the car to protect the car from any further damage. I believe since Ford acknowledged the failure and there was a need to create a new system/part, then this should be a recall of the current parts. There were no warnings or previous issues with the A pillar trim pieces before they just came completely detached, both within an hour of one another. A quick google search can find that this is a very common failure with many Ford explorers. I hope Ford would do the right thing and recall this part.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #48

Jun 152021

Explorer

  • miles
While driving at 55+mph both driver side and passenger side A-pillar windshield covers vibrate. Eventually the passenger side blew off during the drying cycle at a car wash. Thankfully it was contained and did not fly off on the road and cause an incident. There are more cases of this occurring on the highways as seen by searching the internet.

- Banks, OR, USA

problem #47

Jun 162021

Explorer

  • miles
The trim to the lining of my window on the right side flew off on the highway

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #46

May 082021

Explorer

  • 54,000 miles
The vehicle was purchased in 2020 and so far I have had to replace the a pillar trim 3 times.once on the passenger side and twice on the drivers side. Costing over $100 each time just for the parts.the trim has come off twice while at highway speed, 60 mph, causing a loud noise and flying debris. The third time the trim came off at a slow speed off 35 mph and actually broke in half. I attached a photo of the trim piece. I believe the cause may be the plastic clips that hold the trim in place.

- College Place, WA, USA

problem #45

Apr 242021

Explorer

  • 55,000 miles
While driving down the highway at approximately 75 mph, the driver's windshield side trim molding detached from the vehicle. This molding impacted the side of the vehicle, and became fod on the highway. In review, only half of the molding detached from the vehicle, with half remaining in place.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #44

Apr 172021

Explorer

  • miles
Radio sparking and smoking plus peeling and bubbles inside the hood paint

- Sarasota, FL, USA

problem #43

Apr 092021

Explorer

  • 5 miles
Driving on highway, windshield trim on drivers side broke off. Once stationary, inspected where the trim was and it's completely gone & appears that the clips holding it there are broken and some gone. Passengers side trim is warped and appears loose. Also, drivers doors trim is now partly detached from door

- Miamisburg, OH, USA

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