So my wife was driving my 16 Explorer XLT with my 3 year old son and she called me saying the car would not accelerate from a stop (at a light or stop sign). She said she could barely make it through the intersection and it was very scary. When she finally made it home, I took the car for a short drive and noticed that she was right, the car crawled from a stop and I also noticed it shifted very hard into reverse. The engine light and the tool symbol was on the dash board and I noticed a smell in the car. I called the Ford dealer closest to me and explained the problem and they asked if I could get it over to them, they would examine the issue. The Explorer only has 17,866 miles on it and I have a very short commute to work, so no hard driving at all. This was on a Thursday and they couldn't get it in until Monday, so they provided me a rental from Avis at no charge. A few days went by and on Wednesday, I spoke with the advisor and he stated that his master tech found that the clutch was bad and they had taken the transmission out of the car and would be replacing with a new clutch. I picked my Explorer up the following day and because the car is obviously still under warranty, I paid nothing, which is always great. I leased my Explorer, so luckily I'm not stuck with it if I have more problems down the road. Hoping this will be the only major issue I have, but I won't be leasing another Explorer and may choose another manufacturer for my next car. I'll update if any further issues arrive, but it sounds like Ford is having several problems with these vehicles.

Update from Oct 20, 2017: UPDATE: So clutch was replaced by dealer and two days later, the same issue occurred, where the car appeared to go into "Limp Mode" again and would not accelerate. I contacted the dealer again and explained the issue. They advised me to have it towed to the dealer and not to turn the car off. The following morning, after the car being off all night, it appeared to be driving fine, but I dropped it off at the dealer anyway. The called me at the end of the day and stated that they had driven it many times throughout the day and could not get the engine/wrench light to come on. So back I went and picked it up again. Exactly two days later, it started again and I called the dealer. They said if I could get it to them right away and not to turn the car off. I arrived at the dealer and a tech came with me for a ride and he was able to observe the problem and see the wrench light on the dash. He said it was very strange and very dangerous as the car would not accelerate with my foot to the floor. As we were returning to the dealer, the wrench light went off and the it drove fine? The tech said it was ok and that they'd be able to get a code, because it stores it the cars computer. Two days later, the service rep called me and said they found a sheared bolt somewhere in the clutch and they have ordered the part. Almost two weeks went by and they called back and said they'd now ordered the part twice from Ford, but Ford had no idea where the part was and they had to take the car off the lift to free up space. As soon as the part came in, they would attempt to fix. Two days later, the service department called me back and said the part had finally arrived and they had installed it, however they wanted to keep the car for another day to drive it and make sure it was operating correctly. So I'm not waiting to get a call to pick it up and praying this will be the end to this nonsense? If not, I will be contacting an attorney to find out if I have any options to break the lease and get my money back.

Had this issue happen to us today! My wife had just dropped off our son and luckily was on a city street when suddenly the wrench symbol showed up on the left hand screen and she lost accelerating power. She pulled over and turned off the car and tried to restart but did not get the accelerator back immediately. She put the car in reverse which worked and played with the all wheel drive dial on the console before regaining the accelerator, but the engine light came on. She called me and then I called the dealership immediately to make an appointment for tomorrow 6/15/16. When I got home I turned the car and the check engine light was gone and car seemed to be operating normally. I called the dealership and explained what happened but decided to keep the appointment as they said they might be able to look at the code history to determine what happened. Luckily we kept the appointment because whey we went to our sons T-ball game the wrench symbol suddenly appeared and I loss acceleration (luckily again it happened on a city street vs a busy highway). I parked the car and we left it so we could make it in time for the T-ball game. Upon returning to the vehicle it started right up and the accelerator worked fine. We took it straight to the dealership where our salesperson that sold us the vehicle came out to greet us which I thought was admirable as he probably did not have to do that. I explained to him what was going on as the service department was already closed. He took the keys and said he would let the service department know whats going on with the vehicle. When I got home I did some google research and came across this website so I can see that this is a big problem (I just hope that Ford has realized that they have a big problem on their hands).

Update from Jun 18, 2016: Well the dealership said they needed to replace the throttle body control (as I suspected) and the part was not immediately available. They gave us loaner, and got the part in on Friday and just got the car back, so I hope the issue is resolved.

DO NOT BUY A FORD!! While on my way home from work in commuter traffic on city street, doing 35mph, vehicle suddenly dropped to less than 5 mph, barely rolling. Similar to all the other complaints for this year and model. Wrench light came on and engine light also. Looked up wrench light warning-drive train problem take to dealer. Took vehicle to dealership next day. Vehicle did drive fine next day. Wrench light off, engine light still on. Immediately went to sales floor to find salesperson who sold us the vehicle. Asked him if there was a recall on this yet, obviously you have sold me a defective car. His manager came over and looked at the vehicle tried to feed us b.s. but I had all my info from this website. They didn't like that. From as many complaints as there are, and as dangerous as this has the potential to be, I would encourage everyone who has or had this problem to contact NHTSA. I have already. Dealership has vehicle awaiting service department inspection, not until Monday or Tuesday before they can get back to me.

No apologies from anyone. No loaner cars available. Why should I have to pay for a rental when this is Ford's fault, not mine. They seemed unwilling to help when we replied no we didn't buy the extended warranty. "Why not?" we were asked. Because it's a BRAND NEW CAR!! Nothing should go wrong with it at this stage. Treated very rudely, like it was our fault that this happened and our problem. Salesperson also changed the settings on vehicle while inspecting it, changed miles to km to make it look like it was at 11,000 miles instead of 7300. After explaining my confusion over this, the service department rep looked it over and found that it had been changed.

Service department rep also stated "there was a batch of these that have this problem" So if they know there is a problem, why aren't us customers being notified? This really needs to be recalled. It is going to cause accidents and possible deaths. I have reported my problem to NHTSA and have also submitted complaint to Ford Motor Company Corporate expressing my concerns over the safety hazards of this vehicle. Have not been able to call customer service as they do not open until monday. They will also get a phone call from me. Bad customer service. Shame on Ford for allowing defective vehicles to be sold and shame on dealerships for selling them and treating the customer like they are a criminal.. Such fraud!! Will never buy another Ford!! Why not just admit the problem and accommodate the customer for his or her huge inconvenience!!

Update from Jun 20, 2016: Service department found it was the throttle body and replaced it. Have vehicle back. Just hope it doesn't happen again.

Exact same problem the others are complaining about - 6 month old car & wrench light comes on out of no where then engine light and car loses all power and needs to be towed. Ford Towing was a joke - they wanted to take it to a dealer that was 27 miles away while we wanted to go where we bought it that was only 9 miles away. They said WE would have to pay $109 if "we" chose where to take it. Declined that. Luckily we also had AAA but why should we have had to use that. Problem was throttle body as everyone else said. Really disappointed to see all the complaints about this problem. The kicker is that I traded a 2013 Ford Escape in to get this car because that car was a lemon and had recall after recall & problem after problem. This had better not be starting again or I am getting a lawyer this time. I always trusted Ford but now this is getting ridiculous.

Driving down the road at 55 I lost throttle no response when pushing on accelator. I took vehicle to dealer they gave me a loaner. On Monday they diagnosed it as a throttle body. This is the 3rd time the car has been in the shop with electrical issues. 1st time rear hatch module shorted out 2nd time rear seat module shorted out now throttle body and rear air. This is the first and last time I will buy a ford. You spend $45000 on a new car and in 4 months the car has been in the shop 4 times for electrical issues. I am requesting a new car under Lemon Law statue. Please spread the word to all explorer owners to be careful of this problem, and call ford customer relations so they will do something about the throttle body before someone gets hurt or killed. The number is 1800-392-3673

I have a brand new Ford Explorer with under 6,000 miles on it. Driving on the highway pregnant with twins and my 2 yr old in the back seat and out of no where the car goes into like a neutral mode. Unable to accelerate past 20mpg, wrench light comes on, check engine light, and airbag light. Horrified, I was able to pull to the side of the highway. After letting the car "rest" for approx. 10min car started up fine, all lights disappeared and car drive fine. Happened again on a side road the next day. This could have killed me and my family. Brought it to the Ford dealership and they were "aware" of a throttle issue. I left with a rental car. I don't want this vehicle, I am scared for the safety of my family. When is Ford going to issue a recall? After someone dies??

BIG WRENCH WARNING. I'm adding to the other 46 complaints on this exact topic - time for a recall Ford. Driving on a busy highway, rush hour, Washington, DC and my vehicle decelerated with nothing from pressing the gas pedal while coming down a hill at about 55 mph. Thank God, there was an exit into a neighbor hood and an empty parking space immediately in the community. I had the BIG WRENCH and read my manual sign on my dash. Manual was home for safe keeping. I pull in and seem to have all power - the RPMs were jumping all over. Scared half to death I called my husband. Turned vehicle fully off, waited a minute turned it on and the same BIG WRENCH read my manual sign. Again turn it off, open gas door in case of a vapor lock. Wait a few minutes and try again. Now the CHECK ENGINE light is on but otherwise it seems OK. Now, how do I get home ?? I'm not going on a main highway so I get to the first exit and head for the back roads - Good darn thing I did. 5 minutes later the exact same deceleration happens with no gas pedal or speed. I coast to the shoulder and wait. Try again, and I'm off. 2 miles down the road - you guessed it.....I'm dead again. Now I'm really getting nervous because I have 1 major intersection that cannot be avoided to get home. Praying I'm not in a crash. On phone telling husband this thing has to get to the dealer. I made it home. Looked in manual for the BIG WRENCH...it's not in the manual. Waste of time. On to the internet and I find this group of not similar but identical problems. I literally broke down 3 times in less than 10 miles. Reading these complaints I'm not 100% confident the dealer will fix the vehicle properly. Scared because we are leaving in a week for a road trip family vacation. I researched and did all my homework before buying my Explorer, hoping it wasn't a big mistake I can't afford to take the loss of selling but I don't want to be in an accident. Taking car in tomorrow (Saturday) or (Monday) at the latest.

I guess I'll go ahead and add mine to the rapidly growing list of dissatisfied 2016 Ford Explorer owners, who have experienced the "Wrench of Death" along with the engine light, the loss of the gas pedal doing what should be the most basic function of a car, and the perplexion that goes along with being broken down on the side of the road in a BRAND NEW CAR.

I was driving along the highway, when I suddenly noticed that the car was slowing down, and the gas pedal did nothing. With the weight of the car being the only reason why I was still moving forward, I looked at the instrument panel, and observed a giant orange wrench with the words, "See Owners Manual".

Luckily, I was almost out in the sticks and was able to coast onto a side road and come to a stop. The engine was still running, the electronics continued to function, yet, I did notice that the tachometer was indicating RPMs which looked like the car was having a seizure. After letting off of the brake pedal, the car inched forward normally, as is the case with all cars equipped with automatic transmissions.

Because the display panel told me to, I opened my owners manual and attempted to locate information about this problem. Do not bother opening the owner's manual. There's nothing there for you.

I turned off the engine and turned it back on. Nothing changed. I turned off the engine again. I lit up a cigarette, systematically went down the entire list of the 4-letter words I learned from the Army, and finished smoking. Then, I turned the engine back on again, and to my surprise, the accelerator functioned normally. It takes me about 2 minutes to fully smoke a cigarette.

I then stopped what I was doing, and drove the car straight to the dealership where we had bought it. They were "kind enough" to drive me home. I say this, because even though Ford had screwed me royally, I was still at their mercy, and not vise versa. Unfortunately, however, Ford did not decide to grace me with a temporary replacement vehicle, despite the fact that they had an entire lot full of vehicles, just sitting there.

This is when I learned that these Ford mechanics don't work on Fridays. Everyone else on the planet does. But not them. Seemingly, Ford has chosen to smile upon them, and frown upon me. And so, our 2016 Ford Explorer will have sat in the parking spot where I left it for 3 1/2 days, before it is . . . explored.

We thought that as the car is sitting there, ashamed and lonely, this would be a great time to assess its value. To our dismay, after paying $42,000 of our hard-earned savings, now the car is worth roughly $24,000. This means that getting rid of this car, would be the equivalent of cheerfully walking into the Ford dealership, writing them a check for $18,000, for nothing, and then leaving.

We have decided that this is the "best" option, when considering that the alternative option, is the likelihood of dying in this car. Given that Ford is very well aware of this problem and has not issued a safety recall, I can only surmise that our deaths in a 2016 Ford Explorer is what it would take to convince them that a recall is necessary. (Editorial note: It won't be me or my family)

If you know anyone who owns a 2016 Ford Explorer, the best thing in the world that you can do for them, is to pour sugar into their gas tank. It very well could save their life/lives, and they will thank you for it later. Screw this car, screw this company, and screw the people who run it.

My senior parents were driving their fairly new (purchased brand new 6 months ago) Explorer on I-66 at over 65MPH when the car decelerated to 10MPH! My mother was able to pull over to the shoulder, turned the engine off, restarted the engine, and were able to drive to the mall with no problems. On their way home the same thing happened again! They were driving on a major/busy road but were luckily able to pull into a commercial lot and get their Explorer towed to the dealer. The vehicle is there now. We've lost all confidence in Ford, more so now that we've read all of these complaints! How can they know that this is happening and not do anything about it!?! In my opinion this is just as bad as the Toyota issue with brakes!

gas pedal stopped working....check engine and wrench symbol

Driving 50 mph in 2016 Explorer (9 months old & 8000 miles) and all of a sudden gas pedal doesn't work, lose power. Seriously! Thankfully, I was able to glide the car off the road on a busy highway. The check engine light appeared and a wrench symbol (which basically means you have a problem). I pushed on the gas pedal and nothing. My care was paralyzed. What a helpless feeling. I had it towed to Ford on Saturday and had to wait until Monday. I was told that that on Ford's internal messaging system there was a known "service message" regarding this exact issue. When I pressed the service guy I spoke with, he said it was a known issue but was not a "recall". Really, seems pretty dangerous and a serious accident is going to occur. Imagine if I was merging or thought I could pull out and make a left turn and then nothing.....deadly consequences. I had my 9 year old in the back and thankfully we were safe. The service guy told me on Monday that my electronic throttle needed reprogrammed. Ok, seemed reasonable, Ford knows what they are doing and would never let me leave without resolving the problem. I then googled my scenario and was shocked at other customer experiences and how similar they were----EXACT same story.

But it gets better. I left the dealership on Monday, 9/19/16 and felt good. Ford knows what they are doing, right? On Friday, 4 days later, the EXACT same thing happened AGAIN. I was extremely lucky and in a park area at a stop sign. This time, I was able to drive the car and park it. The wrench symbol did come on but not the check engine light. So I had it towed...again and now had to rent a vehicle and wait until Monday. When I spoke with Ford Friday before they closed, they were Surprised this occurred. Obviously, their attempt to "reprogram" was futile and put my life and my family's at risk.

Needless to say they better be prepared for me on Monday, 9/26.

Driving home Wednesday evening 0ct 5 on interstate 29 approx 75 mph when my car jerked and the wrench light came on with "SEE MANUEL" and my car lost power. I pulled off on the shoulder and then tried to drive forward nothing, so I turned off the car and tried to restart. Car started now the check engine light is on, tried yo move forward nothing. Repeated this process 2 more times and on the third try the car did start to move so I continued to drive and limped home. The engine sounded rough and the car jerked once in a while. Took it into the Ford dealership in Fargo ND next day. They said the computer just had to be reprogrammed.

Oct 7th driving on my way to a wedding driving 60 mph when the car jerked and wrench light with "SEE MANUEL" comes on again! Just had the car in the dealership on the 5th for the same problem! I bought this vehicle brand new in December of last year because I need something I can depend on, I travel an hour to work each day and live where the climate can change drastically in an hour. Coming up on the winter months I don't need this to happen to me when it is 20 below zero with a wind chill of 30 below! This is not an inexpensive vehicle and I don't have the means to buy another one so someone better get it right. I called the dealership again and they are having me bring it back. But after looking at the Internet this seems to be a ongoing problem, maybe a recall needs to be done!

My wife drove this 2016 Explorer for about 10 months and put only 5500 miles on it. A couple weeks ago, the vehicle lost power in the middle of a busy intersection. Luckily, she was able to pull to the side of the road without being clobbered by another car. The now infamous "wrench" light came on and the vehicle would only idle at about 2 mph. No response to the gas pedal at all. We had the vehicle towed to the Ford dealer. They told us it was a issue with the software that controls the electronic throttle. The dealer flashed some new control code and called it good ("16B32D Reprogram PCM using IDS release 102.02 or higher"). The vehicle has exhibited some strange quirks, like an erratic idle at stop lights, since getting the new software. Took it back to the dealer, but they insist it can take up to 500 miles before the computer learns our driving style again and that it will start performing normal sooner or later. My wife won't drive the vehicle anymore. I don't blame her. What if the vehicle loses power again turning left in front of a semi or trying to pass someone on a two lane road. I've been a Ford man my whole life, but I think that's about to change. Thinking hard about trading in the 2016 Explorer on a 2017 Four Runner, despite having to take a $12,000 bath on the Explorer.

Nothing quite like driving home from Lowes on I-95 going 70MPH and having your new car JOLT and then lose power. The Wrench symbol appeared and said "Check Manual" and then all power was gone. The Airbag light also lit up. We pulled off into some gas station and restarted the vehicle a few times. Eventually, it allowed the power back on and we managed to drive it home. It was towed out of my driveway this morning to the dealership to be checked. They said they know of the issue and will get back to us with an estimated repair date. AND NOW... though making payments on a new car- i YET AGAIN do not have a car!! (This is the second issue with this vehicle)

The entire reason we purchased a new car was so that when traveling with our 18 month old we did not have these types of issues. It is completely unacceptable that you type the problem into google and it is a COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR? why are you selling these vehicles without fixing this problem? If it had been a busier time of day.. we would have easily been in an accident.... Glad Ford Motor Company is really concerned about the safety of their vehicles. We purchased based on safety ratings... perhaps whoever rates them needs to be on this website to see just how NOT SAFE this car really is. How am I supposed to put my baby in the backseat and know this wont occur again??

It's just sad to say that Ford forgot to do some quality control. I was on vacation with my family while cruising along I-295 at 65 MPH when the dreaded wrench light showed up on my dash board and I could not accelerate. Good thing the cars behind me were quite far so I had time to pull over. turned off the engine and restarted the SUV and everything was normal again. We arrived at the hotel safely. the next morning on our way to the family gathering it happened again. luckily I was able to park the SUV. called the service tech from the dealer and explained the issue and without hesitation the service tech answered you must replace the throttle body. He even instructed me to drive up to the nearest Ford Dealer and they would change it immediately. however in VA and on a weekend that's not gonna happen.I called ford road side assistance and was told that the tow truck will arrive around 3pm. I guess the tow truck drivers watch was not set for DST because he came at 4pm and told me that he had just received the call 10 minutes ago. He also had the audacity to tell me that i'm not the only customer around and was hurrying to tow my SUV. now my SUV is in VA and I'm back in PA.Ford can not ship or tow my SUV from one dealer site to another. according to the roadside service I have to pay $460+ to have it towed. McCafferty Ford at Langhorne PA refuses to pay for the towing instead they want me to drive 3 and half hour to Battlefield Ford at Manassas VA to get my SUV. I spoke with Phil the Manager in Langhorne that if they stand behind their product and workmanship they should be able to drive my vehicle down from Manassas VA to Langhorne PA with no problem. again he refused to have my car be driven by one of his drivers. Now I have no car and no rental due to the fact that Phil was waiting for ford to get back to him.I thought he worked for McCafferty Ford? to say that I am frustrated with Ford is an understatement. My SUV is still in Battlefield Ford Manassas VA. I don't think i'm ever going to see it again.