After complaining about the transmission issue shortly after the purchase of the vehicle (2016) and being told that no related codes could be found in my history and no issues logged in Ford's database, the transmission was finally diagnosed to have problems at ~$66K miles in December 2022. So several years of stating the issue to the service department at the Ford dealership to finally have acknowledgement of the problem and the service recommended was a transmission replacement that took several months to complete due to the problem of getting the associated approvals and replacement transmission. The rear differential also needed to be replaced.

UPDATE: 09/2025 - Just notified by the dealership that my transmission and rear differential need to be replaced, (the car now has ~110K miles on it). The cost of repair is estimated at $11,000. So this will be my third transmission and third rear differential on a 2016 Ford Explorer with ~110K miles on it in total. My understanding is that transmissions should last 150-200K miles (each) and even up to 300K miles. Our family takes great care of our vehicles and have followed all the regular maintenance schedules and have not taken the vehicle off roading and/or etc. It is primarily used to take kids to/from school and go to/from work, (all paved streets).

We purchased a new 2016 Ford Explorer Platinum with a 3.5L V6 engine, it now has 98,788 miles on the odometer. We have consistently chosen American-made vehicles, especially Fords, with positive experiences with reliability—until this model. We have taken good care of this car, making sure all the required maintenance was done when scheduled. Unfortunately, this Explorer has suffered from repeated quality concerns and now a serious recent malfunction.

While driving to the store, the Explorer began to jerk, and the engine revved erratically. The dash screen showed that a Terrain Management Fault Error had occurred, engine light and limp home mode lights are on. After temporarily returning to normal, the issue resurfaced five miles later. Upon pulling into a Hardee’s parking spot, I attempted to resolve the problem by restarting the vehicle, but it would no longer engage reverse, now I’m stuck in a parking spot. Called my daughter to bring some tools to assist, we disconnected the battery for ten minutes to check for a computer-related fault. This approach failed, and it was necessary for my daughter and I to push the vehicle out of the parking space since it would not go into reverse. Although the vehicle went into forward gear, gear changes remained rough and unreliable.

Later, after completing my store visit, I managed to drive home and scheduled an inspection at a local garage. During the trip to the garage, the jerking recurred, and the vehicle became immobile, unable to shift into any gear. I had to call for a tow service to transport the car to the garage.

The following day, the garage reported that the transmission was beyond repair and required a full replacement. The estimated cost for a rebuilt transmission and the associated labor was $5,700. This outcome was especially disappointing, given the previous Fords I’ve owned reached nearly 200,000 miles without ever experiencing a transmission problem.

Given this series of issues with this vehicle, I seriously questions the quality of Ford vehicles. Regrettably, this experience may mark the end of my long-standing loyalty to the brand.

I bought the Ford Explorer used. with 104,000. I am a foster parent and needed a 3rd row desperately. I traded my dream car for this piece of junk. I had the car less than a month and the heat and air went out. While wating to get that fixed, the water pump busted. It's an internal belt driven water pump so it was a dealership fix only. It was covered under extended warrenty and got fixed thank heavens. I have had my car back only a month and now the transmission is going out. It's slipping and started doing so after Ford repair the water pump, which required driopping the drive shaft. The transmission is failing. The problems is getting worse. And now my actuator in the dash has stopped working and will only work on defrost. This car is a LEMON. I will never buy another FORD. I did research on this vehicle and never read water pump issues until after it happened to me. The vehicle only has 107,600 miles and I'm getting rid of it.

At first it felt like it was missing. I had it to the mechanic and they couldn't determine the cause or reproduce it. That;s because the morons didn't drive it. How can one claim to not be able to reproduce the problem if it's not your car and your not used to the sounds it makes and you don't drive it?

Transmission not downshifting, usually from 3rd to 2nd coming off an exit ramp to get into the flow of traffic. I’m now having to paddle shift the car to 2nd gear to accelerate into traffic. I took it the the local Ford dealer, but they could not duplicate the issue.

Also in bumper to bumper traffic, the transmission will bang into second gear.

Apparently these only happen when I drive. The guy that I rode with was not doing what I was saying would cause the issues. He said when it fails bring it back. That was not what I wanted to hear.

Engine surging on every warm start. Dealer not able to repair. Not sure what it is. Front windshield trim almost blew off, had to stop and pull it off then glue it back on when I got back home. Side lower trim on drivers door was falling off, plastic connectors broke. Infotainment system was extremely laggy and the GPS didn’t work at times. Even after dealer update it still didn’t work properly. Rear roof seal around back door hinges was cracking causing water to leak inside. Hood is aluminum and the paint will bubble on pretty much all Explorers and come off. Transfer case is a sealed unit not allowing for any servicing or fluid changes. Transmission did not shift smoothly and would probably need to be rebuilt, dealer checked software and said it was up to date.

I bought this car used and only kept it for a few months before trading it back in for a VW Atlas. Much better built vehicle and super roomy.

I’m very disappointed in the lack of quality from the Explorer and am ashamed that Ford would make a car with this many known issues and not covet under a recall. I’m so happy to be done with this car.