The 2011 to 2019 Ford Explorers have a huge issue with them. The internal water pump on my 2017 Ford Explorer 3.5L engine failed. The failure caused coolant to leak into the engine crankcase, where it mixed with the engine oil. This contaminated the oil and led to catastrophic engine failure and seizure. The vehicle has already been brought to a dealership for service and is available for inspection upon request. This failure created a serious safety risk because the engine could have seized suddenly while the vehicle was in motion. If I had not caught the issue early, it could have resulted in a complete engine shutdown without warning, leading to loss of power, reduced steering control, and inability to accelerate in traffic. I have a strong understanding of vehicles and was able to recognize the warning signs, but the average driver would likely not identify these symptoms. Without that knowledge, this type of failure could easily occur without warning and put both the driver and others on the road at significant risk. Yes. The issue has been confirmed by both an independent mechanic and the dealership as a failed internal water pump. Coolant was beginning to leak internally into the engine and oil pan, where it mixed with the engine oil. The symptoms-?"coolant leaking near the oil pan, loss of coolant, lack of heat, and eventual engine failure-?"are consistent with this type of failure on this engine. The vehicle has been inspected by both the dealership and my independent mechanic. It is currently at the dealership for service and remains available for further inspection if needed. There were early symptoms, including a coolant leak, bubbling in the coolant reservoir, and loss of heat inside the vehicle. However, there were no clear warning lights or alerts indicating imminent engine failure. The engine did not overheat prior to failure, and the final seizure could have occurred suddenly without adequate warning. These symptoms only appeared about one day prior

- East Longmeadow, MA, USA

The car was up on ramps, to replace a sensor, in park and slipped out of gear rolling backwards with force. Someone could have been under or behind the vehicle. Other vehicles could have been behind, property could have been damaged. The cars door caught the building and pulled it all the way back against the front fender.

- Smiths Grove, KY, USA

Vehicle was brought to an authorized Ford dealership for coolant leak. The dealer confirmed a coolant leak originating from the internal water pump. The water pump on this engine is chain-driven and located inside the engine behind the timing cover, requiring approximately 12 hours of labor to access and replace. This is a known design defect affecting millions of Ford vehicles with the 3.5L Cyclone/Duratec engine across multiple model years (2007-2020). The defect allows coolant to leak past the bearing seal, with potential to mix with engine oil and cause catastrophic engine failure. This is a serious safety risk as failure can occur without warning while driving. The problem was confirmed and documented by the Ford dealership. No warning lights appeared prior to the leak being discovered. Repair cost exceeded $4,300. This defect was the subject of a federal class action lawsuit (Roe v. Ford Motor Company, Eastern District of Michigan) which was settled confidentially in January 2024 without a recall being issued. Ford has not notified owners of this known defect or offered any remedy program to US customers, despite a Canadian class action resulting in relief for affected owners there. I am providing the cost invoice but will provide an itemized invoice once repairs are finished.

- Bay Point, CA, USA

October 2025 check engine light came on, took to mechanic showed misfire in cylinder two and three. Replaced all plugs and coil packs, engine light went off. Engine light came back, hard start on November 26,2025 showed misfire in cylinder 2 and 3. Replaced those coil packs again, engine light off. February 2, 2026 engine light back on, hard start with vibration. Took vehicle to Mtn View Ford in Chattanooga to have diagnostic test done. Received call on February 9,2026 that the engine was in complete failure, coolant leaked into the cylinders, would require a $12,000 new engine at 84,328.6 miles on the vehicle. The vehicle had not been driven more than 50 miles per week in the past two years, had on time maintenance.

- Rossville, GA, USA

Unknown

- Wellington, OH, USA

There is an odor in the passenger cabin. Seems unsafe

- Wendell, NC, USA

Complete failure of the water pump at 58000 miles.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon taking the vehicle for an annual smog check, the check engine warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where a diagnostic test was performed. The diagnostic showed that the VVT (Variable Valve Timing) connected to the timing phasers had fractured and needed to be replaced. The contact was provided with an estimate for the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 73,838.

- Lake Forest, CA, USA

Ya me marco el funcionamiento del motor

- Estados Unidos , IN, USA

It is known that for the specific year make and model that the water pump goes out around 100,000 miles. This water pump was built as an internal water pump, which is not typical for most cars. in order to fix this part, the engine has to be taken out and lots of parts have to be disassembled Just to get to it. The part Itself is fairly cheap, but the labor cost thousands of dollars due to where it is located. Ford knowingly built this car and put that pump where it is at and therefore should be reliable to pay the cost when it is so common that this part goes out around 100,000 miles. if it is a known issue that occurs on these models frequently then it should become a recall because a failing water pump can cause significant issues within the engine and make the vehicle in operable.

- Libertyville, IL, USA

intermittened starting problems, vechile wont start, clicks, then starts and power train light comes on. Waiting at a red light, press the gas and the car does not go, also when speeding up transmission slips.

- Newark , OH, USA

There was cam phaser situation that i was never informed of when this car was purchased. I just hit 80 k and i am now having issues. It appears there is a lawsuit for this. What is ford doing to fix.

- Lakewood, CO, USA

The car makes a ticking/rattle sound on cold startup. Preliminary diagnosis is the cam phasers. This is a 2017 Ford explorer with 77,000. It is the same 3.5L V6 ecoboost (GTDI) engine that was in Ford Customer Satisfaction program: 21N03. The issue mirrors tgat in the program document, but the Explorer is not covered by the program.

- Kent, WA, USA

I periodically have unintended acceleration ; it has occurred off and on for the past two years. The Ford dealer said no faults were detected so they can't fix the problem. It most often when I am shifting into reverse then the RPMs increase dramatically and when I put it in neutral they shoot up even more. A few days ago I was putting the car into the garage, waiting for the door to open, with my foot on the brake and the shift in drive when the RPMs started to increase. Feeling the car starting to move I shifted to neutral when the RPMs shot up tremendously. This is a dangerous situation where someone can get injured or killed. Ford should be able to correct the problem !!!

- West Milford, NJ, USA

At 28,000 miles, the vehicle emitted black smoke from the exhaust. Despite the mechanic-??s efforts to identify the issue, no diagnostic codes were detected. Currently, the vehicle has accumulated 100,000 miles. The engine suddenly lost the ability to accelerate beyond 20 miles per hour. After several months of repairs involving multiple turbo replacements, it was determined that the engine was severely damaged and should have been replaced over 50,000 miles ago. The engine was subsequently replaced, but only a year later, it failed again. After replacing the first engine, the vehicle-??s performance deteriorated significantly. The vehicle required another visit to the shop for several months, resulting in another engine replacement. Over the course of several months, the vehicle lost all power and exhibited difficulty shifting into reverse. Consequently, it failed to reverse and was involved in an accident.

- Rayville, LA, USA

I am submitting this complaint regarding a recurring turbocharger issue in my 2017 Ford Explorer Sport (VIN: [XXX] ). In April 2024, I was forced to replace the turbocharger system at a cost of approximately $2,500. Despite the repair, my vehicle continues to have serious performance issues. Most recently, the check engine light returned, and a diagnostic scan from O-??Reilly Auto Parts showed error code P219A -?" Bank 1 Air/Fuel Ratio Imbalance. This code indicates that the engine is still not functioning correctly-?"pointing to a likely underlying or unresolved defect. During the initial failure, oil leaked extensively into the engine bay and burned off in thick white smoke while I was driving. It was a serious safety concern, and the cause was consistent with Ford-??s existing recall for this engine (NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V925000), which was limited to the Police Interceptor Utility model despite the civilian Sport version using the same 3.5L EcoBoost V6 engine and components. It is extremely concerning that my vehicle-?"outside of the official recall range-?"suffered the same turbo failure and now continues to show problems even after a costly repair. Either the mechanic-??s initial repair was incomplete, or the core design flaw that caused the issue in the first place is still at play, meaning this problem may continue to repeat itself. I respectfully request that: 1.Ford expand the recall to include vehicles with the same components and failures, regardless of their designation. 2.NHTSA investigate the scope of this issue across the broader 2017 Explorer Sport lineup. 3.Ford provide reimbursement or support for the costly repair, which has not resolved the issue. 4.Ford issue a technical service bulletin or revised part guidance if this is an ongoing engineering issue. I am happy to provide full documentation, photos, and service records if needed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Eldon, MO, USA

I brought my vehicle from a used certified dealer at the time of test drive I asked why such a rough transition when going from gear to gear and I was told it was the ECOBoost engine packed with power. Fast forward after multiple repairs and recalls on this vehicle I-??ve made it to my breaking point when my SUV shut down as I was turning onto a busy street coming from my son-??s school. The engine literally cut off almost causing a head on collision. This idle function is extremely dangerous. I had multiple belts repaired and many things checked after my car overheated and couldn-??t find the culprit. One mechanic explained my fan wasn-??t working to assist in cooling off the engine and the vents/grill in front of car was shut causing the engine to over heat. After opening the vents and connecting the car to diagnostic machine there were no codes to fix. Over the next month my suv would become significantly worse rattling when I stop at a red light almost drifting into a car in front of me. No longer overheating but now feeling the car physically shifting gears as if I drive a stick shift and I have an automatic transmission. After doing careful research I learned was some recalls on the fan and eco boost engine explaining the same issues that I-??am currently having. Don-??t mention fixing the recalls because all the certified dealers are 2-3 weeks behind on fixing and diagnosing these same vehicles. They won-??t loan you a car while being repaired which is another cost associated with this vehicle. Please look into this ecoboost engine and overheating issues. Also I was told my engine would go soon do the oxygen intake not exchanging enough oxygen causing oil to push into spark plugs and other parts of the engine it doesn-??t belong. This SUV is a complete lemon and should be recalled right away before someone dies from this awful feature. Just last week I saw someone on the interstate with my same vehicle stopping mid traffic. This is dangerous!!!

- Lexington, SC, USA

The vehicles engine has known defects that involves failure of the timing belt and water pump causing enteral damage that sends metal shards enter the oil and causes complete engine failure even with immediate attention when the vehicles engine sensors Alert the driver to an engine problem. After the water pump and or timing belt are changed the engine is already damaged beyond repair. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk" Once the microscopic metal shards enter the oil, filters are clogged and sensors inconsistently malfunction The engine does not accelerate appropriately and then jolts into acceleration The engine dies at idle Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? I have had the vehicle at the dealership 4 times and had 3 other body shops all confirm the same problem Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Yes Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" Yes - Dec 2024 - the vehicle was overheating and the water pump and timing belt were immediately replaced

- Evansville, IN, USA

Own a 2017 Ford Explorer 2.3L EcoBoost with 116K miles, out of the blue the vehicle started to overheat the engine, with no coolant left in the reservoir. Took it to a mechanic who stated that the engine is not that old and that it was unsure of why the head gasket was blown. It is believed by many including a Class Action Law Suite that Ford is aware of the possible overheating issues with their EcoBoost engines.

- Montgomery, TX, USA

Engine block timing plate cover has a defect crack in it causing an oil leak and fire hazard.

- Saint Augustine, FL, USA