2016 Ford Explorer Complaint Log

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V031000 (STRUCTURE) and 25V347000 (STRUCTURE). However, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

The Passenger side A-Pillar cover detached from the vehicle and was recovered on the road right of way.

Faulty power steering making noise while turning, difficult while driving because power steering seems to be failing. Making it hazardous to drive because it is difficult to keep straightforward in the road. Day before occurrence the back hatch (lift gate is ajar) would not open and shows light on dashboard and not sure if it's electrical or related to power steering. Only open manually through back of vehicle.

My check engine light came on and began blinking. I had the car towed to a local shop to avoid any additional damage to the engine. The shop determined the car had significantly overheated due to a faulty water pump and the engine would have to be replaced. Leading up to this my check engine light never came on and the temperature gauge never spiked; there was no indication it was over heating. After being quoted $9k to replace the engine, I called the dealership looking for help. They are aware of the extensive issues I’ve had with my vehicle but were unable to help me because I’m over 100k miles (I opted for the extended service plan) and suggested I call the Ford Customer Service line in hopes they could assist. I was denied a claim due to my mileage and instructed to write a letter to the Ford Customer Relationship Center to escalate my case. I was told my Case would remain on file and I would be notified if a recall was issued at a later date. I asked if a recall was issued would I still have to be in possession of the vehicle to receive any monetary reimbursement, she advised that I would need to have my original receipt from the purchase of the vehicle AND the recall would have to specifically state that they would reimburse those who paid out of pocket to get their vehicles repaired. I am without a car until I figure out how to pay for the repairs or buy a new vehicle; I was not expecting my trade-in value to be $0 and Ford couldn’t care less.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered and made an abnormal sound. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the driveshaft was fractured at the PTU connecting point. The mechanic determined that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V692000 (Power Train) and referred the contact to the dealer. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while crossing an intersection at 35 MPH, another driver crashed on the driver's side of the vehicle resulting in a T-bone collision. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. Both driver-side doors failed to open after the accident and special equipment was used by the authorities to extract the contact from the vehicle. The contact was taken to the hospital and was treated for minor scrapes, bruises, and soreness. The other driver sustained lacerations to the abdomen from the seat belt and also sought medical treatment. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it remained in their possession. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 109,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle was not accelerating as needed with the accelerator pedal depressed. The contact stated that the check engine warning light illuminated, then flashed several times and then turned off. The contact stated that the loss of motive power failure was intermittent but had reoccurred. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the water pump and timing belt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 153,000.

The automatic tailgate in my Explorer Sport accelerates when closing creating a serious amount of force that could kill a small child or even an adult if striking them in the head or neck. I'm shocked that this hasn't been a recall issue for Ford vehicles because of the amount of speed and force this tailgate is generating. It hit my wife [XXX] ) in the head unexpectedly a couple of months ago when she was unloading groceries from the back of the car. Until then the tailgate functioned normally. I took the car to the dealer in Santa Monica and they said they did not see any safety issues but instead said I'd have to pay a couple of thousand dollars to replace the motor. This makes no sense since the motor is hyper functioning and it's more likely a failed safety sensor or actuator that's causing the motor to accelerate the tailgate closure. The internet has a method to reset the sensor by removing and then replacing the fuse, but I do not believe the dealer attempted that process. This is a severe safety issue that Ford should immediately address and fix. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Windshield trim on right side of windshield detached while driving and flew off behind the vehicle

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, there was a loud tapping sound on the passenger’s side windshield. The contact stopped on the highway to check and saw that the passenger’s side A-pillar trim was loose at the top of the strip and was striking the windshield. The contact used tape to hold the trim piece in place. The contact stated that later, the driver's side trim started to loosen, and tape was used to hold the trim piece in place. The contact called the local dealer and was informed that parts were not available. The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) and called the dealer for a year about parts and was informed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 64,000.

Passenger side windshield trim broke and flew off of vehicle as it was being driven.

While driving on the highway the drivers side windshield trim flew off the vehicle, narrowly missing the car behind me. Soon after, the rubber weatherstripping came loose and I had to open my window and pull it inside the vehicle before it, too, flew off and had the potential to hit another vehicle.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH, the contact became aware that antifreeze leaking from the vehicle. The temperature gauge light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the failure was due to antifreeze leaking into the engine. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and provided the contact with a case number. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the second-row seat wiring harness plugs were damaged and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 109,000.

Water pump failure, engine coolant leakage from water pump

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on multiple occasions, the door locks failed to open. The contact stated that the rear driver’s and passenger’s side doors failed to unlock as needed. The contact used the key fob remote to attempt to unlock the doors, but the doors failed to unlock. Additionally, the contact stated that she attempted to manually unlock the doors, but the doors failed to unlock from the inside or the outside. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the door lock mechanism had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that the front driver’s side door failed to unlock, and the lock was stuck in the locked position. The contact attempted to manually unlock the front driver’s side door, but the door failed to unlock. The contact stated that she was concerned that during an emergency, she would be stuck inside or outside of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it remained. The vehicle had not yet been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 141,000.

There has been an ongoing issue with my vehicle since it was last taken to service for a recall. The transmission has premature failure. I have had the entire vehicle powertrain fluids changed and nothing has helped. My boyfriend has been driving the vehicle and will not let me drive it anymore because it is unsafe. The transmission has torque converter issues. It has got stuck in second gear and when we went to pull out into traffic it would not move and we nearly got T-Boned. That happened while I was with him and I'm afraid to use it. He has to drive it to work because I have his vehicle and he wants me and my daughter to be safe. He says its downshifting hard when slowing down. It will downshift hard and loose power when trying to speed up on the interstate or while trying to get on the interstate. It shifts hard into reverse and is delayed shifting. Its lost power due to the transmission slipping. There has never been any check engine lights come on. Ford will do absolutely nothing about it. The vehicle has around 62,000 miles on it now and its gotten worse and is going to cause an accident or kill someone. I have called ford several times and they don't seem to care. They want me to go have it fixed and pay for it. I don't have that kind of money and I should not have to pay for there problem. Its a known issue I found out by searching online, even lawsuits. They need to recall these transmissions and fix the issue with them before someone is killed. If there hasn't already been deaths. Its unsafe. It has put me and my daughter at risk. Other drivers at risk and now with him having to drive it, his life is at risk everyday! Ford does not care about people or their family. They know they put a bad transmission in these vehicles and it cause premature wear. The transmission fluid is black, smells burnt and even metal shavings in it. Its a ticking bomb and its unfair they want me to pay for their mistakes!

I own a 2016 Ford Explorer Sport and I issued Power steering failure. I live in West Virginia with many hills and turns, I get an error on the dashboard that says Steering Fault and immediately lose my Power Steering, if my wife would’ve been driving we would have certainly wrecked cause she would not had been able to steer the Explorer, without the power steering working correctly it took alot of strength to Steer the vehicle. This is a very dangerous issue and i have seen many complaints and concerns with the power steering issue. I hope you all can help and get Ford to recall this and get this problem fixed before people get killed, thanks.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the high engine temperature warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the A/C unit started to blow out hot air only. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the water pump and timing kit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 76,000.

Passenger side A Pillar Trim (OEM Part # BB5Z-7803144-AA) detached while driving at Highway speed.

I was driving down the interstate when the passenger side windshield moulding flew off of my vehicle. Parts flying off of a vehicle at 70+ mph could cause accidents and injur other drivers.

#1-My rear passenger seatbelt is being cut by some thing down inside of the back seat where the belt is retrieved. This belt is getting more cuts as it is being used since that is where my Grandson now sits. It was not used prior to me having to pickup my Grandson. This is very concerning !!! #2 My drivers side front windshield weather stripping keep popping out and is now blown off, very scary. #3 Just last week I started to hear some popping noise in the front suspension, but could not tell what it was coming from. Just yesterday while making a right hand turn the front suspension and the steering locked up. I was able to turn it back straight after a few seconds as the steering wheel had locked to the right. Praise God there were 3 lanes and I was able to make the correction with out incident.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she noticed that the driver's side windshield trim panel had detached. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number PE23001 (Structure). The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 48,700.

The Electronic Power Assist (EPAS) appears to be sporadically not working. It has not functioned while in the middle of a. turn both while my wife has been driving and also occured with me twice today. When the power assist suddenly cuts out it has the feeling of the steering locking up and can be quite dangerous as it is typically in a turning situation.

While driving on the freeway at about 65mph, the driver side windshield Trim and Rubber Seal detached. The trim moulding flew off completely and the rubber trim began flapping against my driver window. Now I need to look into getting this replaced/repaired. Apparently this is a common issue with these model and year Ford Explorers. This is a serious issue that should be recalled and repaired by Ford immediately.

3.5 Duratec 3.5 Water Pump has failed by leaking fluid. Fluid may have entered oil system. If this is not a design flaw, I don’t know what is. Just stupid!

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the A-Pillar trim on the driver’s side detached from the vehicle and flew off. The contact stated that two months later the A-Pillar trim on the passenger’s side almost detached from the vehicle while driving. The contact was able to pull the vehicle to the side of the road and removed the trim. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

While traveling on I-85N at 70mph, the front passenger tire suddenly came apart from both sidewalls. The tire is a EVOLUXX CAPRICORN 4X4 HP, 255/50R20, 109V, XL. The tire blow-out only caused minor damage to the inner wheel well shroud.

While driving the system made a minimal rubbing/grinding noise when turning. But when you made a turn, either to the right or the left and finished the turn, the steering wheel and wheels do not return to straight as they normally do, and continue in the direction you started without change. The only way to make the vehicle stop turning is to manually return the steering wheel to straight ahead. This could be a problem as you would quickly either move into oncoming traffic or off of the roadway depending on the road. The problem is currently at my independent mechanic and they can reproduce the problem there. There were zero warning lights/lamps/messages or anything else prior to this issue. This all began about one week ago, but was not able to get a mechanic to look at it until today, 8/21/2023. I already checked ahead of making this report and Ford has zero outstanding recalls on this, but if you look at online forums, including Reddit, there are a noticeable number of identical incidences of this happening. Link to one I found [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The steering began making a rubbing noise for a day and the next day the rack and pinion steering completely froze up, not able to turn steering wheel at all. The vehicle was in my driveway when the steering froze so there was no accident however this could have been fatal had this happened on a street or highway, there would have been no way to avoid another vehicle or object. My vehicle was towed to C&C Auto who replaced the steering unit with an original Ford part.

The body-A pillar trim panel doorman on the passenger side. Flew off while driving on the highway. I happened to be the passenger this day and if I had the window rolled down a little more, this piece would have hit me in the face. At first, we thought it was a piece of debris from the ground on the highway so we kept driving. But then the rubber part that sits underneath the trim began to flap and that’s when we realized we needed to exit. There’s no way we were going to be able to recovery that piece from the highway. Luckily no one got hurt.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while starting the vehicle and depressing the brake pedal, the engine revved while the vehicle was idling. The contact stated that the failure recurred while at a complete stop at a traffic light, and the vehicle shuddered. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion in the engine, and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 121,000.

Water pump is leaking. Since it’s in the engine I can’t find any mechanic to work on it. The dealership will be Atleast 3k to replace a water pump.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering failed to function as intended. The contact heard a squeaking sound while steering the vehicle. In addition, the contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized, and the vehicle became undrivable. The contact stated that the failure had occurred twice. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with power steering assist assembly failure. The contact was informed that the power steering assist assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was informed that the parts were on back order. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.

The water pump failed. The engine overheated and the coolant leaked, causing the engine to overheat. This resulted in the vehicle stalling out in traffic which could have led to an accident. Also, the AC was not working properly which might have caused overheating of passengers. The problem has been diagnosed by an independent service mechanic, they are replacing the water pump, which is an extensive and expensive repair. They informed me that Ford Explorers in this year are known to have this common defect. The engine overheating alert came on while driving. But at this point, this damage was already done.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the driver's and passenger’s side A-pillar trims were loosened. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 117,719. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 80 MPH, the passenger’s side exterior middle trim panel had dislodged from the vehicle. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure and explained that the failed part was not listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 30,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the front passenger’s side pillar leaked water during rainy weather. The contact received a notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

In August 2023, my vehicle began to make a popping noise and began to lose power when attempting to accelerate. It was diagnosed by the repair shop as a turbo going bad. I repaired the turbo. In December 2023, the check engine light came on. The repair shop indicated that the lifters and cam shafts were bad and caused scoring to the engine block, requiring the engine to be replaced. The repair shop asked if I had been changing the oil regularly. I indicated that I did change the oil per when the vehicle would notify me it was time. The repair shop noted that I changed the oil every 10k miles. Per the repair shop, not changing the oil regularly (because the Ford vehicle system designed to tell me when to change the oil) ultimately caused me to need to replace the turbo and the engine. All because the oil was not changed more frequently 3-5k miles per the repair shop. I've spent $15k in repair costs since August 2023 because I was relying on the Ford vehicle's notifications as to when it needed oil. The vehicle is not even worth this much blue book. For a 8.5 year old vehicle that has been well cared for, I do not think these parts should have failed and I think Ford should have set the timing for oil change notifications more frequently if this is what is needed by the engine to keep it in good repair. It literally indicates the % of time before the oil needs to be changed.

The roof rail on my explorer came off while driving down the road. I did not realize until I got home. It could’ve hit the car behind me, cause them to wreck, etc. I see that Ford has a recall for this issue but my model (platinum) is not part of that recall.

water pump blew up at 120k miles, motor locked up leaving me in the middle of the road

The mouldings on the side of the windshield have detached multiple times. There is no warning lights, and I have been told by the dealership and outside repair shops that it is a common problem. Detachment of these parts puts other motorists at risk of injury. July 2021 driver side flew off on the highway - parts on backorder from dealership so they never repaired it. May 2022 had both sides replaced for $160 since they were done at time of windshield replacement. June 2022 passenger side flew off on the highway (no cost replacement since so soon after last replacement). August 2023 passenger side flew off on the highway and hit a semi, $100 repair quote.

Trim piece on the front of the vehicle beside the windshield flew off while driving on the interstate. It smacked my windshield and flew off behind me. Very big safety concern considering there were other vehicles driving behind me and it could have hit them. I did not see where it went as I was confused as I did not know what the sound/item was at first.

I purchased this car in January of 2021 and in April of 2022 the passenger side front window A pillar trim flew off while driving down the highway. Since then, the same thing has happened to my driver’s side A pillar exterior trim, and just this week (August 2023) the B pillar trim that also held my keyless entry keypad has also flown off while driving down the highway. I’ve joined a “5th Generation Ford explorer” Facebook group, and it seems that this is a VERY common occurrence to many users of this vehicle. I’ve also seen many ford explorers driving around that have the trim pieces missing meaning that either they fly off so often that I am seeing these vehicles during this short time before the owner’s get them replaced, or they flew off and people just didn’t want to fix it because they fly off so often. I’m lucky that all 3 times it happened to me, there weren’t any motorcycles driving behind me that could have gotten seriously injured by these pieces flying off at highway speeds. I really believe something needs to happen to fix this. These seem to be poorly engineered parts if they continually fly off the vehicles, plus ford doesn’t make or sell these parts very cheap so it’s obvious they are just trying to make money while putting lives at risk. I unfortunately do not have specific dates/milage/pictures of my previous incidents, and didn’t think of filling out a report until now when I’m in the middle of replacing my B-Pillar, but I can provide the dates and pictures of the piece off of my B-pillar below. I hope this helps. Please investigate this and really review this issue. I’ve seen previous articles that mention the NHTSA has received reports of these flying off, but the number of reports was only around 160. I’m sure if anyone from the government reached out to the Facebook group mentioned above, along with other ford Facebook/Social Media groups that this would cover like the ford Edge groups, they would easily find that this is a major safety issu

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from underneath the hood. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the motor mounts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the motor mounts had been replaced three times by the dealer since December 2022. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,300.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated there was an unknown fluid leaking underneath the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the internal water pump was leaking and that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 12,000.

Passenger side frame on windshield flew off my car while I was driving on the highway.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the passenger’s side exterior A-pillar trim had detached from the window and flown off into traffic. On another occasion while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact observed a vibrating sound coming from the passenger’s side windshield. The contact stated that the A-pillar trim was loose. The contact used tape to secure the trim. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was discovered that there was a recall associated with the vehicle and that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 93,000.

Water pump failure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in for maintenance, the mechanic discovered that the water pump was faulty and causing water to leak from the vehicle. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The contact also stated that on one occasion while the vehicle was idling, the message" Engine Overheating" was displayed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 96,000.