2016 Ford Explorer Complaint Log

My 2016 Ford Explorer air bag warning light come on with under 85,000 miles. I took it to the dealership and it was diagnosed with the code B141B/B141C as an issue with the wiring harness regarding the second row inflatable seat belt.

Rack and pinion power steering rack stopped working while my wife was driving back home with our two kids that are 4 years old and 9 months old. Thankful she didn't crash because she was unable to steer the vehicle. No warnings or signs of the part going bad. Ford should be held responsible for issues like this. Numerous people are having the same issue.

My fuel evap pump check engine light keeps coming on. I’ve owned this vehicle since July 2022 and I have paid for the evap pump 3x’s. My fan constantly runs in the engine. My engine has a stutter when I press the gas. Ford absolutely dropped the ball with this vehicle. I have already paid thousands of dollars (water pump, evap pumps and more) please help on getting this car serviced. I still owe like 20k on this car. I cannot afford to keep getting it fixed. I have 121k miles on it.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while stopped in traffic, the vehicle was shuddering and appeared to be going into idle mode. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle responded as needed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the torque converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle was previously repaired under Customer Satisfaction Program Number: 20N07, which had expired. The failure mileage was 130,000.

The accelerator for the climate controls is malfunctioning. Cannot defrost the windows to see, when driving the windows get so fogged I have to pull over to get them to defrost. Over 50k people online have stated the same issue. The climate controls stop working and there are no recalls from Ford. When I spoke to Ford, the lady made a statement that she’s had many calls with the same issue and it’s definitely a Saftey hazard.

2016 Ford Explorer. Wife was sitting in running vehicle, in line waiting to pick up our kids from school. Warning lights came on and engine sputtered out. Was checked by personal mechanic said coolant was empty but no leaks on ground at school. Said signs of past leakage. I filled with antifreeze and it ran fine with no visible leaks. @ months later i noticed reservoir low. Brought to ford for the luggage rack recall and had them check coolant issue and do oil change. Water Pump. We had only owned the car for six months. How many thousands of people need to have issues with the water pump failing before we get any help. For god sakes its becoming a meme. Ok another couple thousand after i just had the water pump on my lacrosse replaced. Kids can go without food again. At least we weren't traveling down the turnpike at 70 mph when it happened.

Steering freezes or goes stiff through turns as if power steering is failing. Grinding noise while turning wheel at lower speeds. Online research points to rack and pinion failure. Steering issue has gotten progressively worse over months. Started as a slight hesitation while going through turns at a reduced speed but has progressed to more frequent steering issues at all speeds.

The water pump failed and is available for inspection. i was driving and my engine began smoking to the point of visibility loss and suffocating air fumes. I was forced onto an edge of the highway with a drastic drop into the road and had to evacuate my 5 and 2 year old daughters from their car seats. Had i not noticed the smoke im sure a fire would have put me and my kids at fatal risks. i had it taken to the dealer to check into the highspeed cooling fan. the service technician told me that he knew without checking that it was the water pump because ford knows that they have been faulty with issues up to catastrophic engine failure since their 2011 series ford explorer up to the current 2019 with the duratech 3.5 engine. it was inspected by the ford dealership. and i saw no warning or even problems prior that indicated an oncoming failure that could have endangered my kids or myself. After doign research, almost every ford explorer owner has had these issues and ford made a laughable fix to update our owners manual about the water pump. this disclosure should have been mentioned during the sale of the vehicle and had it been i would have chosen a different vehicle and manufacturing company all together. This has shown ford's negligence and complacency towards driver and consumer safety and they should have had the entire engine recalled. but thats appearantly to expensive. now i have a useless vehicle on my credit that i cant afford to fix because of their design issue and like many consumers i feel like ford owes it to us to fix these and offer a lifetime warranty for the water pumps. do your job correctly and with integrity and you wont have to fix so many problems.

First problem I had was with the Actuator. I lost the ability of defrost and have the heat/AC go to anything other than direct face mode. Now, the power steering to my 2016 Ford Explorer is gone. It felt like I was grinding concrete when I would make any turn or slight shift. It’s been at the shop for weeks due to a backorder. I’m a single mom of 2 and it’s my only transportation. I’m really struggling without my vehicle. This should be part of a recall ASAP cause from my research this is too common almost this vehicle and good people are really going through it.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that he noticed a puddle on the ground of his driveway. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant had leaked from the water pump and into the engine block. The contact was informed that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that no recalls were affiliated with the VIN and no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 120,000.

The plastic windshield trim on the passenger side of the vehicle broke and flew off while driving down the interstate. The piece was then run over by another vehicle. Luckily it did not hit another vehicle or someone on a motorcycle . When I called the dealership near us they said that they were aware of the problem. The dealer said it has happened to several explorers that the were aware of but there was no recall. They gave me a quote of 400 dollars to replace it. The vehicle has not been repaired and is still being driven. Hopefully the piece that is still remaining does not come off and hit someone. There needs to be a recall to fix this problem.

Water pump failure which causes the car to stall immediately when it overheats. This appears to be a common issue with 2016 Ford Explorers

Vehicle right passenger area receives no heat, either from front heat vent nor does the seat heater function. Dealer replaced seat heat mechanism(s) that required software update. Update failed to resolve the problem. Outside temp is now -13°F. Dealer states they are awaiting dealer engineers to determine how to repair the problem.

Water pump failure, leaking antifreeze all over my brand new concrete

Driving on bridge Tampa Florida when I heard a loud noise and briefly felt like I ran over something. Once at destination, discovered the driver's side panel between windshield and door was missing.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Power Steering Assist Failed" was displayed. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized and became extremely difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000.

During inspection the dealership noted that the water pump was leaking coolant into the engine and must be replaced before catastrophic failure profit failure. The cost of the replacement is an excess of $3000

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the engine coolant warning light was illuminated with the engine overheating. The dealer was contacted and stated that the water pump and timing belt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was out of warranty and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was 64,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 71 MPH, the contact noticed that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed. The failure mileage was 138,400.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that after the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for routine services, she was made aware that the water pump needed to be replaced. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle remained with the independent mechanic awaiting the repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 75,300.

A ticking/grinding noise coming from the steering column while turning at low speeds. When turning the steering wheel to the right or left, the steering wheel will not center and must be forced back to center/straight. If not manually forced back to center/straight the car would continue in the direction of the turn being performed. The force needed to center the steering wheel is unpredictable and varied. The vehicle was taken to two local mechanics who diagnosed that the rack and pinion is faulty and needed to be replaced.

Issue with the power steering in the vehicle. Loud grinding when turning vehicle.

Complete engine replacement recommended by Ford dealership. Vehicle had the Water Pump and Timing Chain replaced early 2022, has been running good since replacement but out of no where check engine light came on and started running sluggish. Had it towed to Ford and explained the engine is not building compression and recommended new engine. Since purchasing the vehicle brand new had several people we know also had to replace water pump but because of the design was $4000 to replace, find it strange with all the recalls on this vehicle that the water pump isn’t included in the recalls. After hearing from other mechanics the compression could’ve been caused by coolant leak (water pump) into the head gaskets. Basically one problem causing other problems but Ford not admitting any issues but redesigned the engine after 2016, sounds fishy to me.

Body trim pieces on the b pillar of the vehicle became loose and flew off on the highway, secondary replacement from Ford is now loose and about to come off on both sides, waiting on the warranty from Ford to send another new one.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle began to sputter as if the vehicle was going to stall. The contact stated that "Shutdown Engine" warning light was illuminated and the temperature gauge was extremely high. The contact pulled off the road, stopped the vehicle, and opened the hood. The contact observed that there was no coolant in the coolant reservoir. The contact left the vehicle and returned with coolant and refilled the reservoir. The contact drove the vehicle to her residence. The contact checked the coolant reservoir and stated that the coolant was bubbling in the reservoir. The contact stated that a puddle had formed underneath the vehicle. The contact stated that the failure had been an ongoing failure. The contact stated that she had mistaken prior puddles underneath the vehicle for condensation from the air conditioning drain hose. The contact had taken the vehicle to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 136,000.

With no warning, the steering began to grind with turns and was harder to steer. No warning lights ever appeared. The car was no longer safe to drive. The vehicle is 2016 with low milage, approximately 57,000 miles. The mechanic assessed the vehicle and said the rack and pinion needed replaced. He stated he has begun to see multiple 2016 Ford Explorers coming in with with issues of low milage yet needing the rack and pinion replaced. The car was then taken to a local Ford Dealership. They agreed with the mechanics assessment. The car has now been in the shop for 43 days with no available parts to repair.

we were driving on the 58 freeway in CA and when we went to stop for gas we noticed that the passenger side windshield trim panel had broken off somewhere on the freeway.

My purge valve was stuck open and had strong fuel vapors leaking inside of the car cabin. I became lightheaded and went to the ER. This was before the check engine light came on. It was very concerning.

While driving on I75 at 65MPH the front passenger side windshield panel on the edge of windshield flew off and and almost hit vehicle behind me. They had to swerve out of way of the flying object. Very scary incident on the highway. Had to have it replaced so as not to have an rust occur.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that his while his son was driving approximately 75 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The driver was unable to control the vehicle and the vehicle went across two lanes of traffic to the right. The contact stated that numerous unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact's son was able to steer the vehicle to the residence however, excessive force was needed while steering the vehicle. The contact stated that the steering wheel then seized and the vehicle was towed to a dealer. The dealer diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the power steering rack needed to be replaced; however, the part was on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

You can smell a sickly metal burning smell in the cabin when accelerating to get onto a freeway.

Approximately 2 weeks ago, I received a warning for power assist fault- service soon. Once I turned my truck off and restarted it the warning went away and the truck drove fine. Then about 1 week ago, the warning came back and did not go off. The truck became extremely hard to turn almost locking up while I was driving in traffic. I took the truck to Ford dealership to learn that steering assembly had failed and it would cost $3,000 to fix! I’ve read where this has happened to several others with this same male truck. Luckily, I was not on the highway or this could have resulted in an accident possibly a fatality. This needs to be addressed as this is a very serious issue.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that there was windy sound coming from the front passenger's side door while driving. Additionally, the contact stated that there was water accumulated between the front driver's side door and the body of the vehicle, which caused water to pour inside the vehicle while opening the door. The contact also noticed that water was leaking from the driver's side of the windshield during inclement weather. The contact stated that the vehicle made an abnormal popping sound while making a left turn. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 104,000.

My car started shaking while i stopped (like at a red light, stop or traffic) I had it diagnosed ($175) and was told it needed to have the transmission changed, my explorer was 6 yrs old with less than 50k miles. I have never hear of that happening as the car well kept. New transmission cost me $5585.40, it seems that every year this car has a new problem. I feel so ripped off this shouldn't happen on a $50k car.

Grinding noise when turning wheel noticed Mid-August 2022. No warning lights prior to failure. Aug 22, 2022, took to local mechanic. Diagnosed as faulty steering gear. Told 3500 on backorder. Part failure prevented vehicle from safely steering. August 28, 2022, took to Team Ford Dealer in Navasota, TX. Diagnosed as faulty steering gear. Order replacement, installed. Replacement part malfunctioned when installed at dealer. Warning lights went off, according to service manager. Dealer attempted to reorder. Part backordered. Parts ordering suspended while part redesigned, according to service manager at dealer. Nov. 2, 2022. Part still on backorder. Unable to drive vehicle. Steering gear necessary for vehicle to function safely. Part needing redesigning indicates original part faulty. Part malfunction confirmed by independent mechanic and Ford dealership.

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.

On August 20, 2022, the left side pillar molding unexpectedly came loose while driving and began flapping about. On August 24-25, 2022, we replaced both exterior a-pillar moldings and brackets at our own expense.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated and the engine temperature gauge indicated that the engine was overheating. The vehicle was immediately taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed the failure was due to a faulty water pump and suggested that the vehicle be taken to the local dealer for servicing. The local dealer was contacted and the service appointment was scheduled. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 88,278.

Water pumps failing with less than 50,000 miles causing coolant leakage and overheating

Initially the steering on the vehicle appeared to be "notchy". It was holding the last steering wheel correction rather than returning to centered position. It appeared as if something lost lubrication. While driving the traction control and advance trac lights lit. Messages "Steering fault service now", "Service advance trac", "Hillstart assist not available", "Steering loss stop safely" appeared. After shutsown and restart "No steering" message appeared. There was no steering at this point. Code P07AE "Friction element" showed on code reader. If the vehicle was not stopped safely there could have been a serious accident of any variety. The vehicle is currently waiting for repair. This has been the case for over one month. The steering gear is on backorder. There has been no further inspection at this time.

Right side windshield molding flew off on highway.

*Premature water pump failure that is housed in the timing chain chamber and driven by the timing chain. Component is not available for inspection as of this complaint because vehicle is being repaired. *Possible sudden catastrophic engine failure due to water pump failure, which will put safety of driver, passengers, and others at risk. *I am not aware if problem has been reproduced or confirmed by dealer or other independent services. Several dealers that I contacted did expressed that it was a "bad design". *I am not aware if component has been inspected by the manufacturer or others. *The only warning sign of premature pump failure was a small puddle of coolant under the vehicle. This happened at around 70K miles and the dealer was informed, but according to the Ford technician, upon inspection, no sign of coolant leak was found. At approximately 82K, the dealer was informed about a sudden coolant leak, and again, the Ford technician did not find the leak. It wasn't until I personally took a video of the coolant leaking and showed it to them, that they "diagnosed the problem correctly".

The car caught on fire driving it to my brother's house to babysit his kids while #4 being born prematurely with complications at southwest ms regional medical center. I lost almost 15,000 in equity and my husband recently passed things inside I can't replace. It was about 11:00 at night and I made a uturn to stop at gas station and truck was already on fire. Many police officers and innocent bystanders almost were tremendously injured because the car was shooting whistling fire like rocket from all ends holding up traffic 1/2 mile on both sides of hwy and opposite side of hwys traffic.

Steering wheel started making a rubbing sound. Then it started loud grinding/scraping noise. Steering wheel ‘catches’, hard to turn, or locks up. No warning light/s for service were presented. 2 weeks for an appointment by Ford Co. I have had Ford mechanic inspect, & diagnosis is a Electronic Steering Box, Steering Rack. The vehicle has 60, 005 miles. The Ford service rep did not say anything about not driving it. I parked it, afraid of an accident! Waiting on parts. I have read there have been 2,000 complaints filed. How many have not been officially filed?

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the passenger’s side A-pillar trim was loose. The contact used glue to secure the trim piece. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a dealer. The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) and 25V347000 (Structure); however, after calling the dealer to schedule an appointment, the contact 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 informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 115,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the coolant temperature warning light and "Engine Coolant Over Temperature" message were displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who performed a pressure test; however, no coolant leak was found. The mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.

The power steering on my 2016 Ford Explorer failed at 73,000 miles. I had a total loss of power steering and had to be towed to the dealership who, upon investigating the cause, said it was corroded but wasn't visible until they opened the Steering Gear Assembly. After doing some web searches on the topic, I found that this is becoming a common issue with Ford Explorers. There have been many reports of people who have lost power steering while driving. The replacement part is currently on backorder and Ford is in the process of releasing 250 within the next week but they said most have been claimed already. Again, indicating that my experience was not an isolated issue. This is a safety issue.

I drove it Wednesday to an apt one hour away with no issues but the next morning the steering wheel would hardly turn at all and made a constant knocking noise. If this had happened to me while on an interstate or highway, I am certain that I would have crashed since I had no control. I did inquire with Vogler service dept. about it having anything to do with the last recall we took care of since it warns of possible loss of steering control but was told it did not. I understand that the whole steering assembly (for lack of parts jargon) has to be replaced and reprogrammed and that this will be difficult to get and also Vogler said they are short staffed so it will take a while. The recalls I am referring to are 20S62 and 21S32

The car had ongoing issues with a warning sensor that stated Steering Fault - Service Now. There was also a clinking noise when driving straight and then turning right. Took car to dealer repair show and they ran a diagnosis report (I assume they did). It was reported that it was an internal fault with strut bearings and installed a bracket that was suppose to remedy the issue. Since then I would get the Steering Fault warning but it would happen and then not show up for several months. Recently 8/2025 the error message showed up again while driving about 30 mph. At that time my steering locked. I turned off the car and started it again and it seemed fine. My husband and I test drove it short distances and there was no issues. Then I drove it down the road that I was on when it happened a couple days earlier (since it was a hilly road I thought it caused something to come loose thence the warning). I stopped at a vegetable stand and when restarting the car I received the steering warning again. I turned the car off and then on and proceeded down the road. Within a few feet the warning flashed on and also warning that said Service Advance Trac and Hill Start Assist Not Available and Terrain warnings. I took the vehicle back to the dealership again 9/4/2025 at this time I had 93,300 miles on it. They ran a diagnosis report on it and said I needed to replace the Steering Rack at a cost of over $4000.00 plus fees for alignment, etc. FIRST OF ALL - I think this should have been diagnosed when the car was in for steering issues in 2022 - Especially since Ford was aware of issue with the Steering Rack and it is a serious safety issue. SECOND - There should have been a safety recall for Steering Racks on these vehicles. I'm only fortunate that this did not happed when driving on a highway higher speed.

Whenever it rains or I go through a car wash, water leaks in around the back lift gate hatch. And it goes in into the spare tire wheel well and there ands up being several inches of water in there. It’s also covering whatever electrical component or plug that is the bottom of the wheel well. PLEASE HELP!