2016 Ford Explorer complaints

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.

Steering locks up at high way speeds, cannot turn wheel on any direction. I have had a close call to a head on collision on the road way because I could not turn my wheel. Previous years of this model and have the reported issues, multiple online threads of this same model or newer with this issue also. I pay monthly for a car I can’t safely drive, it will get me or someone else killed. It’s a $3000+ repair and ford refused any financial assistance for something they know is a common issue! This car is going to kill someone!!!!

Twice I have been driving down the highway and have had the right front passenger side trim break off of the car. The first time it was caught between the door and the passenger side mirror and I was able to retrieve. Took to the dealer and they repaired. The second time it happened the same piece came off and flew off into freeway. A month ago I heard a loud noise while driving sounding like something struck my car and it was the molding on the passenger side door window that came off while driving down the interstate and was unretrievable. I have taken to repair shop to be replaced and see if any other possible issues with the trim and they have found cracks in the same trim pieces on both side rear windows.

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.

While driving on the freeway, the driver side windshield trim broke and flew off the vehicle. The safety of the vehicle traveling behind us was put at risk due to the flying debris. There were no warning lamps or messages displayed prior to this happening. The vehicle has not been inspected yet.

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

The windshield trim on the passenger side flew off the vehicle unexpectedly while driving at highway speeds. The piece hit the windshield and then flew off causing me to almost run off the road. Thankfully, it did not strike another vehicle.

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

Driving highway speed, passenger side A pillar trim flew off of vehicle. Called Ford, they responded that no support was available for this incident. Self-repaired.

Driving highway speed, passenger side B pillar trim flew off of the vehicle. Since Ford denied any responsibility with first call (complaint 11543574) I did not contact. Self-repaired.

Driving highway speed, top part of driver's side B pillar trim (key entry pad) broke off. This required emergency pullover to try and secure remaining bottom part of the pillar that was attached with keypad wiring. Unable to secure, I continued travel on service road at slow rate of speed and secured with duct tape later for my drive home. Since Ford refused assistance for first incident (11543574 passenger side A pillar trim) I did not report this incident. Self-repaired later. Additional complaint filed 11543575 for passenger side B pillar trim.

As I was driving over a bridge at approximately 45 mph, the A-pillar trim on the driver's side of the windshield broke and flew off of my car and hit the car behind me. Then, a few days later, as I was getting my car washed, the luggage rack cover blew off while going through the dryer at the end. Coincidentally, I received notice of a recall on the luggage rack system in the mail about 2 months after it happened and that has been replaced but my A-pillars have not.....seems to me they are related issues. Luckily, no one was hurt and no accident was caused.

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 rear suspension toe link fractured while driving. The vehicle became uncontrollable and we nearly had a crash. When I ordered a new suspension toe link, it was different from the original one. I became suspicious and went to investigate, because the local dealer had no information and kept saying that I have ordered a wrong part. I saw this recall from Ford: [XXX] When I search on your website based on my VIN number [XXX] I don't find recalls related to the rear suspension toe link for my vehicle. That's strange because it's a Ford Explorer 2016 and based on the recall info "Affected vehicles were built at Chicago Assembly Plant from Sept. 4, 2012, to Jan. 25, 2017" the car falls complies. 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.

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

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 2 MPH, the vehicle hesitated while accelerating and the engine was misfiring. The wrench warning light was illuminated. The vehicle had been diagnosed with transmission failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000.

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 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.

While driving down the highway the passenger side A pillar windshield trim broke in half and flew backwards impacting passenger window. The broken piece of trim remain attached by a rubber seal. At highway speeds this caused the piece to impact the side window many times. Had to pull off the road and cut the seal to remove the broken trim.

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.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the driver's side windshield trim panel detached and was hitting against the vehicle. The contact veered to the side of the road and cut the trim panel. The contact stated that the failure recurred with the passenger's side windshield trim panel. Additionally, the contact stated that the trim panel at the base of the windshield was fractured. The vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer, where it was determined that the entire windshield trim panel needed to be replaced. The dealer informed the contact that he would be charged a fee for the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: PE23001 (Structure). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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.

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)

#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 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.

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.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was a grinding sound coming from the steering wheel while turning in either direction. The steering wheel became difficult to turn and excessive force was needed to steer the vehicle. The contact stated that the Steering Assist Fault Service Required message displayed. As the failure worsened, the contact lost steering capability of the vehicle and the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was diagnosed with a defective power steering rack. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

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.

May 13 2023 Bought my car at Criswell Auto in Thurmont, MD July 15 2023 Lost steering coming around a turn and was able to pull into a driveway. Thankfully it was clear. Jul 21 2023 I took it to Ford for the recall which I was hoping would fix it Aug 8 2023 Steering assist failed again and I had my 3 year old with me in the car. It was really scary because we were on our towns main road and I had to just go into a restaurant parking lot. Thank goodness no one was there or I would have hit them. I couldn't move my steering wheel at all. When it fails these warning and lights show up and make a lot of noise and steering is totally gone Service AdvanceTrac Hill Start Assist Not Available Stability Control Stability Control off Aug 15 I took my car to Ford dealership in Hagerstown MD They called and advised it was the Steering Gear Assembly and would cost 2100.00 Aug 15 Spoke with Ford to see if they could possibly help me with some of the costs with it being a safety issue. They told me there was absolutely nothing they could do. Case Number: [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

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.

On 7/26/2023 the vehicle started a little rough in the morning. At start up the engine light came on. The vehicle was driving fine except for rough morning start. I took the vehicle to a Ford Dealer but was told I'd have to schedule appointment. At the time I was told that if the engine message wasn't flashing it wasn't too serious. After I left Ford I made a quick stop at Jiffy Lube just to get confirmation. They put the computer on the vehicle and spark plug #3 was misfiring and just needed a tune up. On 8/04/2023, a tune up was performed by a local mechanic. Vehicle seemed fine for the next day or two. On Monday 8/7/2023 the engine light came back on. The vehicle was taken back to mechanic on 8/8. The mechanic could not determine cause but believed it may be a fuel pump issue since the cold start seems to prompt engine light warning. I picked up the vehicle on 8/9/23, the mechanic told me to take it to a Ford dealer. On 8/10, I called Ford Dealership, they scheduled appointment for Monday 8/14/2023. Dealershiper called me and informed me I needed a new long block, fuel pump and pressure test. I did not approve the $15,000 repair. The dealership informed me coolant was leaking into engine.

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.

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 driving 50 MPH, the vehicle decelerated independently without warning. The contact was able to pull over on the side of the road and examine the vehicle. The contact became aware that oil was leaking from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the contact was informed that the vehicle was experiencing the failure listed in NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V925000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed. On another occasion while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle started overheating with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact pulled over on the side of the road. The contact examined under the hood and saw smoke coming from the engine. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the contact was informed that the fuel tank needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and provided some assistance with the repair cost and stated that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V183000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The failure mileage was 120,000.

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

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.

Complete steering rack failure out of the blue. No previous steering issues. No causal incident. I got in the car in the morning and all of the warning lights were on and there was no power steering. Repair cost me $2400 of which $1800 was parts. I've seen scores of people having the same problem and my shop said the Ford Dealership told them they were repairing this issue "Very frequently" This is a very well taken care of vehicle with approximately 70,000 miles.

Back in April 2020 (34,418 miles)I began to hear a clicking noise from the front end of the vehicle when turning the steering wheel. I took the vehicle to dealer where I purchased the vehicle (2016 Explorer) - they determined the noise to be coming from the "power steering gear assembly". I declined the repair as I wanted to investigate further. The noise would come and go but there was a consistent noticeable point when turning left that the wheel sort of would catch when trying to turn back to the right. I have lived with this expecting at some point their would be a recall as I read of this issue being quite prevalent for the 2016 Explorer. I now (8-10-2023) have approximately 75,000 miles on the vehicle and the problem is getting more pronounced. When sitting still and you turn the wheel even just slightly either way their is significant noise from the steering system and I would anticipate it is only going to get worse so I need to have this investigated and repaired. I would encourage the NHTSA to pressure Ford Motor Company to issue a recall for this issue as from everything I see online this is a common issue and is certainly a safety issue.

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.

Water pump failure

Both A-pillar pieces have blown off while driving. The first time this happened I had them replaced at a local windshield repair. And now they have both blown off again.

Recently noticed a yellow airbag light appearing on the instrument panel. Took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that there was previously a recall for this issue, and that a repair was performed. However, the issue has now resurfaced. We are afraid to continue driving the vehicle in this condition, as we feel that it would put us at risk. Dealer refuses to pay for the repair, claiming that the recall 'expired' in January 2023. Hoping that the NHTSA can assist me in resolving this issue, since there is nothing that I as a consumer could have done differently to prevent this, yet the dealer is demanding that I pay to fix it. Thank you.

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