Owners filed 9,079 complaints about the 2015–2025 Ford Explorer with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the 3rd-most of any vehicle in our Car Problem Index. The 2016 model year drew the most (2,450), and the single most-reported problem area is body structure, named in 24% of complaints.
Key findings
- Worst model year: 2016, with 2,450 complaints, led by body structure (584).
- Spike years: 2015 (4.2× the typical year), 2016 (5.8× the typical year), 2017 (4.0× the typical year), 2018 (1.7× the typical year), 2020 (2.9× the typical year).
- Earliest-failing area: fuel system complaints came at a median of 13k mi on the odometer.
- Fire and crash reports: 52 complaints mention a fire and 209 mention a crash; owners reported 320 injuries.
Ford Explorer complaints by model year
| Model year | Complaints | Top problem areas | Median mileage | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,784 | Body structure (408), Steering (345), Engine (226) | 57k mi | 37 | 1 |
| 2016 | 2,450 | Body structure (584), Steering (530), Engine (381) | 49k mi | 39 | 14 |
| 2017 | 1,691 | Body structure (656), Engine (237), Transmission / powertrain (123) | 50k mi | 34 | 11 |
| 2018 | 728 | Body structure (287), Engine (95), Electrical system (58) | 50k mi | 16 | 7 |
| 2019 | 294 | Body structure (148), Transmission / powertrain (35), Engine (19) | 52k mi | 2 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1,215 | Transmission / powertrain (486), Electrical system (185), Engine (113) | 23k mi | 35 | 10 |
| 2021 | 423 | Transmission / powertrain (120), Engine (48), Electrical system (42) | 43k mi | 14 | 5 |
| 2022 | 265 | Transmission / powertrain (61), Electrical system (39), Engine (30) | 38k mi | 17 | 1 |
| 2023 | 109 | Electrical system (13), Suspension (13), Transmission / powertrain (12) | 17k mi | 7 | 2 |
| 2024 | 20 | Automatic emergency braking / collision warning (3), Wipers / visibility (3), Suspension (3) | 11k mi | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 100 | Electrical system (23), Transmission / powertrain (15), Brakes (15) | 3k mi | 7 | 0 |
Newer model years have had less time on the road, so their counts are lower partly because owners have had fewer years to report problems.
Most-reported Ford Explorer problems, and what they cost to fix
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median mileage | Repair estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body structure | 2,177 | 24% | 77k mi | — |
| Transmission / powertrain | 1,201 | 13% | 47k mi | Transmission repair cost |
| Engine | 1,167 | 13% | 24k mi | Engine repair cost |
| Steering | 1,043 | 12% | 56k mi | Power steering repair cost |
| Electrical system | 691 | 8% | 39k mi | Alternator / electrical repair cost |
| Fuel system | 350 | 4% | 13k mi | Fuel pump repair cost |
| Backup camera / rear sensors | 343 | 4% | 75k mi | — |
| Suspension | 328 | 4% | 62k mi | Shock / strut replacement cost |
One complaint can name several problem areas, so shares add up to more than 100%.
What this data can and can't tell you
These are unverified reports that owners submitted to NHTSA, counted by model year. They are not defect findings, and they aren't adjusted for sales: a best-selling vehicle collects more complaints simply because more of them are on the road. Use the counts to compare model years of the same vehicle and to see which systems owners complain about most, not to compare how reliable two different models are. See the full methodology.
Other Ford models in the index
- Ford F-150 (11,842)
- Ford Escape (9,632)
- Ford Edge (5,190)
- Ford Fusion (4,656)
- Ford F-250 Sd (3,942)
- Ford Focus (3,929)
- Ford Expedition (2,537)
- Ford F-350 Sd (2,147)
- Ford Ecosport (1,850)
- Ford Mustang (1,750)
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, consumer complaint files (nhtsa.gov), model years 2015–2025, retrieved 2026-09-23. Free to cite with a link to this page.