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What 1,191 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Ford Explorer
These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.
2 of 1,191 complaints match · Body & structure · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters
Jul 26, 2019SteeringSuspensionBody & structureCrash
RIGHT FRONT AXLE/CONTROL ARM FAILING (SNAPPED CLEANLY IN 2) 3 TIMES WITHIN 2 YEARS. FIRST TIME MAY HAVE BEEN SUBSEQUENT TO LOW SPEED FRONT END COLLISION. SECOND & THIRD TIMES DRIVING LESS THAN 25 MPH WITH NO COLLISION UNTIL AFTER HEARING THE SNAP & SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF STEERING. SECOND TIME FAILURE OCCURRED WHILE ACCELERATING FROM A FULL STOP & TURNING LEFT ON A CITY STREET.THIRD TIME I'D BEEN DRIVING STRAIGHT APPROXIMATELY HALF A MILE ON A CITY STREET WITH SPEED NO GREATER THAN 25 MPH. LAST TWO REPLACEMENT/REPAIR DONE BY PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE CERTIFIED REPAIR FACILITY.
NHTSA ODI 11235001
Sep 15, 2014SteeringBody & structureBrakesCrash
I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE STREET AT AROUND 20 MPH WHEN THERE WERE CARS THAT SUDDENLY STOPPED. WHEN I WAS BRAKING I FELT AS IF THE STEERING WAS ALLOWING ME TO TURN AND IT HAPPENED SO FAST I FELT AS IF I LOST BRAKING POWER. THEN I HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME HARD. *TR
NHTSA ODI 10633318
Working with the data? Download all 1,191 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 10, 2026
How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your
pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the
full 2011 Ford Explorer verdict →