What 821 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Ford Explorer Police Intercept

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE CONTACT OBSERVED AN ABNORMAL ODOR THROUGH THE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 27,000.

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EXHAUST LEAKING INTO PASSENGER CABIN ON ACCELERATION, NORMAL HIGHWAY SPEED AND WHEN A/C IS ON. STRONG SMELL OF EXHAUST DAILY. PURCHASED BATTERY POWERED CO DETECTOR AND IT HAS GONE OFF SEVERAL TIMES IN THE CABIN OF THE VEHICLE. WE HAVE TAKEN THE CAR TO THE FORD DEALER IN CUMMING , GA SEVERAL TIMES, BUT EACH TIME HAVE BEEN TOLD THERE ARE NO ISSUES. IT IS MY DAILY DRIVER AND I HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH SEVERAL HEALTH PROBLEMS SINCE PURCHASING THIS CAR. MY HUSBAND SUFFERS HEADACHES WHEN HE DRIVES IT. WE NOTICED THE PROBLEM A FEW DAYS AFTER THE PURCHASE OF THE 2012 MODEL IN SEPTEMBER OF 2011. WE HAVE STILL NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET A RESOLUTION.

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FOR ABOUT THE LAST YEAR, I WOULD SMELL SOMETHING BURNING INSIDE MY VEHICLE WHEN ENTERING THE FREEWAY. I WAS NEVER ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE SOURCE OF THE SMELL, EVEN AFTER REPEATEDLY STOPPING TO SNIFF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND AROUND THE TIRES AND EXHAUST. I COULD NOT DETECT THE SMELL OUTSIDE OF THE CAR, NOR DID I FIND ANY EVIDENCE OF ANYTHING BURNING (NO SMOKE, CHARRED AREAS, STUCK BRAKES, MELTED RUBBER, ETC). THERE DIDN'T APPEAR TO BE ANY PATTERN, AS I WOULD SMELL SOMETHING BURNING AT DIFFERENT POINTS IN MY COMMUTE, WITH THE ONLY TIME I CONSISTENTLY EXPERIENCED IT BEING MERGING ONTO THE FREEWAY. ON JUNE 20, 2016 AT 1:38 PM CENTRAL TIME, I SENT MY HUSBAND THE FOLLOWING TEXT: "IS THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER STILL IN THE CAR?" DUE TO THE OVERPOWERING SMELL OF SMOKE IN THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT SHORTLY AFTER GETTING ON THE FREEWAY. I ROLLED DOWN THE WINDOWS AND EXITED THE FREEWAY, STOPPING AT THE FAR END OF A PARKING LOT. THERE WAS NO SMOKE NOR ODOR EMANATING FROM THE EXTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE. DUE TO THE HEAT, WE DRIVE WITH THE AIR RECIRCULATING MOST OF THE YEAR. MUCH OF OUR DRIVING IS IN THE CITY, WITH LIGHT ACCELERATION. TYPICALLY, THE ONLY TIME WE RAPIDLY ACCELERATE IS WHEN ENTERING THE FREEWAY. ON THIS OCCASION, I ACCELERATED MORE THAN NORMAL DUE TO A SEMI'S POSITION IN THE RIGHT LANE. AT TIMES, MY 7 YEAR OLD HAS COMPLAINED ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO BREATHE WITH THE WINDOWS ROLLED UP.

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VEHICLE HAS 66,000 MILES. THE SERVICE POWER STEERING NOW AND ADVANCETRAC WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON SATURDAY EVENING (9/10/16). VEHICLE DROVE WITH NO ISSUES THAT EVENING. SUNDAY MORNING (9/11/16) THE SAME INDICATOR LIGHTS CAME ON AND THE POWER STEERING DID NOT WORK. CHECKED FOR LEAKS, FUSES, ETC. AND NO APPARENT ISSUES. AS DEALERSHIPS WERE CLOSED ON SUNDAY, AUTOZONE RAN DIAGNOSTICS AND SHOWED ZERO ERROR CODES, EVEN WITH WARNING LIGHTS ON. THIS VEHICLE IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE EXISTING 2012 FORD EXPLORER RECALL REGARDING THE SAME ISSUE THAT SEEMS TO BE OCCURRING IN THE SAME YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL OF CAR.

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WHILE DRIVING ON TRIP, THE CALIPERS SEIZED, THE BRAKES ALMOST CAUGHT FIRE. THE CALIPER AND ROTOR BOTH HAD TO BE REPLACED WITH ONLY 51,000 MILES. ALSO, THE REAR BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS WERE ALSO REPLACED AT 27,500 MILES.

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED NOR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 110,000.

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AIR BAG CONNECTOR CORROSION. MULTIPLE CONNECTORS. HAS HAPPENED EVERY YEAR SINCE I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE IN OCT, 2012. IT HAS BEEN IN FOR REPAIR MULTIPLE TIMES YEARLY. HAS TO GO BACK AGAIN DUE TO INSPECTION DUE. THIS HAPPENS WHETHER THE VEHICLE IS MOVING, STATIONARY OR PARKED.

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EXHAUST SMELL IN CABIN AFTER ACCELERATION, FOR EXAMPLE DURING ATTEMPTS TO PASS ON HIGHWAY, ETC. SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS "ROTTEN EGG SMELL". SMELL IS DEFINITELY GETTING IN TO CABIN. DISSIPATES AFTER SEVERAL MINUTES. HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEMS FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS NOW (RANDOM, CONSTANT MUSCLE FASCICULATIONS THROUGHOUT BODY, STRANGE HEADACHES AND HEAT-RELATED SENSATIONS, ETC), TRYING TO WORK WITH DOCTORS TO FIGURE OUT IF SYMPTOMS ARE RELATED TO VEHICLE AND THE SMELL. THE SMELL IS WELL-DOCUMENTED ON THE POPULAR FORD EXPLORER FORUMS ONLINE, AND HAPPENS USUALLY UNDER HARD ACCELERATION OR HIGHWAY SPEEDS.

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THE PTU UNIT WENT BAD AND HAD NO OIL IN IT- WHOLE UNIT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. SHOULD HAVE OIL, SHOULD BE PERMANENT. NO REASON FOR THIS- CAR IS 4 YEARS OLD AND NOW WE ARE PAYING $2000 TO FIX. READ THAT THIS PROBLEM IS AN EPIDEMIC. SHOULD BE RECALLED FOR THIS PROBLEM. IT'S EVERYWHERE FORD HAS AWD!!

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AWD OFF ERROR AND WRENCH SYMBOL - ISSUE HAS OCCURRED MULTIPLE TIMES, UNDER DIFFERENT CONDITIONS. WITHOUT WARNING, THE VEHICLE LOSES ACCELERATION AND THE WRENCH ICON AND AWD ERRORS DISPLAY. THE THROTTLE BECOMES UNRESPONSIVE, BUT ALL OTHER SYSTEMS REMAIN FUNCTIONING. IF YOU LEAVE IT IN GEAR WITHOUT THE BRAKES ENGAGED, IT WILL MOVE AT IDLE SPEED ON FLAT GROUND, BUT IS UNABLE TO NAVIGATE INCLINES. WHEN SLOWING TO A STOP, THE WHOLE VEHICLE SHUDDERS. STOPPING AND RESTARTING NORMALLY RETURNS THE VEHICLE TO NORMAL OPERATION. THIS HAS ACCURED OVER A DOZEN TIMES. DEALER HAS SAID THAT THERE ARE NO CODES REPORTING THE PROBLEM. RECOMMENDED WE REPLACE TIRES. REPLACED TIRES AND ISSUE IS STILL PRESENT. HAVE FILED A COMPLAINT WITH FORD TO BRING IN OTHER RESOURCES TO TRIAGE/DIAGNOSE ISSUE WITHOUT SUCCESS. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS ISSUE AS WHEN TO ISSUE PRESENTS ITSELF, THE CAR STOPS UNEXPECTEDLY AND MUST BE SHIFTED INTO PARK IN ORDER TO CLEAR THE PROBLEM. ON ROADS WITHOUT SHOULDERS OR MULTIPLE LANES, THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS AS THE CAR IS SOMETIMES NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND MUST BE PUT INTO PARK WHERE IT STOPS. THE CAR IS TO DANGEROUS TO DRIVE AND THERE ARE NO KNOW FIXES RIGHT NOW.

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I/WE HAVE HAD MULTIPLE OCCASIONS OF THE ENGINE FAILURE TO ACCELERATE WHILE IN A REGULAR DRIVING MODE. THE ENGINE WILL NOT CONTINUE TO RESPOND TO THE ACCELERATOR. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO THE LOCAL FORD DEALER AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. TODAY I WAS ABLE TO PULL A CODE P2111 AND TOOK THAT IN. I WAS TOLD IT WAS A MALFUNCTIONING THROTTLE BODY. THIS APPEARS TO BE A PROBLEM THAT IS OCCURRING IN THIS AND SIMILAR VEHICLES. FORD HAS SAID THEY WILL NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THE VEHICLE WAS BEING DRIVEN ON A LOCAL ROAD AT THE TIME OF THE CONDITION OCCURRED. WE PULLED INTO A PARKING LOT TO GET IT OFF THE STREET. AFTER PULLING THE CODE THE VEHICLE STILL WOULD NOT RESPOND TO ACCELERATION ATTEMPTS. THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED. UPON RESTART IT RAN CORRECTLY.

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SINCE DAY ONE OF OWNERSHIP I SIGNALED TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT THAT I SMELL FUMES IN THE CAR WHILE USING CLIMATE ON HEAT OR COLD. THEY TESTED AND SAID ALL IS OK. AFTER 1 YEAR IT STILL HAPPENS EVERY TIME I USE CLIMATE, SOMETIMES MORE OBVIOUS THAN OTHER TIMES. NO SMOKE ENTERS THE CABIN, JUST A HEAVY ODOR. I ALWAYS HAVE TO OPEN THE WINDOW TO BE ABLE TO STAY IN THE CAR. WORRIED ABOUT LONG TERM EFFECTS ON MY FAMILY AND OUR FUTURE BABY. CALLED FORD EVEN TODAY TO ASK IF THEY HAVE ANY DOCUMENTATION ON THIS PROBLEM..SAID NO.

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EXHAUST IS GETTING INTO THE CABIN OF THE CAR THROUGH THE A/C. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, INCLUDING 7/30, I WILL START THE CAR AND IMMEDIATELY THERE ARE FUMES COMING FROM THE A/C. WHILE DRIVING ON 7/30 WE EXPERIENCED THIS SMELL AND EXPERIENCED HEADACHES WHILE DRIVING. ALSO, THE SMELL IS OVERPOWERING WHEN STANDING OUTSIDE OF THE RUNNING VEHICLE. MORE THAN ANY OTHER CAR I HAVE OWNED.

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE DRIVING AT A LOW SPEED IN REVERSE, THE STEERING WHEEL SEIZED COMPLETELY. THE FAILURE RECURRED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ANGLE SENSOR AND HOUSING NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 76,000.

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TRANSMISSION SHIFTS OUT OF GEAR, FROM DRIVE INTO NEUTRAL OR STALLS OUT. SAFETY HAZARD WHILE DRIVING. 6F35 TRANSMISSION. DEALER(S) REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE ISSUE OR REPAIR DESPITE CUSTOMER COMPLAINT AND TRANSMISSION FAULT CODE. VEHICLE STALLS WHILE AT ALL SPEEDS ON HIGHWAY, CITY STREETS, OR WHILE IN INTERSECTIONS. TOO DANGEROUS TO DRIVE

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WHEN WE ACCELERATE IN OUR 2012 FORD EXPLORER, THE CABIN IS FILLED WITH EXHAUST FUMES. MANY TIMES WE ARE REQUIRED TO ROLL THE WINDOWS DOWN TO LET THE FUMES OUT AS THEY CAUSE HEADACHES AND SMELL BAD. THIS MAINLY OCCURS WHEN WE ACCELERATE ON TO A HIGHWAY/INTERSTATE FROM THE ON RAMP.

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WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY MY EXPLORER MADE A LOUD CLUNK SOUND AND THEN THE WRENCH SYMBOL APPEARED ON MY DASHBOARD. THEN THE GAS PEDAL QUIT WORKING, AND WE HAD TO ROLL OFF THE HIGHWAY AVOIDING BEING HIT BY OTHER TRAFFIC. I HAD TO STOP AND RESTART MY CAR 5-6 TIMES BEFORE THE GAS PEDAL WOULD WORK AGAIN. THIS HAS HAPPENED 5 TIMES IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS, AND WHEN I CALLED TO HAVE IT SERVICED THEY TOLD ME THE WRENCH LIGHT HAD TO BE ON FOR THEM TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM. BUT I CANT GO ANYWHERE WHEN THE WRENCH LIGHT COMES ON AND A TOW TRUCK WILL NOT TOW A CAR WITH IT RUNNING FOR ME TO GET IT TO THE DEALERSHIP TO BE TESTED. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE HAVING. THE THROTTLE BODY IS GOING OUT ON MANY EXPLORERS AFTER 55,000 MILES. IS IT GOING TO TAKE DEATHS BEFORE THIS IS A RECALL?

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE DRIVING 15 MPH, THE ENGINE STALLED AND THE LOW ENGINE PRESSURE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS ABLE TO RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE DEALER REPROGRAMMED THE COMPUTER, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 56,700. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

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WHEN EXCELERATING ON OPEN ROAD SMELLING FUMES COMING THROUGH AIR CONDITION VENTS , AC ON! MORE RPMS THAN SLOW SPEED!

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DRIVING AT 60 MPH ORANGE LIGHT OF DEATH CAME ON AND COMPLETELY LOST POWER STEERING AND SPEED . CAR ENTERED A LIMP HOME MODE I LET IT COME TO A STOP ON SIDE OF ROAD AND IT WAS SHAKING. I RESTARTED AND DROVE ON TO WORK, IT WORKED FINE.. LUCKILY NOONE WAS AROUND ME..THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS FOR ME AND MY KIDS. THIS IS 3RD TIME IT HAPPENED... READING POSTS ITS DEFINITELY THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE BODY THAT IS CHEAPLY MADE..THE FUSION, ESCAPE, ETC HAVE HAD AN RECALL FOR THIS...BUT NOT THE EXPLORER..PLEASE PRAY FOR MY FAMILY.

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 FORD EXPLORER. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED CONSTANTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED, BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT MADE KNOWN. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE REMEDY FAILED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 49,743. UPDATED 10/05/16*LJ *JS

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EXHAUST FUMES IN CAB UPON EXCELLERATION, BEEN TO DEALER MULTIPLE TIMES , STILL HAVE PROBLEM . HAVE BOUGHT CARBON MONOXIDE TESTER TO ALARM US IF LEVEL GETS TO HIGH. FORD SEEMS TO THINK ALL'S WELL . NOT!!!!!!!!!!!! 2012 FORD EXPLORER.

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SMELL OF EXHAUST GAS INSIDE THE VEHICLE WHILE IN MOTION OR ACCELERATION.

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WHEN ACCELERATING TO GAIN ACCESS TO A HIGHWAY OR JUST SPEEDING UP ON A LOCAL STREET, THERE IS A GAS OR BURNT OIL SMELL THAT PERMEATES THE CABIN OF THE VEHICLE. THIS HAPPENS EVERY TIME I ACCELERATE, EVERY DAY.

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EXHAUST SMELL ENTERING CABIN DURING MILD ACCELERATION, MANY TIMES, EASILY REPEATABLE. DEALER INSTRUCTED ME TO NOT TO COMPLETE THE MOST RECENT UP TO DATE TSB, AS IT WAS NOT GUARANTEED TO WORK IN 2015. SO WE WAIT TO SEE IF THERE IS A BETTER REPAIR.

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