Home · 2016 Ford Explorer Gas · Complaints

What 2,428 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Ford Explorer Gas

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.

All (2,428)Crash / fire / injury (77)Body & structure (573)Steering (527)Engine (379)Transmission & drivetrain (213)Electrical system (124)Engine & cooling (114)Fuel system (110)Airbags (99)Speed control (76)Suspension (73)

573 of 2,428 complaints match · Body & structure · clear filters · page 14 of 23

Sep 18, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the driver’s and passenger’s side A-Pillar trim panels were not properly secured to the vehicle. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was 15,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11615141

Sep 12, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front passenger's side windshield trim detached and flew off. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was 65,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11614217

Sep 11, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 MPH, the driver’s side A-pillar trim detached, and the front passenger’s side A-pillar trim became loosened. The contact was not able to retrieve the driver’s side A-pillar trim. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

NHTSA ODI 11613994

Sep 6, 2024Body & structure

See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA ODI 11612969

Sep 6, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the trim A Pillar on the driver’s side was loose and flapping in the slip stream. The contact stopped the vehicle on the side of the road and used tape to secure the trim. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11613037

Sep 4, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that there was water leaking into the cabin of the vehicle whenever in rained from the sunroof, causing an electrical short circuit. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 151,455. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11612548

Sep 3, 2024Body & structure

See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA ODI 11612220

Aug 30, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the A-pillar trim on both sides of the windshield started to detach. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted, and the dealer stated 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 made aware of the issue and the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11611824

Aug 20, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the A-pillar trim on the passenger’s side windshield started to detach. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted, and the dealer stated 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 made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11609745

Aug 16, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11608937

Aug 16, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 60 MPH, there was an abnormal tapping sound coming from the vehicle and observed that the center trim piece on the passenger’s side door frame was blown off the vehicle. The contact stated that the driver's side door trim was coming loose. The contact used tape to hold the trim piece in place. The contact had called a local dealer and was informed that the trim on the door frame was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 51,000.

NHTSA ODI 11608940

Aug 12, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the A-pillar trim on the driver’s and passenger’s sides of the windshield started detaching. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed as a failure with the A-pillar trim structure. The contact was informed that the A-pillar trim needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired due to parts not being available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 76,222. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11607956

Aug 12, 2024Body & structure

See attached document for complaint

NHTSA ODI 11607957

Aug 9, 2024Body & structure

Vehicle was purchased from carmax, there is a crack on the trim ar the d-pillar around the window on the driver side and passenger side. My wife bought a 2014 Ford Explorer about a week prior to mine from the same place and there is a crack in the same exact spot on the driver and passenger side. Causes water to leak into the interior of the vehicle. In the summer months it's causes a musty smell with the potential for mold to develop.

NHTSA ODI 11607570

Aug 8, 2024Body & structure

See attached document for complaint

NHTSA ODI 11607208

Aug 7, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the passenger's side windshield exterior A-pillar trim had separated and flown off the vehicle. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11606991

Jul 31, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated while driving at approximately 70 MPH, the front driver and front passenger side A-pillar trims detached. The contact was able to retrieve both A-pillar trims and temporarily replaced the trims with adhesive. Additionally, during rainy weather, rainwater was leaking through the front windshield into the interior of the vehicle. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11605635

Jul 29, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65–70 MPH, the trim detached and struck the windshield of another vehicle. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure). However, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11605029

Jul 22, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the front driver’s side and front passenger’s side A-pillar trims detached and fell on the road. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11603828

Jul 10, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 45 MPH, the exterior A-pillar trim detached and flew off the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or local dealer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11600832

Jul 9, 2024Body & structure

Just noticed B Pillars on both R&L front doors have become detached at the tops and I am concerned that one or both will come completely loose and fly off while driving and cause injuries or accident. No incidents or injuries to report as of yet.

NHTSA ODI 11600633

Jul 8, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11600125

Jul 5, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the A-pillar trim had started to detach and the brackets that hold the A-pillar trim intact had started to crack. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 108,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11599301

Jul 2, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the exterior A-pillar trim detached from the vehicle and flew off. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11598313

Jun 20, 2024Body & structure

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed that the front windshield trim had detached. The contact used duct tape to hold the trim in place. The dealer was made aware of the failure but confirmed that parts were not yet available. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11595513

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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 2016 Ford Explorer Gas verdict →