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

The side panel behind the front passenger and driver side windows detached while driving. Specifically, the passenger side window panel detached while driving approximately 60 mph on the highway, which caused flying debris that could have harmed other drivers. Three days later the driver side panel detached while driving on the freeway at approximately 60 mph; however, this panel stayed hanging from the car due to wires for the keyless entry. When the panel detached at 60 mph, the tailgate open indicator light turned on inside the car. To ensure our tailgate was secure and we would not lose items out the back causing more of a hazard, we navigate to the side of the highway. This placed my family at risk while other cars passed by at 60 mph. The tailgate was shut; however, we were unable to open the tailgate. The car indicted the tailgate is open; however, there was no way to open the tailgate from inside the car, outside the car, or from the key. This reduced our exit pathways if there was an emergency in the car and caused an uncertainty if the tailgate would at some point open on our three hour trip home. Since we were three hours from our home, we found a means to attach the hanging panel to our car and proceeded driving. About five minutes into the driving, the panel split in half. The top portion detached from the car causing a debris hazard. The half with wires remained hanging from the car. Prior to reaching to NHTSA, we reached to Ford to report the safety issue. They stated this is not a recall, took no information, and offered to provide NHTSA information for reporting any concerns we had.

NHTSA ODI 11474230

- Molding piece and underlying bracket located between the windshield and side passenger window. Molding piece is long and over 24 inches long. - Became loose and detached completely during driving. -The issue first appeared when the vehicle had under 36000 miles- at that time a Ford service technician glued it to the underlying mounting bracket to remedy the problem. The issue happened to the same piece again within the last three months. A Ford service tech again glued the piece into place to secure. Four days ago the piece completely came off, while driving. The clips on the mounting bracket were completely broken. I have since had the bracket and piece replaced. -According to the service advisor at a Ford dealership, Ford released a notice to service depts advising them of the issue. According to the service advisor is a problem for 2015 and 2016 Ford Explorers This bracket was in stock at the dealership I went to.

NHTSA ODI 11470414

1. 2016 Ford Explorer transmission. shifting delays, grinding or jumping during acceleration, the car shaking on the road, or whistling noises or a burning smell coming from beneath the hood. 2. Ford Explorer carbon monoxide. There is a smell in the cabin. 3. Weather strip and trim on both sides of the windshield are coming off. This is a major safety issues if those trims come off and hit another car.

NHTSA ODI 11466173

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that he noticed that the roof rail cover located on top of the vehicle had become loosened. The contact attempted to reattach the roof rail to the vehicle but was unable to attach the roof rail. The contact then stated that while his wife was driving at highway speeds, the roof rail detached from the vehicle without warning. The contact called the dealer who referred him to the manufacturer. The manufacturer provided a case number and referred him to the NHTSA. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V316000 (Structure) which he linked to the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11465391

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V316000 (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 had not experienced the failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11465168

While driving down the road the drivers side (A pillar molding) windshield molding broke loose with no warning and flew into traffic behind me. Fortunately this did not hit anyone or cause an accident this time, but it has the potential to do so. From discussing this with the Ford dealer near me it is a common problem with the interceptors and sport model explorers. The design of this is such that you don't know the clips are failing until a sudden andcatastrophic failure occurs.

NHTSA ODI 11458199

In the 2016 Ford Explorer, both the driver and passenger side window trim has blown off while driving. The plastic clips break and cause the trim to fly off. It happened to me, and two other owners with the 2016 Ford Explorer that we bought at the same time. I have also seen it on many other Ford Explorers on the road.

NHTSA ODI 11457562

The A pillar of my car came loose while driving and is now flapping there. The A pillar on the other side was loose when I bought the car and the dealer fixed that one at that time. I fear these pillars coming loose and flying and hitting other cars while driving. Seems like a safety issue Ford should do something about.

NHTSA ODI 11455330

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the side panels on the rear passenger’s and driver’s side doors were cracked. The contact indicated that the failed body parts were attached to the vehicle by glue. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was given an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and agreed to cover half the cost of repair. The contact was then referred to NHTSA for further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

NHTSA ODI 11446905

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the side panel on the passenger’s side detached from the vehicle. On another occasion, the plastic front pillar section on the passenger’s side suddenly detached from the vehicle. The contact indicated that the failed body parts were attached to the vehicle by glue. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 47,000.

NHTSA ODI 11446450

THE A PILLAR COVER HAVE DETACHED ON BOTH THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDES. THE COVER THAT DETACHES WHILE DRIVING CAN CREATE A ROAD HAZARD FOR OTHER USERS, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH. THIS ISSUE HAS NOT BEEN ADDRESSED BY THE MANUFACTURER. I HAVE OBSERVED SEVERAL VEHICLES OF THE SAME MAKE AND MODEL MISSING THESE SAME COVERS.

NHTSA ODI 11444063

Passenger side piller trim detachment this has been an issue on the 2013 thru 2015 models and was issued a recall. Same thing is happening on the 2016 model. Drivers side is also loose. Many 2016 models are having this same problem

NHTSA ODI 11438868

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the windshield plastic trim piece detached from vehicle. There were no reported injuries. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the contact was informed that the plastic trim piece needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. While driving the other plastic trim piece detached. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was approximately 153,000.

NHTSA ODI 11435595

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V316000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, tapping noises were heard coming from the roof of the vehicle before the roof rack trim detached and hit another vehicle. The dealer was made aware of the recall and informed the contact that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11432501

On my 2016 Ford Explorer, the A Pillars on both the passenger and driver's side completely detached from the car while driving and flew back into the road while driving on the highway. The A pillars that detached could have easily hit another car/person and caused serious damage. My local Ford dealership inspected the car and pillars and confirmed this as a common failure. They have informed me that there is now a new version of this part because of this common failure. However, the part is currently back ordered and cannot be repaired on any timeline. They are currently duct taped onto the car to protect the car from any further damage. I believe since Ford acknowledged the failure and there was a need to create a new system/part, then this should be a recall of the current parts. There were no warnings or previous issues with the A pillar trim pieces before they just came completely detached, both within an hour of one another. A quick google search can find that this is a very common failure with many Ford explorers. I hope Ford would do the right thing and recall this part.

NHTSA ODI 11431320

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the contact heard a knocking noise from the front driver’s side window. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and inspected the vehicle and noticed that the weatherstrip on the front driver’s side door was detaching from the molding that held the weatherstrip from the windshield. The contact pushed the weather strip back into the molding and continued to drive back to the residence. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic who inspected the vehicle and stated that the weatherstrip had loosened over time. The mechanic glued the weather strip back into the molding as a temporary fix and referred the contact to a local dealer for assistance. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and was informed that the molding needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 58,000.

NHTSA ODI 11431419

The front pillar cover has blown off my 2016 Explorer 3 times in the 4 years I’ve owned the vehicle. Two of the 3 times this occurred, I was traveling in heavy traffic on a limited access highway causing a hazard for the other drivers. I don’t know where the piece landed or if it hit other vehicles. I have complained about the flawed design to Ford, calling their Customer Service number and the tech told me he didn’t see any other complaints related to this from other Ford Explorer owners. What will it take for Ford to fix this design flaw to prevent repeat occurrences? Or at least acknowledge it in their database? The only risk to me is the distraction caused by the sudden noise which drew my attention from the road while I triaged the cause. I hope no motorcycle or convertibles were hit by the debris. I wouldn’t replace the trim but now the windshield is probably impacted. The windshield gasket is exposed and flapped in the wind for the entire trip home after this last time. It was like riding in a helicopter without ear protection.

NHTSA ODI 11431197

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign number: 21V316000 (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 manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Vin tool confirms parts not available.

NHTSA ODI 11425190

While driving at 55+mph both driver side and passenger side A-pillar windshield covers vibrate. Eventually the passenger side blew off during the drying cycle at a car wash. Thankfully it was contained and did not fly off on the road and cause an incident. There are more cases of this occurring on the highways as seen by searching the internet.

NHTSA ODI 11423661

The trim to the lining of my window on the right side flew off on the highway

NHTSA ODI 11421226

The recall has been put out and the dealership is claiming that the fix of gluing the roof rack covers back on is not sufficient and that a new fix needs to be made. The fix is not available to me and I cannot use the vehicle for work with an open recall. I understand that recalls happen, but the fix should be available immediately upon publishing them.

NHTSA ODI 11417428

THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED IN 2020 AND SO FAR I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE A PILLAR TRIM 3 TIMES.ONCE ON THE PASSENGER SIDE AND TWICE ON THE DRIVERS SIDE. COSTING OVER $100 EACH TIME JUST FOR THE PARTS.THE TRIM HAS COME OFF TWICE WHILE AT HIGHWAY SPEED, 60 MPH, CAUSING A LOUD NOISE AND FLYING DEBRIS. THE THIRD TIME THE TRIM CAME OFF AT A SLOW SPEED OFF 35 MPH AND ACTUALLY BROKE IN HALF. I ATTACHED A PHOTO OF THE TRIM PIECE. I BELIEVE THE CAUSE MAY BE THE PLASTIC CLIPS THAT HOLD THE TRIM IN PLACE.

NHTSA ODI 11416460

WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 75 MPH, THE DRIVER'S WINDSHIELD SIDE TRIM MOLDING DETACHED FROM THE VEHICLE. THIS MOLDING IMPACTED THE SIDE OF THE VEHICLE, AND BECAME FOD ON THE HIGHWAY. IN REVIEW, ONLY HALF OF THE MOLDING DETACHED FROM THE VEHICLE, WITH HALF REMAINING IN PLACE.

NHTSA ODI 11414142

RADIO SPARKING AND SMOKING PLUS PEELING AND BUBBLES INSIDE THE HOOD PAINT

NHTSA ODI 11408573

DRIVING ON HIGHWAY, WINDSHIELD TRIM ON DRIVERS SIDE BROKE OFF. ONCE STATIONARY, INSPECTED WHERE THE TRIM WAS AND IT'S COMPLETELY GONE & APPEARS THAT THE CLIPS HOLDING IT THERE ARE BROKEN AND SOME GONE. PASSENGERS SIDE TRIM IS WARPED AND APPEARS LOOSE. ALSO, DRIVERS DOORS TRIM IS NOW PARTLY DETACHED FROM DOOR

NHTSA ODI 11407271