What 2,429 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Ford Explorer

Vehicle started to feel heavy, and vibrate harder through the gas pedal and steering wheel. I took it to my local auto shop and the wheel bearing needs replaced.

NHTSA ODI 11427653

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal odor inside the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 89,000. The Vin was not available.

NHTSA ODI 11427468

On approximately July 5th, I was driving on freeway at approximately 70mph. I approached a work zone and had to move to shoulder when I lost power steering. It continued to give me issues at higher speeds for the next 40 miles and it seemed to disappear for the next two weeks of city driving. I thought it was an isolated incident and on July 16th we took the vehicle on a family vacation and when traveling on the freeway it again lost ( and never regained) power steering but we were more than 200 miles from home and the closest Ford dealer couldn't see us until early August. At lower speeds the steering was sticking but it seemed to free up some the more cornering or movement you made with the steering wheel. We were able to carefully drive the vehicle home and took it to Taylor Ford on Monday July 26th. On Tuesday July 27th I received a call from our service rep telling me nothing was wrong with the power steering but that the steering column failed and it would need to be replaced. I said that I had never heard of such a thing and he said he hadn't either. I searched on line and discovered hundreds of complaints referencing similar issues. There were no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior to the problem and they never appeared during problems.

NHTSA ODI 11427113

The system that failed is the seat belt buckle on the 40 seat (of the 60/40 second row seating). The clip inside the seatbelt broke while securing my child in the seat. This faulty belt buckle put my child's safety at risk. We could not travel, delaying our trip on the day we were to leave. If an accident occurred, this could have resulted in serious injury to my child. The belt buckle was removed and taken to the closest Ford dealership. A new belt buckle was ordered, costing $115. The seatbelt buckle was removed and brought into Ford to examine. No concern was observed by the service parts employee as he glanced over broken buckle to ensure he ordered the correct part. No warnings or "symptoms" were present previously to the failed seatbelt buckle. A cheap piece of plastic to hold my child in a seatbelt buckle failed. The broken buckle is available for inspection. A new one is being installed.

NHTSA ODI 11426616

Constant smell of exhaust inside the vehicle. Took it to dealer and they could not figure out issue.

NHTSA ODI 11426556

It appears Ford had a prior recall for certain model year 2011-2013 Ford Explorer vehicles manufactured May 17, 2010, through February 28, 2012 for a power steering failure. The recall was due to vehicles experiencing a loss of power steering assist and required extra steering effort at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. I have a 2016 Ford Explorer and the issue appears to be occurring in later models like mine. I experienced it on July 21, 2021. I was driving on the freeway at 70mph and with no prior warning I my power steering goes out and I see the message "power steering module failure". Luckily I was able to fight the car to the shoulder, but I can only imagine what would have happened if my wife or daughter had been driving at the time. Ford needs to have a system failure alert added or better yet fix the issue from occurring, especially in a fairly new vehicle.

NHTSA ODI 11426141

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the steering wheel was difficult to turn and would cease when turning in either direction. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the steering rack and pinion were faulty and needed to be replaced. The failure was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000.

NHTSA ODI 11425945

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the electric power steering failed, and the steering wheel ceased. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the power steering rack and pinion was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA to file a complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.

NHTSA ODI 11425946

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost power steering functionality and became difficult to steer. The contact also stated that the vehicle would start shaking abnormally whenever the brake pedal was depressed. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with the electronic steering gear needing to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred a year later. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 144,000.

NHTSA ODI 11425982

2016 Ford Explorer Sport. Roof rail recall may be the cause for extreme water damage that burned out the sunroof motor, drenched the interior carpet, interior roof material, navigation and charging docks do not work. Ford not acknowledging and states after diagnostic check I have to pay 2600 to replace motor and once sunroof opens they can determine where the water leak is coming from. Also after complaining of carbon monoxide smell in cabin and multiple doctors visit with dizziness, trouble breathing I found that this is not just an issue I’m having. This car has had many more issues and Ford just repeats that warranty doesn’t cover it warranty expired. These are huge issues with the manufacturing. Car only has 35k miles and issues started in 2020.

NHTSA ODI 11425800

Electronic steering assist seems to fail on rainy days. Starts like a sound grinding on the bottom like it needs lubrication. Afraid to drive this thing because of other owners comments regarding the steering assist causing accidents.

NHTSA ODI 11425897

The Contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while attempting to turn the steering wheel, the steering wheel was firm. The power steering assist warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was not provided a cause for the failure but was informed that the steering wheel needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000.

NHTSA ODI 11425690

While driving around a corner at a speed of 45 miles an hour the power steering quit working. The message on the instrument panel stated steering fault. I no longer had power steering and it was very hard to pull the vehicle over. I shut off the motor and then restarted the vehicle and i now had power steering. It is currently at Varney Ford in Newport Maine having the whole steering assembly replaced at a cost of 2300.00. From my research I have found that the steering assembly is located near the catalytic converter which gets every every hot, and can damage the internal circuit board. This is a very scary safety concern! I do not have the invoice for the repair, as it is being worked on July 19th or July 20th

NHTSA ODI 11425350

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

Steering locked up while driving, causing a dangerous situation, fortunalty it was at low speeds an no harm came of it. 61,000 miles on the vehicle, Failed rack and pinion steering, needed to be replaced. $2,500 .

NHTSA ODI 11425209

I was driving down the highway into a turn and my power steering failed causing the SUV to want to recall into a straight pattern almost causing me to crash my truck into a barrier wall with my child inside. With the sudden ability to fight the wheel back into a turning position I was able to narrowly avoid crashing with my child. Numerous indicators displayed (Steering Assist Fault, Service Advance Track, Hill Start Assist not available). I immediately took it to a Ford dealer , where they advised me that the power steering rack has electronically failed.

NHTSA ODI 11424477

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while yielding to merge onto the highway, the vehicle would not accelerate above 3 mph, with the accelerator pedal depressed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and diagnosed with transmission failure. The independent mechanic informed the contact that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the independent mechanic. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the Vin for the transmission. The failure mileage was 104,000.

NHTSA ODI 11424123

My airbags light comes on and stays on someone's and I looked it up in my owners manual and it says to get it checked immediately due to a malfunction with the [XXX] bags. My problem is when I called them the light had went back out. Everytime it comes on and stays on I'm nowhere near my dealer. So it hasn't been checked out by them yet. INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

NHTSA ODI 11423928

Driving on express way going 70 mph and vehicle dash started lighting up and beeping with a bunch of different things and lost power steering. It said “power steering fault” was in construction and it was extremely scary. Thankfully there was a dealership on the exit and they said it was the power steering rack.

NHTSA ODI 11423809

With less than 75k miles, the steering began to grind when turning. We had to get an entirely new rack and pinion unit replaced for over $2400. Thousands of 2016 Explorers have reported this problem but it is still not been deemed a recall. Recently, at 84K miles, the clutch on the AC compressor went out causing a $720 bill for a new compressor. We have also just found out the water pump is now bad and appears to be defective. In fact there was a class action lawsuit in 2020 regarding these defective pumps but this wonderful government we pay exorbitant taxes to, threw the case out on technicalities. Absolutely shameful.

NHTSA ODI 11423583

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

i have had NOTHING but issues with this vehicle and have made more calls to complain to ford with no help. as an example i complained for 2 years about this rattle and clunk in my transmission..finally i got the ford dealership in clarion, pa to believe me..here it was the torque converter..after 2 years of complaining and after i got it back...a week later..i get a recall notice from ford! but, the purpose of this is my tailgate...has a mind of it's own...it will open on it's own and close...i don't know how many times this has happened...thank God it hasn't happened while i am driving...i have had it to the garage...nothing can be found...yet i researched this issue and found others having similar experience!!!! i have called ford and of course...they refuse to acknowledge my concerns...i have been clunked on the head more than once loading groceries...hopefully you will be an agency that actually does something as opposed to those that talk tough...but do nothing! thank you.

NHTSA ODI 11423430

The contact owned a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 65 - 67 mph, the contact lost control of the vehicle when the rear driver side toe link fractured. The vehicle ended up in a ditch and crashed into several trees. The contact was transported to the hospital by ambulance but his wife, who was a passenger, did not receive medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a towing yard and deemed totaled by the insurance company. The contact stated that the rear toe link had fractured a month prior to the collision and was replaced by an independent mechanic. The dealer and manufacturer were made aware of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 91,000.

NHTSA ODI 11423212

I was driving my car and received a warning that the Power Steering System Failure. Within a few minutes, the power steering in the car went out. Had to have the vehicle towed to mechanic. The mechanic reported the code of C200D-49. 2 Ford Dealerships stated that they had never heard of any issues yet my mechanic recently had another Ford vehicle in with the same situation.

NHTSA ODI 11423058

The electronic door clocks are continuously failing where the door cannot be opened in an emergent situation. On 6/24/20 the front driver door latch had to be replaced and on 03/21/21 the left rear door latch had to be replaced. Presently the right rear door latch is not operating and the vehicle has been scheduled for service on 7/9/21.. When these locks fail you are unable to open the doors unless you can reach the lock to pull up. In an emergency such as a crash or fire this failure can be fatal. It appears that there is a design flaw or defect with these locks. Review of internet blogs reveal this may be a common unreported problem that needs immediate attention. In the event there are emergent circumstances requiring the removal of a child or elderly this may be tragic.

NHTSA ODI 11422748