What 1,668 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Ford Explorer Hev

Exhaust fumes entering inside vehicle when idling and driving on the road. Must drive with windows open and still cannot drive for over a few miles. Get a headache and effects lungs. Vehicle is now parked and cannot use. Exhaust is leaking near engine. Looks like a cracked manifold. Unsafe to use. Date this occurred is an estimate because I do not know how long this has been a problem. There are other 2017 models with the same issue.

NHTSA ODI 11566699

Car wouldn't start. All the water had run out due to coolent leak near water pump and in finding it they found leak near front engine mount. These are problems that other 2017 explorer owners have also complained about online. In addition, Kirkland Ford stated they are backed up on repairing the toe link and roof repair due to lack of certified mechanics. The 2017 whole vehicle should have been recalled due to the cheap parts used which has caused me to continually go in to have recalls fixed. While there they end up causing more issues causing me thousands in repair bills. I have scheduled with independent car repair shop for them to give me estimate of repairing the above items for January 10 the first date they had available.

NHTSA ODI 11562099

Car dies repeatedly while on the road driving and also while parked. Car has errors on dashboard when attempting to turn on, which I have a video of. First mechanic was able to replicate issue once and got some scan tool codes but he said after that, they all cleared out and he wasn't able to replicate. Car was given back to us, drove to store died and it wouldn't start in parking lot. Mechanic sent tow truck, car started when tow truck arrived. Took car to Ford, tech unable to replicate, car returned to us. Car died once again, which is when I took the error video and took the car back to Ford and showed service rep the video. Ford still unable to figure out the issue. We told Ford to keep the car because it isn't safe to drive until we find and fix the issue. Car has been in mechanic and Ford for about 4 months total.

NHTSA ODI 11558419

I experienced the expulsion of coolant underneath the hood of my vehicle in the parking lot / driveways the past month or so. I took this into my mechanic and they diagnosed with water pump failure, need of timing chain assessment and 12 hours of expected labor. This issue has been recalled in Canada, but not here in the U.S. This is a significant amount of money to fix this and a safety issue as this vehicle is often driven in rural areas late at night. If inspection upon request is needed I can make it available.

NHTSA ODI 11556076

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power. The contact was able to coast to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to restart. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 144,000.

NHTSA ODI 11555500

The car started overheating while on my way home from a trip. I had to get a wrecker to haul it in. Ford offered no help. It was the water pump. Milage at the time was 103,000, Cost to fix $3000. So no Thanksgiving for me this year.

NHTSA ODI 11555510

My 2017 Ford Explorer XLT - eco boost (72,524 miles) vehicle was misfiring (running really rough) at startup the last week or so and the engine light came on and stayed on. The vehicle was serviced in July of this year and there was no mention of the problem. Upon paid inspection today (11/10/23) and diagnosis at my local AAA Car repair service they reported the following: Engine code P0303 - no 3 misfire. The no 3 plug is very clean, which is not good (as it likely means a leak of coolant from head gasket). Upon pulling the number 3 plug, it was confirmed that there was a coolant leak from the Head Gasket. AAA car repair indicated that this was not normal for a car with this low of mileage and shouldn't happen this soon. They said they did not do this type of work and advised I check with Ford corporate to see if there was a recall or extended warranty. I called Ford Corporate, and they did not see any recalls or information that could help with the repair, and they advised I reach out to the NHTSA to see if there might be other reports or investigations underway and if not, to open one. The vehicle has only been inspected by the AAA Service garage and is now back home in my garage and available for inspection upon request. NOTE: in researching this issue on line, I did find several articles and links of videos with this problem. There are safety issues, especially when pulling out in traffic or accelerating, as the vehicle sputters and does not run smoothly or go as fast as expected and could cause an accident. 

NHTSA ODI 11554574

Mechanic confirmed water pump failure. Explorer was brought to mechanic for issue with heater. Upon inspection by mechanic, the coolant was low. Mechanic filled the coolant and left the vehicle idling. Water was seen leaking from undercarriage. Vehicle cannot be safely driven until water pump is replaced. Minimum cost of $2000 to complete repair.

NHTSA ODI 11550807

THE VEHICLE LOSES POWER AT TIMES. WHEN GOING TO ANOTHER LANE OR PULLING OUT IN TRAFFIC, IT WILL SURGE LOOSING POWER. I NOTICED IT SHORLTY AFTER PURCHASING IT. IGNORED IT FOR A LONG TIME BUT HAVE HAD TO DRIVE IT MORE LATELY AND FEEL UNSAFE DOING SO. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN INSPECTED BY ANYONE. IT HAS LESS THAN 25,000 MILES ON ITAND THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE GETTING WORSE

NHTSA ODI 11550218

While driving cross country, driver began to experience lag in acceleration and delayed shifting. In some cases, noted transmission was not down shifting. At destination, the check engine light came on and we took the vehicle into a Ford dealership for repair. It should be noted that there was a low coolant light just prior to the trip and we filled up approximately a quart to bring it back to serviceable limits. The dealer called after several hours to explain the car would need a new 2.3L EcoBoost engine and new Automatic transmission. The engine had evidence of coolant in the engine/oil. The transmission was diagnosed to have a failure of an internal component. The vehicle was been regularly serviced for the 79000 miles with no previous warning lights. We currently have the vehicle in our garage trying to decide if it's worth fixing for $25000 quoted by the dealer.

NHTSA ODI 11549631

continuous highway cruise speed shudder in 6th gear between 50 and 60 MPH

NHTSA ODI 11548835

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle jerked. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the coil and the water pump needed to be replaced. The coil was replaced; however, the water pump was not replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

NHTSA ODI 11540758

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while parked with the engine idling the message "Engine Too Hot to Operate" was displayed and the engine temperature gauge indicated that the engine had overheated. The vehicle was towed to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the water pump and timing chain were faulty and needed to be replaced. The water pump and timing chain were replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 132,000.

NHTSA ODI 11540809

WATER PUMP FAILURE. ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. BY THE TIME I COULD PULL OFF THE FREEWAY (1 MINUTE) THE ENGINE HAD STALLED AND THE CAR WOULDN'T START. TOWED TO REPAIR SHOP AND LEARNED THE PUMP FAILURE HAD ALLOWED WATER AND OIL TO MIX THROUGHOUT THE ENGINE. METAL SHAVINGS WERE FOUND IN THE ENGINE. ENGINE HAD TO BE REPLACED. TOTAL COST BEFORE THE VEHICLE WAS READY: OVER $11,000

NHTSA ODI 11539317

I noticed that I had to refill the coolant/water on my car because it was low. When I got out of my work I noticed there was water on the floor, but I didn't think of anything because my car was doing fine. When I was almost home I noticed the car fans were like trying to compensate for the heat, but when I look at my dash. My car was overheating with the engine light. I parked it and noticed the water I put this morning was all gone and the car was still leaking. Come to find out it was the water pump and the engine.

NHTSA ODI 11539028

2017 Ford Explorer with 114,000 miles. Engine coolant light came on while driving. The car was taken to a Ford Dealer and diagnosed with a failed water pump. As the water pump is installed inside of the engine this is now a major repair and if not caught early, can cause permanent damage to the engine. This failure can cause the engine to stop leaving you stranded. Currently having the engine repaired at Ford Auto Nation in Tustin Ca.

NHTSA ODI 11538399

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer for routine maintenance and was informed by the service technician that the water pump was leaking coolant into an engine cylinder. The contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

NHTSA ODI 11537007

Coolant was found to be infiltrating cylinders 2 & 3 of the engine. The engine was idling roughly and just about died before the check engine light came on. The service center did a pressure check and used a bore scope to confirm that there was coolant in the cylinders. My understanding of this problem is that the engine begins to misfire as coolant and oil mix and the cylinder walls start and other components deteriorate. When deterioration is bad enough the engine can quit. This can happen at any time including at high speeds on the highway. I'm not totally sure how long the rough idling had been going on, but the incident where the engine almost died and the check engine light came on was at about 80,000 miles. My guess is that the rough idling started around 70,000 miles -- give or take. Ford has not yet done a diagnostic teardown to determine how the coolant is infiltrating the cylinders, but it is a known problem for other sizes of the Ecoboost engine. I have the 2.3L Ecoboost. There was a recall on the 1.6L Ecoboost and there is a class action lawsuit for the 1.5L, 1.6L, and 2.0L versions of the engine.

NHTSA ODI 11535354

The water pump went bad which cost me 1500 dollars and the shop whom done it had replaced 15 water pumps on the exact make and model car as mine this year!

NHTSA ODI 11534879

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65-70 MPH, the engine seized. The contact was able to veer to the side of the roadway. The contact stated that upon attempting to restart the vehicle, the message "No Oil Pressure" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the head gasket was blown, causing coolant and oil to mix. The dealer diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 141,000.

NHTSA ODI 11534413

OVERHEATING WARNING ILLUMINATED, RESULTED IN VEHICLE SHUTTING DOWN WHILE BRIEFLY PULLING OVER IN A PARKING LOT TO GET DIRECTIONS TO A SPECIFIC HOSPITAL ENTRANCE. STOP TO SHUT DOWN, ABOUT 1 MIN. THIS HAS OCCURRED A TOTAL OF 7 OTHER TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST 12 MONTHS, BEGINNING WITH THE FIRST ONE IN JULY OF 2022. MY WIFE WAS IDLING WHILE AWAITING TO PICK UP THE KIDS FROM A GYMNASTICS CLASS. OVERHEATING WARNING ILLUMINATED, RESULTING IN THE VEHICLE SHUTTING DOWN. A MECHANIC WE KNOW WAS ALSO THERE AWAITING HIS CHILDREN AND DISCOVERED VERY LOW COOLANT LEVEL. IT WAS FILLED & THINGS SEEMED FINE UNTIL THIS SPRING, WHERE IT IS A BI-WEEKLY OCCURRENCE. COOLANT BOTTLES ARE ON STAND-BY AS WE HAVE NO OTHER OPTION. EVEN IF THE WATER PUMP IS FAILING, THIS IS ALL WE HAVE TO WORK WITH. OUR OTHER VEHICLE JUST SHUT DOWN MID-DRIVE IN MARCH. IT WAS TOWED TO THE MECHANIC. HERE WE ARE NEARLY 5 MONTHS LATER AND HE DOESN’T HAVE A GUESS AT WHAT THE PROBLEM MIGHT ACTUALLY BE. THAT VEHICLE, A 2012 FORD FOCUS SE.

NHTSA ODI 11534215

When driving the vehicle, it displayed a dashboard message "Engine Coolant Over Temperature". The vehicle was brought to the local Ford dealer where it is routinely serviced. Grapevine Ford identified that the water pump needed replacing. The part was $419 but it required 14 hours of labor to install it for a labor charge of $3,425. While the part failure isn't common but it can happen, 14 hours of labor to replace it is the real issue This is clearly an extremely serious design issue. What can the consumer do? A vehicle is needed & the repair was authorized. Reviewing the NHTSA website, multiple similar complaints were found. However, none of them referenced the extremely high labor charge to replace the water pump, which is the real issue.

NHTSA ODI 11531949

For the third time in six months I had an unintended acceleration when stopped and shifting from drive to reverse or the other way. The rpm’s go way up, if I didn’t have my foot on the brake the vehicle may have crashed, injured someone, etc. Ford dealer was not helpful at all, saying they had no prior reports. I had same problem on previous Explorer but traded it in.

NHTSA ODI 11528823

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where the vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the head gasket had blown/failed coolant leaked into cylinder # 4. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Ford Corporate was contacted and informed of the problem as dealership did not manufacture the vehicle. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with TSB: 19-2346; however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

NHTSA ODI 11526983

Car overheating, coolant holder looks empty, I added coolant and it overflowed. Once I opened the air tank all the coolant came up from below and over flowed. Took to Ford of West Covina and they said I have a water pump leak. Yet I see no leaking ever in my garage or driveway. Car is fairly new and I always take it to get serviced on time and I am very caring to my cars. I took my car for service on 2/23/2023 to Ford of West Covina where I have always gone to and they didn’t tell me anything was wrong with my vehicle, but now looking at the after visit summary paper work it says coolant leak. The service team told me my vehicle was in good condition when I picked my car up.

NHTSA ODI 11526892