What 1,671 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Ford Explorer Police Intercept

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the engine temperature warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed and determined that the internal water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted, and it was stated that the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 59,800.

NHTSA ODI 11564213

Once I reach 65 mph it sounds like bees are in my truck. It's a very annoying sound and it feels the windshield will come off.

NHTSA ODI 11563445

Vehicle shutters, jerks and loses acceleration between 50 to 60 miles per hour. Can cause accident with other vehicles behind on freeway or any other circumstance. Have had vehicles behind me almost ram the back of my vehicle when this happens. No warning lights on dash. 12/27/23 Dealer says it’s the Torque Converter. Issue occurs every time during acceleration and deceleration. Has been going on for several years but I didn’t know it was an actual transmission problem. Dealer told me when I purchased vehicle that the car had to learn my driving habits and that’s all it is. Has not been inspected by anyone other than dealer

NHTSA ODI 11562216

Front windshield rubber trim is disintegrating, dry rotted and cracked throughout, separating from windshield, pieces about to fly off. Vibrates and makes sound when driving 55 mph or more.

NHTSA ODI 11562417

Driver side window button does not work. All others do. There is no reason this should not work on a car with so few miles 18,700 and less than 7 years old.

NHTSA ODI 11562419

The rubber windshield trim is detaching from the windshield, causing a loud rattling/vibrating noise inside the vehicle. This issue also allows debris to get between the windshield and the windshield frame, causing even further damage.

NHTSA ODI 11562041

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

Rack and Pinion is bad... vehicle is only six years old... why?? please look into this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11561888

Our Explorer was in the shop for over 4 weeks in September The steering went out randomly while driving. We are lucky that the vehicle did not crash. Called FORD Care and they said nothing they could do. So, we took it to ford, and they tried to get the vehicle to throw codes at no success. They replaced the Rack & Pinion assembly and asked us to pick it up. The problem was worse when we picked it up and returned it to the dealer. They worked with ford tech support to try to fix it again, picked it up and still broke. They took it all apart checking the ball joints and other front-end parts, and decided to replace the Rack again, they called us that it is ready for pick-up. Not sure yet if it is fixed but call Ford Care again. They said sorry, after pushing the said to contact Ford Consumer Affairs. They also said that there is no recall for this issue so there is nothing they can do. If the first Rack from ford was bad, this caused us to wait an additional 3 weeks while the dealership worked with ford tech. The onboard diagnostic should help the dealership with solving steering issues. How many people will have to go thru this before there is a recall? The dealer was awesome thru this whole ordeal. I can go on and on about spending over 2k, but hope. Total of 6 weeks in the shop. Now, mid December 2023, the car is still doing it, this time the car crossed the double yellow on RT 12 a major highway here in Illinois. They have had the car for 2 more weeks and can not fix it. They said they will be working with Ford again.

NHTSA ODI 11561556

The passenger side windshield panel came loose and then cracked and flew off whole driving on an interstate. It did not hit any cars but it is a big piece and could have damaged a car or caused a wreck.

NHTSA ODI 11561275

The gasket/seal surrounding the windshield on the passenger side front windshield was breaking off in sections. I had the dealer look at it while it was in the shop for some other recall work since I had only noticed it the day or so before. I was told it was the Pillar Moulding was coming apart but it was not a covered item. (Oct 2022) and the gasket itself was a wear and tear item. The gasket has continued to come off and has now caused the windshield to leak substantially.

NHTSA ODI 11560995

My windshield and windows collect condensation inside the vehicle during the winter and cold months. This occurs continuously while vehicle is in use and it causes me to not be able to see out my windows or windshield while driving.

NHTSA ODI 11559258

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

The driver and passenger windshield trim started to break apart while traveling at 70 mph. First the soft trim started to fly off and then the hard trim started to lift off. Luckily I was able to pull over before it completely flew off on the highway and hit the cars around me. Did some research and it looks like this is a very common issue for the explorer and some cases end up worse than mine.

NHTSA ODI 11558207

In 2019 the Front Passenger B Pillar came loose and flew off while driving, this has been repaired. In 2022 the windshield A pillar came loose and had been repaired by myself. Now in 2023 the Front Driver B Pillar is coming loose and is pending repair. There is an existing safety report for these same issues, PE 23-001.

NHTSA ODI 11558195

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. After restarting the vehicle, the failure reoccurred. The contact added transmission fluid to the vehicle and later the vehicle was restarted and driven to the residence; however, the failure later reoccurred. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 126,000.

NHTSA ODI 11557920

While driving in the freeway the plastic cover on the front "A" pillar flew off causing it to crash onto the front passenger side window before falling off. It could have caused serious bodily injury to my wife (front passenger) if the window was rolled down.

NHTSA ODI 11557010

windshield trim panel detaching and flying off my car while driving at highway speeds.

NHTSA ODI 11556551

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

Windshield trim flew off on the freeway going 65mph causing damage to a vehicle behind me. This problem has been reported to my nearest ford dealership.

NHTSA ODI 11555780

Apparently Ford is aware that there is a know issue with the Ford Explorer Water Pump failure which is causing water pump leakage inside engine mixing coolant and oil. This has been reported by thousands of consumers who are faced with an average cost of about $3000 to get this resolved. This should be considered a recall.

NHTSA ODI 11555800

Transmission is shuttering, had it checks by River City Ford and the tech advised the Torque converter needed to be replaced. After research, the recall 20N07 in October 9, 2020 for torque converter issues was found. After reading the document, the same issues, same motor same transmission is happening to my vehicle. The issues are as stated, vehicles that experience adverse NVH, vibration and/or rough idle in Drive or Reverse, low performance / lack of acceleration during launch, sluggish vehicle operation and shudder while driving. However my vehicle is doing the same thing, has the same 2.3L engine with the 6F35 transmission, but it is not on the recall list. NHTSA should step us and add all Ford Explore with that year, engine and transmission to this recall since the same issues are happening.

NHTSA ODI 11555677

Driver's side A-Pillar trim fell off while driving at highway speed

NHTSA ODI 11555475

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