Home · 2018 Ford Explorer Gas · Complaints

What 710 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 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 (710)Crash / fire / injury (29)Body & structure (284)Engine (93)Electrical system (56)Transmission & drivetrain (46)Engine & cooling (29)Visibility & wipers (27)Backup camera & sensors (26)Fuel system (23)Steering (20)Suspension (20)

4 of 710 complaints match · Body & structure · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Jun 3, 2026Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemBody & structureCrash

The driver side Keyless door entry pillar has come off on the highway and hit something. The keyless door entry panel came off in 2023 and Koons Ford of Annapolis charged me $ 523.00 to fix the panel. The panel has a small clip and double stick tape. Sorry, double stick tape is not going to hold up to weather variations throughout the year, wind speed and age. Terrible and dangerous design. You gave 2017 a Recall 25S53 for ford but NOT 2018

NHTSA ODI 11741782

Jan 13, 2024Body & structureCrash

I was driving on the freeway when one of my A pillers flew off and cause the person behind me to loose control of their car. About 5 min later the other a piller flew off almost causing an accident with a semi and trailer.

NHTSA ODI 11565318

Nov 28, 2019AirbagsBody & structureCrash

BOTH. VEHICLES WERE MOVING. THE EXPLORER FRONT HIT THE RIGHT REAR PANEL OF A 2011 FORD RANGER. BOTH VEHICLES WERE GOING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH. NO INJURIES SUSTAINED BY EITHER DRIVER. MY FORD EXPLORER AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. I WAS ON A CITY STREET THE OTHER VEHICLE WAS JUST BEGINNING TO TURN.

NHTSA ODI 11282767

Jul 26, 2019Body & structureCrash

WHILE PARKING VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED WHEN MOVING FORWARD SO MUCH THAT HAD TO TURN WHEEL TO RIGHT SIDE TO TRY TO AVOID CAR PARKED IN FRONT TO NO AVAIL HIT CAR PARKED IN FRONT WITH DRIVER SIDE BUMPER AND FENDER.THANK GOD THERE WAS LIGHT POLE IN SIDEWALK WHICH SLOWED DOWN CAR ENOUGH TO BE SHUT OFF.

NHTSA ODI 11235169

Working with the data? Download all 710 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 20, 2026

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 2018 Ford Explorer Gas verdict →