Table 1 shows one common wheel related problems of the 2007 Ford Explorer.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Wheel problems |
In may of 2015 while I was driving, the left rear wheel fell off. Now on April 5, 2016 while my wife was driving, the right front wheel fell off. Two wheels falling off in a period of less than one year. In my mind this is not a coincidence. It is a dangerous situation.
My husband noticed a squeaking noise when driving. It got worse after a road trip and we isolated the noise as coming from the rear passenger side. We investigated further and discovered only one lug nut was holding the tire on, and 2 of the pins had sheared completely off. We immediately had the vehicle towed to the mechanic. We ended up having to replace the entire axle. After chatting about the issue at work I discovered a coworker had the exact same thing happen with his 2005 Explorer but his wheel actually fell off causing $5,000 in damage to his vehicle (no injuries or accident). Is it possible there is some defect?.
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the front passenger's side wheel separated from the vehicle, causing damage to the front end. The vehicle was towed to the mechanic, who inspected the vehicle and found that the wheel lug nuts were sheared. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure and current mileage was 130,000.
The contact owns a 2007 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 75 mph, the steering wheel began shaking and contact was unable to turn wheel. The contact stopped on the emergency lane and the front passenger side wheel fell off. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who stated that the lug nuts came off, and was possibly due to someone not adjusting them appropriately. The failure recurred and the front driver side wheel moved unsteadily, and almost came off. The contact stated that the lug nuts came off again. The dealer has not inspected the vehicle for the recent failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The current mileage was 123,000. The failure mileage was 80,000.
Driving 40 mph when low pressure warning came on. Check tire in one the pressure was 25 psi. This has happen over 7 times on the tires . It has cost me oer $250 to fix all tires. Nobody seems to know why. I bought the fortera triplethread tire seeming there were the best. Now I have 30000 miles on tires and the tire place saus I have about a year on them . To this day I am still having low pressure warnings come up monthly. The tire place where I went said to put extra air in tires an keep doing that till I get new tires. Don't know what to do? . . . . . [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
On April 25, 2011 at a approximately 10 am, my wife and I were traveling in our 2007 Explorer going southbound on rt 5 passing stockton CA. I was driving; my wife was in the front passenger seat. We were in the middle lane of this 3 lane highway in moderate 75 mph traffic and about ⽠mile north of exit #473 when suddenly and without any previous warning (such as the way a vehicle handles when a tire is going flat or a wheel is coming loose), there was a loud bang accompanied by high vibration and a loud rumbling noise like a tire blowout. The noise and vibration lasted a second or so, then stopped for a second or so, then resumed again for another second or so after which the vibration stopped and the loud rumbling noise was replaced by a loud steady scraping/grinding noise. I got onto the shoulder of the highway in about 15 seconds. During this I had no significant difficulty in steering or controlling the Explorer. The passenger side rear wheel had come off. All 5 lug bolts were fractured through and all but their short portions that are threaded into the hub, were missing. A long skid mark from the #2 lane over to the shoulder was done by the rear wheel’s stabilizer frame and associated linkages having been scraped over the pavement. The last time the lug bolts and lug nuts on this wheel were removed and reinstalled was over 8,000 miles ago when the brakes were inspected. The torques on the lug nuts on the remaining 3 wheels were now measured and found to be per Explorer shop manual specifications. I am concerned about the safety of the lug bolts in other vehicles that have similar lug bolts from the same batch as in mine. I have the hub with the portions of the fractured lug bolts still threaded into it, and it is available for examination by NHTSA if that will help in determining if a more widespread lug bolt safety issue exists.
This vehicle consistently had issues with air pressure in the tires. It had a auto detect system, but on a regular basis the warning light would come on for low air. This happened every couple of months for the life of the vehicle. The vehicle also had extreme tire wear. Tires were rotated every 6,000 miles as recommended and replacement tires were purchased far too often due to uneven wear.
Tire valve stems failed eventually on all 5 tires. Gradually on each tire over time and sometimes at highway speeds. 1 tire was ruined and had to be replaced with half it's tread life left. I did replaced all valve stems at my expense. Total $140. 00 1 new tire 5 stems. I feel Ford should have notified me of the defect for the safety of my family and me. I was not notified by Ford of the stem valve failure. I purchased the vehicle at a Ford dealer used in 2009.