general problems of the 2012 Ford Explorer - part 1

I started receiving recall information on or before February 2024 for this recall. I finally took it in for inspection maybe 6 months ago. They broke the a-pillar trim peices on both sides so then afterwards at some point they flew off. Then I was on the highway on 6/4 & then the molding peices underneath surrounding my windshield started coming off & flapping around. Thrashing my window while driving 70mph. I had to pull the peices in & roll them up in my window before I was able to pull over & detach them fully. After the inspection as well the guy at the dealer basically laughed & said Ford isnt even making these parts & they are on “indefinite back order”. Now the peices are missing as well as my windshield being exposed. All looks very unsightly as well. I dont think Ford really cares because its been almost 2 years & no parts are available yet!!!!!! I am very disappointed & frustrated.

Recall a-pilars were removed creating unsafe driving conditions. Parts were flying off vehicle while driving and creating new repairs issues. The manufacturer letter states repairs will take less than half a day but are unable to provide a delivery date. This is a huge concern.

I own a 2012 Ford Explorer involved in recall 23s02 / NHTSA 24v031. The notice I received is dated February 2024. I have been in contact with two Ford dealerships and the Ford corporation trying to find out when the repair parts for this recall will be available, and I have written to the NHTSA twice asking the same question. The only response I receive from Ford is they don't have any idea and to wait for the next letter from Ford. I have had the driver side trim blow off my vehicle while driving and fortunately I was able to grab it before it flew into a vehicle behind me. Pictures are attached. My latest contact with a dealership and Ford corporation was February 10, 2025 and no one has a clue when the parts may be available. Can you help?.

Recall for a-pillar applique trim clip attachment. I have called local dealership and was told that it would be well over a year before they could get the parts to get it fixed however when I'm driving I can hear the piece flapping against my car in the wind. I even called Ford themselves and asked and they said we aren't making the pieces for the recall right now and dont know when we are going to be making them.

Driving vehicle with my 15 year old daughter, noticed a smell in cabin, we both started feeling strange, getting a headache, dizzy, fearful of co2 pulled over and had it towed to dealer.

Recall data refreshed on Dec 11,2024 1 unrepaired recalls associated with this VIN Jan 19,2024 manufacturer recall number24s02 NHTSA recall number24v031 after almost a year, Ford has not made a fix available for this recall.

The hazard lights have never worked in my vehicle and after spending months at the dealership they were not able to fix this. Also my window pillar flew off hitting another car while I was doing 75mph and the window cowl did the same thing. I've been working with a Ford dealership in evansville,indiana on walnut street and the window cowls need recalled and I was told that it will take 6 weeks to fix the pillars but the window cowl is so loose it's going to fly off in due time plus most of the vehicles the hazard lights do not work at all. Also I was able to turn the my key feature on and I can't get it to turn off and my dealership can't figure it out. My electrical power steering unit,the steering gear box and steering knuckle also went out. And the rear end fractured on me while driving I lost steering 4 times while driving and almost hit a semi.

When backing up the the dash board (camera) screen is crossed. Items that appear on the right shows on the left on the screen. And things that appear on the left show up on the right. Some how the camera is flipped.

My rear backup camera isn't working all the time. I feel this is a huge safety issue and needs to be recalled.

Window trim pieces have fallen off 3x. We have had them replaced multiple times. Once, the trim piece came off on the highway and caused the vehicle behind to swerve. No accidents. Currently, the drivers side trim piece is loose again, and I'm considering having it replaced, again.

Front left windshield assembly came off while I was driving down the highway.

While driving down the middle of a busy interstate suddenly the power steering was lost and a power steering assist warning appeared. Vehicle was almost impossible to control with no steering. After making it off the roadway and into a local business and turning the car off, when I turned it back on the warning was gone and the steering worked normally. This is definitely a life threatening failure and it happens without warning.

Driving south/west on us301 in MD, from NY, and the driver side windshield frame came off at highway speed. There was no other traffic nearby. I ordered a replacement frame off ebay and installed but it does not fit as well as the original. Heard on the radio there had been other reports of this, hence why I am making this report now. The incident took place before christmas. There were no warning signs of this potentially happening. I am the only owner of this vehicle, purchased it new.

Power steering stopped working. Eps fault. Seems like it should be a safety recall issue, but it's only an extended warranty. Unfortunately we're outside the warranty. Power steering should definitely be considered a safety recall.

When I drive especially on roads with normal speed limits gas like smell or carbon monoxide smell comes into the car.

Driver side pillar trim molding flew off multiple times while driving on the interstate causing safety issues to the other drivers.

Ford sync screen goes black and stays black. You cannot control rear air such as heat and or a/c. With this in mind and someone having small children that ride in the back and live in an area that sees 90 to 104 degree temperature well I am sure you can guess how hot the car is inside for them. I have been told by dealerships this is a common problem with this year of Ford so why is their not a recall for this yet as children and pets are suffering and risking heat stroke due to this issue.

Just purchased this car, decided to look up any recalls and found 1 pertaining to the toe links. Looking throughly at the vehicle there are a lot of major defects. This is going to be a daily driver for my daughter and I and I truly don't feel safe as I'm reading all the reviews and recalls. The only thing I can mention at this moment about this car would be the back washer fluid leaks into the cabin, the hood of the car does not shut correctly-handle for this area is loose. The state of this car is unknown.

Persistent exhaust odor in vehicle upon start up . When the vehicle cranks up and with a/c on there is a strong exhaust odor , it isn't as noticeable at highway speeds but still there . This issue started a couple weeks ago and hasn't went away.

On October 31, 2020, I pulled up to the grocery store and my sunroof opened by itself. I realize it was not closing so too fast forward I found out that leaks from my sunroof had messed up my electrical wiring in my roof or filling on my car so it causes the sunroof electrical parts to stop working. Every time it rain, heavy or consistently I had a puddle of water in my front passenger seat. I’ve been able to get my sunroof closed and that hasn’t been an issue opening back up, but it does not work at this time after getting it fixed, but also I was nervous about opening it up in case it would not close because it wasn’t cheap to repair it. Now that I am living somewhere that it rains more often I am continuously getting leaks in my door frame, and it comes through my seatbelt or in my trunk. It leaks through the seatbelt or the ceiling of the back trunk. When I first had this problem, I googled it and I realize other people were having issues with the 2011 or 20 1244 and at this point I feel like it is poor construction when it comes to feeling of the vehicle. I’m not sure how many people have reached out to discuss this but at this point is more of an issue because I am somewhere that rains a lot and I do not have anything to cover my car. If anything I wanted to still reach out to get the information out there because I know a lot of them do have Ford Explorer. If is this something that is an issue for other people I wanted to at least be someone else to report this issue. None of these issues were due to me buying a car and this is something that was not provided when I bought the car. I am pretty sure every time it rain when I lived in in, they had to clean out the puddle of water in passenger front floor. Although I know this is also error on dealership and I can take accountability that I was naive with buying car process I still feel like it’s something that needs to be fixed manufacturer problem as many people have had this issue.

My truck burst into flames 🔥 and burn to the ground while parked in the drive way.

Heavy rain causes water to leak inside vehicle. Repaired sunroof on which electrical parts was “burned” out due to water leakage. Water continues to leak inside of vehicle through driver and 3rd row (driver side) seatbelts. Googled issue and looks like many people are having this problem. There is no way that dealership was not aware of this issue as it definitely rains in indiana where car was purchased. Just would like this to be known and fixed as this can cause not only electrical issues (sunroof went out, radio dashboard has problems) but also health issue as mold can form in vehicle.

Water is leaking from the roof that causes electrical issues. Bad design by Ford in which seal seams not properly installed, which cause leaks inside vehicle.

When the vehicle is stationary and I turn on the vehicle it displays the following message "power steering assist fault" and the steering wheel locks and I am unable to move the vehicle until I turn it off and turn it back on at least 2 times. I am afraid if this fails while I am driving I could kill myself or someone else.

Could not fill my gas tank because it was blocked by some piece of metal. At a gas station. Went to an auto repair shop and the mechanic had to use 2 screwdrivers to push the metal obstacle away. I was then able to put gas in.

As I was driving on the highway out of no where I heard a flapping noise coming from the drivers side of the windshield, the saw a black piece of rubber immediately flapping around. I immediately slowed down and went to pull over to see what it was. Then I heard a loud 'pop" and saw this black thing fly pass me. When I got out I realized the black pillar molding on the driver's side of the windshield had flown off. Similarly enough, my room mate has the same year and model vehicle, about a week after mine flew off, her passenger side did the same thing, only driving on residential roads (slower speed). This piece is about 2 feet long, as a projectile filing off a vehicle in motion it very easily could have caused an accident or hit a pedestrian.

After parking my vehicle in my drive way (vehicle was in park with emergency brake applied) I exited the vehicle and the vehicle started rolling forwards down my slopped driveway. I attempted to chase the vehicle hoping to jump in and apply the brake but was unable to. Vehicle came to a stop after hitting my fence, bushes, and a small tree. There was body damage to the front right portion of the vehicle.

Took my 2012 Ford Explorer in to have the tires replaced and the next day there was an "odor" coming into the cab as well as outside of cabin as I was driving to work and when I stopped and got out of the vehicle.

Sometimes my steering wheel will lock and I can not move and I am driving with my children and that scared me I've called the tow truck twice taking it to the dealership for them to find nothing. Now my vechile is starting to shake when I'm driving and I'm tired of taking to the dealership for nothing. I've taken to 2 dealership and they say the same thing. It's always when I'm driving. It's all I the dealership papers. I'm sick and tired of this . It started about 1 year after I got it. I would not buy another Ford.

Strong carbon monoxide odor coming through the hvac vents when I was driving to work. I rolled down my window to get the odor out of the vehicle. I have noticed this odor in the past but I figured that it was coming from outside of the vehicle from other motorists. After receiving notice that this is a recall and is potentially coming from my vehicle, I will go ahead and schedule an appt. To get this resolved. This is a dangerous issue to have. More importantly with my family in the vehicle. If the Ford "fix" doesn't resolve the issue my question is, what am I to do about this? the final payment for my 2012 Ford Explorer is due on 01/15/2018. I really do not want to have to purchase another vehicle after paying $698 for the past 6 years. If this issue continues I'd expect Ford to do 1 of 2 things, 1. Take back the Ford Explorer and let me trade for another Ford vehicle of equal cost to what I paid for my Explorer, less the interest. 2. Refund my $46k that I paid for my Ford Explorer as you have sold me an unsafe vehicle. I've already had the issue of losing power steering while I was driving on multiple occasions. Luckily I got that issue resolved from a previous recall. Please help us NHTSA as we should not have to tolerate unsafe vehicles at our expense. It seems like the hard working people are the only ones that pay for manufacturer's mistakes. Let's start punishing these big companies so that they do a better job regarding people's safety. Thank you!.

I smell exhaust when idling or waiting at stop lights- even when driving. Am I in danger?? it is ongoing and happens often.

Heavy fumes are entering my car causing headaches. Recall was performed and problem continues to persist.

My 2012 Ford Explorer limited edition has an exhaust leak that is pushing fumes into the cabin of the vehicle. The noxious fumes enter the cabin and induce nausea and severe headaches. The vehicle has been brought to a certified Ford dealership who has confirmed that this leak is part of a largely known issue that occurs with the Explorers'. I have been informed that while Ford recognizes the problem, they have yet to produce the parts required to fix it, and I have to sit and wait for Ford to do what is necessary on their part, which is going to take an undetermined amount of time. In the meantime I am forced to drive around with these fumes entering my vehicle.

I am worried about the carbon monoxide in my Ford Explorer. I was driving a friend of my to lunch and she got insanely red and broke out in hives the minute I turned the heat on. I ride with the windows open because I am concerned about the air in the cabin with my 2 year old who has asthma. There is always a smell when you turn either the air or the heat on.

The car has water leaks, I started having problems with electrical function and fear of fire or contact in my car .