general problems of the 2017 Ford Explorer - part 1

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly vibrated and shifted in and out of gear with the transmission warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 106,135.

The car was up on ramps, to replace a sensor, in park and slipped out of gear rolling backwards with force. Someone could have been under or behind the vehicle. Other vehicles could have been behind, property could have been damaged. The cars door caught the building and pulled it all the way back against the front fender.

Vehicle was brought to an authorized Ford dealership for coolant leak. The dealer confirmed a coolant leak originating from the internal water pump. The water pump on this engine is chain-driven and located inside the engine behind the timing cover, requiring approximately 12 hours of labor to access and replace. This is a known design defect affecting millions of Ford vehicles with the 3. 5l cyclone/duratec engine across multiple model years (2007-2020). The defect allows coolant to leak past the bearing seal, with potential to mix with engine oil and cause catastrophic engine failure. This is a serious safety risk as failure can occur without warning while driving. The problem was confirmed and documented by the Ford dealership. No warning lights appeared prior to the leak being discovered. Repair cost exceeded $4,300. This defect was the subject of a federal class action lawsuit (roe v. Ford motor company, eastern district of michigan) which was settled confidentially in January 2024 without a recall being issued. Ford has not notified owners of this known defect or offered any remedy program to us customers, despite a canadian class action resulting in relief for affected owners there. I am providing the cost invoice but will provide an itemized invoice once repairs are finished.

When I start the vehicle, and press the bbrake and shift into drive, the vehicle shakes and jolts. When I remove my foot from the break to push the gas petle, there is a hesitation/stall out unless I push it quickly. The shaking and jolting occurs when the vehicle is in drive and reverse, but stops when the car is in neutral or park. In order to operate the vehicle in traffice, I have to put it in neutral at stop signs and traffic lights, or it will shake, jolt and stall out. This can not be safe!.

On July 14, 2025 as I stopped at the stoplight my car started to shake/shudder when it was green I started to drive and it stopped. Then when I stopped again while in drive I experienced the same thing. Contacted the dealership where I've been servicing my car since I bought it. I was hoping they could take in that day but they were booked. Next available was July 17, 2025. They did a diagnostic on my car and said it was the motor mounts. Had to order the parts and will call when parts are in. Parts came in and it was scheduled. Took them all day and even after shop closed to put the motor mounts on. When I picked it up I was told it was still shaking/shuddering but not as bad. Told me to take it home and see. Called them back to bring it back in due to shaking/shuddering, they did another diagnostic this time its my torque converter. Total with parts and labor $2819. 19 plus tax. I started doing some research and found this was a common problem for my type of car. It's on Fords customer satisfaction 20n07. My car fall meets all that is required. Contacted Ford multiple times and was turned down saying there was no recall for mines even though it was manufactured at that specific plant.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and approaching a stop, the vehicle briefly jump and jolted. 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 diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 50,000.

I periodically have unintended acceleration ; it has occurred off and on for the past two years . The Ford dealer said no faults were detected so they can't fix the problem . It most often when I am shifting into reverse then the rpms increase dramatically and when I put it in neutral they shoot up even more . A few days ago I was putting the car into the garage , waiting for the door to open , with my foot on the brake and the shift in drive when the rpms started to increase . Feeling the car starting to move I shifted to neutral when the rpms shot up tremendously . This is a dangerous situation where someone can get injured or killed . Ford should be able to correct the problem !!!.

The transmission has totally failed at under 69,000 miles while my wife was driving down a 45 mph road. The vehicle intermittently lost power and she was nearly rear-ended with my child in the car. All warning lamps came on and the engine totally lost power. 2 shops have looked at the car and stated that the transmission failed completely. There were no warning lamps prior to this occurring.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. In addition, while driving at undisclosed speeds, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving 40 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal, and the vehicle jerked before slamming into gear. The check engine warning light was continuously illuminated. Additionally, the vehicle was leaking oil onto the ground and the engine was consuming an excessive amount of engine oil. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle with coolant intrusion into a cylinder, which caused the engine failure. The spark plugs were replaced. The mechanic also informed the contact that the transmission had failed. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred contact to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 52,590.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65 mph, the vehicle made an abnormal whining sound. The message to "see owner’s manual" was displayed with a wrench symbol. The contact stated that while depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to accelerate, nearly causing a crash. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact stated that upon shifting from park(p) to drive(d), the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle was towed to matt's repairs, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle could not be covered because the vehicle was out of warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 97,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle made an abnormal clunking sound, went into limp mode, and failed to exceed 25 mph. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact shifted to reverse(r), but the vehicle failed to respond. The contact called the independent mechanic whom the vehicle was purchased from, but no assistance was provided. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed with catastrophic transmission damage. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. There was no warranty coverage on the vehicle for the failure. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.

Passenger seatbelt frayed, inside electrical goes haywire when cold weather, transmission slipping was rebuilt under warranty lasted one week and is slipping again shifting hard, b panels falling off a panel was recalled but panel wasn’t?.

I have a 2017 Ford Explorer with a water pump that needs replacing per a Ford dealership. It has 59k. It should last at least 150k. There should be a recall as there are thousands of these vehicles with the internal water pump. Apparently it's a problem if they are no longer making them internal. I want to file a complaint and would like some type of compensation.

In November of 2024 my 2017 Ford Explorer XLT began to vibrate and shake immensely when put into drive or reverse. The vehicle was taken to repair shop to diagnose the problem, and I was informed that the codes came back as a Ford recall for a torque converter. The vehicle was taken to karl flammer Ford in florida for another diagnostic and I was informed that there was no recall for a torque converter failure from the chicago plant where my vehicle was manufactured. Ford motor company issued a customer satisfaction program 20n07 for engine and 6f35 transmission, also csp 20b27 in October 2020. It states that: "this program extends the warranty coverage of the automatic transmission torque converter for (12) months from the ro date of powertrain control module reflash under customer satisfaction program 20b27 (I bought vehicle 2/2021). It also states that: "the vehicles covered by this program are Ford Explorers 2016-2019 from assembly plants louisville and chicago, build dates sept. 29, 2014 through March 3, 2019. However, Ford is not honoring the customer satisfaction program. Basically, I bought a vehicle from a dealership with an existing power train problem that could have been repaired under an out of date recall (failure to disclose). My vehicle is now inoperable at 80,000 miles and I have to spend $6,500 for a new transmission that should be covered through Ford. Shame, shame. This major issue needs to be recalled at this point.

The transmission stops switching gears after going 70 mph on the highway no acceleration was possible just stopped working. I had my kids with me I had a tractor trailer behind me and in front of me and beside me on a very busy highway going 70 mph and the transmission just stopped working no gas was it was just redlining when it was supposed to be accelerating no gears were reached I had to throw it in park throw it back into sports mode they're back into drive they're back into sports mode they're back in the drive before it kicked in and would go all while in the middle of a busy highway and not able to get off the road and declining in speed. The manufacturer or Ford did purchase the vehicle from me and made me roll over my negative equity from that car into a new car was my only option or paying 10 grand to get it fixed. Nothing no lights were displayed no lights came on at all no warning signs nothing just happened. When I took it in to get it looked at the mechanic immediately told me that I need to trade the car in and that I shouldn't have this vehicle it's transmission has been having multiple issues over four times in one year it was in the shop for transmission issues they told me nothing was wrong and they drove my car 200 mi they gave it back to me not even two weeks later this happened no lights and nothing was pulling on the codes the mechanic harper from malloy Ford is the one that told me that I should need to trade it in he contacted the Ford company they offered $2,000 to help with the cost to get the car fixed but it wasn't going to fix the problem from happening again and it was traumatizing to have to go through that with my kids I didn't want to put my kids back in that vehicle because we literally could have died. Please reach out with any additional questions with my phone or email . . The car has had transmission issues since I bought it. The dealership refused to take the car back after I purchased it to put me in something else.

Powertrain fail while driving on the highway.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while stopped at a traffic signal, and as she depressed the accelerator pedal, the vehicle was hesitating and before it was gaining forward momentum. The contact stated that the vehicle was vibrating and was jerking into gear. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent but was a recurring failure. The contact stated no warning was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission was leaking from the case and the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the transmission continued to shift between the fourth and fifth gears. There was an abnormal booming sound detected. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the torque converter was slipping. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted and referred to the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000.

With 39,221 miles only, last week start to leaking coolant ,, take to dealer , found that the water pump leak, they say the heater core are leaking to. . Want charge my over $7000. The water pump are power train , but they not want to fixed under any warranty. . Call Ford corporate, they not want do nothing. Car start to smoke and bad smell . Not think are fair for new car with this big issue and not want to fixed. . Need to be a recall. Everyone complaint everwhere above this problem. Water pump. 11 hours job.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with transmission failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was experiencing rough idling while in drive(d) and reverse(r). Additionally, the contact stated that while driving from a complete stop and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle hesitated while responding. The contact stated that upon depressing the accelerator pedal closer to the floorboard, the vehicle responded as needed. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was determined that the failure was related to Ford campaign number: 20n07. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under the campaign. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shuddered and vibrated. The contact stated that a tire rotation was performed on the vehicle; however, the failure persisted. Additionally, the contact stated while attempting to drive from a complete stop, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was pushed into a parking lot. The vehicle then was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle could be repaired under Ford campaign number: 20n07 if the dealer determined that the failure was related to the campaign. A case was opened and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

The torque convertor is bad, causing my vehicle not to accelerate properly, especially when going uphill and until reaching a sustained speed. It also shudders while at a sustained speed and jerks when going in reverse. Recently, while accelerating onto the highway (from 30mph to 60+ mph) I was almost rear ended due to the vehicle shifting hard and not accelerated at the rate of speed expected. This happens often, but I'm typically able to compensate for it. This time, I was unable to and it almost caused an accident with my 2 minor children in the back seat. I have taken it to my local Ford service center. They know that the issue is caused by degraded torque convertor function. Ford issued customer satisfaction program 20b27 and 20n07 previously but is no longer honoring the program- leaving many of us with no resolution. I never received notice of this program, nor was it listed in oasis for my vehicle (per my service center). Because this was not listed in oasis, and it doesn't throw any codes when assessed, the problem with the transmission was dismissed a year ago when it wasn't as severe. This is a safety hazard and the NHTSA needs to step in and force Ford to either reopen customer satisfaction program 20b27 and 20n07 or issue a recall.

Took a trip and the torque converter went out while driving down the interstate. Got off at an exit and as soon as we stopped the whole car starting shaking, you could feel it and hear it through the whole car, could see the hood shaking. Pulled into a parking lot thinking the car might cool down and it would be fine again. It did not stop, it has progressively sounded worse, only if the car is idling while in drive or reverse. Had a Ford certified mechanic look at the vehicle and he immediately said it was the torque converter, and that there is a TSB for this problem. TSB 20-2271.

Vehicle’s coolant over temperature warning light comes on only on highway and vehicles slows, which can cause a crash. However, temp gauge fluctuates quickly going back and forth from normal to hot.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that in 2nd and 3rd gear, the vehicle jerked, and transmission slipped. The contact stated that while in 4th and 5th gear, the transmission was slipping. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to customer satisfaction program: 20n07. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the torque converter had overheated, and the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered and failed to accelerate properly. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed with a failed torque converter and oil leak in the timing cover. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was relating the failure to customer satisfaction program: 20b27 and 20n07 (possibility for the transmission torque converter to overheat in certain driving conditions). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 53,000.

The water pump just went out and left us stranded in 110 weather and the gentleman that own the shop that I took it to told me that he has replaced 13 within 6 months! I have read and studied it and every single customer said the water pump went out at about 70,000 so there needs to be a recall! this is ridiculous!.

2017 Explorer vehicle equipped with a 2. 3l engine exhibits a vibration/rough idle when the vehicle is in drive or reverse. The vehicle also exhibits a lack of engine revolutions per minute (rpm), lack of acceleration on take off and/or shudder while driving. This may be due to the torque converter overheating causing damage to the torque converter as well as possible internal damage to the transmission.

My torque convertor has started to fail, extreme vibration when in drive or reverse at a stop, hesitation when trying to take off from a stop, rpms will redline and the car won't move and then it will slam in to second gear. I have found a recall/customer satisfaction program (20n07) I took the car to a Ford dealership and they confirmed the torque convertor is ruined. I am terrified to drive this car, when the hesitation first happened I was pulling out in to moving traffic and the car would not move then took off very quickly. The vehicle has only been inspected by a Ford dealership where they diagnosed the torque convertor. I believe that this should be considered a safety issue. The hesitation alone could cause an accident when trying to move with the flow of traffic.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to pull to the shoulder of the roadway, where the failure persisted. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to customer satisfaction programs: 20b27 and 20n07. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 120,000.

Torque convertor failed at 80k miles, caused the vehicle to shake while in drive while stopped in gear. Was repaired at a Ford dealership (palmetto Ford) in charleston south carolina.

Since owning vehicle with around 60k, 2 serpentine belts have been replaced, high pressure hose replaced, water pump is now failing. Looking online, this vehicle has been plagued with issues and no recalls? a failing water pump from 2011 models on? not sure how a car can have over $10k in problems and no recalls.

At somewhere between 100k-123k the water pump started leaking. This was noticed by smelling a faint smell of coolant after driving. Additionally a small leak of orangish fluid was noticed under engine (front passenger side). Given the symptoms I had the vehicle taken to a Ford dealer for inspection where it was confirm from a system pressure test that the water pump had a leak. Additionally I was just outside my warrant coverage to have this covered by Ford (within the years, outside the mileage). After researching, I have found that many others have the same compliant and even a class action has been attempted. Ford needs to offer a recall for this very cost repair and known issue. Water pump failure could cause engine damage, resulting in vehicle failure while operating, which puts the operator at risk on the side of the road or while operating at highway speeds.

I have replaced all the starter coil packs in my engine and still have the same problem the codes read misfiring on multiple cylinders wich causes the car to lose power and pull back on the transmission while pushing on the gas pedal this is an ongoing problem.