Body problems of the 2018 Ford Explorer - part 2

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while self-inspecting the vehicle, he noticed the paint on the front of the hood was corroded and peeling. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer informed the contact that his VIN was not included in an unknown recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to file the complaint with the NHTSA hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 12,000.

The windshield bottom rubber trim is descente grating and falling apart.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that two years ago, he received a recall notification for the roof rail. The contact stated that the recall repair was completed. The contact stated that the roof rail failure had reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with roof rail assembly failure and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that if he had the repair completed, they would then authorize a two-year warranty on the repair. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000.

Windshield cowl (trim) had deteriorated, possibly due to common heat and sun damage. 1. We do not know whether or not the deteriorated cowl will affect windshield stability or water leaks. If windshield stability is affected, it would affect safety. 2. Other complaints have noted that pieces of deteriorated cowl/trim have impacted safety of nearby vehicles. 3. The vibration, humming, and buzzing are irritating to drivers and passengers. // this observed deterioration occurred when the vehicle was 5 years old, however, we know of the same problem occurring in a 2019 Explorer at about 3 years. // the local Ford dealer stated it would cost over $650 to replace the cowl.

I was driving on the highway at about 70 mph when the passenger side window trim flew off of the vehicle, causing a loud noise that startled me as I drove. I do not believe the trim piece hit another vehicle as it was nighttime and the road was not crowded, but it easily could have in other circumstances.

Frame around windshield is loose on the right. Rattles when driving at higher speeds.

Windshield panel pillar and moldings are missing and flying off vehicle.

The passenger side windshield panel flew off while driving 70 mph on the highway. There is now a rattling sound when I drive over 30 mph. There were no warning signs, only a loud crack. This could have been very dangerous if someone had been next to or behind the vehicle.

Windshield allows wind noise to come through. Components loose scare it might fly off.

Paint bubbling on hood near grill.

While driving on the highway the right windshield trim piece on the pillar completely ripped off.

While driving 75 mph on I-80 in nebraska, the passenger side windshield trim flew off my 2018 Ford Explorer with no warning. This is the second time it has happened, although we heard something hitting the car before it flew off the first time. This was in 2020.

About two years ago, I had the windshield replaced because I had a crack in it. A certified tech approved by my insurance replaced it. Once that happened, I noticed the right a-pillar was loose. Thinking it was something they did incorrectly, I called and they came to fix it; however, a day later, it did the same thing. The clips would not fit correctly. While going down the road, it flew off and scraped the side of my car. Now there isn't an a-pillar and I'm afraid water is getting into my car. Since that happened, my electrical system has been acting strange. I called the autonation and I was told the saw the recall, but they didn't have any fixes for it yet. That was in 2024.

The windshield trim is dethatching from the vehicle. The detached item can cause damage to other vehicles or injury to other motorist. The problem has been confirmed by a service center but not inspected. There is no warning lamp, discovered after hearing a noise while driving.

The windshield trim flew off of my car as we were driving down the highway and behind us into traffic. The whole chunk is missing.

The trim around my windshield on my driver's side blew off of the car. It is totally missing. Upon research, this appears to be a pretty common problem and it is very dangerous. Parts coming loose while driving could injure other drivers. No warning that the piece was loose. I am not sure who to report the problem to, I am going to call the dealership tomorrow and my warranty company. My concern is that the replacement piece may not stay on the car.

While traveling at highway speed, the driver's side windshield pillar trim detached itself from the vehicle and flew into the roadway resulting in the following vehicle needing to take evasive maneuvers to avoid collision. In June of 2021 the passenger side piece also detached at highway speed and collided with the following vehicle. Ford does not offer a more robust replacement part, so there is no way for drivers to remedy this hazard.

Driving on interstate and driver's side panel trim of windshield come off over the weekend. There were no known symptoms or problems prior to the failure. The passenger side looks like it's loose. Have been by the dealer but they have no recall information.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that there was an abnormal rattling sound coming from the passenger’s side dashboard. Over time, the sound spread to the middle and driver’s side of the dashboard. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the weather stripping on the dashboard had started to detach from the panel, and that the cowl panel needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.

Passenger side a pillar outside trim became loose starting at the top. Clips failed to hold it secure. Broke off in rain storm while driving on expressway.

Windshield trim piece came off while driving on the interstate.

Driving on the highway and drivers side windshield trim blew off at highway speeds almost hitting vehicles behind me. I'm not sure if it hit anyone. I pulled over as soon as I could and no one else pulled over. It could have caused serious accidents.

The cover to the hitch flew off (never taken off) while going up the interstate.

On a trip from south carolina to new york, both a-pillar trims blew off on the highway. I am attributing this to both the fluctuations in temperature in the prior 12 hours (over 30 degrees) and a known issue with this vehicle. It was also very windy out.

The passenger side front windshield a pillar outer trim flew off the car when we were driving on CA freeway 15 on Saturday, February 25, 2023. The entire molding flew off and we don’t know if it hit any cars behind us since we were going at least 70 mph.

Roof rail cover flew off on interstate.

While driving at highway speed, both windshield trim covers flew off and away from our vehicle. Fortunately there were no cars behind us at the time but had there been that piece would have surely hit and potentially impacted their vehicle. I understand this is happening to many of the Ford Explorers on the road and it is extremely unsafe.

Windshield pillar driverside flew off driving up interstate.

On or about January 4, 2023, while travelling on hwy 22 in texas at approximately 65 mph the right (passenger) side window trim unexpectedly flew off, landing in the road behind me. There was no previous indication of the trim being loose. The safety of others is a concern because the trim could have hit, or cause a diversion from, traffic in either direction. When I called the dealer to schedule the repair, the parts person explained that this was a "routine" occurrence for this make/model of vehicle (they knew the part number), but the vehicle was safe to drive until the part was replaced. The part was replaced on Jan 16 at a cost of $438. There has been no subsequent inspection of the replacement trim/parts, but there are no indications of an issue since replacing the trim/parts.

The passenger side windshield panel dislodged and flew off the car while driving on the highway at highway speeds. It was sudden event and I had no warning or noise before it happened.

The passenger roof "a" pillar (lower half) blew off the vehicle at about 70 mph. The pillar was not damaged prior to the failure and was not vibrating or making noise prior to suddenly blowing off.

On two separate occasions, without warning, in 8/2022 and again in 12/2022, the vertical windshield panels flew off my 2018 Ford Explorer SUV while driving at normal speed on us rt. 495 in haverhill MA. , potentially posing a hazard to following vehicles.

I was driving on the interstate, traveling about 70 mph, when my windshield trim piece of my car just detached and flew off the car. There was no initial impact or causing factor when this occurred. I was confused and looked back when it happened not knowing that a piece of my car had flown off in the moment. I do not know if it struck another car or caused any damage to other vehicles. The car behind me was still behind me and did not crash at least. There was no warning lights or prior accidents or damage to the car when this occurred. The vehicle other than this is still in good shape and has not had any other problems. I called my dealership about getting the piece to be replaced and the dealership said that this was a very common occurrence on Ford Explorers.

I seen where there was a recall on the roof rack covers on Explorers. Mine on my passenger side blew off in the wind. Should my vehicle have been in this recall. Karla davis.

A piller trim came flying off on the highway.