general problems of the 2018 Ford Explorer - part 2

The entire main console screen/information center went black one day. It was unable to be manually reset. Occasionally, on very hot days, the screen would work for the first start up. There are major safety issues associated with this: 1- inability to enable calling for help/911. There is a remote on the steering wheel to make phone calls, however, when the carplay is active and the phone is connected, you must only use the screen, the steering wheel feature is automatically disabled 2- the backup camera system is inoperable when the screen is black. This is dangerous as you cannot see hazards behind you including children, other vehicles, etc. When I contacted Ford's it department to first report it, they said this has been an ongoing issue with updates that they were aware of, but unable to fix. Skalnek Ford in lake orion attempted to diagnose the safety issue for weeks and ultimately the apim needed replacement.

Horn failed to sound after pressing center of steering wheel. The horn started changing tones over a period of time then got quieter and then stopped working all together. Fuses and relays are in good condition. Will take it to a Ford dealer to have it looked at for further diagnosis.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while reversing, the back-up camera image was distorted and unviewable. The vehicle had also experienced various electrical failures which included the headlights independently turning on while the vehicle was off. Additionally, while driving at undisclosed speeds, the message "key not detected" was displayed. The vehicle also experienced the liftgate opening independently while driving. The contact also had difficulties starting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the rear camera wire connector had failed due to water damage. The connector was replaced but later the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 20,000.

The battery continues to drain even when parked next to my house. After a few days some systems shut down beginning with the passenger door handle sensor not unlocking the doors when touched. A few days later the car would not start. It has been to several dealers in the nearly three years I have owned it and had numerous batteries replaced. Dealer always states everything checks out fine I have been stranded with a no start several times. The 12 volt accessories socket also stops working.

Sync screen completely blacked out. Started after Ford replaces my battery. Back up camera does not work; front and rear sensors do not work; along with all sync related activities (climate control, hands free) it has now progressed to instrument panel starting with the compass. Based on other complaints fear it will move on to other instrument panel devices.

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the infotainment screen was inoperable. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the application programming interface module (apim) needed to be replaced; however, the part for the repair was on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 89,000.

Vehicle equipped with a 3. 5l ecoboost v6 engine had an illuminated malfunction indicator lamp (mil), powertrain malfunction (wrench) lamp, service advancetrac message, hill start assist not available message, and lack of power with diagnostic trouble code p0107 (map faulty). Occurred while pulling away from a red light without warning. This disabled the vehicle in middle of intersection and power steering was lost. Vehicle lurched erratically and had to be pushed to safety then towed to dealer. Very unsafe as it literally died and steering went out without warning!!! initially towed to colley Ford in glendora, CA. That dealer was so horrific to deal with, we had the SUV immediately towed (again) to puente hills, CA dealer. Unacceptable handling by colley Ford.

I have been experiencing acceleration/transmission concerns, where the vehicle essential stalls and will not accelerate. After approximately 5 seconds, the computer and transmission appear to �sync� and the vehicle will accelerate, but the issue will continue to happen until the vehicle is turned off and back on again. The first time this happen, I was in a costco parking lot, so I did not think much of it. The second time this happen, July 12th, 2020, I was crossing a busy road of traffic near my home and was almost involved in a serious accident as a result of this failure. As I was crossing the 2 lanes of traffic to make a left hand turn, my vehicle stalled and I was almost side swiped by an oncoming vehicle. After this incident, I had my vehicle towed to a Ford dealership for inspection. Upon extensive analysis of the vehicle, the technicians could not find anything wrong with the vehicle including no failed sensors in the computer and the technicians were not able to replicate the concern. On August 19th, 2020, my check engine light came on and I immediately returned the vehicle to Ford dealership hoping this was a result of the issues I had been having. Upon another diagnosis, the error was cleared for an engine knock sensor, but this was not related to my concerns with the acceleration or transmission.

Had car serviced on 06/13/20 battery 100% documented. On 07/09/20 while driving the vehicle a quarter of mile from my house when the battery exploded. There was a strong sulfur(rotten egg) smell that filled the whole car and was hard to breathe. Stopped the car and opened the hood and confirmed that the battery had exploded spraying acid all over the entire engine compartment, down under the whole car and covering the tailgate and tires as well since the car was in motion when it happened. Ford wants to take no responsibility for the battery defect they are calling it. I've had to open a comprehensive claim through car insurance to cover all the body damages and mechanical damages from the acid. The car only had 43,000 miles when it happened with a 2 year old Ford manufactured battery that was just serviced as noted in the beginning being at 100%. There was never a indicator light from the battery or engine claiming that something was happening or did happen. My health report on my car still said nothing was wrong even though my battery had exploded.

For weeks now the car has been deciding what to do. The air conditioner randomly turns off or won't turn on. The window won't roll up or down. Lights in the dashboard randomly go on and off all the time. Sometimes there is just a loud noise but no lights. Then recently when I was driving on the highway going 55 mph with my 3 children the car shut its self off. The lights went crazy then shut off. There was no gas or brakes as I was going 55 mph. Once the car came to a rolling stop. It did not turn back on. Once towed to the dealership, they cannot find anything wrong.

The Explorer will randomly not start like a dead battery, but then starts other times. Battery had been replaced by the dealer. Side mirrors will fold in while driving and will not fold back out until the car is stopped, turned off and then restarted. When these issues are present the sync 3 system will completely turn off. This is random at the times it happens and the dealer has not experienced it while its been in the shop. We purchased the Explorer with 500 miles it as a new car January 13th 2019. It has 4200 miles on it and has been in the dealers shop a total of 23 days. The largest problem we have and why the vehicle is parked in our garage and does not get driven is the exhaust fumes in the cabin. Its so strong that if you drive it any length of time you get a severe headache. My entire family got sick all at once on the one and only trip we took in this vehicle. The dealer also experienced this when the technician got sick driving the car. They preformed the recall protocol for previous year Explorers and made us take it but the problem is more prevalent than ever now. Ive hired an attorney and the dealership will be getting a formal demand letter to purchase the vehicle back for what we paid. Ive tried to talk to the gm of the dealership and while he agrees there is a huge problem with the car they will not buy it back unless we agree to loose money. Ford denied a claim we made for them to reacquire the vehicle, and they denied it before the the dealership was even done with their evaluation. It's been a very difficult experience and seems unless my attorney gets involved there will not be a resolution.

I drove Explorer directly to mayo clinic in mn shorty after the purchase. It would smell like sulpher at times, gasoline, exhaust and I was getting very poor fuel economy. Averaging 17-2. I got extremely sick and confused and had severe headaches and nausea, vertigo, congnitive impairments, burning eyes and all I wanted to do was sleep. I felt fluish and I got confused while going to mayo for testing. Well, I didn’t make it to my appointment, I couldn’t even figure out how to book a hotel or get cash. I ended up lifeless and chose to stay in the Explorer overnight due to the severe fatigue and confusion. I slept in an open air parking garage and had an electric throw and would start the vehicle occasionally to get warm. Well I ended up so sick and mentally confused and cognitively exhausted my sister called the police to let them know something was wrong with me. I ended up in the hospital for a week. I felt like normal during my days in the hospital, I actually thought that I had been sick from the off gassing of the Explorer, but I couldn’t get away from the smells. I have mcs. After I was released I continued to drive down to jacksonville florida for my 3 week outpatient appointment. I was getting terrible fuel economy but I didn’t realize it until I was getting 12 miles a gallon and eventually it went as low as 5 miles per gallon. I was so sick from the odors I didn’t realize how much gas I was going through since I left CO. The Ford at that time in April 2019 had 5,000 miles on it and I was told the reason my fuel economy was so poor along with only getting 5-10 miles per gallon and the frightening smells and sickness were caused by the new emission set up and they refused to listen to my story and symptoms and charged me 500. 00 to fix what looked to have been poorly installed. I now have a tbi and severe cognitive and an mri that shows evidence of carbon monoxide poisoning and things only got worse from there. Thank you.

Electric shortages, smell burning wires, stalls vehicle was repurchased by Ford and I want to make sure its reported as a lemon and not resold for safety of others.

Exhaust fumes are entering the cabin during acceleration and when the ac is on. Several family members have complained about the smell within the cabin. I personally have experienced headaches and burning eyes because of the issue. It smells like burnt hair. This is a family vehicle used to transport my entire family including my 5 month old baby. This smell is making everyone nauseous.

During startup on cold mornings (not always) I have received multiple failure warnings. When this happens the vehicle has no power steering, turn signals, or windshield wipers. The warnings are: 4wd off, check parking aid, see manual, service advancetrac, steering assist fault, abs light, airbag light, parking brake light is on even though parking brake is not on. Also the climate control still sees the temperature as the last temperature from the previous drive. So if it was 80 out and now 40, the a/c blows cold air even though it is cold out. This happened twice, once at 749. 3 miles (3/12/2018) and the second time at 1440 miles (4/2/2018). First time dealer did not find the problem. The dealer has had the vehicle for over a week and still can not locate the problem.