Table 1 shows one common service brakes related problems of the 2023 Ford Explorer.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Service Brakes problems |
A hissing noise coming from inside the vehicle when braking. The dealership isolated the problem and concluded it comes from the brake booster. The car just came out of manufacture warranty at 39,067 miles. However, there is no check engine or dashboard light on yet.
My 2023 Ford Explorer st has rolled while parked, turned off, and in park, with the electronic parking brake engaged. This has occurred multiple times on my residential driveway, which has an approximate 20-degree slope, during light snow conditions. On one occasion, the vehicle rolled backward down the driveway and into the street after being parked and shut off. On another occasion, it rolled forward while parked in the same location. In both cases, the vehicle stopped on its own without driver input. The dashboard indicated the vehicle was in park, and the electronic parking brake had automatically engaged. This behavior is inconsistent and occurred in both directions, which raises concern that the parking pawl and/or electronic parking brake is not reliably holding the vehicle. Snow may reduce traction, but a properly functioning parking system should prevent a parked vehicle from rolling, especially into the street. After the December 14, 2025 incident, the dealer was contacted and they replaced the parking pawl. The subsequent incidents occurred on January 14, 2026 while both rear facing and forward facing. This appears to be a vehicle rollaway safety defect and presents a serious risk of collision, injury, or property damage. The vehicle has not been modified, and this occurred under normal parking conditions. I am reporting this issue due to the safety risk and concern that the parking system may not be functioning as designed. I do have a video is of the December 14, 2025 incident when the vehicle was unoccupied, parked, turned off, and in park, with the electronic parking brake engaged.
On 11-21-24, I was traveling down the interstate going at 60mph when a car began to urgently brake, I proceeded to hit the brakes as well and my car would not stop, at the time of the impact no air bag deployed, driver seat belt did not lock, my driver seat moved, no pre-collision assist came up for this accident. No prior issues or lights on dash.
There seems to be two issues of concern; 1. Braking system . . When you are in your car, you can hear constant clicking from the engine and the brake light keeps turning and on and off. The light keeps indicating that the brake is on. This happens continuously every day. 2. Steering… when you are switching lanes, it’s not a smooth transition. It feels like a jerk each time and feels like if you were to put the brake, the car will flip over. Very concerning. Happens all the time.
-parking brake is auto engaged 100% of the time at start or while shifting out of park or shifting between gears. Drive or reverse -to disengage the park brake you have to depress the accelerator pedal. -pressure on the accelerator to disengage is inconnsistent every time. -vehicle lurches uncontrollably when releasing the vehicle off the emergency parking brake setting. -the jolt of the vehicle from the depress pressure is so significant and dangerous causing the risk to hitting any parked vehicle while parallel parking or hitting structure/garage when parking, jolting into traffic from a stopped/parked position or to people walking near the vehicle while trying to manipulate the vehicle. -when the auto hold feature is turned on, it can be assumed to be engaged by pressing the brake pedal but if the pedal isn't engaged with enough full pressure the auto hold will not fully activate. In notification when on is in small green text that can be easily missed/confused with the green symbol similar in size to the green auto headlight setting in the same zone. This can cause someone to believe auto hold in engaged when using peripherial vision for the indicator que without directly taking eyes off the forward condition. This gives the driver a false confidence to remove their foot from the brake and have the vehicle creep forward and can lead to accident or injury.