Exterior Lighting Problems of Ford Explorer - part 2

Left headlight has gone out after only 46000 miles. A search of the internet for a fix for this reveals many individuals are having this issue on the platinum level trim models of the Ford Explorer. This is a safety risk as the whole headlight needs to be replaced at a cost of upwards of $2000. Other individuals have stated they have replaced the headlights multiple times under warranty. This should be looked into further.

See all problems of the 2020 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Daytime running light on drivers side not functioning at all.

At a stop light and all of the power in the vehicle went out and Explorer would not start. Hazards would not turn on and doors (besides driver door) would not unlock. Got out of the vehicle to try the fob and white smoke came billowing out from engine. Fire department and police were called. No warning lights or messages were seen on vehicle. Vehicle only has 10k miles on it. Vehicle was taken to dealership for diagnostics.

See all problems of the 2023 Ford Explorer 🔎.

The vehicle was sold to me by “buffalo auto sales 2 at 3012 spencer hwy pasadena, TX 77504 on [xxx]. They violated the dtpa and all employees failed to disclose the vehicle had dozens of major safety issues with two open safety recalls. These safety issues include major abs issues and failures, power steering/drivetrain, front end passenger wheel & both rear end wheel failures within the mechanisms such as control arms, tie rods inner and outer & even one within the wheel component that was dangerously bent. The headlight pigtails are torched. These couldn’t even be fixed with even replacement oem parts/Ford dealership parts and Ford dealership expertise. My safety, my children’s safety, family and passengers were all at risk multiple times over the past three weeks. Every time on the highway or local roads not being able to sustain maximum speeds over 20- 40 mph because touching the gas even after a red light would cause the engine to hesitate to turn or stutter. This caused me multiple trips back to buffalo auto sales 2 and multiple mechanics even multiple Ford dealerships. On September 12th 2024, I discussed these severe safety issues with buffalo auto sales 2, my salesman originally offered to place me into another vehicle, give me back my large cash deposit, or “attempt to fix the vehicle”. The manager immediately refused to do the right thing and claim to “fix the vehicle himself”. . However when I asked if the manager jeff has experience as a mechanic he replied he does not have mechanic experience. That day they claim to have “fixed” the abs problem, and in turn the vehicle was still shaking while in motion at any speed. Even after I thought Ford service could fix the tie rod recall, that still did not work because the rear was still shaking. I had tire experts and mechanics even change front tires, and do an alignment on September 30th 2024. . The vehicle is still shaking dangerously while in motion. Warnings on are abs, chk engine & tire pressure lights. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of in.

See all problems of the 2015 Ford Explorer 🔎.

An alert often shows up on the dashboard "check headlamp system. See manual". This is occasionally associated with one headlamp not working. This happens on and off. The alert spontaneously turns on, may stay for days or weeks and then spontaneously turns off. Ford dealership service were unable to fix this problem. This has happened multiple times since we purchased the car.

See all problems of the 2022 Ford Explorer 🔎.

The top brake light bar on the wing over the trunk consistently fails. I have had to replace almost yearly. Water gets into the light bar causing the leds to short out and fail. This makes my brake activity difficult to see for truckers and other tall cars. This is certainly a design defect that water should get in do easily. In regards to dates, the lamp fails annually.

Cabin light does not turn off, it could drain car battery, thereby causing a loss of power and a accident. . . Did not notice this untill car was brought to dealership,beiner. They pointed out. Want alot to fix.

See all problems of the 2014 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Headlight will stop working and turn off and then turn back on and start working again hours later.

Headlight went out due to water intrusion on plug and module.

See all problems of the 2017 Ford Explorer 🔎.

We are having issue with the “check headlamp system check owners manual” display on the dash. Took it in for repair under warranty. They replaced passenger side headlamp. The warning still appears on dash. Is this an electrical issue? will this cause a fire if it’s a short somewhere? will the lights just malfunction going down the road if issue is not corrected? these are all questions I have and am concerned about my family’s safety….

Driver's side headlight works intermittently.

The head light is intermittent. Sometimes if I drive it works fine, other times the main beam is out and the car displays a notification that says “check owner manual”. It’s not safe if I never know when my head light will work or decide to not work.

Driver's side a-pillar trim fell off while driving at highway speed.

The contact owns a 2020 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the front passenger’s side headlight intermittently failed to illuminate with the "check headlamp system see owner’s manual" message displayed on the instrument panel. The failure persisted, and the driver’s side headlight also failed to illuminate as needed. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the contact was given an estimate for the repair. The contact decided to replace both front headlight modules which corrected the failure; however, the warning message remained on the instrument panel. A week later, the driver’s side headlight failed to illuminate as needed, after which the passenger’s side headlight also failed to operate as designed. The dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 57,000.

Headlamps stay lit even in auto lamp mode. Indicator on the dial does not display which mode or setting the lights are in. This has occurred numerous times and seems to have increased frequency.

See all problems of the 2021 Ford Explorer 🔎.

In early 2023, I discovered micro-fractures in the side of the left headlamp assembly on my 2020 Ford Explorer st. As the 3/36 warranty was still in effect, Ford replaced the defective headlamp. However, just a few months later, after the warranty had expired, I discovered much more severe micro-fractures in the right headlamp lens assembly. This time however, the micro-fractures are located in front of the light source, thus they are diffusing the light as it passes through the lens. There is also a fracture appearing at the lower inside corner of the assembly. The dealer attempted to get Ford to replace the second headlamp assembly, but Ford will not replace the $1800 part under warranty. The vehicle has never been in an accident and is garaged 90% of the time. Even now at over four years of ownership, the vehicle has just over 44,500 miles on the odometer. My personal belief is that there is a defect in the plastic that was used to manufacture the headlamp assembly, and as such, Ford needs to replace the defective part. I have included two pictures from the original discovery and then three pictures just taken today.

Vehicle blinker works at fast rate at all times. In the event that one of the rear turn signals stops working, the vehicle will not adjust the turn signal flash rate frequency to warn the driver that a turn signal is not working correctly. Federal motor vehicle safety standard number 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment. " Ford says 'fast' blinker on all Explorer st's is by design and normal.

Purge valve has now failed twice since owning the vehicle (1 year and 5 months old). First purge valve went out when the vehicle was only 4 months old (oct 2022). Second purge valve went out at 1 year old (June/July 2022). The main concern that I am reaching out for- drivers side headlight - a small bird flew into the headlight and cracked it. Placed a hole in the headlight, causing water to get in and stop working. There is no way that a headlight should crack from a bird flying into it.

My passenger side low beam headlamp stopped working in Nov 2022. I had a "check headlamp" warning light. I took it to the dealer on 12/09/22. They stated that they found code b155a:96 requiring replacement of the led control module, requiring part #jx7z-13c788-l (total cost $1112. 25). Headlamp was operational approx 1 week. Returned to the dealership 12/16 with a non-functioning light. They installed rt headlamp asset, performed calibration, and adjusted horizontal position. Requiring part #mb5z-13008-ag (total cost $1750). The headlight remained operational for approx 6 months. The "check headlamp" warning light has come on again and I will need to have further repair. Having an intermittently functioning or non-functioning headlamp makes driving at night or in the rain both unsafe and illegal. The cost of this repair was not covered by warranty.

I had a piece of window trim fly off while I was driving on the highway at 70 mph. When it flew off, it may have hit another car. With the piece gone, I am not unable to open the hatch and the dome lights stays on for a considerable amount of time. There is no way to turn off the dome lights, you have to wait for them to go off, which is sometimes more than 10 minutes. When the piece was replaced, the hatch worked as normal. I had the window trim replaced and the same thing happened. I was traveling down the highway over 70 mph and the piece flew off in heavy traffic. I, again, have not been able to open the hatch nor turn off of the dome lights.

Electric power steering locked up. Almost killed me my fiance. And my 2 kids.

The power steering failed on my 2013 Ford Explorer while driving which made steering extremely difficult, especially at slower speeds. I was very startled by the immediate loss of steering while traveling at a high rate of speed. I also had to be extremely cautious turning to ensure there was ample time to turn and not cause an accident. My turn signals also quite functioning properly. When turning on my turn signals they would only blink once unless I held down the turn signal which would then allow it to work which is difficult to do as it takes the strength of both hands to steer the wheel with the power steering not functioning. The vehicle is available for inspection and I have an appointment to take it to a Ford dealership next week. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or anyone else. It will be taken to a Ford dealership next week as that is the soonest they were able to see it. The two warning messages that went off at the time of power steering failure were power steering failure and service advancetrac system.

See all problems of the 2013 Ford Explorer 🔎.

The low beam led light has gone out which consists of replacing the whole headlight assembly. The dealership wants $2000 to replace this unit. Looking online at car forums this is a known issue on these Explorers. Our Explorer is from 2017 with only 31000 miles on it which means at most the headlight has been on for only 516 hours. Led lights should be lasting for 30000-40000 hours. This is a safety concern as driving without a low beam headlight is a concern to the person driving as well as any other person on the road. The vehicle issue has been confirmed and inspected by the dealer and there were no symptoms or messages of the problem prior to it occurring. Ford should be liable to repair the headlight in these instances as their product is a safety risk and malfunction on their end.

While driving my Explorer at night on an unlit road in north western new jersey the instrument cluster in my car displayed a warning message stating, “check headlight system, see manual”. I pulled over and inspected my cars exterior lights for abnormalities, found none. With the headlamp warning light still on I proceeded on my way home when approximately 10 miles further down the road my driver side low beam turned off completely drastically reducing my visibility of the road ahead of me. Making it incredibly unsafe to me and the passengers in my car. On my way home I got pulled over by a local police officer for an out headlight. I explained the issue and they let me off with a warning. I immediately brought my car to my local Ford dealership to be further inspected. They proposed that the headlamp control module was causing the issue by diagnosing using their “pin test”. After replacing the module ($1,000) at the dealership I drove the car less than 10 miles away from the dealership and the headlamp warning light turned back on and the driver side low beam turned off once again leaving me stranded without light on the road. This cycle continued several times and Ford had no explanation as to why it’s happening. I was sent a quote to pay full price for the repair ($2,500) because I was out of Ford’s 36,000 mile limited warranty. A new car that leaves me without a driver side low beam on a dark road poses an incredible risk to me and my passengers as well other drivers and is unacceptable. Not only is an out headlight illegal and a ticket able offense what if there was an animals or debris on the road while I was driving with my 8 month old niece? my down the road site is exponentially reduced because the driver side low beam is out. The car had less than 36,500 miles when this issue first occurred and it’s been an ongoing problem ever since. An led headlamp is supposed to be a“lifelong” vehicle part and it’s failing before the car is fully broken in.

We reported the driver's side headlamp as going out intermittently on Jan 4, 2022 to the dealership (Ford of boerne, boerne, TX). When they could not resolve the issue, we reported the problem to Ford. The light is out mostly full time now. We first realized the problem when driving at night when it would go in and out.

Adaptive headlamp assembly on my 2020 Ford Explorer platinum awd has failed twice in 2-years. First, upon receiving the vehicle, the passenger side had to be replaced (dealer was unable to fix the problem, so had to replace the whole headlamp assembly which requires a complete removal of the front bumper). Now the driver side headlamp has failed - and I haven't even had the car 2-years yet (will be 2-years in a few weeks). The headlamp failure is complicated by the long lead time to get the replacement part for the whole headlamp assembly - so now I am weeks without being able to have a headlight and am forced to drive without it.

Halogen headlights (9005) are extremely dim which is a known safety issue. Customers are upgrading from halogen to led and xenon. I believe newer Explorers upgraded headlights to led. I want Ford to recommend led headlight alternative at my cost or fix this problem with recall. Drivers are flashing their headlights at nighttime because they think my lights are not on? many hits on the internet concerning Ford suva/truck halogen headlight issues.

Hazard light switch is not functional. Hazard lights that are inoperable causes high risk for vehicle occupants and others on the road when traffic flow is altered. The issue has been reproduced by the dealer and another repair shop. The main symptom is the ability to not turn on the hazard lights. The issue first appeared Nov 2021.

See all problems of the 2012 Ford Explorer 🔎.

The headlights in my Ford Explorer 2014 are extremely dim. The road is poorly lit in front and cannot see anything on the sides. This has been a problem since I purchased the vehicle. I just missed hitting a pedestrian on the side of the road. I was in a residential area and only going 20 mph. It is extremely dangerous and a large safety concern.

Smoke started coming from the passenger side visor as I was driving. There was no indication of an issue with warning messages of any kind. Of course I panicked, ran from the car and called the fire department who stated it smelled electrical when they arrived. After a week of being at the dealership, they couldn't find anything; however, 30 seconds after I got into my vehicle, I noticed the cabin lights weren't working. After returning the vehicle within an hour they found that a wire had burned out and shorted out some fuses. 2 weeks later and I still don't have my vehicle. No injuries, just scared beyond belief to have a 2020 st start smoking!! even if they state it is fixed, I am still scared to death to drive it after that!! I have had issues with the brakes as well. Those stopped working but apparently that was a recall that was resolved. I have purchased Fords for the past 20 years. I will never buy a Ford again with all the issues I have on this vehicle!.

Passenger oem headlight module has failed multiple times. Continuously goes out and comes back on, causing a great safety concern. Driver oem was replaced under warranty (bad module) and has worked fine since. This appears to be a factory issue as I have been dealing with this since I bought the vehicle brand new.

The truck was driving smoothly and I turned it off, ten minutes later the truck power steering was ridiculously though I could barely drive back home,still can't used the truck,called the dealership and told me that this truck does has a electrical power steering recall but the mileage was over 1000 miles of the miles thats in the recall system, couldn't imagine if that situation happened while I was on the highway it would've occurred an accident I dont think its fair that this models have a recall and the dealership are not doing nothing about it, I really need some help I have kids and I cannot endanger them by this mistake the fabricators done.

See all problems of the 2011 Ford Explorer 🔎.

My headlights and turn signals continue to go out and come back on. Multiple people with this exact same model Explorer are also having this same issue. I truly think this should be a recall with the 2020 Ford Explorer platinum as this is a huge safety concern. Please see linked reddit post for proof of multiple people reporting the exact same issue. This issue has been addressed by the dealership, and I was advised that the entire headlight module would need to be replaced. My driver side was replaced under warranty and the headlight is now functioning, but my driver turn signal continuously goes out every month or so now after the replacement. This issue started mere months after I purchased this vehicle directly from the dealership brand new. Please see this attached reddit post for multiple people with the exact same car complaining of the same issue. I can also provide all receipts from where this was addressed at the dealership multiple times. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

I need to know what causes the electric to go haywire. The overhead lamp clicks on and off the driver door lock doesn't work completely. The driver window does not work correctly. Some of my gauges will decide not to work sometimes and then other times we'll be fine. My radio clock does not work. All happens the same whether I'm driving or not whether I'm parked with the engine running or not. I can't figure out anything it's causing this.

See all problems of the 1999 Ford Explorer 🔎.

My overhead light melted smoked and doesn't work anymore and now I'm having trouble w my dash lights flickering and my automatic lights don't ever shut off.

See all problems of the 2000 Ford Explorer 🔎.