Other Fuel System Problems of Ford Explorer - part 1

Vehicle experienced white exhaust smoke due to oil entering the exhaust system, caused by turbocharger failure. This led to contamination and failure of all O2 sensors, requiring full replacement, along with replacement of both turbochargers. The radiator also failed and had to be replaced. This appears to be a cascading mechanical failure affecting multiple major systems, including the engine, fuel/propulsion system, and electrical components, rather than normal wear and tear. The failure rendered the vehicle inoperable, leaving me without transportation during a period of financial hardship. The severity and extent of repairs raise concern about a potential broader defect. This also created a safety concern due to excessive exhaust smoke and reduced vehicle reliability while in operation.

See all problems of the 2017 Ford Explorer 🔎.

This recall has been open for 8 months, all the while posing a huge safety risk. A new car can be built in less time. Why is this urgent recall effort taking so long to complete? Jul 08,2025 manufacturer recall number25s75 NHTSA recall number25v455 recall status recall incomplete, remedy not yet available.

See all problems of the 2022 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Vehicle stalls when diving . After pulling over ina coast and turning off with start stop button then turning it back on with start stop button vehicle runs fine until it happens again intermediately cold be days could be months apart. About the 6th time over 2 years that it has occurred.

See all problems of the 2021 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Vehicle fails to start intermittently. After having this happen on several occasions and waiting for 1-2 hours it would start. However, the last time, while traveling it would not start after taking brief stop. Had to leave the vehicle overnight and return the next day to haul it back home 300 hundred miles. That was Feb. 23, 2026 and still will not start. Vehicle has 70,000 miles.

See all problems of the 2019 Ford Explorer 🔎.

I own a Ford Explorer 2018 bought as second hand in July 2020. For the last three years, the investment in it has been exponential. Finally working with a proper car mechanic, I understood that all the fixes I have made, have been known for a while. I have received several recalls and searching for more, I found one that **I did not received*** and I'm having an issue with it. It can be seen in the attached document. Research shows that "the 2018 Ford Explorer has significant, well-documented complaints, primarily regarding catastrophic water pump failure, transmission issues, and multiple recalls. The 3. 5l engine's internal water pump often fails around 125,000 miles, causing engine destruction. Other common issues include rear suspension toe link fractures, exhaust smells, and electrical problems. " my water pump failed way before 125k miles, as the previous statement states. . Mine is 94k. I fixed it last year and now it's broken again. And by the say of the mechanic, it could be because of the issue of the catalyst, of a recall I didn't get and that probably got the previous owner. I have tried to reach Ford through letter and phone and no one answers. I finally spoke to someone on Tuesday from the warranty department and told me he will reach me in 3 hours. Two days have gone by. I also did a complaint on bbb and the refuse to fix and reimbursed the recall I didn't received.

See all problems of the 2018 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Accelerator stuck wide open while entering freeway. I also have a safety recall notice 24s02/NHTSA recall 24v031.

When I'm driving on the freeway. I could be on flatland and it will stall, I could be going down a hill and it stalls, I could be on a regular road, turning a corner, hitting a bump. And it stalls when I'm on the freeway, I have to get over very scary happens all the time when it happens I coast, I put it into park, I turn it off, and it restarts immediately every time. This is constantly happening. Ihave a video and picture but it will not upload on this. But it says hell descending control fail.

See all problems of the 2014 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Car was parked on a driveway, decent grade, with 50 miles left to empty (no low fuel light on). Facing downward. Car did not turn over. Had to use manual override to put vehicle into neutral and coast to a more level area and start it up. Seen this issue posted on the Explorer st facebook group multiple times, so I was lucky I knew what the issue is. Most other people would be stranded. There is a flaw in the Explorer's fuel tank system that will not allow the car to start if fuel level gets below a certain threshold when parked facing down a steep street or driveway.

See all problems of the 2025 Ford Explorer 🔎.

The fuel level indication on my 2022 Ford Explorer behaves erratically and inaccurately. The issue occurs regardless of whether the vehicle is parked uphill, or downhill, just any time I’m on an incline, and it happens even when the fuel tank is full. The fuel gauge and/or “miles to empty” reading changes unexpectedly and does not reliably reflect the actual amount of fuel in the tank. This behavior is not limited to low fuel conditions. The problem appears consistently raising concerns about inaccurate fuel level reporting and potential fuel system malfunction. The vehicle has not displayed warning lights, and the issue is resolved by refueling, but changing parking orientation does not reset or cause the fuel gauge to show accurate reading. I have had one instance of needing to call roadside assistance as it falsely read I was out of fuel.

Fuel system evap leak just like the safety recall 18s35.

Blown engine due to ecoboost fuel issues. Vehicle quit and shut off on highway. Multiple issues with 2019 Ford Explorer that does not get resolved.

Gas filler neck is loose, making it difficult to fill the gas tank without spillage. I don't recall how long this has been an issue, but it has been a problem for multiple years. There have been no incidents that preceded this problem.

See all problems of the 2016 Ford Explorer 🔎.

I can’t get my gas tank below 1/4. It always starts lagging and has a late reaction time. I also have to use better gas and get treatments to help. With no solution in sight.

I would need to change many more of the points on the top, see report.

Left lowlight headlight stops working intermittently and then completely. Both front axles cracked. Right rear shock busted. Gas purge valve malfunctioned.

See all problems of the 2020 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Ford Explorer recall – ongoing safety hazard in July 2025, Ford issued a recall notice for my vehicle. Shortly after, the check engine light came on. Starting October 15, 2025, my vehicle began failing to start after refueling—making noise and taking multiple attempts to start. The same issue occurred repeatedly on October 23 and October 30, worsening each time. On November 3, we brought the car to a Ford dealership. They confirmed there is no available fix for the recall and said there’s “nothing they can do. ” I explained this was a safety issue since I drive my son with a disability to therapy daily. They told me I would have to pay out of pocket for repairs even though the problem is linked to the recall. On November 8, while driving in arizona, my vehicle again failed to start after refueling. Later that day, it lost power on the road, the speed dropped suddenly, and it would not accelerate. The same stalling and jerking occurred again on November 10 while my husband was driving. We contacted Ford corporate and NHTSA, but both said nothing could be done because the recall label says the car is “still drivable. ” this is inaccurate and dangerous. The car stalls and loses acceleration randomly, creating a serious risk of an accident. On November 21, the car again failed to start after refueling. This has happened multiple times each week, and Ford continues to delay a fix. My vehicle is unsafe to drive, and this unresolved recall poses an ongoing safety hazard to my family and others on the road.

The exhaust/ downpipe broke while driving down the road.

On [xxx]. , in heavy rush?hour traffic on [xxx] , my vehicle (~75,417 mi) suddenly lost motive power w/o warning at ~55 mph. It became immobile in a live lane, creating a roadblock and rear?end crash risk. Drivers swerved/honked. Accelerator had no effect; limited/no power?steering assist; I coasted to an in?lane stop (no safe shoulder) and activated hazards. Cluster displayed “shift sys fault—service required” and wrench icon. Attempts to restart failed; the vehicle remained disabled ~30min until a tow arrived; police responded. After tow, on a slight incline, the vehicle rolled backward when started and the parking brake was released, though the cluster showed park—clear rollaway concern. Recovery/diagnosis: towed first to autotech clinic (advised replacement trans). Then to bill brown Ford (livonia, mi): fractured planetary gear and broken park pawl; recommended full transmission replacement (~$8,500). Repair history (pre?purchase): I’ve owned the car <6 mos (now ~75k). A Ford dealer later informed me the vehicle previously had major work at taylor Ford of trans?cooler plumbing cracks between cooler and trans lines at ~34k, and major internal trans repair at ~46k (“burnt clutch a; full reassembly”). None of this appeared on carfax or was disclosed by the selling dealer. Costs/downtime: ~$700 towing/diagnostics to date; trans replacement quoted ~$8,500. Mfr/dealer response: reported to Ford on 10/13/2025, case [xxx]. Initial response: no assistance; pending. The Ford 10r60 has multiple tsbs for trans issues, but neither the dealer nor csr cited any, and no assistance has been offered. Maintenance/mods: vehicle stock; maintained per mfr schedule. Safety concern: sudden loss of propulsion in traffic + inability to move to safety, combined with a park indication that allows rollback, present significant crash/rollaway hazards. Please investigate and, if warranted, require a recall. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

It is known that for the specific year make and model that the water pump goes out around 100,000 miles. This water pump was built as an internal water pump, which is not typical for most cars. In order to fix this part, the engine has to be taken out and lots of parts have to be disassembled just to get to it. The part itself is fairly cheap, but the labor cost thousands of dollars due to where it is located. Ford knowingly built this car and put that pump where it is at and therefore should be reliable to pay the cost when it is so common that this part goes out around 100,000 miles. If it is a known issue that occurs on these models frequently then it should become a recall because a failing water pump can cause significant issues within the engine and make the vehicle in operable.

In September I started to notice a strong fuel odor coming from my 2013 Ford Explorer. I had the exterior of the vehicle cleaned thoroughly to ensure no gasoline was spilled on the vehicle while refuelling. The smell did go away temporarily, until I refuelled the vehicle. The odor has returned, and will not go away. On 10/6/2025 I took my vehicle to a local mechanic that works on my vehicles. A visual inspection was performed and they informed me that there is a leak and it appears to be coming from the top of the tank or an area above the tank. It is hard to identify the exact source without lowering the tank. They mechanic also informed me that Ford has a safety recall issue for something similar, 13s04. I checked with Ford and while there is a recall for the same model and year of my vehicle, my 2013 Explorer is not a part of the recall. I have contacted a local Ford service center and am waiting for a response from them.

See all problems of the 2013 Ford Explorer 🔎.

Recall 25v442 was not completed on this VIN but was completed on VIN [xxx] . This service was reported on the incorrect VIN. I have spoken to the dealership service manager and to Ford customer service and they will not correct this incorrect reporting. Attached files are for the service and recall work performed on VIN [xxx] but recorded as completed on VIN [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2023 Ford Explorer 🔎.

3 times this has happened. I brake and it seems like I'm pressing the gas pedal and the brakes feel like they aren't stopping the vehicle. The third time put me in incoming traffic and the vehicle was totaled as it already had a rebuilt salvage title when we bought it.

See all problems of the 2010 Ford Explorer 🔎.

While driving with the ac on you can smell exhaust fumes in the cabin and it's worse towards the rear carbin of the vehicle. I've gotten nauseated and sleepy from the fumes and have had several headaches in addition to the other symptoms. Ford needs to recall this issue. Also I have an active recall for the window pillars and the dealership says they still dont have the parts to fix it, and it's been over a year, what's the hold up Ford??!!.

See all problems of the 2015 Ford Explorer 🔎.

There is a strong fuel order coming from passenger side after every fuel fill, affects everyone in the car while moving, especially affecting my grandchildren and my family. Backup camera rarely comes on while backing up, gives a black screen which can cause accidents especially in reverse. Rear driver side makes loud squeaky sound while driving over speed bumps slowly or bumpy roads. I purchased this vehicle used June 2025. It has an active molding recall that hasn't been fixed and I have contacted a Ford dealership last year.

My Explorer has a 10 speed transmission, and its really heavy on shifting like it is missing shifts or slipping, it will shoot up in rpms to the 7-8k mark and jerk forward, this will happen every few minutes when varying speed, driving through residential areas or normal trafficways not including the highway, however on the highway it has a tendency to feel as if it loses power and regains it, dropping rpms and shooting back up to 4-5k rpm, and dropping back down to around 2k. Today I had the incident where the car jerked hard after a shift, gave me prompts on the dash about seeing the manual, and that drive modes are not available. This has happened in the past month before multiple times, however this time I lost all power to acceleration going down the road, ended up just coasting to a stop on a road that speed limit is 55 mph. This made me panic, because I could have possibly been rear ended, or in any other case could have been hit if my car would not have properly been able to accelerate. The car has had similar problems reported from previous owners and they have been taken into a dealership for repairs of which did not fix the problem or the problem is reoccurring. There are no warning lamps prior to the jerkiness of shifting and loss of acceleration because of it. It will jerk a handful of times and eventually give me the "see manual" prompt after the initial problem was noticed, I decided to look online for answers as to what was wrong and it seems like this is a reoccurring problem with vehicles similar to mine. Hopefully it hasnt caused and injuries, but it definitely has the possibility to from what I have experienced.

On highway was accelerating to pass another vehicle the transition froze , engine revved with no acceleration ( transmission skipped) this has happened several times over the 5 years. The lasted event we documented the date and mileage it happened date 7/13/25 mileage is 34990. These skips have put us in extremely dangerous situations. Transmission has been making growling noise now under normal driving.

There are three active recall on my car, all of which say there are not remedy available and NHTSA recall number 25v455 can cause engine failure that leads to a crash, was reported in July 2025, and still has no remedy. The other 2 recalls are NHTSA recall number 26v123 and NHTSA recall number 26v117.

On 3 separate occasions my car has stalled when driving. All three were after driving for several hours in hot weather. 2 of the times I had a quarter of a tank of gas and pressed on the gas to pass someone and my car stalled out immediately after. Both very dangerous scenarios. 3 time just this week. Driving for over 5 hours in hot weather conditions, but 3 quarters of a tank of gas and stuck in traffic and the car just completely stalled. Again a dangerous scenario on the highway. All three times after waiting for about 45 minutes the car will start again. Sluggish at first and then drives normal. It’s giving indications that it could be a defect in the low pressure fuel pump that has been a recall in other 2019 Ford Explorers, but my VIN #is not listed as one of them.

While driving the vehicle goes into what I have found is called sleep mode. . The check engine lite comes on and the left info panel shows that the all wheel drive is not working. The dealer tried to see what codes were set and found none. My solution is to pull off the road, put the vehicle in park and turn off the ignition. After about 30 seconds I can restart the vehicle and drive again. The restart lasts from 15 seconds to a month. I found a TSB ( 16-0139) that covered this problem. However it did not offer any cure. I am concerned that someone will hit me when this happens.

See all problems of the 2012 Ford Explorer 🔎.

There is hesitation when coming from a stop to accelerating there is a delay of power. This problem has been going on since we have had the car. It is safety issue especially when we accelerate to get onto the highway. It is very inconsistent. We recently took it in and found that an error code of p0496 the evaporator purge valve to be a problem. Not sure if this is a problem with other Fords like ours. So I thought you could investigate it for me. Thank you.

When I accelerate, the car jerks back and forth and stalls. Ford has said the car was throwing codes but the tech didnt feel the issue so they sent me on my way. . . . Well fast forward to today, I am informed my car has thrown codes 4 times in the past few days and this morning I was scared to drive my car it was bad. . . And I have a [xxx] daughter. Our safety is my top priority and it doesnt seem to matter to anyone else information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

When my vehicle reaches 60 mph the back end of my vehicle begins to sway excessively. Something may be wrong with the axle. It’s actually very frightening. Also, when my vehicle is running, I feel a slight puttering and then it quickly goes away as if somethings going on with the fuel pump. Lastly, my rearview camera sometimes looks a little blurry. I did take my vehicle to team Chevrolet in swansboro, north carolina where I purchased the vehicle. They stated something is going on with the axle and sway bar.

Recall action soon issue since 06-20-2025 unrequested second-row seat movement unrequested second-row seat movement recall incomplete recall service not available right now. We have a remedy but parts are not available right now. We will inform you when the service is available. Or, you can contact your dealer. Contact dealer issue date 2025-06-13 campaign 25s67/25v393 description on your vehicle, it is possible that the easy entry seat fold switch on the second-row outboard seats may bind or stick if its surrounding trim bezel was installed incorrectly. If the button is stuck in the down position, the seat may unlatch, fold and or slide unexpectedly, potentially while driving. Safety risk a seat that unexpectedly folds or slides while driving could increase the risk of injury, particularly in a crash. Remedy Ford motor company is working to provide parts for this repair. When the remedy becomes available, Ford motor company will notify you via mail to schedule a service appointment with your dealer for repairs to be completed free of charge.

Car would not start at certain times without warning. Sometimes putting us in an unsafe location. Finally vehicle was in a public parking and would not start and had to be towed to Ford dealer. The fuel pump and some other issues failed. Repair shop said it would happen with low gas, but we had over a half a tank. Total cost of bill without tow was $2132. 02. Vehicle had 45,015 miles.

When vehicle is on and either in park or at a stop, rpms will idle at about 800-1000 rpm then randomly shoot up between 2000-2500 rpms then drop to below 500 rpms before returning to idle. It’ll do this randomly.