Ford Explorer Sport - Problems, Statistics, and Analysis

Ford Explorer Sport owners have reported a total of 776 problems for their cars built in the 9 model years listed in the chart below. The chart shows the number of problems reported across all service years for each given model year of the Ford Explorer Sport. The 2001 Ford Explorer Sport cars have the most problems reported (198 problems).

Table 1. Total number of problems by model year for Ford Explorer Sport

🔍 Common problems of Ford Explorer Sport

The following chart shows the 21 most common problems for Ford Explorer Sport cars. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's structure (95 problems). The second most common problem is related to the vehicle's power train (87 problems).

Table 2. Common problems of Ford Explorer Sport

Problem Category Number of Problems
  Structure
95
  Power Train
87
  Engine And Engine Cooling
67
  Electrical System
62
  Seats
61
  Latches/locks/linkage
50
  Vehicle Speed Control
49
  Visibility
49
  Suspension
48
  Tire
37
   
  Air Bag
36
  Service Brakes
30
  Equipment
29
  Steering
20
  Seat Belt
16
  Exterior Lighting
12
  Unknown Or Other
11
  Gasoline Fuel System
7
  Other Fuel System
5
  Wheel
4
  Parking Brake
1

📉 Compare Reliability Across Model Years Using PPMY Index

It would not be fair to compare the Ford Explorer Sport of an older model year to newer model years since older vehicles have been in service longer and thus are expected to have more problems. In order to compare the reliability across Explorer Sport model years, we use the PPMY index which is defined as the problems reported per thousand vehicles per Year. A smaller PPMY index indicates greater reliability of the given model year cars.

    PPMY = P / S / Y * 1000,

where P = total problems reported during the life of a Ford Explorer Sport model year; S = total units sold of the model year; Y = years since the debut of the model year (the age of the vehicle).

The results are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Use PPMY Index to Compare Reliability Across Explorer Sport Model Years

Explorer Sport
Model Year
Problems Sales [1] Vehicle
Age
PPMY Index
  2003 7831,67722    
0.11
  2002 14545,18123    
0.14

📊 Number of Problems Reported During the First Year

Another way to measure the reliability across the model years of the Ford Explorer Sport is to use the total number of problems reported during the vehicle's first year in service, as shown in the Table 4.

Table 4. Number of problems in vehicle's; first service year

Model YearProblems Reported
  2004 Explorer Sport
1
  2003 Explorer Sport
9
  2002 Explorer Sport
13
  2001 Explorer Sport
12
  2000 Explorer Sport
3
  1998 Explorer Sport
2
  1997 Explorer Sport
1


Explorer Sport Service Bulletins
Explorer Sport Defect Investigations
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