2008 Ford Explorer Sport Trac problems
Owners have filed 34 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Ford Explorer Sport Trac. Engine is the most reported problem area, at 26% of complaints. Next are brakes (12%) and drivetrain & axles (12%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 34 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 27% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 2 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 62,000 miles 33 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 7 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 6 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 6 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 3 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 33 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 62,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 8 model years of the Ford Explorer Sport Trac with enough data (18 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owned a 2008 ford explorer sport trac. The contact stated that while driving 15 MPH on the sand in a beach area that there was a failure of which a strong burning odor started, excess heat was felt by the driver, front passenger and 3 rear passengers. The vehicle was pulled over as they exited the vehicle.
2008 ford explorer sport trac, 5 speed automatic, v6. Transmission fails to engage; truck has difficulty accelerating from a stop and will roll backwards from a stop if on an incline. Transmission also 'slams' gears and feels like the vehicle has been hit from behind. Dealership has failed to repair and has worked on the vehicle for over four weeks with no permanent resolution. Fixes last a couple weeks and then it fails again.
After turning onto the main road out of our subdivision the vehicle shut down and would not start. The car behind us nearly ran into the back of the vehicle. It appears there is a design flaw in the tensioners used for the timing chains on the motor in this vehicle. The tensioners are a plastic that cannot hold up to the heat and eventually deteriorate prematurely. Apparently when one of them fails the vehicle automatically shuts off the engine causing the driver to lose control.