2001 Ford Explorer Sport problems
Owners have filed 243 complaints with NHTSA about the 2001 Ford Explorer Sport. Suspension is the most reported problem area, at 15% of complaints. After that come body & structure (13%) and engine (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 243 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Suspension 15% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 23 and 14
- Injuries and deaths
- 26 and 4
- Typical mileage
- 66,000 miles 139 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 | 10 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 26 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 22 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 23 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 18 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 13 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 9 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 8 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 4 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 3 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Among the 139 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 66,000 miles. For suspension specifically, the median reported mileage is about 46,000 miles (27 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 23 complaints mention a crash; 14 complaints mention a fire; 26 injuries reported; 4 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 87% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2001 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 7 model years of the Ford Explorer Sport with enough data (138 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 5 safety recall campaigns.
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.
The front stabilizer bar link broke during an evasive maneauver causing loss of control while driving down the interstate resulting in a rollover death of the driver of a 2001 ford explorer sport.
Ltr FWD FM region v re the ford explorer as a defective product, his sister gina agin and her fiance michael heyworth killed in a fatal rollover accident, attachments not imaged FWD nvs-200. Witness statements indicat the the vehicle veered off the road into the grassy median 2-3 times. It appeared that the driver overcorrected and the vehicle rolled over side to side then front to back.
While traveling at highway speed vehicle's left rear tire tread separated. Driver made an abrupt steering input that caused loss of control. Vehicle overturned and left the roadway. Driver was sole occupant and did not survive.
While driving the consumer heard a loud popping noise. The noise was caused by the #3 body reinforcement. The reinforcement broke loose on the right rear side of the cab. There's a TSB 630329 on this issue. *nlm
2001 ford explorer sport. O/d off light began flashing, feeling loss of power in early gears, especially when trying to go from a complete stop. Turn off vehicle, no problems until after driving again. Nothing coming up on diagnostic.