2006 Ford Explorer problems
The 2006 Ford Explorer has 788 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (23%) concerns drivetrain & axles. Next are engine (17%) and transmission (15%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 788 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Drivetrain & axles 23% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 18 and 8
- Injuries and deaths
- 17 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 60,000 miles 679 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 | 104 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 84 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 146 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 131 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 94 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 47 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 36 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 17 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 10 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 7 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Of the 679 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 60,000 miles. For drivetrain & axles specifically, the median reported mileage is about 77,000 miles (155 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 18 complaints mention a crash; 8 complaints mention a fire; 17 injuries reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 83% 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 2006 ranks 20th most-complained-about out of 36 model years of the Ford Explorer with enough data (490 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.
Vehicle accident two occupants both had seatbelts on, both had airbag deployed and both still struck windshield. Accident occurred in november and as of may one occupant is still removing glass from arms and legs. Ford will not respond to e-mails requesting why seatbelt and airbags did not prevent occupants from striking windshield.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 ford explorer. In march of 2006, the vehicle made a grinding noise. The vehicle was taken in for service at least 8 or more times between march of 2006 and october of 2006. In october of 2006, the brakes failed and the contact rear ended another vehicle at 25 MPH. She woke up in the emergency room due to injuries she sustained. A police report was filed. The contact has documentation that she will mail in pertaining to the failures. The failure mileage was unknown.
2006 ford explorer xlt #rd radiator going in today. Ford knows about problem and still lets customers pay for issue.
Range shifter needs to be replaced, truck is jerking with acceleration and changing going between 1st to 5th gear jolting the vehicle. Very big safety issue as I have almost been rear-ended multiple times. Ford says no recall on transmission issues. Mine is a 6r60 transmission in the 2006 eddie bauer explorer which has the range shifter located inside transmission. Will cost $2300 to fix!