2011 Ford Explorer problems
The 2011 Ford Explorer has 1,501 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (50%) concerns steering. Next are body & structure (7%) and engine (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 1,501 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 50% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 48 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 30 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 65,000 miles 1,099 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 | 175 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 172 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 165 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 114 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 121 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 104 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 60 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 78 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 45 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 30 |
| 200k+ miles | 35 |
What the data shows
Of the 1,099 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 65,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 68,000 miles (579 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 48 complaints mention a crash; 4 complaints mention a fire; 30 injuries reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 86% 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 2011 ranks 16th most-complained-about out of 36 model years of the Ford Explorer with enough data (680 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 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.
I pulled into my driveway at a slow rate of speed, as I was braking the car was not stopping, as I pressed on the brake pedal it collapsed all the way to the floor but the brakes did not engage, just before the car hit the garage door which was directly in front of me the right front brake engaged, fully, stopping the right front tire only, the car pulled to the right and instead of hitting the garage door it struck a concrete column to the immediate right of the garage door.
This is the 4th time my vehicle has lost its power steering. I was driving in traffic at about 45 MPH and the power steering. I have to find a place on the side of the highway to pull over and turn my car off and wait a while then restart it and sometimes it fixes the problem and sometimes it doesn't. There is only a matter of time that this will happen going at a higher rate of speed and cause injury or worse! Ford needs to recall this asap!
Ford explorer carbon monoxide. When driving car for over 15 mins at a time the cabin fills with a rotten egg smell and causes a severe migraine. If you do not turn ac/heat off and roll down the windows you will become lightheaded and dizzy. Kids complain of becoming very sleepy when in the car and the air or heat is on. We have to consistently drive with the windows down to insure that we are not being poisoned with co2.