2013 Ford Explorer engine problems

287 complaints about engine have been filed for the 2013 Ford Explorer, which is 10% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the 3rd most reported problem area for this model year.

Complaints: 287 10% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage: 56,000 miles 218 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires: 1 and 5
Injuries and deaths: 16 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Based on 218 complaints that include mileage. 54% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.

View the numbers

Mileage	Complaints
0k to 20k miles	54
20k to 40k miles	32
40k to 60k miles	32
60k to 80k miles	31
80k to 100k miles	27
100k to 120k miles	19
120k to 140k miles	10
140k to 160k miles	6
160k to 180k miles	4
180k to 200k miles	2
200k+ miles	1

What the data shows

Of the 218 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 56,000 miles, and 54% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 1 crash, 5 fires, 16 injuries.

What owners wrote

Initial complaint to ford dealership re: exhaust odors in cabin, possibly related to use of air conditioning (inspected 5/4/16, mileage 47,450, no repairs completed). Performance recall 17no3 completed 10/22/18. Exhaust odors worse after recall. Ford dealership inspected again on 10/30/18. Recommended using recirculation of cabin air at all times. Air conditioning has since stopped working. Per dealership rear A/C lines now need replacement, ext. Cost of $2,100.

Reported at 79,693 miles, October 2018 Injury

I bought a 2013 ford explorer in march of 2012. I almost immediately began smelling exhaust inside the car. The smell was worst when I hit the accelerator getting onto the highway or other times when I quickly increased the acceleration of the vehicle. I brought my explorer into the ford dealership on numerous occasions. The dealership verified my complaint and performed ford's technical service bulletin 12-12-4. That did not fix the problem. I continued to smell exhaust inside the car.

Reported at 1,000 miles, March 2012

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Ford models