2015 Ford Explorer problems
The 2015 Ford Explorer has 2,265 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (18%) concerns body & structure. Next are steering (15%) and engine (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 2,265 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Body & structure 18% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 55 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 143 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 57,000 miles 1,442 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 | 275 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 228 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 250 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 196 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 198 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 112 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 75 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 62 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 23 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 15 |
| 200k+ miles | 8 |
What the data shows
Of the 1,442 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 57,000 miles. For body & structure specifically, the median reported mileage is about 90,000 miles (227 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 55 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 143 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2015 ranks 7th most-complained-about out of 36 model years of the Ford Explorer with enough data (1,194 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 8 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.
My father has passed out twice both while driving 2 different years of a ford explorer and doctor's were unable to find a medical cause. The first accident in august he spent 3 days in icu undergoing multiple tests, the second accident on october 8th left him with 9 broken ribs(some in multiple places), a broken scapula and his #3 lumbar is fractured along with a week in icu.
Was driving and the steer well became lock couldn't turn the wheel, tried to pump the brakes and they didn't catch. End up driving right into a pole and the airbags didn't deploy with everyone hitting their heads and kids getting concussions.
This vehicle is all wheel drive and comes equipped with a terrain management system to monitor and adjust to road conditions. I have owned the vehicle 6 months and have experienced a terrain management fault (failure) in the system which will disengage the power train and lose forward motion, I have had this happen twice in the roadway in forward motion while in traffic on a four lane roadway on the first failure and a two lane roadway in forward motion on second failure.
Tl* the contact owns a 2015 ford explorer. While driving 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled and the check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but the cause of the failure could not be determined. However, the mechanic stated that the throttle body needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 74,000.