2016 Ford Explorer problems
The 2016 Ford Explorer has 3,052 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (20%) concerns body & structure. Next are steering (18%) and engine (16%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 3,052 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Body & structure 20% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 58 and 21
- Injuries and deaths
- 84 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 47,000 miles 1,887 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 | 542 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 266 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 356 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 221 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 181 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 151 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 86 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 43 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 15 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 14 |
| 200k+ miles | 12 |
What the data shows
Of the 1,887 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 47,000 miles. For body & structure specifically, the median reported mileage is about 83,000 miles (295 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 58 complaints mention a crash; 21 complaints mention a fire; 84 injuries reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 84% 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 2016 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 36 model years of the Ford Explorer with enough data (1,631 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 14 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.
On 3/21/19 I was driving when a car stopped in front of me and I hit them. My airbag went off and was smoking black smoke. There was also a fire, about 1.5 ft tall that appeared from the passenger side of the hood. I sat in shock until someone told me to get out. I got out and grabbed my 4 year old daughter. She was in a car seat and still secured after the accident. Thankfully we were not seriously injured. We sat watching my car quickly engulf in flames.
I fell asleep from carbon monoxide poisoning and I hit three other cars causing me to total my vehicle. Weeks before I had the accident I was experiencing drowsiness and headaches. I had this vehicle less than two months.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the rubber from the windshield was flapping and making noises, almost causing a collision. The contact inspected the windshield and saw that the front passenger’s and driver’s side rubber on the windshield had deteriorated. The contact glued the rubber to the windshield to repair the failure.
The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The service stability track, traction control, and the loss of power steering warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that he used physical strength to steer the vehicle after the power steering assist failure to the residence. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who diagnosed that the angle sensor was defective and there was a loss of communication.