2019 Ford Explorer problems
The 2019 Ford Explorer has 349 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (43%) concerns body & structure. Next are drivetrain & axles (9%) and engine (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 349 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Body & structure 43% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 2 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 9 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 52,000 miles 137 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 | 34 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 16 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 30 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 24 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 19 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 4 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 5 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 137 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 52,000 miles. For body & structure specifically, the median reported mileage is about 63,000 miles (66 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 2 complaints mention a crash; 9 injuries reported. Its complaints are less severe on average than those of 90% 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 2019 ranks 28th most-complained-about out of 36 model years of the Ford Explorer with enough data (244 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.
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at approximately 25 mph, the steering wheel seized causing the vehicle to crash into a concrete brick mailbox. The air bags deployed. The contact stated that the driver sustained chemical burning from the air bags and the front passenger sustained a high ankle sprain and broke right foot that needed medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a collision center.
2nd row seat belt malfunctioned during when rear ended recently. Seat belt came unlatched on my niece throwing her towards the front passenger seat. Car has been totaled. Injury was to driver.
Rear hatch electric opening/closing mechanism failed - hatch came down a struck the head of a person causing an injury. Also because the hatch wouldn't close properly exhaust entered the vehicle when being driven.
Noticed severe exhaust smell when defrost is on while driving, and more moderately when the recirculated air is on. Looked up the issue online and found that our 2019 ford explorer is experiencing the same issues that caused a soft recall from ford for their 2011-2017 models. Took it to local ford service center, but they could not replicate the issue. However, the tech at ford service called their hotline, who stated "rear air vents were loose causing this concern".
The contact owns a 2019 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the contact noticed a burning odor. The contact stated that later when the vehicle was started, the back over prevention camera display was black. In addition, several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a wiring harness failure. The contact was informed that the rear wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired.