This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
My Ford Explorer has significant exhaust smell in the vehicle at times, usually after I have kicked it down into passing gear, such as in climbing hills. When I had it in for service, I asked the dealer I bought it from to try to identify what is causing it and they claimed they could not discern any odor. I have since learned of the technical service bulletins that have been pushed out by Ford for my very problem and have also learned that there is no indication any of their efforts to fix the problem are actually working. I cannot afford to pay Ford for easter egg hunts, so I and my family are waiting for a recall. In the meanwhile, we are driving the vehicle with the windows down. We have been contacted by one law firm so far that is involved in a class action lawsuit over this issue. We would rather have Ford fix the problem. The problem was initially noticed just after we bought it, but we thought it was due to something on the engine that would burn off in time. The problem has continued the entire time we have had the vehicle. The problem doesn't seem directly related to speed of travel.
Smell of exhaust fumes present in the cabin. All passengers complain of headaches, dizzyness, nausea, and lethargy. This occurs after driving with the windows up. Second owner of vehicle. Problem has existed since at least June 7th.
Exhaust fumes can be smelled when we start veh. And when we have rapid acceleration. Mentioned to dealer several times, was told very few others have had issues and no recall for item as of yet... that was last year in 2016. Date below on when it happened was when we purchased from dealership new.
There is an exhaust smell of rotten eggs, burnt rubber, and sulfur that protrudes from the air vents into the cabin of the vehicle upon acceleration and a smaller amount of exhaust protrusion upon idle. Both city and highway driving are affected. The exhaust smell has caused some passenger nausea.
- Somerset, PA, USA
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Exhaust smell in cabin. We experience a strong odor in the cabin when accelerating, typically while getting onto a highway or passing. It makes no difference if the windows are open or the ac is on. We don't drive this vehicle very much to date we have 28000 miles on it.
Purchased a 2014 Ford Explorer in February 2014, and within weeks of owning the vehicle I started to notice a foul smell entering the cabin immediately after acceleration. If acceleration occurs quickly, with a higher then normal RPM occurring, the smell becomes worse. On three separate occasions, I have taken the vehicle to mac haik Ford in houston for repair. The first two visits were were non-productive, as the dealership claimed they could not reproduce the issue. On the third visit, I asked that they technician go on a test drive with me in the car. This visit finally resulted in an admission from the technician that he could also smell the odor, and they agreed to keep the vehicle and identify the source of the issue. After a few days, I was told that the issue had been corrected by adding an additional vent line towards the rear of the vehicle. Within hours of having the vehicle back, it had become obvious that a permanent fix was not installed, and the odor inside the cabin has continued to occur regularly over the past three years.
When the vehicle is running the exhaust can be smelled inside the cabin. This happens to a noticeable level when the vehicle is excelerated at a faster pace by pressing the gas pedal quickly to excelerate quickly. This has occurred multiple times and can be reproduced by fast exceleration. The consumer stated the rear left tire blew out. The passenger was injured.
First long trip in my SUV. Most of my driving is city driving to and from work. While traveling with the family on our vacation, we all noticed after acceleration (passing cars or up inclines) the car smelled like sulfur or a waste treatment plant (other clever words used by my daughters). This was all highway (two lane up to four lane) travel. Approximately 600 miles each way. With the frequency of the problem on this trip, I realized I've smelled it before but just assumed I was driving past a sewage problem or treatment facility. I never thought about an issue with my car that would cause a smell like that. Upon googling what might cause the problem, I found a lot of info on the issue, including a Ford service bulletin (attached), lawsuits and your organization's investigation of the issue. Based on what I read, I felt I should let you know I have the same issue. I've contacted the local Ford dealership from whom I bought the car and who services the car and they eventually found a bulletin that covers the issue but because my car is recently out of warranty, said I need to pay for the investigation and possible fix(ES). I am not happy about that either and am now concerned whether there is actually a fix. Given the knowledge Ford has about this issue, I would expect Ford to fix this at their cost... assuming there is a fix. I'm going to follow this with a call to Ford Motor Company's customer service department to make them aware.
Our '14 Explorer has consistently allowed exhaust gas to enter the passenger compartment upon 1/2 to full throttle acceleration. Still under warranty, the dealership said they would fix it for about $800! they said it was coming from exhaust entering the rear ac. Ac on or off makes no difference.
My wife and son have had frequent headaches after driving in our vehicle for long periods of time. This has been an issue for well over two years. We initially thought they were getting motion sickness but after finding out that there are significant issues with Explorer and exhaust fumes the problem is likely a result of exhaust fumes in the vehicle. We have continuously had a rotten egg smell coming from the vent which I assumed the A/C filters needed changed. The smell is instant upon running the A/C and continuous while driving the vehicle. The odor is stronger at the beginning but this could be due to acclimating to the smell while driving. I changed all the filters in the vehicle and sprayed the vent system with an odor treatment but the smell didn't go away.
When quickly accelerating to highway speeds there is an burning/exhaust smell in the cabin. Does not matter if the A/C is on of off or whether its on outside air or recirculation.
When there is a heavy rain the serpentine belt squeals at various moments, for short periods of time. This has been going on since I purchased the vehicle in 2014, but dealership said it was a known issue and there was nothing they could do about it. They said it was due to the belt getting wet and Ford didn't know how to prevent it from happening, and that it occurs on other Ford trucks too. My other issue has started recently happening to when it rains heavily, the "low battery features tempor. Turned off" notification comes on and my steering wheel locks up briefly while driving. I checked my battery connects as the manual says to do and they are fine. This only occurs during heavy rain and it happens at various times during driving. It never just stays on, but will turn on and go off at different times during the drive in the heavy rain. Seems like something is getting wet causing a shortage, but either way its dangerous when my steering wheel locks up.
An exhaust smell enters the cabin of the vehicle. I first started to notice it when the car was idling and I thought it was coming from the car ahead of me. This continued on and off for months until more recently when the smell was present even as I drove the car. I have had headaches, dizziness and stomach upsets for months realizing that my vehicle was perhaps no longer safe for me to drive. I brought it in to my dealership and they immediately acknowledged the smell and gave me a loaner. They have filed a complaint with Ford and are currently waiting for the repair parts but they are on backorder. I was told that police departments have been complaining about the same thing. I just received a class action lawsuit notice so I imagine this will eventually be a recall. In the meantime I cannot drive my own vehicle without risking my health. The cause to me is unknown, I have read that it is a defect in the engineering of the exhaust system.
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- Houston, MO, USA