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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
11 / 0
Average Mileage:
27,200 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2015 Ford Explorer fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2015 Ford Explorer Owner Comments (Page 1 of 5)

problem #83

Oct 042023

Explorer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Throttle Body --- I have ask the dealer to provide the defective part for my inspection. Driving on the 15 Freeway in Southern California. My wife was driving and had just picked up speed and merged into the fast land. There was a sudden pop or clunk and the SUV immediately lost power and would not accelerate. She had to exit to the right of the freeway while losing power and no acceleration. She was traveling at less than 5 miles an hour in 60 plus traffic. There was only a narrow strip of shoulder with a "K" rail that was on the shoulder above a deep drop off on the side of the freeway. She was able to avoid getting hit and make it to the exit with enough of a shoulder for her to pullover safely. The SUV was taken to the Ford dealer where the Throttle Body was diagnosed as being defective. There was no warning lamps, messages or other symptoms before the issue on the freeway.

- Corona, CA, USA

problem #82

Oct 042023

Explorer

  • miles
The car would not accelerate after leaving a light. I had just exited the freeway and the gas pedal would not respond and I was stuck in the middle of a 4 lane highway. A yellow warning wrench appeared on the dash and then a check engine light. The error code is P2111 stating the throttle body stuck open.

- Brea, CA, USA

problem #81

Jun 282023

Explorer

  • 130,334 miles
Upon driving, my vehicle just started randomly cutting out. I was told that it had to do with the throttle body. I did further research, and I noticed that I haven't been the only Explorer owner that has had this issue, so I'm not sure why there isn't a recall already established. Not only does it put me and my kids at risk, but it also puts drivers around me at risk. My car shuts down, which could cause the drivers behind me to rear end my vehicle. There has been some sort of warning light that comes on, that looks like a wrench, but only after my car shuts off, which is followed by the check engine light coming on. There were no warning signs prior to this happening.

- Blue Springs, MO, USA

problem #80

Oct 192017

Explorer

  • 110,492 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When driving the vehicle, I can smell gas fumes which caused nausea. I didn-??t know it was worse in the back of the cabin where my children sit until I sat back there for a 3 hour trip. The smell was stronger there which led to headache, nausea and fatigue. It doesn-??t seem to come from the vent, it seems from the entire body of the vehicle. This puts my children-??s health at risk. And all of our lives because if we travel far enough breathing this in, it can lead to exhaustion which can cause a crash and put others-?? safety at risk. I-??m surprised to see there is no recall, yet, it-??s been reported that there have been 1.5 million complaints. We are having the issue fixed next Wednesday, but we will be without a car (ford is not providing a loan vehicle) and the bill is extremely expensive. This is clearly something wrong with the way the vehicle was made and is not fair as consumers that we not only have to breathe this in, but pay for the repair that has clearly been an issue for a majority of police vehicles out of 1.5 million complaints. Please help us.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #79

Apr 012019

Explorer

  • miles
Upon excellerated take off the exhaust fumes fill the cabin. There has been a prior recall for such issues. This has happened multiple times over the entire time that I have owned it. It is getting increasingly worse and I worry for myself, my family and others. My local Ford dealership dismissed me every time I brought it up.

- Dade City, FL, USA

problem #78

Dec 012022

Explorer

  • miles
My 2015 Ford Explorer is having fumes in the car. The dealership has charged me for an oil leak, cracked exhaust and now wants me to pay for a muffler. There is still exhaust fumes coming into the car making it hard to drive in the cold.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #77

Apr 152022

Explorer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Vehicle has apx 78000 miles with a broken water pump. They are supposed to be good for 100K miles. Many people have gotten them replaced to have them break again with in a year.

- Chelsea, MA, USA

problem #76

May 282021

Explorer

  • miles
merging northbound 280 on the freeway, lost all power to vehicle.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

problem #75

Jun 072021

Explorer

  • miles
EXHAUST FUMES INSIDE INTERIOR-This seems to only occur on road trips where fast and hard acceleration is needed for highway driving which is not something we normally due. Since we have owned the vehicle, on every occasion of strong hard acceleration there is a strong exhaust / spent fuel smell being brought into the cars interior. We have reached out to the local Ford Dealer several times but without satisfactory results. The exhaust fumes continue to exist in the cars interior upon hard and fast acceleration. My wife just returned from a interstate road trip with signs of exhaust fume poisoning with an extreme headache and very lethargic.What is it going to take for Ford to fix this problem or for a recall to be issued. Will it take fatalities or long term respiratory issues before anything is done to solace this issue. Besides the huge concern about the car owners safety and health; what about the potential diminished resale value of the vehicle due to Ford-€™s negligence to truly fix this exhaust issue.

- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

problem #74

Apr 022021

Explorer

  • 73,000 miles
The highway while on the highway. I was driving. And the car suddenly had no was on everythi pull over but I had to pull over. Because. The car didn't shut off, but I stepped on the pedal and there was no power. So I pul the road to the side of the road. And turned the car off. I started it back up and did fine and went home. But this was dangerous. It happened again. When I was at a red light, it turned green. I stepped on the pedal and the car did not move. I think it's something in electrical or throttlel not sure.

- Topeka, KS, USA

problem #73

Mar 282021

Explorer

  • 62,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Sudden failure of the power steering system requiring complete replacement of the power steering system. Also disables the Ford advance trac system. Occurred while in motion at slow speed w/ max speed of 20 mph. The dealer indicated that the computer module failed and required the whole system to be replaced. Occurred in the parking lot. Not the first instance of sudden failure, but usually stopping and restarting the car cleared similar error, no obvious signs of war or leaks/other damage. Previous correctable instances occurred in similar conditions.

- Farmington Hills, MI, USA

problem #72

Nov 102020

Explorer

  • 48,000 miles
While driving on the highway and towing a trailer the vehicle suddenly lost power and dramatically slowed down. It was almost like slamming on the brakes. The information window showed "terrain management fault". the engine was barely running and was running erratically. I was able to get pulled over and stopped the engine. When I tried to restart it the "terrain management fault". appeared again and the engine was again barely running. After a few stops and starts the message cleared and the engine began to run normally. The Ford dealer found a bad throttle body assembly was faulty. The repair was not covered under warranty.

- Blaine, MN, USA

problem #71

Feb 272020

Explorer

  • 55,000 miles
Slowly pulling out of narrow parking lot exit lane, through opened gate. Rapid unexplained acceleration, seemed to launch car across one way city street into restaurant building. Passenger seat belt (fastened, left bruises) released upon impact; passenger dash board airbag did not deploy; drivers' airbag weak. Passenger hospitalized from lower airbag, broken leg, severe laceration.

- Warminster, PA, USA

problem #70

Feb 172020

Explorer

  • 150,000 miles
While driving at any speed, the car will suddenly stop accelerating. Once you are able to get completely stopped and turn the car off and restart it, it will do ok until the same thing happens again with no warning. When in traffic or with no place to pull off or coast to, this is extremely dangerous. Has happened to me about 10-20 in the past 2 -3 years. After researching online, I read many of the same situations. Took to local dealer and they diagnosed it as the throttle body and said there were numerous Explorer with the same problem.

- Moscow, TN, USA

problem #69

Oct 222019

Explorer

  • 50,000 miles
The fuel gauge on the instrument panel is reading that the fuel tank is almost full, however while driving the low fuel warning sensor came on and we nearly ran out of fuel. The gauge was still reading almost full. We barely made it to a gas station. After putting in a full tank of gas, the fuel gauge was showing a completely full tank. Since then, the gauge is always showing almost completely full and will go down only to almost full, not quite as low as 3/4 full tank, even if you have driven over 300 miles. Now we have to re-set the trip odometer every time we get gas, so we can calculate approximately how many miles we have driven since the fuel gauge only goes down slightly below full. This occurred around 50,000 miles.

- Conroe, TX, USA

problem #68

Apr 012019

Explorer

  • 50,000 miles
There is a terrible exhaust smell that comes into the interior cabin. The smell is even worse upon extended hard acceleration. In addition, there is bubbling in my hood due to faulty hoods being produced on Ford Explorer. Ford has acknowledged both issues - as there is a tsb. Ford's "fix" tsb-16016 is not a fix at all. It merely is a bandage for the problem as my family still smells exhaust in the vehicle. My 3 year old son is inhaling this toxic smell.

- Middlesex, NJ, USA

problem #67

Aug 182019

Explorer

  • 47,030 miles
While driving my 2015 Ford Explorer (46K miles) at about 50mph, the Explorer unexpectedly became completely unresponsive. Luckily, I was able to get to the side of the road. Turned the engine off and then back on. The wrench light went off and it seemed to be fine. I drove another 2 or 3 miles and it did it again! I was extremely lucky to find a place to pull off thru the construction site I was in. Turned the engine off again and then back on which reset everything again. I finally got the Explorer home about 4 miles without any more issues. The next day took I took it to my auto repair shop. They said it was the throttle body which should be covered under the emissions warranty. (there were no problem codes saved by the car's computer but they were going by experience). I took it immediately to a Ford dealership which verified it was the throttle body. They said it was not covered under any warranty or recall. I reluctantly paid $85 parts, $379 labor and $38 "shop supplies" for a total of $535.

- Casselberry, FL, USA

problem #66

Jun 062019

Explorer

  • 68,700 miles
On 6/6/19 vehicle lost engine throttle power when "wrench" light indicator appeared on dashboard while driving on interstate (at least 65mph). Wrench noted terrain management system error. Engine did not shut off. Vibrated very badly when coming to stop. Happened again on 6/12 on city street driving approx 35mph. Both times stopped vehicle, turned off, and restarted and operated normally. Ford dealerships cannot determine problem because there computer systems cannot see error code(s) in diagnostics.. additionally, Ford Motor Company will not respond until "error code" identified by Ford service dealership. Read online and youtube exact issues but not discussion on resolution(s). See url address for example of issue that occurred with our vehicle: Https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=asrdplp4_qe&T=1S. Very dangerous to lose power on highway and little control of vehicle. Believe this is a systemic issue with Ford Explorer

- Burlington, NC, USA

problem #65

Apr 262019

Explorer

  • 45,256 miles
Having a feeling of nausea when driving exolorer. Yesterday and today we have been running the ac due to hotter temps. After letting car idle for 5-10 minutes while using remote start I start to feel light headed after about 20 minutes of driving. After feeling fine all day. Seems to be only when the car uses ac. Today I was in the drive thru for my son while idling when I started to feel light headed. Noticed the recirculation mode turns itself on after I turned it off. This issue is quite concerning. Was slated to have recall fix done at capitol Ford but advisor said it wasnt attached to the VIN so they didnt do it.

- Dayton, NV, USA

problem #64

Apr 152019

Explorer

  • 57,600 miles
Had the recall done for (fsa 17N03) after the service was done, we have noticed when passing on the freeway or going up hill, hot air blows out the vents then a heavy odor of exhaust. My vehicle also uses E85, so we have ruled out maybe a car in front of us. When using E85 we get a strong smell of alcohol type. We have been to the dealership for the smell, each time they want the windows done or have the A/C on. I tell them we don't drive with it on all the time or have the windows down on the freeway. Every 4-6 months more stories in the news have been coming up with concerns about exhaust smells in the Explorer and now Ford is redesigned the vehicle. This should be looked at more and maybe with third party engineer.

- Fairfield, CA, USA

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