What ownership is like, what breaks at what mileage, what the repairs cost, and what to check before you buy one.
← All Ford Explorer generations
NHTSA complaints per catalog listing run from 1.84 for 2019 (300 complaints across 163 listings) to 17.60 for 2011 (1,197 across 68), against a generation median of 5.61. The highest year, 2011, is 3.1 times that median. Flagged by our rule: 2011.
| Miles | Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| not stated by the sources | 3.5L water pump leaking coolant internally | $1,253 to $1,617 (RepairPal); $1,500 to $3,000 quoted (The Weekly Driver); $1,500 to $2,500 at a dealer (EngineNeeds) | The pump sits inside the engine, which is why a cheap part carries a large labor bill. EngineNeeds warns that mixed coolant types can gel and clog the radiator and heater core. Ask for coolant service history. |
| not stated by the sources | Power transfer unit (PTU) leak or failure on all-wheel-drive cars | About $1,100 all in, from a forum post (PTU roughly $800 online plus pump and fluids) | A Reddit thread says Ford called the PTU fluid lifetime fluid, there is no drain plug, and the catalytic converters sit beside the PTU and cook the fluid. These are owner claims, not Ford statements. Look under the car for fluid at the PTU and ask when it was last changed. |
| any | Exhaust odor in the cabin (2011-2017) | Free at a Ford dealer for 2011 to 2017 (Consumer Reports, 2017); it was a service offer, not a recall | CBS reported a 2015 deposition calling it a design issue, and Ford told CBS the odor poses no safety risk. Consumer Reports covered the free fix. Owners on Reddit report a bad PTU as one cause and the rear deck airflow as another. Drive with the vents closed and the rear glass shut and note any odor under hard acceleration. |
| any | Recalls on file: rear suspension toe links may fracture (19V435000, 2011-2017), road-salt corrosion of the rear suspension in 22 northern states (20V675000, 21V537000, 21V746000) | Free at a Ford dealer when open | The salt-state recalls apply to cars first sold or ever registered in the listed states, so a southern car with a northern history still counts. Confirm each by VIN. |
A year is flagged by our rule only when all three hold: (1) its NHTSA complaints per catalog listing is at least 2.0x the median for its generation, (2) the share of ads that mention a problem is above the generation median, and (3) we track at least 30 listings for that year. The cutoff was fixed before we looked. Ad mentions are not failures, and a flag is a reason to inspect harder, not a verdict on any one car. We also re-ran the ad test with the 'rust' flaw left out, because the ad reader counts phrases like 'no rust' as mentions, and publish a flag only if it passes both ways.
Complaints add up over a car's whole life, so older years in a generation can look worse here than they are. Read this flag next to the complaint details below.
| Year | Complaints | Top components | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,197 | Steering, Structure, Unknown Or Other | |
| 2012 | 830 | Steering, Structure, Unknown Or Other | |
| 2013 | 2,237 | Steering, Structure, Unknown Or Other | |
| 2014 | 1,684 | Steering, Unknown Or Other, Structure | |
| 2015 | 1,819 | Structure, Unknown Or Other, Steering | |
| 2016 | 2,485 | Structure, Steering, Unknown Or Other | |
| 2017 | 1,713 | Structure, Unknown Or Other, Engine | |
| 2018 | 736 | Structure, Unknown Or Other, Engine | |
| 2019 | 300 | Structure, Unknown Or Other, Power Train |
source: NHTSA complaints database (api.nhtsa.gov). Complaints are owner reports, not confirmed failures.
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We don't tell you to skip a year; we flag by a fixed rule, and it flags 2002 and 2011. Third-party lists commonly name 2002 to 2006 (CoPilot, Road Ethos), the whole 2002-2005 generation (CarBuzz), and 2016, 2017 and 2020 (Road Ethos). 2002 has 40.31 NHTSA complaints per catalog listing (3,426 complaints across 85 listings) against a 2002-2005 median of 13.92. 2011 has 17.60 (1,197 complaints across 68 listings) against a 2011-2019 median of 5.61. 2006 has 9.00 (630 complaints across 70 listings) against a 2006-2010 median of 1.74, but its ads do not mention problems often enough to flag it.
CarBuzz says every model year of the 2002-2005 generation had transmission complaints, and quotes CarComplaints at a typical $2,840 repair. CoPilot adds a 2006 with a lunging shift at 49,000 miles costing about $1,800. Mister Transmission puts a full replacement on Ford vehicles at $3,000 to $7,000, which is not an Explorer-specific price.
RepairPal puts it at $1,253 to $1,617. The Weekly Driver reports quotes of $1,500 to $3,000 on 2011-2019 cars with the 3.5L V6, and EngineNeeds says dealers often charge $1,500 to $2,500, because the pump is inside the engine.
Yes. Consumer Reports covered a free fix Ford offered on 2011 to 2017 Explorers in 2017, which was not a recall. CBS reported a 2015 deposition in which a Ford representative called it a design issue, and Ford told CBS the odor poses no safety risk. If you notice an exhaust smell on a test drive, have it looked at before you buy.
Ford recalled 238,364 2020-2022 Explorers because the rear axle horizontal mounting bolt may fracture and disconnect the driveshaft (Car and Driver, NHTSA 23V675000). The repair is free. A second recall, 23V199000, covers cars whose earlier software fix left out the automatic parking brake in Park.
No. The Sport Trac is a pickup truck with its own NHTSA model name. We excluded it. NHTSA's search for 'Explorer' also returns Sport Trac complaints in 2002 to 2005, so we removed them by product name.