If you are checking a used Ford Explorer, this hub is the starting point. It is built to gather the practical questions a buyer or owner actually has: what usually goes wrong, which year windows deserve caution, what warning signs matter, and what to check before money changes hands.
The Ford Explorer is tracked here as a midsize SUV coverage hub. This page is a researched coverage page, not a final reliability verdict. Specific defect claims should come from sourced child pages, not guesswork.
Before buying or ignoring symptoms, verify open recalls by VIN, scan for stored OBD codes, check service history, and use any linked CarFaultIQ fault or symptom pages to decide the next practical step.
Ford Explorer 2006–2010
No verified model-specific fault records for 2006–2010 yet.
Evidence-backed model intelligence
Ford Explorer diagnostic overview
Structured coverage spans 1995-2026. Use the exact model year and symptoms when narrowing a fault.
Vehicle coverage
- Powertrain evidence: Electricity, Ethanol (E85), Gasoline and Regular Gasoline
- Electrification: Electric and Hybrid
- Drivetrain coverage: 2-Wheel Drive, 4WD, 4WD/AWD, 4X4, AWD, FWD and RWD
Start with the evidence you have
A symptom and an OBD code are separate evidence channels. Use either one; do not assume a stored code proves a particular repair.
Official evidence for this model
Coverage below spans the explicitly mapped model years. Records do not apply to every model year or configuration.
US safety recalls
144 distinct official identifiers · US
Campaigns matched to recorded model years. Only an official VIN check can confirm whether an individual vehicle is affected.
- 26V548000 — model years 2026
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2026 Explorer, Bronco, Bronco Sport, Mustang, and Ranger vehicles. The engine piston domes may have been manufactured incorrectly, which can result in piston dome failure and lead to a loss of drive power.
- 26V532000 — model years 2026
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2026 Explorer vehicles equipped with a 2.3L engine. The engine connecting rod bearings may seize, which can result in engine failure.
- 26V470000 — model years 2025, 2026
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025-2027 Explorer and Lincoln Aviator vehicles. An unoccupied driver's seat may recline unintentionally during certain scenarios, such as remote unlock or remote start.
Manufacturer communications / TSBs
2,047 distinct official identifiers · US
Manufacturer service communications are not safety recalls and do not prove that every vehicle has the described condition.
- 11036103 — model years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Some 2020-2025 Explorer vehicles equipped with a power roof opening panel may exhibit a sunshield with localized bunching or binding/inoperative. This may be due to a broken or missing sunshield fabric retainer/clip. A revised sunshield clip (LJ6Z-5452118-B) is now available to address this condition. It…
- 11036107 — model years 2026
Some 2025-2026 Aviator/Explorer/Expedition/F-150/Mustang Mach-E/Navigator vehicles may exhibit the hands-free BlueCruise feature intermittently/consistently unavailable when BlueCruise is active and when traveling in a "Blue Zone". Speed sign recognition may also be inaccurate. If there are no active relevant diagnostic trouble codes (DTC) present and the issue…
- 11035581 — model years 2024, 2025, 2026
Some 2024-2026 Explorer vehicles built on or before 27-Feb-2026 and equipped with the panoramic glass roof may exhibit an uneven gap at the front edge of the roof opening panel shield when fully closed. The gap is an appearance issue only, but may allow outside…
US defect investigations
39 distinct official identifiers · US
An investigation records a regulator review of a suspected defect. It is not automatically a finding or a recall.
- DP25001 — model years 2020
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a petition on August 22, 2025, requesting a defect investigation into an alleged defect of the “underbody shields” on model year (MY) 2020 Ford Explorer vehicles. The petition alleges premature degradation and detachment of the plastic underbody shields,…
- EA23002 — model years 2021, 2022
On July 22, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) granted a Defect Petition (DP22001) and opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE22007) to investigate allegations of loss of motive power in model year (MY) 2021 Ford Bronco vehicles equipped with 2.7L EcoBoost engines. Complainants were reporting…
- RQ23002 — model years 2020, 2021, 2022
On July 17, 2023, the Office of Defect Investigation (ODI) opened this Recall Query (RQ) after receiving 2 consumer complaints alleging loss of vehicle forward power and/or loss of transmission torque of the rear wheels in model year (MY) 2020-2022 Ford Explorer vehicles (subject vehicles).…
Canadian recalls
112 distinct official identifiers · CA
Canadian-market records remain separate from US campaigns. Confirm applicability with Transport Canada and the manufacturer.
- 2026411 — model years 2026
Multiple source assertions are retained for this identifier. Consult the official record for configuration-specific details.
- 2026341 — model years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Issue: On certain vehicles, the repairs completed by a Ford dealer during customer satisfaction program 20N11 may not be effective. As a result, a second repair is required. On certain vehicles, the roof rail covers could become loose and detach while driving. Note: This recall…
- 2026339 — model years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
Issue: On certain vehicles the recall repairs completed by a Ford dealer during recall 25S67 (Transport Canada recall no. 2025-328) may not be effective. As a result, a second repair is required. On certain vehicles, the trim for the seat fold switch on the second-row…
US owner complaint reports
30,985 distinct reports · US
Distinct ODI complaint identifiers, deduplicated across component and product rows. Reports are allegations, not confirmed defects, failure rates or reliability scores.
- STEERING: 3,660 reports
- UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 3,043 reports
- POWER TRAIN: 2,361 reports
A report can name several components. Do not add component totals together.
Evidence is served from a locally stored official-source snapshot. No external API is called to render this page. These records do not replace inspection or diagnosis. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.