2014 FORD EXPLORER Complaints

WHILE APPROACHING AN INTERSECTION FROM THE SOUTH, A CAR CROSSED THE INTERSECTION IN FRONT OF US, TRAVELING EAST. I APPLIED THE BRAKES BUT NOT IN TIME TO AVOID HITTING THE CAR BROADSIDE. FRONT AIRBAGS DEPLOYED AS DID THE SIDE AIR BAGS ON THE DRIVER SIDE. THE AIRBAG UNDER THE DASH ON THE PASSENGER SIDE DEPLOYED ALSO. MY WIFE, WHO WAS SEATED IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT, SUFFERED A VERY SERIOUS CUT ON HER LOWER LEG, JUST A FEW INCHES ABOVE THE ANKLE. IT IS ORIENTED PRIMARILY CIRCUMFERENTIAL FOR AT LEAST 180 DEGREES AROUND THE TOP AND SIDES OF HER LEG. THE WOUND CUT TO THE BONE AND REQUIRED MULTIPLE LAYERS OF STITCHES TO REPAIR. HER DOCTOR SAYS THE BLISTERING AROUND THE CUT APPEARS TO BE CONSISTENT WITH A BURN. THERE WAS NO CAR FIRE, SO WE THINK THAT THE CUT AND BURN WERE LIKELY FROM THE AIR BAG. THERE WAS NO VISIBLE DAMAGE TO THE CAR IN THE PASSENGER LEG AREA. NO GLASS WAS BROKEN. *TR

STRONG EXHAUST SMELL ANYTIME ENGINE ACCELERATES, SUCH AS DOWNSHIFTING WHEN GOING OVER AN OVERPASS ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY. NOT "HARD" ACCELERATION REALLY. I HAVE RESEARCHED, AND KNOW THIS A COMMON PROBLEM, AND HAS BEEN SINCE THE "5TH GEN" EXPLORERS CAME OUT. I KNOW IT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF NHTSA, AND I AM JUST REGISTERING MY COMPLAINT HOPING YOU CAN GET THE PROBLEM RESOLVED. THANK YOU. *TR

EXHAUST FUMES ENTER THE CABIN THROUGH THE A/C VENTS INTERMITTENTLY. THE A/C CONTROLS MUST BE TURNED ON AND THE VEHICLE MUST BE ACCELERATING OR CLIMBING A HILL. IT LOADS THE CABIN HEAVILY AT TIMES WITH EXHAUST FUMES, BUT APPEARS TO CLEAR QUICKLY WHEN NORMAL OPERATION RESUMES. *TR

WHEN I ACCELERATE IMMEDIATELY AFTER TURNING ON ENGINE BETWEEN 10-20 MPH MY CAR WILL SLIP OUT OF DRIVE INTO MANUAL. THIS HAPPENS RANDOMLY, AND HAS HAPPENED FOR THE 2 OTHER DRIVERS OF THIS VEHICLE. I HAVE TO STOP, MOVE GEAR SHIFT TO EITHER NEUTRAL OR MANUAL AND SWITCH BACK TO DRIVE, FOR THE TRANSMISSION TO THEN REMAIN IN DRIVE. IT HAS HAPPENED AT LEAST 25 TIMES-MY VEHICLE NOW HAS 16,000 MILES ON IT. I TOOK INTO FORD DEALERSHIP AND AFTER 2 DAYS THEY COULD "NOT SIMULATE" WHAT WAS CAUSING IT AND TOLD ME TO "TAKE A PICTURE OF THE DISPLAY SCREEN" WHEN IT HAPPENS AGAIN SO IT COULD BE SIMULATED. THEY TOLD ME I WAS HITTING THE CONTROLS ON THE STEERING WHEEL! I AM NOT HITTING THE CONTROLS ON THE STEERING WHEEL THEY MADE A VEHICLE WITH FAULTY POWER TRAIN AND THE COMPUTER CAN'T TELL THEM HOW TO FIX IT! I WAS ABLE TO QUICKLY SNAP ONE PICTURE AND WILL TRY TO GET ANOTHER ONE PRIOR TO TAKING INTO DEALERSHIP AGAIN. *TR

MY 2014 FORD EXPLORER LETS IN AN EXTREME AMOUNT OF FUMES INTO THE CABIN OF THE VEHICLE DURING HEAVY EXCELERATION. I HAVE TO PUT ALL FOUR WINDOWS DOWN FOR A GOOD AMOUNT OF TIME BEFORE I AM ABLE TO CLEAR THE CABIN OF THE FUMES. MY FIRST COMPLAINT AT THE LOCAL FORD DEALER HAPPENED 6 WEEKS AFTER LEASING THE VEHICLE. I HAVE HAD THE VEHICLE FOR 10 MOS. NOW AND HAVE ONLY 5500 MILES ON IT BECAUSE THE FUMES ARE SO BAD THAT WE DON'T DARE DRIVE OUR PETS IN THE VEHICLE OR OURSELVES BECAUSE WE GET SICK AND SUFFER FROM HEADACHES AND NAUSEA FROM THE FUMES IN IT. UNFORTUNATELY WE ARE TRAPPED IN A LEASE AND THE FORD DEALERSHIP WILL ONLY DO A TRADE IN VALUE ON IT. SO I CANT EVEN SELL THE VEHICLE FOR WHAT ITS WORTH BECAUSE OF THE LEASE. CAN'T AFFORD THAT KIND OF LOSS BECAUSE I TRADED IN MY TOYOTA 4 RUNNER IN TO GET THE MONTHLY LEASE PAYMENT DOWN. WON'T GET THAT 8 GRAND BACK ON TRADE IN. HEART BREAKING BECAUSE THIS IS MY DREAM TRUCK, BUT IT IS OBVIOUSLY VERY DEFECTIVE. *JS

WHEN DRIVING MY 2014 FORD EXPLORER AT ANY SPEED AND ON ANY TERRAIN, THE EXHAUST FUMES ENTER INTO THE CABIN OF THE VEHICLE. THE ODOR IS EXTREME, CAUSES HEADACHES, NAUSEA, AND TENDS TO BURN MY EYES AS WELL AS MY GRANDDAUGHTER, WHO IS WITH ME MOST OF THE TIME. BECAUSE THERE HAVE NOT BEEN ENOUGH PEOPLE COMPLAIN OF THIS PROBLEM, AND BECAUSE FORD HAS NOT RECOGNIZED THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM, MY DEALER WAS NOT GOING TO ATTEMPT TO FIX THE PROBLEM. FINALLY THEY HAVE AGREED TO SPRAY THE UNDER PART OF THE EXHAUST WITH A RUBBERIZED SEALANT THAT WAS USED ON THE 2013 MODELS FOR THE SAME PROBLEM. IF THIS DOES NOT WORK, WHICH I HAVE READ WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL ON THE 2013 , I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. THE EXHAUST ORDER IS HORRID AND I FEAR THE HEALTH IMPLICATIONS THAT MAY ARISE. *JS

ON A RECENT VACATION TO THE NORTHWOODS OF WISCONSIN, OUR 2014 EXPLORER XLT (4X4 V6) WAS RELEASING A NAUSEATING SMELL INTO THE CABIN UNDER HEAVY LOADS, HIGH RPMS, OR RAPID ACCELERATIONS. THE TRIP WAS ABOUT 6 HOURS OF SOLID DRIVING, AND BY THE 3RD HOUR MY WIFE AND I HAD POUNDING HEADACHES AND FELT UNWELL. WE IMMEDIATELY TURNED OFF THE AC AND OPENED THE WINDOWS AS I WAS ABLE TO DUPLICATE THE SMELL ON THE OPEN HIGHWAY. WE SPENT THE REMAINDER OF THE VACATION WITH LIMITED AC, OPEN WINDOWS, AND ?CAUTIOUS? DRIVING TO ENSURE THE SMELL WOULD NOT OCCUR AGAIN. WE WERE TRAVELING WITH OUR 8 MONTH OLD SON AND OLD ENGLISH BULLDOG AT THE TIME AND WANTED TO ENSURE THEY DID NOT FALL ILL. I WILL BE CONTACTING MY FORD DEALER TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE. *JS

MY TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT SHIFT GEARS. THIS IS THE FOURTH TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. AS SOON AS I PUT IN DRIVE THE VEHICLE DID RUN BUT WOULD NOT SHIFT...I WAS STUCK ON A MOUNTAIN ROAD UNABLE TO PULL OVER AND MY RPM'S WERE PEGGING WITHOUT MY TRANSMISSION SHIFTING INTO 2ND GEAR. I ALMOST GOT REAR ENDED. I WAS ONLY ABLE TO GO LIKE 15 MILES PER HOUR, MY CAR STARTED SMELLING LIKE IT WAS BURNING AND THE ENGINE WAS STRESSED. WHEN I WAS ABLE TO FINALLY PULL OVER I HAD TO PUT THE CAR IN PARK TURN IT OFF, TURN IT BACK ON AND THEN IT WORKED FINE. AGAIN THIS IS THE FOURTH TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. I CALLED THE FORD DEALER, FOR THE FOURTH TIME AND THEY SAID I COULD BRING IT IN BUT IF IT DIDN'T ACT THE SAME WAY WITH THEM THERE ISN'T MUCH THEY CAN DO. NOT THE ANSWER I WANTED. I HAVE A NEIGHBOR WHO HAS THE SAME VEHICLE AND IT HAS ALSO HAPPENED TO HER. THERE IS OBVIOUSLY A SYSTEMIC PROBLEM HERE. *TR

UNDER HARD ACCELERATION, WHEN TRYING TO MERGE WITH INTERSTATE TRAFFIC FOR EXAMPLE, THE CABIN IS FILLED WITH A SMELL OF BURNING OIL AND/OR EXHAUST. THIS HAS BEEN NOTICEABLE SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED NEW (PICKED UP WITH < 50 MILES ON THE ODOMETER) AND HAS NOT GOTTEN BETTER AFTER 4900 MILES. *TR

THE CAR REPEATEDLY FILLS WITH EXHAUST FUMES FOLLOWING HIGHER RPM'S JUST RETURNED FROM COLORADO MOUNTAINS. CLIMBING MOUNTAINS CAUSES HIGHER RPM'S AND IN THE PROCESS CAUSED THE CABIN TO FILL WITH EXHAUST FUMES. *TR