2016 FORD EXPLORER Complaints

Was driving on the highway at an high speed and abruptly received a message “power steering failure” the steering wheel locked up. After a few seconds I was able to find a way to safely maneuver lanes but it was very difficult to maintain control Of vehicle. Upon re starting car the error popped up again and the wheel is now completely locked. Upon conversation with a family member about the occurrence we found out this happened to their car as well. Same make year and model. Upon research this sounds to be a problem in the 2016 Explorers and is a major safety concern. This could have ended extremely badly.

See attached document for complaint. From attached: I received this recall notice in February 2024. Notice stated the parts would be available in the "later half of 2024. We are now in the second quarter of 2025 and the parts are still not available. I was patiently waiting g for the parts as I had no real issue with my vehicle. Situation has changed are the part was violently ripped from my vehicle at 65 MPH while on the Garden State Parkway. I could not recover the part and have no idea if it struck another vehicle when it departed. It seen unreasonable have to wait 15 months for the parts to be delivered. To say nothing of the fact that the vehicle looks h01Tible with the part missing

I was at Apple Ford of Lynchburg, VA when I grabbed the steering wheel to exit the vehicle when the steering wheel came loose and began to wobble up and down, making the car impossible to control safely. The Service Department and I came to the conclusion that this may represent an apparent safety issue that must be addressed.

A-pillar trim has been under recall since Jan. 2024. Ford estimated having the parts "the later half of 2024". Here it is June of 2025 and still no repair. Is it going to take a tragedy to motivate Ford? In no way could this be considered a "timely repair".

The rear seats in my 2016 ford explorer platinum have a know air bag issue that ford said is not a safety issue when addressed. It is a know issue by ford and they refuse to fix it because it is not under recall. The air bag light illuminate due to a worn or damaged connection to the rear inflatable seat belt connector which in turn will cause the rear airbags to not deploy during an accident.

I’ve had it twice be an issue where the engine didn’t run quite right. The first time I took it to the mechanic it was determined the timing chain was bad and they also said this is a well known issue with the ecoboost engines in these explorers. Only about a year later after replacing that and the water pump I went to start the explorer and it wouldn’t start. Took it to the mechanic again and they found that the timing chain, again, had failed and this time it also caused damage to a piston rod. They said they were surprised it wasn’t catastrophic damage to the engine because of this. I’ve now had to spend literally thousands of dollars on this vehicle for timing chain related issues alone in just over 3 years of owning it. Searching online finds unending reports of similar issues to this as well as massive issues with the turbos and the cam phasers that also commonly are causing catastrophic engine failures despite routine preventative maintenance being performed. And the a pillar recall issue. I had it inspected December of 2024 and determined it needed them replaced. I was not given a time frame when that would be completed. I got a call over a month ago from the dealer saying to call them to schedule a repair. I did so and then was told that while I was on the list they still are unable to get any parts from Ford to repair this mandated recall and also cannot get a timeline on when said parts would be available. I’m almost six months past them saying it’s been ordered and still no idea when it’ll be repaired. And now a second recall was just announced for the b post coverings and I’m sure this will be just as bad. As many issues as this car is having I think Ford should have to pay for a lot more recalls than they have so far. I also had to have two other recalls fixed that the selling dealer didn’t address before selling to me.

Took the family SUV in for a standard oil change and 100k service to Ford dealership. Upon performing a coolant flush, the water pump began leaking. It was found that the internal water pump was leaking and needed to be replaced along with the primary timing chain and tensioner items. There were no warning lamps or indicators to let us know this was an issue. The dealer service center replaced the internal water pump, refilled system and test drove. It was re inspected and leak has been corrected. However, this cost us $4, 366.80 for an issue Ford knows is a reoccurring issue in this model of SUV and a huge hazard for families.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the driver's side front A-pillar before the A-pillar trim was blown off the vehicle. The contact called the local dealer and was advised that the trim was not available, and another letter would be forwarded by the manufacturer when parts became available. The contact observed that the passenger’s side A-pillar trim was loosened, and called the dealer, and was advised that parts were not yet available. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000(Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the driver's side windshield exterior A-pillar trim detached from the vehicle. The contact stated that the passenger’s side A-pillar trim was detaching. The local dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had parked and had stopped driving the vehicle due to the safety concerns. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was 35,798. VIN tool confirms parts not available.