2025 FORD EXPLORER Complaints

“I rented vehicle VIN [XXX] from Budget Rental Car in Panama City Beach, FL (Reservation #XXX, Rental Agreement XXX). I later discovered the vehicle had an unrepaired federal safety recall (NHTSA Recall 25V543 / Manufacturer Recall 25C42) involving the Body Control Module. Budget never informed me of the recall at any time. On November 11, 2025, when I attempted to extend my rental, the representative told me the vehicle had been ‘sold’ and must be returned within two days. When I attempted to exchange it on November 12–13 at three different Budget locations in Lansing, MI, they refused to take the vehicle, stating it had a safety recall and should not have been rented out. Only after this did I check the VIN myself and learn of the safety recall. The recall affects multiple electrical and visibility-related components: trailer lights, interior lights, mirrors, windows, rear defroster, USB/12V ports, and HVAC systems. These issues can reduce driver visibility and increase the risk of a crash. While driving the vehicle, I experienced visibility problems. The windows fogged up severely, and the defroster did not operate properly. As a result, I was unable to see an animal that entered the roadway and unfortunately struck it. There is now damage to the front driver’s side of the vehicle. This visibility impairment aligns with the Body Control Module recall defects described by NHTSA. This vehicle should not have been rented to any customer, especially with the remedy unavailable until late 2025. I am reporting this because an unrepaired safety recall vehicle placed into active rental service directly resulted in a visibility hazard and an unavoidable collision while I was driving.” I did not make it back in time to return the vehicle yesterday 11/14/2025 I am finishing up this report and on my way to Budget in Panama City Beach Florida to return it. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Ever since the last recall got resolved the car has failed to go into the gear it’s set to. Such as it fails to go in park when you shift it into park. This is a serious issue as I have now almost rear ended cars in parking lots a few times because of this issue.

Stopped at traffic light when changed to green pushed on the gas started to roll backwards . Got it stopped and pushed on gas would barely go sounded like transmission slipping. Finally got it thru the stoplight and it started again. Got it home called local dealership took it in and have to take it back Friday morning at 8. Scary!

Three times in 5 months since purchasing our 2025 Ford Explorer, all dash lights will come on while driving and vehicle will come to a stop. Braking pressure is reduced greatly and then vehicle will not continue in forward or reverse. Multiple restart attempts will allow the vehicle to move under 5 MPH but will brake hard to a stop if it goes over 5MPH. Two different dealerships have inspected and preformed the same software updates Ford is recommending and its not fixing the issue. Ford is refusing to do anything about it at this time because they claim the software update is as far as they are allowed to go in diagnoses. I have a Ford Case #XXX

My 2025 Ford Explorer ST-Line is up to date on recalls as of October 7, 2025. However, I am still experiencing engine "shudder" and hesitation at low RPMs (between idle and 1500 RPM) when accelerating. The 10 speed transmission is also continuing to shift harshly at times. I am very concerned that the hesitation and shudder could be an issue when pulling out into traffic. By comparison, my previous 2017 Explorer did not exhibit this behavior, whichh I consider disconcerting. Also, this car (and all 2025 Explorer models ) injects Fake Engine Noise into the audio speakers to make the 2.5L engine sound more powerful. These fake "bass tones" are disturbing to some passengers with hearing aides, and per Ford's website there is no way to disable the fake noise. Thus, some people with a hearing disability cannot ride in my car without removing their hearing aides. It should be unacceptable to not be able to disable that feature. Note updated form dated 8/1/25 states Fake Noise cannot be turned off.

The carpet on the wheel wells is not functional. We live out on a ranch on a dirt road and when it rains the mud gets stuck on the carpet and weighs is down. This can cause more damage to the vehicle. We took it in to a dealership and they said there was nothing they could do until the carpet gets ripped off. When we bought an expensive 4x4 vehicle we expected it to be sturdy enough to not have to worry about mud (especially when the car has a built in mud feature).

While traveling down the road - not turning or braking - several alerts and alarms started flashing on the driver dashboard on my 2025 Explorer. At this time, I completely lost the ability to slow the car down. The digital emergency brake made no changes to the braking ability. I was able to eventually able to get the vehicle to slow down by engine torquing and turning. I reached out to my local dealership where I purchased the vehicle, and they told me to call Ford Roadside Assistance immediately. They contracted a local towing agency, and they promptly towed the vehicle to that dealership. I was able to take a movie of the incident.

Driving to park in garage and camera system came on the display screen, non-functional, displaying a black screen and message with "There's an issue with your camera system" - please see dealer for service. *This has happened twice, once on [XXX] at 9pm and a 2nd time [XXX] at 840pm. So far, as of writing this on 10/2 it has not repeated. Took car to dealership to inspect and codes were evident in system. Dealership investigating (10/2/25 at 1004 AM) INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Bought my new 2025 explorer an 2 days laterits been parked I noticed a craked on the windshield there is no rock ship nor nothing hit it but i did notice theres 2 cracks on the top black part of windshield where it just out of nowhere keeps cracking down took it to safelite an they said thats a Defect on the windshield

The expansive and overly complicated electronic display has moving menu buttons. By that I mean when you use a feature such as the heated seats or radio source and make a choice, the next time you go there to change something the buttons are in a different order with the previous choice showing first. The radio source actually moves the entire menu to another part of the screen. You have to take your attention off the road for far too long to find what you are looking for. The 2025 Explorer has a very dangerous electronic display that requires far too much attention. As stated, some buttons change location, others are too small to see. The cruise control display is minuscule and mixed in with other display components when there is far more than enough unused space on the screen for larger graphics. I'm sure Ford will use the excuse to use voice controls, but the system is slow and gets it wrong half of the time. In my opinion Ford should be forced to change all of this and send software updates to all affected vehicles.