2018 Ford Explorer: What to check before buying

Exterior A-pillar trim and windshield molding work loose and fly off at highway speed, sometimes hitting vehicles behind. Whistling, rattling, or air coming in near the driver's side pillar often comes first. Two reports are crash-related. Most filings concern federal recall 24V031000 for this trim, and they tell the same story: dealers say parts are unavailable, owners sit on waiting lists for two years or more, and some are told to use tape in the meantime. Roof rail caps and roof racks that come loose, along with peeling hood paint, also appear.

Coolant leaks into the oil or cylinders on EcoBoost engines, causing overheating, misfires, tailpipe smoke, and full engine replacement. Reported failures fall between 63,880 and 102,000 miles. The internal water pump fails and empties the coolant reservoir, sometimes with no warning before the engine overheats. On the 3.5L engine, the timing chain lets go near 101,000 miles and stops the engine on the highway, with ticking as the only earlier sign. Some reports describe cabin exhaust fumes that cause dizziness and nausea. One engine compartment fire destroyed the vehicle.

Water pumps leak and the engine overheats, with coolant pooling under the car or the reservoir needing a refill every week. Reported failures run from about 91,200 to 131,504 miles. Misfires can lead to a diagnosis of coolant getting into the cylinders. A failed high-speed cooling fan relay, covered by program 21N01, can leave the car unable to start. Turbochargers leak oil, and cabin exhaust odors cause nausea and headaches. One fire-related report describes a burning-fuel smell from the vents.

Fires break out under the dash or after a loud pop and stall, and in two reports the door locks jam while the driver is trying to get out. Batteries leak or burst and spray acid across the engine bay. Other faults include random no-starts even after a new battery, mirrors folding in while driving, SYNC 3 shutting off, and cold-start warnings that knock out power steering, wipers, and turn signals. Low-beam headlights fail or will not turn off. A failed cooling fan relay, covered by program 21N01, causes overheating.

Transmissions shift hard, shudder, slip between gears, or lose drive power while showing a wrench light and a "See Manual" message. Owners often end up replacing the transmission, commonly between 62,000 and 100,000 miles, and several report another failure after the replacement. Torque converter shudder and sluggish launches are covered by program 20N07, though some owners are told their vehicle does not qualify. Sudden power loss on the highway is the main safety risk. None of these reports is crash-related.

Power steering assist cuts out, often with a Power Steering Assist Fault warning, and the wheel becomes very hard to turn or locks up. Dealers usually replace the steering rack or column. Failures show up as early as 20,261 miles and as late as 62,000. Both crash-related reports involve a sudden loss of control at 70 mph: one from a snapped rear toe link, the other from a total loss of electrical power and steering assist. Pulling hard to one side and squeaks when turning also appear.

Rear toe links snap without warning, making the SUV swerve, sway, or spin. Both crash-related reports involve this failure. Owners point out that a recall for the same part covers earlier Explorers but not this year. Front lower control arms break near the ball joint, which stops the car or takes away steering, once at just over 2000 miles. Cracked rear knuckle bushings, quoted at $2400.00 to fix, and a rear end that jerks sideways over bumps also appear.

Braking power drops sharply or disappears, and two crash-related reports describe rear-ending another vehicle, one with an injury. One owner blames the electronic brake assist. Other reports describe a caliper coming apart and leaking fluid, an ABS module failure that locked the brakes, and a fire that an insurer blamed on a brake line failure at 982 miles. With only 6 complaints, no single failure repeats across the reports.

Airbags fail to deploy in one crash at about 30 mph, though most of the 5 reports describe other problems. The front passenger airbag indicator switches to off with a teenager in the seat. Other filings cover second-row seat belt airbags that make the middle seat unusable, a dash top whose vinyl peels away, and an injury crash after sudden acceleration. No repeat failure pattern is clear.