2007 Ford Explorer problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (33) · Seats (23) · Engine (17)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Ford Explorer model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
184 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (1)
Equipment 2010-09-03 · campaign 10E043000 · 294 vehicles
Defect: MARATHON IS RECALLING CERTAIN SEAT COVERS, BRAND SUPERHIDES WITH PART NUMBERS 593, 594, 578, 960, 228, 228-09, 267-08, 333, 625, AND 630, SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE SEAT COVERS ARE MADE OF HEAVIER THREAD AND ARE NOT COMPATIBLE WITH SEATS CONTAINING SIDE AIRBAGS. THE HEAVIER SEAT COVER COULD INTERFERE WITH FULL DEPLOYMENT OF THE AIRBAG IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH.
Risk: AN IMPROPERLY DEPLOYED AIRBAG COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY.
Fix: MARATHON WILL NOTIFY OWNERS OF RECORD AND REPLACE THE SEAT COVER FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT MARATHON AT 1-800-735-2769.
Service bulletins (25)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Power Train:automatic Transmission 2023-09-07 · SSM 51909 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
when performing any transmission fluid changes or topoffs involving mercon sp, mercon lv has replaced all versions of mercon sp and can be used going forward. mixing mercon lv and mercon sp in the same transmission is acceptable. after 30-jun-2023, mercon sp atf will no longer be manufactured and wi
Structure 2019-02-07 · TSB 19-2026 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2000 and newer ford, lincoln and mercury vehicles equipped with aluminum body panels may exhibit corrosion concerns appearing as bubbled and/or peeling paint with or without accompanying white dust. panel replacement is recommended. follow the service procedure steps to correct the condition
Structure 2019-02-07 · TSB 19-2026 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2000 and newer ford, lincoln and mercury vehicles equipped with aluminum body panels may exhibit corrosion concerns appearing as bubbled and/or peeling paint with or without accompanying white dust. panel replacement is recommended. follow the service procedure steps to correct the condition
Steering 2018-10-02 · DOR-S3J9G-11 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this sku is a front upper ball joint. the customer communication requested return of unsold inventory to inspect for ball studs with excessive rotational friction in the ball joint assembly. excessive friction in the ball joint assembly may cause a perceptible increase in steering effort.
Equipment 2018-06-01 · SSM 47331 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
various vehicles equipped with a 4.6l, 5.4l, 6.8l modular 3 valve engine built on or before 8-jan-2016 may exhibit symptoms that may include upper end engine noise, rough running, misfire and/or engine damage. if diagnosis leads to only camshaft/camshaft roller follower(s) requiring replacement, rep
Power Train:driveline 2017-02-27 · SSM 46412 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2007-2016 edge/mkx/flex/mkt/mkz/mks/taurus/taurus police/explorer/explorer police equipped with all wheel drive (awd) and built on or before 30-jun-2016 may exhibit a ticking and/or knocking noise coming from the driveline area. to identify this noise, refer to workshop manual (wsm), section 10
Showing the 6 most recent of 25 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2024-08-06 · Electrical System“i am writing to formally express my concerns regarding a persistent issue with the throttle body system in my ford explorer. i have addressed this problem multiple times, having repaired the throttle body system, replaced the sensor, and even substituted the entire assembly on two separate occasions. despite these efforts, the same diagnostic code …”
2024-06-17 · Power Train · 150,076 mi“the contact owns a 2007 ford explorer. the contact stated while starting the vehicle, the contact became aware of a failure with the transmission. the contact attempted to shift the gear shifter and the vehicle made a loud clanking sound and the vehicle was rattling. there were no warning lights illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer wher…”
2024-06-07 · Electrical System“my check engine light came on and the car was making a loud acceleration noise when touching the gas. i took it to the dealer and they found that the wiring harness (part# 7l2z-12a581-cb) was faulty and needed to be replaced. the dealership told me they are trying to locate the part. this went on for 8 or 9 months when they informed me that the par…”
2023-11-29 · Suspension · 💥 crash“the contact's brother-in-law owned a 2007 ford explorer. the contact stated that while her brother-in-law was driving 60-62 mph, her husband was sitting in the front passenger's side seat, the contact was sitting in the rear passenger's side seat and her sister was sitting in the rear driver's side seat. the contact stated that the front passenger'…”
2021-03-23 · Seats · 86,300 mi“hit a bump and the driver seat randomly moved all the way back to the point i could no longer reach the pedals.…”
2020-07-08 · Power Train · 123,000 mi“while driving on the the highway on ramp the vehicle was hard to accelerate and almost caused an accident merging on the highway. when the vehicle was scanned 16 transmission obd codes came up. the cause of the codes was a corroded connector going to the transmission. it corroded from water intrusion from water leaking from the a/c drain onto th…”
2019-07-22 · Engine · 74,424 mi“we were driving home at approximately 45 mph and the engine shuts off. no engine, no steering, etc. my husband was reducing speed (45 to 35) using the cruise control on the steering wheel. every light on the dashboard lit up, engine, wrench. oil can. this is the third time this has happened. we took it in for diagnostics twice (once to an indepe…”
2019-06-13 · Power Train“out transmission failed while driving down the road. we understand that this problem has been reported many times and that ford is aware of it. it is a malfunction in the transmission and not a maintenance problem. we were driving on 25 headed east out of bay city going straight at 55 miles an hour.…”
2019-04-24 · Unknown Or Other · 155,000 mi“while driving the car just cut off. no warning . …”
2019-02-13 · Service Brakes · 140,000 mi“power brake booster failure. diaphragm inside the brake booster failed suddenly causing a hard time to stop when traveling at a highway. no crash involved but had to use the shoulder for extra stopping distance.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.