2015 Ford Explorer problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Steering (305) · Structure (252) · Engine (140)
🧭 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
1,160 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (9)
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera 2025-10-13 · campaign 25V695000 · 1,448,655 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2015-2019 Flex, 2015 Explorer, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKZ, 2015-2016 C-Max, Escape, Taurus, 2016 Fusion, 2018-2019 Taurus, 2019 Lincoln MKT, Fiesta, and 2020 Mustang vehicles. The rearview camera may display a distorted, intermittent, or blank image when the vehicle is in reverse.
Risk: A rearview camera that fails to properly display an image can reduce the driver’s view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the rearview camera as necessary, free of charge. This will be a phased campaign, with the remedy becoming available in different phases based on model and model years. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on October 25, 2025. Additional letters will be mailed once the final remedy is available on each phase. Mustang owner notification letters were mailed January 2, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford'
Structure:body:roof And Pillars 2024-01-19 · campaign 24V031000 · 1,889,110 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2011-2019 Explorer vehicles. The A-pillar trim retention clips may not be properly engaged, allowing the trim to detach.
Risk: A detached trim piece can fall off the vehicle, becoming a road hazard and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace the A-pillar trim as necessary, free of charge. This will be a phased campaign, with the remedy becoming available in different phases based on model years. Owner notification letters were mailed between July 18, 2024 and December 16, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24S02.
Suspension:rear 2021-07-15 · campaign 21V537000 · 631,176 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2017 Explorer vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. Exposure to road salt can cause the cross-axis ball joint to corrode and seize, resulting in a fracture of the outboa
Risk: A rear toe-link fracture can result in a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and replace as necessary, the cross-axis ball joint (CABJ) knuckle, and replace the rear suspension toe links, free of charge. This recall is an expansion of previous NHTSA recall numbers 16V-245, 19V-435, and 20V-675. Certain vehicles previously repaired will need to return for the new remedy. An interim notification letter notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on September 10, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 16, 2022. Owners may contact
Suspension:rear 2021-03-12 · campaign 20V675000 · 454,941 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2013-2017 Explorer vehicles originally sold, or currently registered in Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin that were previously repaired under a prior recall numbers 16V-245 or 19V-435. The outboard section of a rear susp
Risk: A rear toe link fracture can result in a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the cross-axis ball joint (CABJ) knuckle attached to the rear suspension toe link and replace it as necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 27, 2020. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S62.
Power Train:axle Assembly:axle Shaft 2020-11-10 · campaign 20V692000 · 15,587 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Explorer, 2014-2015 Taurus and 2014 Edge vehicles equipped with 2.0L or 2.3L engines and front wheel drive. The support bracket for the front drive axle halfshaft may fail.
Risk: The failed bracket could result in a loss of park function which can cause unintended vehicle movement, and loss of motive power while driving which increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the link shaft bracket, free of charge. Parts are not currently available. Owners received an interim notification detailing safety risk December 8, 2020. A second letter will be mailed when parts become available in January 2021. The recall began February 2, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 20S63.
Suspension:rear 2019-06-10 · campaign 19V435000 · 1,194,173 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2011-2017 Explorer vehicles. The rear suspension toe links may fracture due to stress on the rear suspension.
Risk: A fractured rear toe link will cause a sudden change in vehicle handling and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links, and inspect both rear toe link ball joints, replacing the rear wheel knuckle(s), if necessary, free of charge. The recall began June 26, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S17.
Wheels:hub 2017-08-28 · campaign 17E048000 · 630 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain Wheel Hub Bearing assemblies, part number HB5Z-1104-C, incorrectly listed as being for installation on the rear axles of 2011-2017 Ford Explorer 4X2 vehicles. These bearings assemblies were manufactured without a self retention feature, possibly resulting in the separation of the wheel or wheel end.
Risk: A loss of the wheel or wheel end can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify the distributors of the hubs specifying that they are to only be used on drive axles. It is believed that none of the hubs were purchased from Ford dealers for the incorrect application. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332.
Suspension:rear 2016-04-26 · campaign 16V245000 · 75,364 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 Ford Explorer vehicles manufactured January 17, 2014 to May 31, 2014. The affected vehicles may have improperly welded rear suspension toe links that may fracture.
Risk: A fracture of the rear suspension toe link may result in a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear suspension toe links, free of charge. The recall began on November 18, 2016. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S18.
Parking Brake 2015-07-24 · campaign 15V464000 · 7,165 vehicles
Defect: Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2015 Ford Taurus, Ford Flex, and Lincoln MKS vehicles manufactured May 4, 2015, to May 23, 2015, Lincoln MKT vehicles manufactured May 4, 2015, to May 21, 2015, and 2015-2016 Ford Explorer vehicles manufactured May 4, 2015, to May 23, 2015. The affected vehicles have a parking brake that may not fully engage when applied. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number
Risk: If the parking brake does not fully engage and the transmission is left in a gear other than 'Park' while on a slope, the vehicle may roll away, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will test the operation of the parking brake system, and if necessary, replace the parking brake control assembly, free of charge. The recall began on September 4, 2015. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 15C07.
Service bulletins (124)
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.
Unknown Or Other 2026-02-24 · SSM 54601 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
ford and lincoln vehicles equipped with wired keyless entry keypad systems and accessory wireless keyless entry keypad systems may or may not come with a wallet card containing the master code. unlike the integrated wired keypad, the accessory wireless keypad master code cannot be retrieved from the
Power Train 2025-11-12 · SSM 54366 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
some 2015-2021 ford and lincoln vehicles may exhibit an illuminated mil with diagnostic trouble codes (dtcs) p0011, p0012, p0014, p0015, p0016, p0017, p0018, p0019, p0021, p0022, p0024 and/or p0025. pinpoint test hk in the powertrain control and emissions diagnosis (pc/ed) or in section 303-14 of th
Unknown Or Other 2024-10-10 · SSM 53040 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
while performing a transmission repair on some 2012-2024 ford and lincoln vehicles, a transmission seal kit may be on backorder due to supply chain interruptions.
Equipment 2024-04-24 · SSM 52476 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
all accessory stick-on keyless entry keypads come with a wallet card containing the master code. if the accessory keypad was factory installed, this card will be placed in the glove box and should be handed to the vehicle s owner during initial delivery. unlike the integrated (wired) factory keypad,
Engine And Engine Cooling 2024-03-06 · SSM 52335 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
for 2015-2024 ford and lincoln vehicles equipped with turbocharged engines and customer concern of an engine oil leak, refer to workshop manual (wsm), section 303-00 for oil leak inspection and testing methods. ford has evaluated turbochargers replaced for oil leak symptoms and although oil may coll
Power Train 2024-03-01 · SSM 52314 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
during service and repair requiring removal and replacement of a crankshaft bolt and/or crankshaft damper, achieving proper torque of the crankshaft pulley bolt is critical. incorrect torque may allow the bolt to loosen resulting in the timing gear breaking and engine damage. replacement of the bolt
Showing the 6 most recent of 124 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-29 · Unknown Or Other“ford officially announced safety recall 25sa9 in october 2025 regarding a defective rearview camera affecting my 2015 ford explorer. i have actively inquired about getting this safety defect fixed at my local dealership, century ford in mt. airy, md, for at least two years. however, ford has continuously failed to provide a remedy due to a persiste…”
2026-10-26 · Steering“out of nowhere the steering assist quit when i turned on the car in question on to go work in the morning. luckily for everybody it did not happen while on the road like many of the cases i have read about. now i’m facing a $3,000 bill to repair a very common problem ford refuses to recall. …”
2026-10-22 · Back Over Prevention“the contact owns a 2015 ford explorer. the contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera display flickered on and off. additionally, the rear-view camera message was displayed. the dealer was contacted and made aware of the failure, and the contact was informed that parts were unavailable for the repair. the contact received notificatio…”
2026-10-21 · Back Over Prevention · 101,000 mi“the contact owns a 2015 ford explorer. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 25v695000 (back over prevention); 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 contact stated that the message “rear-view camera…”
2026-10-20 · Structure“the contact's son owns a 2015 ford explorer. the contact stated that the a-pillar trim had become loose and unsecured. the cause of the failure was not yet determined, and the vehicle was not repaired. the contact was informed that the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 24v031000 (structure).…”
2026-10-16 · Back Over Prevention · 85,000 mi“the contact owns a 2015 ford explorer. the contact stated that while reversing, the rear-view camera displayed a distorted image. the failure was persistent. the contact received a recall notification for nhtsa campaign number: 25v695000 (back over prevention); however, the part for the recall repair was unavailable. the failure mileage was approxi…”
2026-10-15 · Engine“the water pump failed at 117,000 miles. the water pump is internal in the engine causing a extremely high repair bill and weeks of time without the vehicle. if we had not caught it soon enough we could have been looking at replacing the motor. unfortunately for us this is a repair we have to make in a vehicle we are still making payments on and nee…”
2026-10-13 · Back Over Prevention · 202,000 mi“the contact owns a 2015 ford explorer. the contact received notification for nhtsa campaign number: 25v695000 (back over prevention); however, the part to complete the recall repair was not yet available. the contact stated that while in reverse (r), the rearview camera displayed a blank or distorted image, followed by the message "camera unavailab…”
2026-10-09 · Back Over Prevention“the contact owns a 2015 ford explorer. the contact stated that while the vehicle was in reverse, the rear-view camera displayed a blank or distorted screen. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 25v695000 (back over prevention); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. the local dealer was contacted by …”
2026-10-09 · Back Over Prevention · 90,000 mi“the contact owns a 2015 ford explorer. the contact stated that while reversing at an undisclosed speed, the rear-view camera was intermittently inverted or inoperative. the contact stated that the message "rear-view camera unavailable" was displayed. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 25v695000 (back over prevention); howev…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.