RecallRepo

2017 Ford Explorer Recalls

Recalls on record Updated July 2026

The 2017 Ford Explorer has 13 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 6,354,133 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 2,022 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the unknown or other. Last updated July 20, 2026.

Recall campaigns

STRUCTURE 26V448000 2026-07-14 288,314 affected
Defect

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2019 Explorer vehicles. The roof rail covers may come loose and detach from the vehicle.

Consequence

A detached roof rail cover can create a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will inspect the roof rail covers and as necessary, repair or replace the push-pins, rail clips, or roof rail covers, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, are expected to be mailed August 24, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, anticipated in…

SUSPENSION 26V101000 2026-02-20 412,774 affected
Defect

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Explorer vehicles. The rear suspension toe links may fracture.

Consequence

A rear toe link fracture can result in a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will replace the toe links, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 16, 2026. Owners may contact Ford Customer Service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S08. This recall is an expansion of previous NHTSA recall number 21V537. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs)…

EQUIPMENT 25V685000 2025-10-10 59,006 affected
Defect

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2019 Lincoln MKC, 2016-2023 Explorer, 2019-2020 Fusion, 2019-2024 Ranger, 2020-2022 Lincoln Corsair, Escape, 2021-2024 Bronco, Bronco Sport, and 2022-2024 Maverick vehicles. The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit…

Consequence

An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.

Remedy

Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, free of charge. Owners will also have a alternative option to replace engine block heater element with a threaded blanking plug, and remove the block heater electrical cord. Interim letters,…

STRUCTURE 25V347000 2025-05-23 492,145 affected
Defect

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2017 Explorer vehicles. The driver and front passenger B-Pillar door trim may detach while driving.

Consequence

Door trim that detaches while driving can create a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will repair the B-pillar trim, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed June 5, 2025. A second notice will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated November 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall…

STRUCTURE 24V031000 2024-01-19 1,889,110 affected
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.

Consequence

A detached trim piece can fall off the vehicle, becoming a road hazard and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

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…

SUSPENSION 21V537000 2021-07-15 631,176 affected
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,…

Consequence

A rear toe-link fracture can result in a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

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.…

STRUCTURE 21V316000 2021-05-05 616,967 affected
Defect

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2019 Explorer vehicles. The retention pins could loosen and allow the roof rail covers to detach from the vehicle.

Consequence

A detached roof rail cover can create a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Dealers will install push-pins and replace any damaged rail clips and roof rail covers, as necessary, free of charge. The interim owner notification letter was mailed on June 22, 2021. Owner notification letters (remedy available) were mailed on October 1, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at…

SUSPENSION 20V675000 2021-03-12 454,941 affected
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,…

Consequence

A rear toe link fracture can result in a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

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.

SEATS 19V651000 2019-09-11 311,907 affected
Defect

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 Ford Explorer vehicles equipped with power front seats. The seat frames may have sharp edges.

Consequence

Occupants my contact the sharp edges when reaching between the power front seat and center console, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will install protective tape on the exposed inside edge and tab of the power seat frames, free of charge. The recall began November 8, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19S29.

SUSPENSION 19V435000 2019-06-10 1,194,173 affected
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.

Consequence

A fractured rear toe link will cause a sudden change in vehicle handling and increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy

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…

STEERING 17V530000 2017-08-28 253 affected
Defect

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 Explorer, Taurus and Police Interceptor Utility and Sedan vehicles. The steering gear heat shield fasteners may corrode, allowing the heat shield to detach.

Consequence

If the heat shield detaches, the steering gear may overheat, increasing the steering effort required by the driver, especially at lower speeds, and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy

Ford will notify owners, and dealers to inspect and replace the heat shield fasteners as needed, free of charge. The recall began on September 13, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17S23.

SEATS 17V332000 2017-05-22 2,204 affected
Defect

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017 Ford Explorer, F-150, F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 vehicles equipped with a manual driver's seat back recliner mechanism. In the event of a crash, the seat back frame may not restrain the occupant due to having inadequate welds. As such, these vehicles may not…

Consequence

If the occupant is not adequately restrained in the event of a crash, they have an increased risk of injury.

Remedy

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the seat back frame, free of charge. The recall began on June 7, 2017. Owners may contact Ford at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 17C08.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 16V925000 2016-12-22 1,163 affected
Defect

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain model year 2016 Ford Taurus, 2016-2017 Ford Flex, Lincoln MKT, 2017 Ford Explorer and Ford Explorer Police Interceptor Utility vehicles equipped with 3.5L GTDI engines. Improperly brazed turbocharger oil supply tubes may leak oil on engine components.

Consequence

An oil leak, in the presence of an ignition source, increases the risk of a fire.

Remedy

Ford will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the turbocharger oil supply tubes, free of charge. The recall began on January 31, 2017. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 16S46.

Complaints by component

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
365
4crashes2fires15injuries
STRUCTURE
362
STRUCTURE:BODY
256
7crashes2fires7injuries
ENGINE
235
7crashes3fires12injuries
POWER TRAIN
113
4crashes1injuries
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
84
3crashes4fires
STEERING
73
1crashes
WHEELS
59
1crashes
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
53
SUSPENSION
53
2crashes2injuries
Total complaints2,022

What owners report

Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.

“Seal around front driver door and passenger doors are coming off and can cause a hazard. There is a recall issued for this from may 2025 but no remedy has been provided from ford for over a year now. This is not what I consider a remedy in a timely fashion as it could come off and possibly cause…”

UNKNOWN OR OTHER · reported 2026-07-01

“Transmission torque converter attempts to lockup when vehicle is in gear, at idle and brakes applied. This causes the engine rpm to drop or stall. This causes an unexpected delay and hesitation when accelerating from a stop followed by an unexpected acceleration surge. This issue has been…”

POWER TRAIN · reported 2026-07-01

“A strong exhaust smell comes through the cabin during acceleration at speeds higher than 35 mph. Worries us for possible co2 exposure coming through if exhaust smell can come through. But ford dealership has said it passes the recall standards. Still uneasy”

ENGINE · reported 2026-07-01

“B pillar trim flew off while going down highway. Almost hit vehicle behind me.”

STRUCTURE:BODY · reported 2026-06-30

“Regarding safety recall notice 25s53 / nhtsa recall 25v347, I received the recall literature june 2025. This past week, a trim piece in this recall came off the vehicle while in motion. This is a safety hazard and can cause accidents. Upon reaching out to ford, no remedy is available and might…”

STRUCTURE:BODY · reported 2026-06-21

“Regarding safety recall notice 25s53 / nhtsa recall 25v347, I received the recall literature june 2025. This past week, a trim piece in this recall came off the vehicle while in motion. This is a safety hazard and can cause accidents. Upon reaching out to ford, no remedy is available and might…”

UNKNOWN OR OTHER · reported 2026-06-21

“My 2017 ford explorer xlt with approximately 236,000 miles has an ongoing evap/fuel vapor system problem that causes the vehicle to hesitate, stumble, and attempt to stall. The problem occurs most frequently after refueling and also when the fuel level is low. The check-engine light comes on…”

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM · reported 2026-06-15

“Rear suspension toe links have failed after prior recall repair in canada in may of 2022. The vehicle is now registered in the us and the recall repair has failed causing driving, suspension, and extreme tire wearing.”

WHEELS · reported 2026-06-05

Defect investigations

Investigation EA17002 Opened 2017-07-27 · closed 2023-01-17

Exhaust Odor in Passenger Cab

During the EA17-002 investigation, the agency reviewed and analyzed reports of exhaust odors in the passenger cabins of Model Year 2011 to 2017 Ford Explorers. This investigation required an approach that incorporated knowledge and expertise from the automotive, medical, environmental health, and occupational safety…

Investigation EA17002 Opened 2017-07-27 · closed 2023-01-17

Exhaust Odor in Passenger Cab

During the EA17-002 investigation, the agency reviewed and analyzed reports of exhaust odors in the passenger cabins of Model Year 2011 to 2017 Ford Explorers. This investigation required an approach that incorporated knowledge and expertise from the automotive, medical, environmental health, and occupational safety…

Investigation PE23001 Opened 2023-01-27 · closed 2024-02-08

Windshield trim molding Item detachment

On January 27, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE23-001 to investigate allegations of A-pillar trim panel detachment on model year (MY) 2011-2019 Ford Explorer vehicles. At the time of opening, the office had received 164 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) reporting this failure. ODI has…

Sources & methodology

Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2017 Ford Explorer as of July 20, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.