There are 8 owner-reported lighting complaints for the 2001 Ford Explorerin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
TAKATA RECALL, THE INSIDE LIGHTSOR DOME LIGHTS, THEY SHORTED OUT ONE TO ANOTHER IN THE DOUBLE OVER HEAD LIGHTS AND GROUNDED OUT THE BATTERY COULD CAUSE SEVERAL PROBLEMS ONE IT KILLED THE BATTERY AND I FOUND OUT WHEN I WENT TO CHANGE ONE OF THE LIGHTS AND TO STOP I TOOK BOTH LIGHTS OUT AND SEPERATED THE COPPER THAT CONECTS WITH SWITCH
IF STEERING WHEEL IS NOT IN THE VERY HIGH POSITION TURN SIGNALS BLINK VERY RAPIDLY AS IF THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH ONE OF THEM.
RIGHT TURN SIGNAL AND BRAKE LIGHT. I HAD THE EXPLORER DIAGNOSED AND THE DEALER SAID THAT IT NEEDED A MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH. I HAD THE SWITCH REPLACED AND A MONTH AND EIGHT DAYS LATER MY RIGHT SIGNAL AND BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT BRAKES LIGHTS ARE NOT WORKING. I HAD THE BULB REPLACED TWO MONTHS BEFORE THE DIAGNOSIS BECAUSE I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE BULB KEPT GOING OUT AND THE DIAGNOSIS ON A MULTIFUNCTION WAS MADE. *NM
STOPPED BY POLICE BECAUSE BOTH REAR BRAKE LIGHTS WERE NOT OPERATING. 3RD BRAKE LIGHT WAS FUNCTIONING. ALL BRAKE LIGHTS WORK WITH THE TILT-WHEEL ALL THE WAY UP. IN ANY OTHER POSITION, ONLY THE 3RD BRAKE LIGHT WORKS
THE HEADLIGHTS ARE DIM AND DO NOT PUT OUT ADEQUATE LIGHTING, THE CONSUMER FEELS THERE IS NOT ENOUGH VOLTAGE FROM THE HEADLIGHT TO THE BULB, THE CONSUMER HAS REPLACED THE BULBS TWICE WITH WHITE HIGHER WATT BULBS BUT THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE IT WAS WORSE, THE THIRD SET OF BULBS WERE THE BLUE HALOGEN BULBS BUT WHEN THEY WERE INSTALLED THEY WERE DARK BLUE AND THE CONSUMER COULD SEE NOTHING. *MR *NLM
COMPLETE FAILURE OF TAIL LIGHTS I.E. BRAKE LIGHTS, TURN SIGNALS, AND RUNNING LIGHTS. *AK
LOW DESIGN PLACEMENT OF TURN SIGNAL LEVER PREVENTS USE FOR LEFT TURN SIGNAL FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH LONG LEGS WHERE THERE IS INSUFFICIENT ROOM BETWEEN THE TURN SIGNAL MECHANISM AND THE DOOR TO MOVE OUT OF THE WAY.*AK
WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH THERE WAS ARE NO TURN SIGNAL OR BRAKE LIGHT. DRIVER WOULD MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL IN ANOTHER DIRECTION AND THE SIGNALS AND BRAKE LIGHT WOULD COME ON AND OFF. THE DRIVER WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION, AND MECHANIC INFORMED THE CONSUMER THERE WAS NO RECALL FOR THIS VEHICLE. *AK
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026