NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2015 Ford Explorer. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026
Outer Windshield Panel on Drivers Side completely detached and blew off into oncoming and following traffic without warning. It did not make contact with any vehicle or pedestrian, however the risk was still there.
The Power Steering was not working and a Low Voltage Warning came on saying power consumption was being reduced. I took the car to a mechanic and he tested the battery and alternator output. They both checked good. After driving for 10-15 minutes, the power consumption reduction turns off and things go back to normal. This happens on almost every drive.
-Driver side front door/window trim flew right off while on freeway and almost hit another car. This is actually the 2nd time the trim came off after being repaired not even 5 months ago (I didn't file a complaint the first time). -It could hit another car or motorcycle while going high speeds and possibly cause a crash. -I haven't checked with my dealer but have read articles online how there already are complaints regarding this. -I took it to a local private car repair facility, and they claimed to have seen it happen quite frequently. -You can slowly see the trim start to delaminate over time. My passenger side trim is half-way off and probably a matter of time before the same happens to it.
While driving on interstate 10 at 70mph, the weatherstripping blew off hitting the car behind me. When it blew off, it was very loud and distracting causing me to swerve on the road
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the recall repair of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V537000 (Suspension) was previously completed on the vehicle. The contact stated he noticed that the tires were shredding after the recall repair. The contact stated that the tires were replaced four times due to the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the contact was informed that the tires could be shredded due to the recall remedy. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 93,696.
I own a 2015 Ford Explorer. While turning out of the driveway the steering locked up and i cannot get it to unlock, we were lucky to get it out of oncoming traffic. We were terrified!!! After reading multiple complaints it seems to be a recurring problem for many. It happened on 9/14/2023. We had no warning of any type before it malfunctioned. Please help us Ford owners out, as Ford has already been aware of it happening many times.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign numbers: 19V435000 (SUSPENSION), 21V537000 (SUSPENSION), 24V031000 (STRUCTURE), and 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, parts for the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the contact heard outside noises inside the vehicle. In addition, the contact stated that when the heater was activated, the front windshield made an abnormal sound and then shifted. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while the vehicle was parked at the residence, the driver’s and passenger’s side A-pillar trims detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a glass specialty shop, and the front windshield was replaced. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact's son owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized while starting the vehicle. While driving at various speeds, the steering was making an abnormal sound. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the electrical motor, steering column, strut, and front end had failed. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V530000 (Steering). The manufacturer was contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000. The contact stated the vehicle is a 2014 not 2015.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the rear lateral arms failed to adjust as needed. The contact stated that over time the failure caused the tires wear abnormally. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000.
While driving on the freeway, the windshield trim panel on the passenger side detached, lifted, and folded about 2/3 of the way up the panel. The detached portion then banged against the roof of the vehicle, door, and front passenger window until it snapped and flew off. It put us and other motorists in danger.
Leaking water pump
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 53 MPH, there was an abnormal booming sound detected. The contact noticed that the windshield panels had detached from the driver’s and passenger’s side. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and a complaint was filed, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 61,711.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V031000 (STRUCTURE) and 25V695000 (BACK OVER PREVENTION); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available. The contact stated that the rearview camera displayed a distorted image while the vehicle was in reverse(R). In addition, the screen displayed a black screen, or occasionally fail to turn on. The contact stated that the failure obstructed the driver's visibility, which prevented the driver from safely operating the vehicle. The message "Check Rear-view Camera" was displayed. The local dealer was not contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that the failure had occurred since the vehicle was purchased. The failure mileage was unknown.
A Pillar molding blew off on the highway.
The left rear seat belt buckle/receptacle broke in early 2023. Ford told me the part is on backorder. Every time I have checked with Ford, they continue to say the part is on backorder. I can't use the vehicle as intended while Ford refuses to supply the safety parts necessary.
Rear camera intermittently fails to function.
See attached document for complaint.
I encountered intermittent stiffness in the steering while driving. It felt like it might not steer. And then it loosens up and is okay for a moment or two. I took it to my local mechanic. At first, they thought it to be a lubrication issue. The situation increased. I took it back. They explained previous years of my model had a recall related to the power steering assembly. And that is what they believe it to be. I did reach out to Ford directly, but they are not going to do anything. There are no warning lights or additional inspections. I do see this has appeared on forums.
when you hit the gas the steering turns when you let go it straightens back out please look into this i might cause an accident or loose control of the car
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the seat belt and air bag warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed and the contact was informed that the seat belt wiring harness located in the second-row seat had failed. The wiring harness was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The contact was informed that the seat belt wiring harness needed to be replaced; however, the parts were on backorder. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000.
Driver's side windshield A pillar molding.. Flew off on the interstate.
My 2015 ford explorer water pump has failed sending coolant all over. The water pump in an internal component of the engine. I am lucky that I caught the water pump failure when I did and it didn’t completely catastrophically fail. There are numerous reports that the water pumps catastrophically fail and send coolant and metal particles into the motor causing it to also catastrophically fail. If my engine failed while driving on the highway I could have been seriously injured or killed or worse I could have seriously hurt or killed somebody else. I brought my car to ford 7/21/23 where they did general diagnostic tests everything was negative and nothing was found and I was sent on my way. On 7/29/23 I noticed I had a puddle in my driveway and there was definitely a leak I brought my car back to ford where they spent an entire day diagnosing. I was quoted $2500 and my car will take a week to fix. Ford has not offered to pay for any of the repairs even though these poorly manufactured water pumps continue to go bad on thousands of vehicles. There are multiple class action lawsuits against ford for this reason!
Turbocharger oil supply tubes leaking onto exhaust manifold Same engine as the recalled 2016-2017 Models
Driving down the highway and the passenger side windshield trim broke and detached from car, scraping down the side of my car and hitting the car behind us.
I own a 2015 Ford Explorer. While turning out of the driveway the steering locked up and i cannot get it to unlock, we were lucky to get it out of oncoming traffic. We were terrified!!! After reading multiple complaints it seems to be a recurring problem for many. It happened on 07/15/2023, and we haven't been able to get it to a shop yet they are all closed until Monday. No one at this time has taken a look at it seeing how it was in the driveway of family. We had no warning of any type before it malfunctioned. Please help us Ford owners out, as Ford has already been aware of it happening many times.
The power steering in my 2015 Ford explore completely locked up due to the steering gear going out. I am fortunate enough that it happened that low speed and no one was harmed. I could only imagine what would’ve happened if I were on a highway or interstate. It has been inspected and diagnosed by a Ford dealership, and they concluded that it was indeed the power steering gear. At the time it went out. There were no warning signs or lights on the dashboard that would have made me think it would go out.
The side trim pieces on the windshield have flown off my car and the gasket around the windshield has torn off. I've had to replace them three times on each side. I have a 2015 Ford Explorer.
While driving the trim by my windshield flew off after hitting my windsheild, which made me swerve and almost crash into car next to me. Then the weatherstripping started to detach from windsheild and come loose. Pulled over to see what had happened. Saw the missing part. Now the other side came off while driving! I've used duct tape in its place because Ford wants way too much money to replace. Thank God my family and other families were not injured by my vehicle.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 MPH, there was an abnormal tapping sound coming from the passenger’s side of the front windshield. The contact observed that the top of the trim on the A-pillar had loosened. The contact used tape to secure the trim. The failure mileage was 182,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
When driving vehicle at any speed on the dashboard the terrain system failure light appears with a wrench light and the terrain system dial light shuts off when this occurs vehicle losses speed immediately stopping abruptly in traffic have taken to dealership but unable to recreate and I haven't been able to drive with the light one due to loosing ability to continue driving as I must turn off vehicle and reset to be able to drive very unsafe have contacted ford also say they can't help without the light reminding on
I have a 2015 Ford Explorer. I have had it inspected by a mechanic at the dealership where I purchased said vehicle. I also have taken it to Ford dealership in my town. My car runs perfectly fine then it doesn’t. I have been stranded numerous times and I have replaced the battery in the smart key as they said that would be the problem. I have had the computer reset to my car. When it happened last my camera to help me back up stopped and I was almost in a very bad wreck with my children and grandchildren in my car. It just died!!! I am now sitting in a parking lot at 93 degrees and it again won’t start and know one knows why. I have done everything I can and have been told. I don’t hot rod in my vehicle. Someone for the love of god please help me. I don’t have the money to keep doing this not to buy another vehicle.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the front driver's side door and window trim panels were detaching and deteriorating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the failure was related to Customer Satisfaction Program: 17N01 (Crankshaft Position System Variation Not Learned), however, the campaign had expired. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but declined to assist because the campaign had expired. The failure mileage was approximately 91,000.
I currently have a 2015 Ford Explorer. This is the 2nd time that I am having to replace the windshield trim on the passenger side due to it flying off while driving.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that when he closed the front driver's side door, the outside door handle fractured and detached. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the fractured door handle needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 73,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at highway speeds, the front passenger’s side exterior A-pillar trim clip detached. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the trim was replaced. Over time, the contact noticed that the rear passenger side A-pillar trim had formed a crack. Additionally, the front and rear driver-side A-pillar trims had become loosened. The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
For about the last 3 years, whenever the car is put into reverse, the rear backup camera is intermittently going blank. The camera eventually will display the image, but it can be several seconds before the camera view resumes. The Ford dealership wants to charge about $700 to replace the entire camera, but I don't think the camera is the issue given that so many recalls have been issued over the exact same issue. There have been multiple recalls issued by Ford for the same issue, but I can't find one on the 2015 Ford Explorer-Limited line.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon placing the gear shifter in park(P) and turning off the vehicle, the message "Transmission Not in Park" was flashing on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start up after several attempts. The contact called an independent mechanic, and the vehicle was towed to the shop. The mechanic discovered that the water pump inside the engine was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.
Upon driving, my vehicle just started randomly cutting out. I was told that it had to do with the throttle body. I did further research, and I noticed that I haven't been the only Explorer owner that has had this issue, so I'm not sure why there isn't a recall already established. Not only does it put me and my kids at risk, but it also puts drivers around me at risk. My car shuts down, which could cause the drivers behind me to rear end my vehicle. There has been some sort of warning light that comes on, that looks like a wrench, but only after my car shuts off, which is followed by the check engine light coming on. There were no warning signs prior to this happening.
The components that hold the windshield in started coming out going down the highway at 55 miles per hour terrifying me that the windshield was coming out. I understand that this is happening a lot in the ford explorers. I am having components replaced next week.
Sudden back up camera failure without a warning light or message. There has not been an accident/incident but it is difficult to see behind the vehicle at certain angles when turning my head to the rear to back up. I have not yet had it checked by a mechanic because upon further research found that it may be too costly for me to have repaired. I had no obvious issues before it stopped working.
Driver side Windshield trim flew off on interstate
Throttle body not working properly. The vehicle has left me stranded, mid driving- just loses power & I have to coast to the nearest location and re start vehicle. It is an incredibly dangerous situation. Signals to me "terrain management system failure".
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the warning message "Engine Overheating" had been displayed. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the engine coolant reservoir was low and coolant had leaked from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the engine water pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 130,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 MPH, the contact heard an abnormal banging sound against the passenger’s side window. The contact thought that road debris had been kicked up and struck the vehicle. The contact stated that she heard an abnormal wind rushing noise coming from the top of the passenger’s side door. The contact stopped the vehicle and realized that a part of the door trim panel had detached from the vehicle and struck the vehicle. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer and the vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Action Number: PE23001 (Structure). The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 75 MPH, the contact observed a vibration noise emanating from the top of the windshield. The contact stated that the vehicle was steered to the side of the road and inspected, where he observed that the driver’s side exterior A-pillar trim was sticking out. The contact stated that after a month, the passenger’s side exterior A-pillar trim was also sticking out. The contact used tape to reduce the flapping noises while driving at speeds over 65 MPH. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer, but was not diagnosed; however, the contact was advised that parts were not available for the recall repair. The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 95,000.
The back up camera works sometimes. If we move the shifter from reverse to N or P back to reverse the camera mostly came back on & stayed on until neutral or drive was chosen. It occasionally has the image upside down which is very dangerous. My wife [XXX] & [XXX] have problems turning our head to view mirrors with difficulty & pain. That’s why we chose the Explorer. It is dangerous as we can’t see traffic traveling either way behind the car, almost causing accidents as we are blind to see vehicles behind & beside the cars moving from the right or left. Our friends also having Ford cars are experiencing the same problems as the 2020 & newer reported camera problems that seem to be under recall soon. The problem exists from earlier models beside the Explorer. We asked our local Ford dealer on a recall but we were told no. They offered to fix the problem by replacing the camera assembly for a cost of $800 to $2000!! No chance or any repair or switch adjustment offered. I feel we & other owners Ford this is a serious safety problem that needs to be fixed by the manufacturer for faulty parts or connectors? I’m hoping you have other frustrated consumers with the same problems. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Malfunction of rear view camera, available upon request. When in reverse the camera will go black and read "Camera is Unavailable. Please contact your dealership." It will not attempt to show a live picture until placed back into park and into reverse again. Often it will not function correctly even after that. It now happens almost constantly to the point it is completely unreliable. The fear of endangering someone or something by relying on a rear view camera that I know could malfunction at any moment, is too great. The problem was witnessed by a Ford Dealership mechanic who was repairing the recall on the frame piece to the windshield. The mechanic attempted to resolve the issue by resetting/updating the display, but unfortunately the problem continues. No other representatives, police, insurance, etc have witnesses the issue. There are never any warnings the issue may occur.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the front passenger's side and driver's side windshield exterior A-Pillar trims had detached and were flapping against the vehicle while driving at highway speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was inspected. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000. The VIN was not available. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
I have a recall on rear suspension I have called to have the repairs done several times I was given response of they didn't have the parts needed and would take several weeks . Rear suspension is very unsafe and now the engine cooling component is causing issues with over heating and not giving any warning lights on dash and am afraid found cause fire or some unsafe issue
I have had to have this trim piece replaced twice by McMahon Ford in Norwalk ct. first time [XXX] and the second time [XXX]. Both times I have had to pay out of pocket. Therefore I do not understand why my vin number is not included here. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)