NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2025 Ford Explorer. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
6/2/25 tried to start vehicle, codes coming up and car would not start 6/6/25 car was in park running, starting chiming with alarms, the same alarms that came up a few days before.
My 2025 Ford Explorer has a wind noise that Ford has admitted to having an issue with. My case number is CXH04811376. In the upper corner of both the drivers and passenger side front window there is a loud wind noise that begins at speeds of 40 mph and more. A Customer Experience Specialist admitted there is a problem but they will not fix it until there is a recall.
After the Ford recall software update, the gear shifter will turn itself out of park and either into drive or reverse. The software update was in regards to the PCM resetting itself. We took it to the Ford dealer and because they can not duplicate the problem, the truck was returned to us. it has happened to us more than once and it is very alarming. I have two children on top of other children in the neighborhood. I don't trust this truck to stay in park even with it off at this point.
The contact owns a 2025 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while at an intersection at a stop light attempting to make a turn at 5 MPH, the brake pedal was hard when depressed, and the vehicle continued to move. As a result, the vehicle crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. The front camera was not operational. There were no warning lights illuminated. There were no reported injuries, fire, or police reports filed. The contact was able to continue to drive. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who test-drove the vehicle and was unable to determine the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact called another dealer, J. O. Williams Motors419 E Broadway Ave, Gladewater, TX 75647, and reported the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who referred him to another local dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 4,000.
Vehicle has 5700 miles on it. At roughly 3000 miles I noticed a clunk or tension thud at speeds under 12 mph, both moving forward and in reverse. Brought the vehicle to the dealer and was told it was unsafe to drive. Thus far they have replaced strut mount bushings and have told me the transmission mount was loose and that they have not been able to determine why. My impression is the transmission mount is a significant safety issue in that the vehicle could loose power and subsequent control at any time if the connection worsened or just happened again.
The contact owns a 2025 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed through a drive-thru, the Auto Hold feature was activated, but the vehicle failed to respond. No warning light was illuminated. The contact opened the front driver's side door, causing the transmission to inadvertently shift to park (P), and the vehicle turned off. The vehicle failed to restart until a tow truck driver had disconnected and reconnected the battery. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who updated the software for the SYNC module (APIM), gear shift module, powertrain control module (PCM), and Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) module, as well as an oil change. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 8,967.
The contact owns a 2025 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds on several occasions with the cruise control activated, the vehicle inadvertently accelerated to 70 MPH. The contact stated that the unintended acceleration had occurred on Highway 70, even though the Speed Limit was 25 MPH. The contact stated that the incorrect Speed Limit was displayed on the instrument cluster. The contact became afraid of driving the vehicle because the failure could be potentially harmful. The vehicle was taken to a dealer; however, the failure was not duplicated. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25.
Since I have purchased this vehicle in November, I have noticed that the odometer will change for the time that I park to the time that I returned. I have an Excel file with over 700 log entries going back to the beginning of March. Along with photos of the dashboard to back up claims. I have attached two simple photos. You could see by the trip odometer clock that there was only a few seconds between the photos, but if you look at the odometer has changed by .2 miles.
Put car in park. sUV rolled back & damaged my garage door. Also damaged my trunk of SUV.
The contact owns a 2025 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the doors and windows. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure was unknown. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100.
The contact owns a 2025 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on the first day after the vehicle was purchased, the pre-collision camera failed to function as intended. The contact stated that the alarm failed to beep as intended when a person or an object was in front of or passing by the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. A diagnostic test was performed, and it was determined that the pre-collision camera worked as designed. The contact stated that the manager at the dealer took the vehicle home and confirmed that the pre-collision camera sensor had failed to function as intended; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to Biener Ford; however, no cause for the failure was found. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving at an undisclosed speed in the snow, the message "Pre-collision Camera Blocked" was displayed. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 11.
First, we took this vehicle to a dealer because the rear window buttons were not working. They wouldn't roll down. Second, the dome lamps inside only work part of the time, when we take the vehicle to the dealer or another Ford dealer that we decided to try, they say they can't do anything because they see no issue as the lights are working AT THAT TIME. Third, while connected to a trailer, an error message appears several times stating that the trailer has been disconnected. It just flashes and pings, and then disappears. This is a safety issue, as it has caused me to make sudden stops as I am made to believe that the trailer has became disconnected. All these things are stated in the recall we received on this vehicle, and we just want the body control module replaced as it says they should do, but both dealers(Bruce Walters Ford - Pikeville KY) and the dealer we switched to to try and remedy the issue (Freedom Ford of Wise VA) say that there is no issue, and refuse to do the control module replacement. This vehicle has been inspected at the least 6 different times for these issues, and still nothing has been fixed.
The contact owns a 2025 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that after his wife had pulled into the parking spot at the residence and shifted into park(P) to turn off the vehicle, the contact stated that the cameras activated on the display screen and then went black before the engine revved up and the vehicle unintendedly accelerated and crashed into the residence before coming to a stop. No warning light was illuminated. During the failure, there were two teenagers and a toddler in a car seat during the failure. No injuries were sustained. A Police report was not filed. The vehicle remained at the residence and the contact was waiting on the Insurance Company to inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or independent mechanic to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was referred to the Insurance Company for assistance and then referred to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 400.
I bought the car in December and I was only able to take it out on the road in January, when it started to have problems with the software and brake system. I brought it to the dealer's workshop where I bought it, but they haven't solved anything and they say that the faults the car presents are normal.
The system control display (radio screen) and the digital instrument cluster reboot (screens go black) approximately every 10-minutes while driving. During the screen going black, driver is unaware of speed, condition of vehicle. It is unknown if safety features such are active during these periods. The vehicle has been at dealer since January 2nd, 2025. Today in Feb 13, 2025 Dealer is working with Ford engineering, and they determined the main computer module needed replacing. No other issues were detected prior to the issue identified.
The contact owns a 2025 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact heard an abnormal rattling sound coming from underneath the vehicle. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the front struts needed to be replaced. The front shocks were replaced, and the vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that the front struts had been replaced twice; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 2,289.
We have experience a wrench light on the dash in regards to a powertrain malfunction. I have done some research, it seams that there are a lot of other ford explorer owners that are experiencing this. I have found that there is also a possible TSB for this. Just wondering if this TSB could be recall eligible.
Gateway module does not work. I've had my 2025 vehicle since 11/21/2024 (over 7 months) and it has never worked. I have not had a safety update since 05/2024 when it was at the factory. There has been many OTA updates and updates that need to be preformed at dealership and have not had any completed. I have a PCM safety recall that can't be preformed because of the gateway module not being available to dealerships. Ford Engineers know about the problem and still has not released any parts. It can cause many unsafe issues because codes do not show up on the mechanics machines.
The contact owns a 2025 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in a parking lot, while attempting to exit the vehicle, the front driver’s side door panel separated from the door frame. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was inspected. The contact was advised to wait for several days before a solution could be provided. The vehicle was temporarily repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 1,600.
While driving on an interstate with my children, my automatic braking system decided their was something in front of my car when there wasn't and slammed on the brakes. There was a semi truck behind us and it almost hit us. Took it to the dealer and all they did was shut the feature off for automatic braking. The interior screens have been reprogrammed twice to fix glitches. the rear hatch has been reprogrammed. The windows continue to randomly roll up and down on their own. My engine decided to not start for an hr before randomly turning on for no reason. And to top it all off the windshield washer fluid no longer wants to work.
Software for phone has failed 6 times. In the repair shop at dealer 7 out of 9 weeks owned. Dealer couldn't replicate until this visit. Couldn't use law required hands free system because people could not hear me while I could hear them perfectly
The contact owns a 2025 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at undisclosed speeds, the infotainment screen intermittently went blank. The failure persisted and the contact stated that the instrumental panel partially went blank at start-up and while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions and several unknown software updates were performed. The contact stated that due to the software updates performed on the vehicle in such a short while, the contact was concerned about the safety of the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and filed a claim. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 3,000.
On October 24, 2024, my 2025 Ford Explorer ST experienced a sudden steering column lock and complete loss of braking while I was driving, leading to a crash and injuries. The vehicle had approximately 800 miles and was a warranty replacement provided weeks earlier. Prior to delivery, the dealer referenced a Quality Assurance hold of about two months on this vehicle, which was not disclosed to me in any detail. The simultaneous loss of steering and brakes suggests a potential common cause safety defect that may affect other 2025 Explorer ST vehicles. My insurer State Farm is currently conducting a Cause and Origin inspection. I request NHTSA review for a potential defect trend.
Since new. Thousands of dots or specs are visible in the window upon sun up of sun down. This is not the snow flake safety campain that Ford has. Others have the same complaint on social media.
I am concerned that the Forward Collision Warning and Automatic Emergency Braking are not working sensitive enough to assist in preventing a collision. I had a 2021 Explorer with these features on it and it would give an audible warning at least 8-10 feet if a vehicle was slowing down ahead, this new Explorer does not give an audible warning until about 4 feet near a vehicle slowing down and no braking for at least 3 feet before a collision. I believe anyone in my vehicle are at risk of a collision. I have taken it to the dealer with this concern, it was put on the diagnostic and they found nothing wrong. The sales manager took my vehicle out to verify this problem, following another vehicle that had stopped to make a left turn and if we would have been going any faster we would have hit them, the audible went off and the braking worked at the same time , within 3-4 feet of hitting that car. I drive this car everyday and have never had any kind of warning given to me . I believe the settings are NOT sensitive enough to work properly. I am to the point as to why did I order and pay for these features if I don't get the benefit of them. I have become very fearful for my family with the way these features aren't working as they did on my prior Explorer. I asked the technician at the dealership if they could change the sensitivity and he said no , unless Ford said to do this. I think the warning should be sooner.
Hands free connection from cell phone to vehicle speakers and mic won't work properly. I consider this a safety issue as it requires me to pickup phone and turn off Bluetooth and work phone manually, looking at it, rather than hands-free. Dealer says corporate has no resolution. Ford consumer line said they're aware but no idea when or if a resolution will be available.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026