Model overview
Ford Explorer: complaints by model year
Compare the federal record across Explorer model years. Raw complaint totals are useful context, but they are not adjusted for sales, mileage, or time on the road.
| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Severity | Crash | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024Still new | 19 | 9 | 32 | Still new | |
| 2025Still new | 88 | 18 | 17 | Still new | |
| 2023Fewest reports | 103 | 14 | 26 | Fewest reports | |
| 2010 | 145 | 2 | 25 | Not rated | |
| 2022 | 244 | 23 | 23 | Not rated | |
| 2019 | 282 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 2021 | 399 | 25 | 17 | ||
| 2018 | 709 | 6 | 9 | ||
| 2012 | 820 | 7 | 6 | ||
| 2020 | 1,157 | 32 | 12 | ||
| 2011 | 1,191 | 8 | 6 | Not rated | |
| 2017 | 1,668 | 13 | 9 | ||
| 2014 | 1,670 | 7 | 9 | ||
| 2015 | 1,754 | 9 | 12 | ||
| 2013 | 2,222 | 12 | 9 | ||
| 2016Most reports | 2,446 | 14 | 8 | Most reports |
Ranked by total NHTSA complaints per model year (not adjusted for units sold). A zero means no owner reports in the current NHTSA data, not that the car is problem-free. "Severity" is a harm-weighted index of those complaints — higher means a greater share involved crashes, fires or injuries. Complaint-volume percentiles vs. segment peers are computed separately and appear on each year's page. Complaints pile up over a car's life, so the last few model years look quiet mostly because they have had less road time — we mark them "still new" rather than treating them as lower-complaint standouts.