Interested in a 2015 Explorer Sport but have concerns
Hey gang,
If you decide to take the plunge and order a 2015 Explorer, send me your order info (order number and dealership name/location) so I can keep you notified of your Explorer's status. I'll hook you up with weekly updates; I have it on good authority that it helps the wait go a bit faster.
Crystal
Hello,
I am a new member and am interested in purchasing an Explorer Sport for me and my family (wife and infant). Being an engineer, I'm performing my due diligence with forum-based research. I am very surprised at finding certain long standing issues with this generation of the explorer. These issues are troublesome to me and seem to have been present since the first production year of this model, several years ago. My concern is whether they have finally been resolved and what the actual root cause was. These issues, in priority of concern are:
1) Entry of exhaust fumes into the occupant compartment. I consider this poisoning since occupants are in a closed environment. Fluid splatter due to leaks is a quality issue that can be fixed and is not as concerning. Rather, what concerns me, is the apparent phantom problem of emissions being fed back into the recirculation system for "some" vehicles. This is indicative of a larger issue. Has the root cause been determined and fixed?
2) Power steering failure at high speeds. This vehicle will be driven by my wife with my son as occupant. Does potential for steering failure fall into a high enough criticality level that requires a back-up (i.e. a system with reduced temporary function that will prevent total, sudden failure). In aerospace, the introduction of safety aspects into design, firmly based on critically levels, are the norm. What has Ford done about this and are the newer vehicles still failing?
3) Water leaks in rear area, penetration through roof rails or lift gate, with capability of soaking the interior carpeting and seats. Has QA engineering resolved this issue on the production line?
4) My Ford Touch navigation system tracking issues (would buy the navigation package). I just don't want to be disappointed. Is this issue fixed?
5) My Ford Touch general bugs - Is it still buggy to a point where I'll need to do system resets regularly? Shaking my head at the Ford/Microsoft integration teams... I just don't want to be disappointed.
My wife and I have test driven the Explorer Sport and appreciate the overall comfort, feature set, engine performance and driving experience. This is amplified if one takes into consideration the very enticing price point when compared to prices of the Germanic offerings here in Canada. Having already owned a new German sports coupe and having dealt with the eventual maintenance nightmares, we do not want to go back (happy with our current Ford Focus). However, the above issues reported by the forum members here, particularly the exhaust issue, is holding us back from pre-ordering the 2015 Explorer Sport. I would appreciate feedback from Ford, from a technical engineering perspective, regarding my above concerns.
Thank-you,
Mark