2017 Explorer Sport: what I love, and not so much

[alexk]

The Ford trucks show you what gear you are in. As do the Navigator and Expedition.

 

[blwnsmoke]

^ what just going to post that. I like seeing it in my F350.

 

[Lewisra]

If you have the car in accessory mode (engine off and electronics still on), the double honk will still happen if you exit the car with the key in your pocket. I know this because every single time I stop to get gas I turn the truck off, but then turn accessory mode back on so that I can listen to the radio while I fill up. Every time, without fail, when I get out and close the door it double honks. Everyone looks over to see what the jerk is double honking for.

Turn truck off, open door, hit radio power button.

 

[Fentress24]

Turn truck off, open door, hit radio power button.

haha yeah I figured that out, but its still annoying. I will disable the double honk eventually.

 

[Macnerd]

If you have the car in accessory mode (engine off and electronics still on), the double honk will still happen if you exit the car with the key in your pocket. I know this because every single time I stop to get gas I turn the truck off, but then turn accessory mode back on so that I can listen to the radio while I fill up. Every time, without fail, when I get out and close the door it double honks. Everyone looks over to see what the jerk is double honking for.

I have just gotten use to leaving the keys in the center cup holder when I get gas. I plan to do the forscan fix soon.

So that is one of my only big dislikes. The only other things that bother me are the rattles, and the rough transmission shifts. I am getting the rattles figured out (glove box, rear passenger seat) then hopefully a tune from Livernois will fix my transmission shifting issues.

Other than that, I absolutely love the truck. Tons of room, I have comfortably driven 7 people many times. Tons of power. New Chevy pickup (1500 series) didn't want to let me merge on the way home this weekend, The Sport made easy work of him. Averaged 19.3mpg over 700 miles this weekend up into PA and back to MD traveling at 80+mph for the majority of the trip.

I've read rumblings in the forums about some transmission reprogramming that they'll do upon complaint of the hard shifting on the 16's. I don't know if this is true, but I'd like to find out. I had my PCM reprogrammed for the throttle body recall and it was better for a while but it intermittently shifts inconsistently, really hard, or not at all (will hold a gear in a situation/grade it normally would upshift, needs convincing from paddles) and it's very annoying. I'd like to know if this is the experience you're having?

Edit: I have the XLT without the Tow Package, it is my understanding this is a different transmission (6F50 instead of 6F55?) but my assumption here is that there's a software issue in addition to a physical issue on some models.

 

[Kevin Carr]

To my knowledge there should not be any double honk when the engine is off and you lock the doors or don't lock the doors. If your radio turned OFF after 10 minutes is because you are in the accessory mode. Members that complained about this were not aware that the radio can be powered on without using the ignition switch. I can't recall exactly but I'm sure that I've had the radio play for over 30 minutes when powered ON without using the accessory mode. The power saver will turn OFF all items with the exception of the Parking Lights after 10 minutes. That is covered in the Owner's Manual. The Explorer's system does monitor the battery state and will turn OFF certain power outlets when the battery level falls below a certain level. Also mentioned in the Manual. The only issue I have is with the double honk when the door is closed and the engine is running and the key is no longer detected. I have become accustomed to not fully closing the door in that case when the situation arises. That scenario only occurs when I stop to pick up my mail from the community mail box.

Peter

I just produced the double honk with the engine off but the accessory on and opened the door. The double honk telling me that I opened the door with the acc on.

 

[peterk9]

I just produced the double honk with the engine off but the accessory on and opened the door. The double honk telling me that I opened the door with the acc on.

Welcome to the Forum Kevin.
I tried that and with Accessory ON, I get the double honk when I close the door. No honk when the door was opened.
Also just noticed that when you open the door with the accessory ON, that the Ambient Lighting in the door turns RED. I guess it would do the same with the engine running. Safety feature I guess?

Peter

 

[white owl]

Guess I was getting the engine-off double honk by leaving the car with accessory mode on. I have not experienced it lately, whether I lock the doors or not. I'm still a low time pilot in this thing. Appreciate the help.

 

[alexk]

I wish they would make the front seats more comfortable. Can't get my left leg right in it, my 15 was good and my 13 was excellent but I couldn't find the right spot in a 16 or 17...mostly because of the foot location. It's a shame because I would for sure have gotten a 17 had there been somewhere for me to put my left foot.

 

[kmarnes]

I've had double honk happen with the car off. It just means someone else had a door open and when it double honks, that particular door is not locked due to prematurely locking the car up. But it's weird and inconsistent. The only time I find double honk annoying is when I start the car and go outside to scrape the frost off the windows.

My list of dislikes:

1. Six speed transmission is clunky. Shift programming (gear hunting) is by far the weakest part of this car. But you learn to deal with it.
2. Stupidly limited 45lb roof rack limit with sunroof. (100lb without). I got a Yakima SkyBox Lo Carbonite -- low profile & wide with 15 cubic feet, opens on boths sides. Looks great on the car, but the empty box itself weighs 52lbs. And with skis inside, add another 20lbs. So I'm over a little bit, but I'm not going wild around corners and the Sport does have a lower profile and a lower center of gravity than the other trims, so I figure it compensates enough. Increases the car from 5'11" to about 6'10" -- which gets me in some underground parking lots. Also while highway driving, it's very quiet, so super happy with it.
3. Folding 3rd row seats -- switching modes requires emptying everything, every time. Seat backing is very weak and prone to damage if you start throwing heavy things in the back or try to crawl around back there, even kids.
4. Back of car gets utterly filthy, including the rear camera lense. Every time I backup, I have to rinse the camera. At least I can do it inside the car and it warns me when my wiper fluids are low.
5. Spotify integration could be better. Most of the time, I have to set things up through the phone, but once it's setup, it works well -- just can't alter anything with the steering wheel controls. For example, it won't show the entire playlist in the right driver info screen, just the current song. But I can skip songs on the main center touch screen.
6. The remote start is awesome integrated in the main fob with insane range, but what I don't like is that it doesn't turn on the heated accessories. Right now it's sub-zero, and it won't turn on the defrost modes for the mirrors. Doesn't seem to be any way to control that. In ideal world, it would engage max defrost, heat the seats, steering wheel, and mirrors. On hot days, it would crank the AC instead. Should base it's behavior based on temperature.

That said, this is a great car with a lot of performance and features -- a great blend of performance and value when looking at luxury performance SUVs. Sure Ford isn't a luxury brand, but it compares well to German equivalents for a lot less money. I really wanted the new Audi Q7, but the Ford cost 2/3rd the price out the door after taxes/fees with way better finance incentives. In Canada that was $60k instead of $90k for an equivalently spec'd Q7. And the Explorer is a bigger car with a lot more interior cubby space, and actual power plugs. The Q7 had the superior ZF8 transmission and gorgeous virtual ****pit. The 2017 Explorer is probably the best Explorer ever. All the kinks have been worked out since 2011, with the much improved facelift in 2016, and the introduction of the vastly superior Sync 3 in 2017, and the technology is mature, with over the air updates. I'm sure a redesign will be coming in a few years and it'll be interesting to see what they come up with. But I've had my Sport since August, and I'm very happy with the car.

 

[peterk9]

On hot days, it would crank the AC instead. Should base it's behavior based on temperature.

It does, or at least is supposed to, "crank the AC" on hot days. It did on my previous vehicle and the Climate Controlled remote start is based on temperature as per the Manual. As of the latest posts in the forum, a redesign is tentatively scheduled for 2020. That's right around the time my current lease will be up.

Peter

 

[DraftEdison]

ok dumb question, how do I "rinse the rear camera"?

 

[Lewisra]

ok dumb question, how do I "rinse the rear camera"?

Rear wiper wash

 

[DraftEdison]

ok second dumb question: The wiper wash? Does it spray both and I just don't realize it?

 

[Lewisra]

ok second dumb question: The wiper wash? Does it spray both and I just don't realize it?

Yes.

 

[peterk9]

ok second dumb question: The wiper wash? Does it spray both and I just don't realize it?

Same for the front. Page 78 and 79 in your Manual.

 

[Fentress24]

I've read rumblings in the forums about some transmission reprogramming that they'll do upon complaint of the hard shifting on the 16's. I don't know if this is true, but I'd like to find out. I had my PCM reprogrammed for the throttle body recall and it was better for a while but it intermittently shifts inconsistently, really hard, or not at all (will hold a gear in a situation/grade it normally would upshift, needs convincing from paddles) and it's very annoying. I'd like to know if this is the experience you're having?

Edit: I have the XLT without the Tow Package, it is my understanding this is a different transmission (6F50 instead of 6F55?) but my assumption here is that there's a software issue in addition to a physical issue on some models.

They said they reprogrammed mine when they did the rebuild. I spoke to the technician who said there is a transmission programming update they are doing to 16's when customers complain about shifting, but they aren't advertising it because they don't want to do a bunch of unnecessary re-flashes.

Mine always had a hesitation and seemed to hunt for gears when downshifting, and it does downshift when going down a hill and I apply the brakes. It still does the hill downshift, which bothers me, but I have learned to deal with it. Before the failure, if I was merging onto a highway and stepped on it there would be a 2-3 second pause before a downshift, but it didn't hesitate every time. Then one day is hesitated and then there was a large bang from under the truck.

Since the rebuild and re-flash, I haven't noticed a big difference. I still get the occasional rough shift and hill downshift, but acceleration downshifts have been better.

 

[white owl]

You guys aren't going to believe me, but I swear it's true. I have an owl problem with this car. I live in the woods, and an owl that apparently lives near me has divebombed my Explorer while I'm driving it, three different times now. I often drive a different car and he has never dived on the other car. WTF? Is it the look of the headlights? Does he see a hostile owl in my Explorer?

Anticipating your snarky questions, I would say it's not a white owl but more of a grey owl. Or if it is a white owl, at least he's got some grey on him. Hard to say, as it all happens so fast. I'm serious, dammit!

Addendum: we've had a ton of rain, and our roads right now have several places where we are fording streams and dodging debris just to get through. Feels nice and secure to do this in my Explorer.

 

[kmarnes]

You guys aren't going to believe me, but I swear it's true. I have an owl problem with this car. I live in the woods, and an owl that apparently lives near me has divebombed my Explorer while I'm driving it, three different times now. I often drive a different car and he has never dived on the other car. WTF? Is it the look of the headlights? Does he see a hostile owl in my Explorer?

Anticipating your snarky questions, I would say it's not a white owl but more of a grey owl. Or if it is a white owl, at least he's got some grey on him. Hard to say, as it all happens so fast. I'm serious, dammit!

Addendum: we've had a ton of rain, and our roads right now have several places where we are fording streams and dodging debris just to get through. Feels nice and secure to do this in my Explorer.

Interesting problem. Only thing I can think of is perhaps the owl has established a nest nearby and considers you hostile? But breeding and raising babies happens in the spring?

 

[kmarnes]

ok second dumb question: The wiper wash? Does it spray both and I just don't realize it?

You can realize it when you actually have the front/rear camera engaged and activate the front or rear washer. You'll see the rinse!