2016 Explorer Throttle Body Problems

[dmendro]

Hello there. First post, but I happened across this. I bought my 2016 Limited in November. We started having the problems in January. It took them a month to diagnose, then what was supposed to be a 3 day repair turned into 6 weeks. We brought the car in March 23rd and got it back on April 29th. I got no answers from Ford during that time on what was taking so long other than they were waiting on the parts, so I started snooping around on Linked in for Ford Motor Com.'s parts and service regional managers. I found the midwest/central regional manager and sent him a linkedin request and the dude actually accepted, so I had instant access to him. I sent him a message detailing how my wife had almost been killed twice due to stalling on the highway when the Explorer went from 75 mph to 5 mph in about 4 seconds and the next day a part was released from the factory in Chicago to my dealer in the Chicago suburbs the next day. I was also able to ascertain that they switched suppliers (according to my dealer) on the Throttle Body sometime in March which lead to the absence of spare parts. This reaks of the fact that they new the throttle bodies were going to be defective due to manufacturing process or design. Everyone here needs to file a report with the NHTSA here https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/ . This is the only way to make Ford own up to the fact they are putting their customers lives at risk here over a $150 part that takes literally about 35 minutes to replace. If the NHTSA refuses to do anything about it, we should be contacting a lawyer and getting a civil class action suit together to nail them to the wall. I love my Explorer, but this kind of safety issue is a major problem and they need to acknowledge it and recall the vehicles for the part. They previously had a recall on the Ford Escape for similar issues which resulted in some major accidents and injuries. https://www.ncconsumer.org/news-art...-investigation-into-ford-escape-vehicles.html http://www.fordproblems.com/trends/electronic-throttle-body/

 

[dmendro]

Oh and since the part was replaced, I have had zero problems. (going on about 4K miles and 2 months of driving. We'll see how it holds up on my trip to florida in 3 weeks.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

The real test begins, we hit the road soon and will be in some remote areas in New Mexico on the trip... crossing fingers/toes and anything else that this is a once and done issue. But in all seriousness, still humming along just as it should.

Just to report back, after almost 2K miles, up to almost 10K feet mountain roads, desert, cool (into the 40's), rain, wind etc.... and zero issues. Hope this has been resolved and I won't have another ETB issue.

 

[melopugh]

I have a 2016 Limited just shy of 5000 miles. I got the orange wrench on my way home today. About half a mile from my Ford dealer. Fortunately I had experienced this with my 2005 Expedition and knew what to do. I coasted to a turn lane with my flashers on. Turned it off. Let it sit a couple of minutes. Turned everything off and tried restarting. It hesitated and then started. I headed straight to the dealer. I told them what happened. They all looked at each other and said in unison "throttle body". This was #6 for them. They had one in stock and 45 minutes later I was back on the road. Weikert Ford in Lake Wales Florida is AWESOME!!!!

 

[Commander70]

Hi all,

This is my first post on here, and seeing as it's a Sunday, and the dealership isn't open, I can't 100% confirm the throttle body is the issue for me, but I just had my 2016 Explorer Sport towed to the dealership for something that sounds very much like this issue.

I will start with the fact that the temperature was 105 F today in Denver and the car has 1111.0 miles. After driving the car for .5-.75 mi from home, I was pulling up to a stop sign (in neighborhoods, with a speed limit of 30 mph), and felt a bit of a clunk in the transmission, got a Terrain Management System Fault, and the engine started to run very rough and would only idle. The car went into limp home mode, and I was able to crawl it a short way to the side of the road. While in Neutral and Park, the throttle would not respond to input, and after several restart attempts the issue did not go away, nor did the rough running (one time it cranked for quite a while just to start).

I am going to the dealer tomorrow morning to get a loaner and find out the estimate on troubleshooting time, but will keep everyone updated as to the exact issue, but the signs I can see sound exactly like this throttle body issue.

Thanks

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Commander70.
Just be aware that the Ford warranty does not provide for a loaner/rental. If you get one, it will be at the dealer's expense.

Peter

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Or if you got an extended warranty with coverage.... But Ford paid for my rental car in my downtime.

 

[Commander70]

Welcome to the Forum Commander70.
Just be aware that the Ford warranty does not provide for a loaner/rental. If you get one, it will be at the dealer's expense.

Peter

Thanks for the welcome, and thanks for the reminder. I'm coming out of an Infiniti G35, so loaners have always been a given for me, I didn't think about that. The dealer here (Phil Long) is giving me a Fusion loaner free of charge, I actually bought the car last month, so I'm pretty grateful for this.

The very first thing the service advisor said when I described the problem to him was "throttle body", so this seems to be confirming my suspicions, and sounds just like what some other members have described.

Thanks

 

[613GT500]

Or if you got an extended warranty with coverage.... But Ford paid for my rental car in my downtime.

I haven't decided on whether to purchase ESP yet, but does it not start after the factory warranty?
Just curious as you mentioned ESP with coverage also includes loaners.

 

[peterk9]

I haven't decided on whether to purchase ESP yet, but does it not start after the factory warranty?
Just curious as you mentioned ESP with coverage also includes loaners.

All Ford ESPs begin with the vehicle's 'In Service' date. So if you take out a 4 year ESP, it is only good for 1 more year after the factory warranty expires. Keep in mind that a TSB is only carried out without charge while a vehicle is under the factory warranty and/or ESP.

Peter

 

[peelman]

All Ford ESPs begin with the vehicle's 'In Service' date. So if you take out a 4 year ESP, it is only good for 1 more year after the factory warranty expires. Keep in mind that a TSB is only carried out without charge while a vehicle is under the factory warranty and/or ESP.

Peter

...and I just can't get past that fact.

 

[Commander70]

The Dealer called me back today, and they did confirm it is the throttle body. They've also confirmed its replacement will be an updated part, and with "emergency" shipping direct from the supplier, it will take about a week to get the part here. So hopefully the updated part doesn't have the same issue somewhere down the line, if it does, I'll be sure to let everyone know on here.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

I haven't decided on whether to purchase ESP yet, but does it not start after the factory warranty?
Just curious as you mentioned ESP with coverage also includes loaners.

I do not have the Ford ESP, I have MPP and if Ford wouldn't have covered a rental, MPP would have per my service advisor.

 

[314wagon]

Same story, different Explorer Mine has 11,500 mi

 

[314wagon]

If you have this issue I recommend you go to NHTSA.gov and file a complaint.
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

I did file a couple of days ago and spoke to a rep in DC today. They only had 12 complaints as of this afternoon. Get some more complaints so it can trigger an investigation.

I filed one yester

So excited to find this forum! Just bought a 2016 Explorer XLT. I saw many posts on this forum and others about the throttle body issues. They appear to be popping up around 8k-10k miles. Are all Explorers affected? When replaced, wouldn't it just happen again? Lastly, it is Ecoboosts and V6s?

Debating a road trip when I am around that mileage but don't want to risk it.

mine is a regular V6 with 11,500 miles part is on back order

 

[nchooks]

Hello, 1st post here. My wife's 2016 Explorer XLT experienced the same condition yesterday. Loss of power, wrench icon. Luckily she was able to safely move out of traffic. Called roadside assistance and it was towed to the dealer. Today the service manager calls and says it's the throttle body. Parts on back order. He said 16,000 units were on back order. The car only has 10400 miles bought back in February. She uses the car in her daily business and of course no loaners are available. Very frustrating. And we are loyal Ford owners for many years and vehicles.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum nchooks.
I don't know why Ford made changes to the throttle body for the 2016 models. It sure has created problems for the owners. The other issue the 2016s appear to have is with the cooling fans although that thread hasn't been that active lately. Good luck.

Petre

 

[Johnnyb4]

Has anyone had a recurrence of the issue once they replace the throttle body? Thanks.

 

[peterk9]

Has anyone had a recurrence of the issue once they replace the throttle body? Thanks.

Welcome to the Forum.

Peter

 

[Willard PHX]

Same breakdown happened to me yesterday, 6/27/2016. Sat for an hour in 108 degrees waiting for the tow. Dealership informed me today it was the throttle body and it could take 2 weeks to get the part. I do not have an extended service plan but they are providing an enterprise rental car and say it must be a ford. I am 6'4", use a wheelchair and often have a St Bernard with me so I hope it is sized appropriately.

I want to ask if other forum members experienced really loud idling when in park in the driveway? Mine did it and I was thinking it was a really loud cooling fan and planned on asking about it on first service call. Now I wonder if it was in fact due to the throttle issue. I never even thought to look at the tach. Yesterday when broken down and I was turning on the car once in a while for AC was the first time I ever heard it kick down to a normal idling level.

And... I figured out ESP must mean extended service plan, but what is TSB, MPP, ETB? Go ahead and laugh!!!

Thanks