New Explorer Owner with a few questions

[jimbertrand514]

Hi all,

I am new on the forum so please redirect this post if I am not in the correct spot

I bought a 1 year old (2014 model) Explorer XLT back in August 2014 which had then 25000 km (15000 miles) on it. It now has about 33000 km (20000 miles) on it and since August I had to have 2 trips to the dealership for major repairs and a third one already scheduled for a new issue.

They were all covered under warranty but it raises a lot of questions over the reliability and general quality of the assembly in the long run. This is my first Ford product in North America (had a diesel Escort in France for years without problems) so I am wondering if any of you guys have had repetitive issues with their 2011-2014 Explorer ? We bought a trailer in the summer and took an Explorer to pull it. I want to make sure that I can keep this vehicle for a while without going bankrupt over constant repairs once the warranty runs out.

Here are the three issues I had so far (after 5 months and 5000 miles) :

1- While bringing it for a routine oil change the mechanic noticed a small leak in my front cover gasket. They had to change that (a full day work).

2- About a month after I started hearing a loud squealing noise when engine was cold in the morning and running the A/C which went away after car reached optimum running temperature. I brought it to the dealer who said it was a A/C compressor problem of some kind and they fixed it.

3- Since about two weeks I can hear a "clunk clunk" noise in my front suspension when going over bumps and small changes of road surfaces. The noises keep increasing. I researched it and found it could be ball joints or some bushings. Appointment is scheduled at the dealer and problem will hopefully be fixed.

All this to say that I am very frustrated by all the problems after only one year of usage and 20000 miles on the car.

Did anyone have such problems on such a low mileage Explorer ? And if yes did they tend to go away with age or get worse ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum jimbertrand514.:wavey:
There are members here who have had continual issues with their Explorers and others who have had few if any. You can try using the 'search' function to try and isolate certain areas of concern or scan through the threads in this "Discussion" sub forum. If you are really concerned, I believe you can still purchase the Ford ESP although prices here in Canada are substantially more than in the U.S. I'm assuming that you have the factory installed class III tow package.

Peter

 

[Halwg]

It shows you why someone would trade a "new" vehicle with 15,000 miles on it. Obviously that owner had problems and cut his loses and ran. Unfortunately you inherited a vehicle with a number of problems. It may take a while to get them all sorted out before your warranty runs out.

No, this is not normal, but there are always vehicles that seem to have a slew of problems. In my 35 years of owning vehicles, I have had a few myself.

 

[BMETFerg]

Our 11 Explorer is scheduled for Thursday for the same type of noise you are describing from the front end when going over transitions in the road. I have 43K more miles than your so it may be "expected" but if it is covered under my CPO warranty I want it replaced sooner than later. Please keep us updated on your most recent visit.

 

[tmg19103]

As posted above, this is not normal. However, a vehicle with troubles can happen with any manufacturer. Most of the known problems with the new Ex from 2011 have been worked out. You appear to have some unique ones.

To try and give this a positive spin, my previous SUV was a GMC Jimmy I had for 16 years. In the first three years under warranty just about everything that could go wrong went wrong. The transmission even went at 18k miles.

However, they essentially fixed everything and I had a solid vehicle after it went off warranty. While I did not put a ton of miles on it as a second vehicle (145k total), over the next 13 years after it went off warranty I did not have a single problem (believe it or not) outside of wear and tear stuff.

Not saying you will be that fortunate, but hopefully they pretty much get everything before the warranty expires. Remember, the power train and MFT module are 5 years (I think 60k).

 

[peterk9]

You are right on the Power Train coverage. 5 years or 60k miles, which ever occurs first. As for the APIM (MFT) I believe it is 5 years, unlimited mileage.

Peter

 

[FordServiceCA]

...I bought a 1 year old (2014 model) Explorer XLT back in August 2014 which had then 25000 km (15000 miles) on it. It now has about 33000 km (20000 miles) on it and since August I had to have 2 trips to the dealership for major repairs and a third one already scheduled for a new issue...

Congratulations on your new 2014 Explorer, jimbertrand514. I’m happy to loop in your customer service manager for assistance. Please PM me your VIN, full name, daytime telephone number, booking arrangements, and servicing dealer info.

Kwasi