6 month summary of my new Exporer

[TomTomNJ]

I’ve had my truck for about 6 months and can give you some of my personal feedback.

The good:
1. Tires are great in the snow/rain. No troubles here in NJ weather (and we had a bad winter). I know there were a couple of threads with people concerned about this, but I found them to be just fine.
2. I love the look/size of the truck. The inside and outside of the truck is one of the best looking on the market in this price range.
3. MPG is good as long as you drive conservatively.
4. The reverse camera is a must have. Awesome.
5. Tows my boat just as good as my Expedition


The bad/ugly:
1. One thing that I absolutely hate about this car is the torque steer. Why the hell would an all wheel drive truck have any at all is beyond me. But this makes hard accelerations scary.
2. The quality of this car is poor. I had to go back and forth at least 5 times to the dealer to fix (taillight filled with water; Sync, rear hatch did not align properly (still doesn’t but apparently this is the case for most of them and there is no fix); home link). I think they should have focused more on actual quality and less on making the buyer “perceive” quality.
3. The MySync is a great idea and when it works, it’s awesome. However, I think the computer they used is much too slow. Start up takes too long for everything to work. Considering it runs everything, you would have thought they would have used a faster processor. The worst part is when you get in your car and you need to enter something into the GPS. I have to sit in the car and wait 5 minutes for this thing to “wake up” before I can enter anything.
4. The Satellite traffic is a useless feature. 99% of the time the warning is nothing worth by-passing.

Summary:
If I could go back in time, I would not have purchased this truck. I would have kept my Expedition. Mostly because of that crazy torque steer and the “yesterday” computer processor used for MySync.

 

[sdm9465]

I have only had mine for about two months but agree with most of your assessment. Torque steer can be very bad (even agree with scary). I haven't had any quality issues other than with MFT and I'll withhold judgement on that for now until I get it updated to a newer version.

I kept my 2009 Eddie Bauer and compared to it the only things I miss are the reduced off-road (or more like old logging roads in my case) capability and that the V8 just sounds and feels so much better than the V6. The reduced off-road capability was obviously not a surprise.

I'm also a little disappointed about the fuel economy. The 2011 is much better for slower driving but once you hit about 110 km/h (70 mph) I don't find that it's any better than the 2009. And I wish the fuel tank was as big (or bigger) than the 2009's.

 

[Remeny]

The worst part is when you get in your car and you need to enter something into the GPS. I have to sit in the car and wait 5 minutes for this thing to “wake up” before I can enter anything.

Apparently you need to go back to the dealership (or perhaps find a new one) so they can update your system. I've never had to wait anything close to 5 minutes to use the GPS system. I'm up and running in around 10 seconds.

 

[kblee]

1. One thing that I absolutely hate about this car is the torque steer. Why the hell would an all wheel drive truck have any at all is beyond me. But this makes hard accelerations scary.

I've only had mine for a day, but haven't noticed any torque-steer at all. Are you accustomed to driving FWD vehicles? The AWD is basically a FWD unless slippage is detected. I have a tendency to have a "heavy foot" so I think I would have noticed this by now. Maybe it has been corrected on later builds...

 

[chimoman]

Had mine for 4 months now. I don't know where your getting the torque steer from. I haven't experienced any at all. If I have it wasn't enough to raise concern, I jump on her pretty good some times and I have taken corners going close to 80 km/hr (exit ramps). As far as I'm concerned it handles great for a CUV/SUV. It isn't a sports car, but for some reason people on here think it should handle like one. I have almost 12000 km on mine already. No complaints about steering. Love it actually. Best vehicle I have ever owned so far, minus the few glitches. I had my rear hatch realigned and it is perfect now. I have Nav and it works perfect. Us Canadians can't get the live reports so I can't comment on that. As far as water in tail lights and other signal lights no problems here.
If I could go back in time I would have gotten the the polished instead of the painted.
Love the Explorer. Drives beautifully. As for sync, had a little trouble with it rebooting but nothing major, mine gets up to speed in about 10 sec after I start it up and it works better than the radio I had in my POS Hyundai. Cheers.

One thing to remember is that it doesn't matter what brand or type of vehicle your buying. There are always going to be vehicles that just weren't built properly. They are lemons, and that is why there are lemon laws. Hung over workers everywhere make mistakes, doesn't matter if it's a truck or a can opener. Human error is an element of the equation that can't be removed. I hope everyone enjoys their new rides and if you run into problems that you are taken care of. I'm pretty lucky to have a dealer such as mine. They have taken good care of me. I have also been patient with them. This is a new design vehicle and they are learning just as we are. Sometimes their learning curve is a little on the shallow side. LOL.

 

[jrmexplorer]

I’ve had my truck for about 6 months and can give you some of my personal feedback.

The good:
1. Tires are great in the snow/rain. No troubles here in NJ weather (and we had a bad winter). I know there were a couple of threads with people concerned about this, but I found them to be just fine.
2. I love the look/size of the truck. The inside and outside of the truck is one of the best looking on the market in this price range.
3. MPG is good as long as you drive conservatively.
4. The reverse camera is a must have. Awesome.
5. Tows my boat just as good as my Expedition


The bad/ugly:
1. One thing that I absolutely hate about this car is the torque steer. Why the hell would an all wheel drive truck have any at all is beyond me. But this makes hard accelerations scary.
2. The quality of this car is poor. I had to go back and forth at least 5 times to the dealer to fix (taillight filled with water; Sync, rear hatch did not align properly (still doesn’t but apparently this is the case for most of them and there is no fix); home link). I think they should have focused more on actual quality and less on making the buyer “perceive” quality.
3. The MySync is a great idea and when it works, it’s awesome. However, I think the computer they used is much too slow. Start up takes too long for everything to work. Considering it runs everything, you would have thought they would have used a faster processor. The worst part is when you get in your car and you need to enter something into the GPS. I have to sit in the car and wait 5 minutes for this thing to “wake up” before I can enter anything.
4. The Satellite traffic is a useless feature. 99% of the time the warning is nothing worth by-passing.

Summary:
If I could go back in time, I would not have purchased this truck. I would have kept my Expedition. Mostly because of that crazy torque steer and the “yesterday” computer processor used for MySync.

TomTomNJ, I would bring the car into the dealer for the torque steer thing. I've done some reading on it and there ARE things they can do to at least mitigate the situation. One of them involves shimming the engine mounts.

At the very least Ford can be notified of the problem and perhaps issue a fix to take care of it once enough people complain (if indeed this is a design issue).

There are also other causes other than a poor design that may be easy to fix - including uneven tread wear on your tires, alignment problems, tire pressure issues (i.e. tires on one side of the car are inflated more or less than the other side), and the like.

Finally, if the result is a "scary" ride - that sounds like a safety issue that I would not mess around with. Ford should fix it, or I would be making them buy it back.

 

[blwnsmoke]

In 1,800 miles I've experienced the torque steer once and it was just last week. On a hard acceleration from an intersection, the steering wheel turned as if the wheels were off the ground. It was only for 1/2 a second but I instantly realized it was the torque steer that some have commented on. Under normal driving conditions, you don't notice it so it doesn't really bother me.

I've also not had to wait any more then 10 seconds for nav to start up.

 

[drumguru1]

Anyone ever driven a awd v6 saturn vue? If you have you would realize what real torque steer was. The X has some but nothing compared to a vehicle with a real torque steer problem.

 

[Sgt1411]

Perhaps you have an early build, some of the issues seem isolated to early builds. I havent heard anyone complain about water in tail lights. Side mirror lens yes they have a moisture issue.

I checked my hatch and its aligned perfect.

The torque steer you feel can be removed with programming the EPAS steering system.

If you have the Terrain Management System try selecting the SAND mode while driving normal road conditions. Then try the other modes, see if that removes some of the issue.

Your dealer should be able to re-programm the EPAS.

 

[GregV8]

This thing about EPAS sounds interesting. I wonder how much it could be customized or hacked. Not sure about Ford but there is a flashing tool for jeeps that you plug into your OBD port and lets you change a lot of the settings. Shift points, steering, etc.

 

[Bill #5 Explorer]

I have an early build Limited. Mid November 2010 build date.

I've owned the the Explorer for 3 months and 10,000 miles. All is good. No torque steer here. MFT updated to v2.7. Will update again in the coming months.

 

[deerfarm]

What is 'torque steer'? I don't drive mine aggressively, but I haven't experienced any steering issues that frighten me.

 

[donm527]

Can you show a pic of your alignment issue with the rear hatch?
Torque steer plus hatch alignment... frame misaligned? just tossing an idea.

I’ve had my truck for about 6 months and can give you some of my personal feedback.

The good:
1. Tires are great in the snow/rain. No troubles here in NJ weather (and we had a bad winter). I know there were a couple of threads with people concerned about this, but I found them to be just fine.
2. I love the look/size of the truck. The inside and outside of the truck is one of the best looking on the market in this price range.
3. MPG is good as long as you drive conservatively.
4. The reverse camera is a must have. Awesome.
5. Tows my boat just as good as my Expedition


The bad/ugly:
1. One thing that I absolutely hate about this car is the torque steer. Why the hell would an all wheel drive truck have any at all is beyond me. But this makes hard accelerations scary.
2. The quality of this car is poor. I had to go back and forth at least 5 times to the dealer to fix (taillight filled with water; Sync, rear hatch did not align properly (still doesn’t but apparently this is the case for most of them and there is no fix); home link). I think they should have focused more on actual quality and less on making the buyer “perceive” quality.
3. The MySync is a great idea and when it works, it’s awesome. However, I think the computer they used is much too slow. Start up takes too long for everything to work. Considering it runs everything, you would have thought they would have used a faster processor. The worst part is when you get in your car and you need to enter something into the GPS. I have to sit in the car and wait 5 minutes for this thing to “wake up” before I can enter anything.
4. The Satellite traffic is a useless feature. 99% of the time the warning is nothing worth by-passing.

Summary:
If I could go back in time, I would not have purchased this truck. I would have kept my Expedition. Mostly because of that crazy torque steer and the “yesterday” computer processor used for MySync.

 

[Bill #5 Explorer]

frame misaligned? just tossing an idea.

Frame, no more, on the 2011 Explorer.

 

[GregV8]

For those unfamiliar with torque steer: under hard acceleration you feel like the front wheels are pulling the car to the left or right instead of going straight. You need significant force to keep the steering wheel straight.

I don't have this issue but my power steering becomes very stiff, uncomfortable to operate, when going faster than 10-20 mph. Coming from a Jeep with super light steering, I could turn it with one finger at any speed.

 

[sdm9465]

I agree that under normal conditions torque steer is a non issue. The one instance that I would characterize as scary was when I passed a car on a fairly narrow road that was very rough with lots of pavement patches. Accelerating from about 50 km/h (30 mph) under full throttle resulted in a lot of work to keep on the road and away from the car I was passing. Sure, I could have lifted off the throttle but I wanted to get by and my 2009 certainly would have handled the pass without a problem.

 

[donm527]

i know... unibody... just wondering if something not correct with the unibody. wild idea i know.

Frame, no more, on the 2011 Explorer.

 

[Stormbringer]

Good start!

I've had my XLT for just over a week now and all seems fine. I'll keep an eye out for the torque steer issue just in case.

I don't have the Nav, but my buddy got it (we bought at same time). He had to go back and have it reset or something because he had plenty of "avoid road" settings programmed in. This has something to do with My Key apparently.

Also, his screen went completely blank at some point. Apparently, the thing to do is disconnect the battery for 3-4 minutes and then reconnect. Black Magic or something...

I agree with the MPG comment. I guess the good side is it's making me drive more conservatively!

Also agree with rear cam. Visibility is limited through rear window.

 

[calb]

Mostly because of that crazy torque steer and the “yesterday” computer processor used for MySync.

I see a few people have commented on Torque Steer (I "think" this went away with the 2012, but maybe someone will correct me).

With respect to the computer, someone pointed me to the hardware, and surprisingly, it isn't that bad at all. I'm led to believe that they are using Flash, which would definitely cause problems. A forum contributor made mention that a re-write due in early 2012 is due, and I'd expect it would fix your slow computer issues.

 

[jcerrion]

I will agree with most of you guys, it is unfortunate that the 11' has its flaws. Most brand new rebuilds do. Ive been in Fords all my life and i have LOVED every vehicle ive ever had. 7 different models total (Perks of being a Ford executive son ) but the new 11' has been a tricky one to get used too.

agreed, the steering can be pretty interesting at some times. Just makes things little more interesting.

i like my XLT, but agree the computer and touch sensitivity could be quicker.

I was disappointed to find out the dual moonroof does not actually open both windows.

Rear glass and sides are too small as well.

My biggest beef is with the approach angle of the explorer. Its too LOW! I am still used to my 06 which i suppose had a higher suspension cause some speed bumps, mild driveways, and parking stop block can be a nightmare in my new 11!

I let my GF drive it one night and she pulled in over a parking stop, (which would have cleared easily in the 2010's minus) and when she backed out nearly torn the whole lower portion of the air dam out. Oh and there is a very low cool air vent down there that was ripped off.

This approach angle is awful. I heard brand new 11's bottoming out at the auto shows when coming down off the trucks.

If they had leveling kits or a 1"-2" suspension lift i would jump on it in a heartbeat.

Im sure Sync/My Ford touch will be corrected in time when they hear feedback.

Which reminds me to tell you guys that Ford wants your feedback! Write write write! the more people report issues, the sooner they will be able to correct them.

If anybody knows where i can get a small 1-2" lift kit for my explorer please please tell me. I need this thing to look a little sportier. Its such a luxury vehicle right now.