Brand new 17 Explorer shakes so bad makes us sick,

[Pete6114]

Uh, my '17 Base came with Michelins.

Right, I should have said "It's been years since i seen Michelins on the highest priced Fords/Lincolns"
I usually buy the Limited's and Platinums and dont even look at any other levels. They have 85,000$ Lincolns on the lot with Hankook rubber on them on the lot right now, and the 2018 F150 Platinum i'll be ordering very soon will come with Hankook's as well. Seems like the more you spend, the cheaper of a tire they give you.
The new 2018 Navigator will break the $ 100K barrier and am wondering if it will have cheap Hankook's on them as well, as the 2017 did/does

 

[Gldaugh]

Update to my previous post: Dealer re-balanced all 4 wheels, had to break the bead on two and reposition the tires on the wheels to get a good balance. No out of rounds or defects found.
The Vehicle is 100% better and I am satisfied.
I drove the vehicle for a couple hundred miles before the re-balance and although it did smooth out quite a bit it wasn't good to go until the re-balance.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Good to hear!

 

[Tap1981]

Since it's a leased vehicle I would demand that they change it out for another one if it's not a simple fix or because something is switched on or off. In the meantime they can repair it and lease it to someone else after it's fixed. When you buy anything new that you've paid a substantial price for, you have a right to expect high quality from from the first mile you drive it.

This is what I might be doing for my next step lemon law might be taking place.

 

[peterk9]

This is what I might be doing for my next step lemon law might be taking place.

Have you had the tires checked for balance? Mine were out of balance right from the factory as mentioned in a previous post in this thread. Never had that happen before on any new vehicle. I'm thinking it is a tire issue since it still isn't 100% and will have them rebalanced again when the Winter wheels are removed in the Spring.

Peter

 

[DDF]

I'm a bit appalled by the responses people gave this person who clearly came on here to get INFORMATION. That's what you do when you go to a forum. I didn't think all that people did on the Explorer forum is circle j**k and act like everything is okay with their Explorer because obviously the Explorer has been plagued by tons of issues. Don't act like your Explorer has been perfect.

A person in their right mind would think a forum is a great place to find out that kind of information, yet there are people bashing this guy for having buyer's remorse. He has every right to be upset because you don't buy a car, a NEW car, and expect issues with it. You go to a NEW car instead of an OLD car for that very reason. The current generation of the Explorer is about 6 years old and there should be no excuse on the quality of the vehicle.

If you bought an expensive phone, say an iPhone, you expect it to work and work properly. That's why people buy iPhones because they are easy to use, has nice features. You buy a product because it appeals to you and it does what? Increase your productivity. You don't buy a phone, and expect the damn device to fail on you 2 hours later. Wtf. You buy a car to go from A to B and you pay extra for comforts. When what you paid for does not work, you get mad, and that is perfectly fine. Imagine if the guy had a bunch of friends ride in the Explorer because he wanted to show them, and the car sucks at being a car. You think that's good at all?

For people that don't want to hold manufacturer's responsible for mishaps or quality issues, in the end, you're just lowering the bar for yourself.

When I first came onto the forum, I had issues with MFT when I got the 2011 in January of 2011, and some wise guys thought I didn't know anything and that I was complaining too much, and called me out, even posted my number here publicly from a youtube video of me showing the glitches with MFT. Guess what? MFT was the biggest flop of the industry.

Don't blow off someone's problems because they have buyer's remorse. When your car doesn't work properly, of course you're going to feel it. I had buyer's remorse the years I've owned the Explorer until I didn't have any issues to deal with anymore.

I was smart, I went to this forum, figured out what the hell everyone else was experiencing, and took that information, and educated my dealer because sometimes, they couldn't even figure out the issues themselves, and I was able to fix nearly all the issues with my Explorer from the A-Pillar rattle, to fixing the blend actuator door motor myself and saving money. That's why you come to this forum. I am really thankful for the people who have provided constructive criticism and constructive comments.

I understand, some people can get out of hand, over some little things like a gap and want to return the car over something dumb like that, but this is a drivability issue here...

This is supposed to be a family friendly forum if I'm not mistaken. Lets be friendlier.

Well said.

 

[Fettfan105]

Just a quick nod to others, I bought a 2016 Sport in the gorgeous magnetic metallic, it was used and only had 24k on it. The Hankooks were shot, entire tread blocks coming off. I had already done my research and knew this was the vehicle that best fit my needs, so threw on a set of Nitto 421Q's which are an all season tire made for SUVs and they are great so far. I also had the slight wind buffeting noise, sounds like a window isn't closed but they all are. Haven't gotten to that yet when they put the tires on I was told that both shocks and struts were leaking, so I'll get that checked first. Absolutely love the vehicle, its a pleasure to drive with the Nittos

 

[peterk9]

Just a quick nod to others, I bought a 2016 Sport in the gorgeous magnetic metallic, it was used and only had 24k on it. The Hankooks were shot, entire tread blocks coming off. I had already done my research and knew this was the vehicle that best fit my needs, so threw on a set of Nitto 421Q's which are an all season tire made for SUVs and they are great so far. I also had the slight wind buffeting noise, sounds like a window isn't closed but they all are. Haven't gotten to that yet when they put the tires on I was told that both shocks and struts were leaking, so I'll get that checked first. Absolutely love the vehicle, its a pleasure to drive with the Nittos

I don't know if you saw this post or not; Treadwear Issue with Ventus S1 Noble 2 Hankooks
The wind buffeting you hear is could be caused by the cowl. It has been an issue with some Explorers; High pitched noise at 55-60 mph or see the following; http://www.explorerforum.com/forums...xplorer-wind-noise.453823/reply&quote=3612345 Does the noise vary with speed or only above certain speeds?

There are several threads on wind noise that you should be able to find using the handy 'Search' feature in the upper right. It may take some getting used to (trial & error) but it is very useful.

Peter

 

[Fettfan105]

I saw the cowl thing and it’s not that, seems to be coming from the rear of the vehicle. It’s not bad just noticable when the radio and everything is off. Love the vehicle tho, I came from an 06 Tundra Double cab with a 6” lift and 33s so the hot rod suv is very appealing.

 

[Nick Devenishek]

Drove my new 17 Sport off the lot earlier this month. Vibration starts at 70kmh and gets worse the faster you go. Went to nearby dealer, (bought at a different dealership, had better deals on the 17s) found flat spots in the tires. They're now saying I have to go to the dealership where I purchased and see if they can do anything to help. Supposedly tires are not covered by ford warranty, and it's up to the dealership where the vehicle was purchased to rectify it as the vehicle sat in their lot for a prolonged period of time.

 

[Fettfan105]

These are heavy vehicles that need tires capable of supporting the weight. When they sit on the Hankooks flat spots occur easily I found. The factory Hankooks had chunks of tread coming off at 26k so replaced them with Nitto 421q and have been very pleased

 

[thefranchise713]

The tire warranty is really through the tire manufacturer, dealers usually take care of it for the customers as a value-added gesture. As I would hope they would--Ford's hands-off attitude for the crappy rubber they put on this car is remarkable, however. C'est la vie.

 

[peterk9]

Drove my new 17 Sport off the lot earlier this month. Vibration starts at 70kmh and gets worse the faster you go. Went to nearby dealer, (bought at a different dealership, had better deals on the 17s) found flat spots in the tires. They're now saying I have to go to the dealership where I purchased and see if they can do anything to help. Supposedly tires are not covered by ford warranty, and it's up to the dealership where the vehicle was purchased to rectify it as the vehicle sat in their lot for a prolonged period of time.

Welcome to the Forum Nick.
Flat spotting is quite common on 20" tires and usually disappears after a mile or so. In your case it will probably take a little longer and the cold weather doesn't help. You should have also received brochure on tires and a Warranty Guide. The one on tires explains what the various tire manufacturers have in place regarding their warranties. I had to get mine rebalanced right from the factory and they still weren't 100% but got a little better after putting some mileage on them. When the Winter setup comes off I'll ask to have the OEM ones balanced again.

Peter

 

[Gldaugh]

peterk9 has it right about the flat spotting on these tires. I put a couple hundred miles on mine before returning for "road force" balancing and even then it was necessary to brake the bead and reposition two tires on their respective wheels. Also bear in mind that the Sport suspension is harsher than all other Explorer models. When I had my '15 Sport, from a different dealer I wound up taking it to a specialty tire store that was also a Hankook dealer and they solved the problem the same way my current Ford dealer did by re-positioning, just one tire on the rim and rode force balancing all 4 wheels. They, the tire store, said they would have replaced all 4 tires, under warranty if the re balance didn't work.

 

[Tap1981]

Here is my story so far on our 2017 Explorer Sport with Hankook 255/50-20 Ventus S1 Noble.
Car mfg. date of 9/16 and purchased 11-23-16. I noticed the right rear wheel "hopping" on the second day. I actually found and joined this forum ( very glad I did) researching my issue.
This was to be my car, but my wife would drive it while we waited for the 2017 Mazda CX-9 she wanted. The tires actually seemed to settle down and any "hopping" wasn't real noticeable from the drivers seat. My wife drives it 90% of the time but I always asked how it drove, issues etc. She never complained. On a trip, I was the front passenger and immediately noticed the right side hopping, now this is almost 4 months and 5800 miles later. I scheduled an oil change and to have the right side tires looked at and rebalanced.
I drove it for a few days before dropping it off and found the tires to be OK , relatively quiet and most important living in Southwest Florida that they seem to handle the rain pretty well. I research the crap out of tires and have bought no less than 6 sets from Tire Rack and 1 set from Carshoez. The next tires for this car will be Michelin Premiers.
Now the issues... The dealer road force balanced and found 3 out of tolerance and replaced them under warranty. They had to replace one of the new tires as they could not get it to balance ( the right rear). I picked up the car at closing ( 3 days later) and got it home where I began my inspections, .any dents, scratches, damage to under carriage from lift etc. I then went to each tire to see how much weight was used and to write down the tire manufacturing dates. It was pretty obvious that they had issues with balancing as you could see where they installed and removed weights. I was troubled by seeing 3.5 oz of steel weights ( 3 -1oz and 2 -1/4oz) on right front but even more when I looked at the right rear as it was loaded. It has 5-1oz and 1-1/4oz in a row and another 2- 1/4oz of weights opposite the others for a total of 6 3/4 oz. I spent a few hours finding the manufacture of the weights Plombco because they only have a O stamped on them. Left rear has no weights at all, and left front has 3/4oz total. I have two other cars , one with huge 285/35-22" tires and the total weight used on those 8 tires was only 8 1/2 oz. NO tire had more than 2 oz. on them.
I think that the right rear rim may be the issue. I find it unlikely that they had another "lopsided" new tire that wouldn't balance and by what I believe is an abnormal amount of weights used. It would be like having a 7" clip on rim weight. No way! I have complete faith in the tire installer I met through tire rack and I am going to see him Monday. The dealer is decent, I have a 100k Ford factory warranty and I slipped the technician a $20 sensing this may not be the last time they see me.
The car rides good now. But trust me, when I was the passenger I got a bit nervous thinking that I dropped $50k on a car that rides like crap if the tires are not the issue. I'll update when I get more information, but am I wrong for thinking that 6 3/4oz is a bit too much?
I already looked up that Tire Rack says 1% of weights for the tire and rim weight is the maximum. I calculated a 34lb tire and an 18lb rim based on what Amazon was saying on the shipping charge for a factory replacement rim. 52lb x 16oz. = 832 so 1% = 8.3 oz. max. I'm under but don't agree at this point.
Has anybody out there had a factory rim that was out of whack? Take care all!

Thanks for taking the time on your story my explorer is doing the same thing with flat spots especially when it sits a while like a few days. We are leasing it but I will be replacing the tires when they need it. I will be looking in to Michilens or Goodyears

 

[Tap1981]

When the 5th generation Explorer came out there were 3 brands used. Goodyear, Michelin and Hankook. Hankook was on the Limited but I can't recall for sure which of the other brands was on the Base and XLT. I believe the XLT had the Michelins.

Peter

Mine had the hankooks

 

[peterk9]

Mine had the hankooks

The Hankook was on the Limited, the Michelin was on the XLT and the Base had the Goodyear tires during the first number of years that the 5th gen came out. I also lease but never drive my vehicles enough to warrant changing the tires, plus I use dedicated Winter tires which also helps. Because of many bad reviews on the Hankooks I put the Yokohama Parada Spec-X on my 2011 Limited the same day I picked it up from the dealership. I currently have the Hankooks on my Platinum and also had them on my previous 2014 MKT and haven't had any issues with them at all other than the occasional 'flat spotting' which is common to 20" tires.

Peter

 

[CAtoFLin1994]

Thanks for taking the time on your story my explorer is doing the same thing with flat spots especially when it sits a while like a few days. We are leasing it but I will be replacing the tires when they need it. I will be looking in to Michilens or Goodyears

I went with Michelin Premier LTX from Tire Rack and we could not be happier, even the wife commented that the car seemed more "smoother". If the stock Hankooks had not been out of round ( 3 of 4) and had not self disintegrated by having chunks flying off (4 of 4) they were a decent tire. I don't need nor does anyone else the hassle of going back every few months for tire issues. Pay the price and get rid of the issue.