I took it to ford 2 years ago and they did a hvac update. My explorer is 2018. The recall was 2012-2017 i think and ford said they have replaced the rubber seals that was causing the problems with 2012-2017.
I dealt with the exhaust issue for 2 years and saw a youtube video from A1auto parts about most common problems of ford explorer. The mechanic covered and sealed all the possible cause of fume getting inside the cabin.
It really worked 👍 thanks to A1auto mechanic and youtube vid