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