I am considering a used 2011 Explorer Limited or XLT

[skipdigs]

I am considering buying a 2011 Explorer Limited with 80,000 miles. Most of the reviews on this car I have found are within the first year of ownership.

If you have a 2011, how has it been over the last several years?

I am wondering if today, in 2014, have most of the issues reported with the MFT have been resolved with updates?

How has it been mechanically?

Based on your experienced (assuming you have over 80k miles) would a 2011 Explorer with 80,000 miles in it be a good choice? I would hope to get an additional 100k / 6-years out of it at least. I really like the car, but I wouldn’t want to buy this and have to start replacing parts soon.

I am also considering a 2011 XLT with 24,000 miles for a similar price (this one is form a private seller).

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Sgt1411]

I am considering buying a 2011 Explorer Limited with 80,000 miles. Most of the reviews on this car I have found are within the first year of ownership.

If you have a 2011, how has it been over the last several years?

I am wondering if today, in 2014, have most of the issues reported with the MFT have been resolved with updates?

How has it been mechanically?

Based on your experienced (assuming you have over 80k miles) would a 2011 Explorer with 80,000 miles in it be a good choice? I would hope to get an additional 100k / 6-years out of it at least. I really like the car, but I wouldn’t want to buy this and have to start replacing parts soon.

I am also considering a 2011 XLT with 24,000 miles for a similar price (this one is form a private seller).

Thanks for your thoughts.

I have had a 2011 Limited, 2013 Limited, and now a 14 Sport.

2011 sent back to Ford using Lemon Law buy back, then bought a 13, no issues with 13 just wanted Sport.

Most of the issues came in the 2011/12 model year. The first build year with fewest problems was 2013.

Now with that said you could have 2011 that has had few issues, members here on this forum have had both extremes.

I would get the history of the vehicle and see how many TSB's were done.

If I was looking used I would start at 2013 build year, things like bigger brakes became standard part way through a build cycle and you want the bigger components. Since you're looking at a Limited with a few more options is a Ford ESP warranty an option at this point?....I would do it if it is.

Regarding MFT yes the new software v3.7 or v3.6.2 depending on your build is very stable but there's still a few issues.

My advice is to stay away from a 2011 build but that's my personal experience.

 

[tmg19103]

I have a 2011 XLT I bought about 9 months ago with only 31k on it.

I have other vehicles and work out of my house so it does not get a lot of miles, but no probs driving around locally and a 900 mile trip.

Only issue I have had is the third row seatbelt/roof-rack leak that was fixed in 20 minutes by the "water guy" at the dealer who re-sealed where the end of the roof-rack attaches to the roof.

I did the MFT upgrade to most recent 3.6.2 the moment I got it from the online flash download and not a problem.

Can't speak to issues that might crop up at 80k, but the power train appears solid.

If you have an option for 24k and 80k miles for a similar price, to me the choice is obvious if a mechanic OK's it.

 

[182RG]

2011 XLT AWD and MFT with 52K miles. Flawless.

80K miles is probably OK, but the 24K miles would be a better base for an additional 100K miles. Check service records with the dealer.

 

[briteboy]

I have two 2011 XLT's. One has 24k miles, one has 57k miles. Unlike most of the people that post on this forum, I haven't had any significant problems. Had to have the radiator replaced under a TSB for one of them, and a couple of really minor issues on the other, but no power train, or MFT issues at all.

Updated MFT to 3.6.2 when it came out and it seemed to fix many of the bugs that were inherent in the system. Some still complain about the interaction of Apple products with the Microsoft MFT. Frankly, I'm not surprised, but I understand their frustration.

Both cars ride like a million bucks. I'm still on OEM tires on both of them, and will likely get 60k out of the tires.

I would choose the 24k XLT over the Limited for a couple of reasons. Based on my couple years of reviewing posts on here, it seems like the more gadgets you had on the 2011-2012 Ex's, the more "bugs" there were. Obviously, the Ltd is equipped with "more stuff". Just my opinion.

Also, the power train, suspension, and other mechanical parts should be in much better shape in the XLT than the 80k Ltd vehicle.

I would think you should be able to get the XLT for significantly less than the LTD, even with the mileage difference.

Let us know what you decide !

 

[CajunFordEx]

I ordered my 2011 XLT in March 2011 & got it in May 2011. I have only had to do the windshield noise TSB twice - first time to fix it when the tsb was first announced, and after I had to change the windshield for it to pass inspection after a rock cracked it. The Explorer has been great. I also never had any real problems with MFT. The problems I did have early on were with the phone my wife was using (Samsung Galaxy). We now have a IPhone 5 & a Nokia Lumia 900 & both work flawless. I don't have the Navigation.

Personally, I would opt for the XLT with the lower miles if you really plan to keep it for a long time. I plan on running mine to at least 250,000 trouble free miles. It only has around 32,000 on it now.

Whatever you decide, Good Luck, and let us know what you decided on.

 

[wifes2011xlt]

Personally, I would not even be debating this. 80k vs 24k miles for the same price and same year? Yes, it's a Limited but if you're considering a lower trim, the XLT probably has all the features you need. Also consider that the XLT is still under original B2B warranty. You basically have a year or so to figure out if anything is wrong with it. Also, at 24k miles, you won't have to worry about any major scheduled maintenance issue for quite a while. At 80k your pushing up agains new plugs and belts. XLT is a no brainer for me (assuming all checks out fine on it).

 

[peterk9]

Personally, I would not even be debating this. 80k vs 24k miles for the same price and same year? Yes, it's a Limited but if you're considering a lower trim, the XLT probably has all the features you need. Also consider that the XLT is still under original B2B warranty. You basically have a year or so to figure out if anything is wrong with it. Also, at 24k miles, you won't have to worry about any major scheduled maintenance issue for quite a while. At 80k your pushing up agains new plugs and belts. XLT is a no brainer for me (assuming all checks out fine on it).

The B2B warranty is 3 years or 36k miles. It is highly likely that the XLT 3 year warranty is up.

Peter

 

[wifes2011xlt]

Original warranty as in engine and drive coverage. I guess it's called power train not b2b... and I thought it was 4 year 48k coverage but it's actually 5 year 60k. My bad.

 

[Halwg]

If I was buying a used Explorer, I'd definitely stay away from 2011 (the first year of the redesign) and possibly even the 2012. I always give a new design at least 2 years to get rid of the bugs.