My Explorer Overheated

[Joe Dirt]

I never said it did. As a matter of fact by saying it "doesn't magically cool off your engine" I am conveying what it does not nor is it supposed to do. I just don't know what temp my engine reached after I shut it off and do not want a leaking head gasket at 4 years/30,001 miles. I not convinced Ford knows the tolerances of the engine nor am confident it's "computer" kept the engine temp in the "safe range". It may have but with digital gauges it's an educated guess at best. It's unacceptable to have this issue on 5 month old car.

If Ford built a shutdown system to shut down the engine when it reached a certain point and it did, it worked. Did it overheat? Yes. To failure? No. Are you still driving it? Why?

It is extremely funny that all these people don't have an overheated 2011 Explorer comes here and tell us what to do, and it is our fault that we bought the explorer.

Well, I don't have one yet because I am waiting for the issues to be worked out prior to investing money in one. That was part of my decision making process. It's working, I'm not dealing with the issues.

A pillar noise I can deal with. MFT I don't have issues with. But a automobile's cooling system isn't revolutionary. And last I checked Ford isn't a recent start up company.

No, there is nothing revolutionary about a cooling system aside from the shutdown system. Advice to take it in especially if you know you're in the TSB range for the issue rather than continuing to drive it hoping you'll be lucky and not have an issue is sage advice- even whether we own them or not.

I agree with nbrinkman, the sensible thing to do here is to issue a limited recall for the affected build dates. My ex is right with this build date.

The TSB calls for fan replacement if any of the following issue occurs:
1.- Fan squealing at shutdown
2.- Loss of AC
3.- Enginge overheat (Duh!)

The fix from FORD is unacceptable at the time: yeah, just continue to drive it until the car overheats and leaves you stranded on the side of a road... oh, you are 500 miles away from home on a family vacation that is getting ruined because of our shi**y fan design?, sorry, my apologies!:thumbdwn:
Right, people will tell me I am now arguing about "incidental/consequential" damages due to a failed fan. But I'll bet you those people don't own a 2011 ex with a build date right in the middle of the TSB date.
Oh, no actually I am sorry, I forgot, it's my fault for not expecting "issues" when buying a first model year of a completely redesigned vehicle.

Stop driving it!!!!! take it to the dealer and demand it be repaired per the TSB. If it's in the range covered by the TSB, it should be repaired. Don't take no for an answer. Leave it in their service bay and leave with your keys- do something to catch their attention.

I don't think it's incidental or consequential. But then again, I wouldn't drive the damn thing until it's fixed.

We're a forum, not a dealer. We can't fix it.

We give advice, then are figuratively told "you don't own one, piss off"

If it is such a major investment, treat it as such. Should it happen? No. Is it? Do you own the problem now? Yes. Figure out how to remedy it. Go to the dealer and make a stand.

 

[RandyH2]

1) Accepting failure just because it is a "first year" vehicle is ridiculous. With the cumulative experience of the automotive industry I can not accept that a revision to a system is just cause for debilitating failure. Any critical system should be so refined by this point, and failure testing procedures so well refined, that failures are not commonplace. I have owned two first-gen BMW's and neither one has had any significant problems. I think there was a suspension bushing recall because the bushings were not lasting as long as expected. Certainly nothing affecting critical systems.

2) If my Explorer, with my young children on board, overheats 10 miles from home because of a TSB issue that I had previously experienced and reported to the dealer, but was told they could not fix it until it could be demonstrated (my fans quit over the 4th of July holiday, started working again, no repair), then I will expect Ford to provide a rental vehicle at no cost and to tow my vehicle to the nearest dealership for repairs.
Having a corporate policy of saying, "No repairs until problem witnessed even if there is a TSB" when someone has spent $40,000+ is absurd.

 

[RandyH2]

For those who do have an over-heat situation: turn off the A/C and turn your heater and window defroster on to max high/hot- the heater system will pull some of the heat from the engine.

When you stop, pop the hood but DON'T remove the radiator cap. Opening the hood will allow the heat to escape more quickly.

It takes a long itme for an engine to cool- half an hour or more. Be patient.

 

[new to ford]

1) Accepting failure just because it is a "first year" vehicle is ridiculous. With the cumulative experience of the automotive industry I can not accept that a revision to a system is just cause for debilitating failure. Any critical system should be so refined by this point, and failure testing procedures so well refined, that failures are not commonplace. I have owned two first-gen BMW's and neither one has had any significant problems. I think there was a suspension bushing recall because the bushings were not lasting as long as expected. Certainly nothing affecting critical systems.

2) If my Explorer, with my young children on board, overheats 10 miles from home because of a TSB issue that I had previously experienced and reported to the dealer, but was told they could not fix it until it could be demonstrated (my fans quit over the 4th of July holiday, started working again, no repair), then I will expect Ford to provide a rental vehicle at no cost and to tow my vehicle to the nearest dealership for repairs.
Having a corporate policy of saying, "No repairs until problem witnessed even if there is a TSB" when someone has spent $40,000+ is absurd.

Randy, I completely agree with you. What I don't understand is why would the dealership/ford deny repair once you already experienced an overheat on july 4th holiday???
What, should we now take a picture of the coolant gauge with the overheat condition and this can be "proof" that the vehicle overheated? Right, left me tell my wife: "honey, in addition to the aggravation of a overheated vehicle, don't forget to take a picture of the coolant gauge showing the overheat condition
In your case, I would contact Cory and demand a fan replacement, no need for the "can't reproduce the issue" argument from the dealer.

 

[RandyH2]

Actually, I do understand the policy I'm just being difficult. If it turns out that the fan failure was a one-time multi-day episode and never repeats then Ford would be paying for unwarranted repairs. We'll see, as I need to take it in for the third time for vibration similar to an out-of-balance wheel.

 

[Burtdiesel]

I think ford should recall and replace the fans in the batch they know are defective. It kills me they use the wait until it fails approach. If they have it narrowed down to a specific range then repair them all...but I know it is all about money.

I had a similar situation with my focus. There was a tsb on the front springs where they could rust through and fail in certain situations. Well they failed...luckily backing out of my driveway. I had the car towed and the car was fixed outside of warranty period...springs, new tire as the spring punctured the tire...and a sway bar end link....god forbid that happened on the highway...Hope no one stalls From overheating on a busy rode gets injured and then sues ford for not replacing a part they know is defective.

I guess I love punishment because I am still considering buying an explorer. It is a nice vehicle that meets my needs. Hope I get one of the few with no issues

 

[mlsjrs]

2011 Explorer Overheating

Brought my EX into the dealer this morning @ 7:30am and received a call that it was ready by 9:30am. They replaced the fan assembly (it was not working) under TSB 11-5-18, fully covered under the warranty.

Guess I'm lucky the weather was cooperative and I could run without A/C (the car never got above mid-temp with A/C off). I'm glad the dealer was able to correct the issue but given the amount of traffic in this forum over this perhaps they need to do a recall rather than wait for the vehicles to overheat and customers are left stranded.

 

[JDraper]

I also had mine replaced under warranty since mine was starting to get noisy. Ran it 600+ miles on vacation in 90° + weather with no problems after the new fan install.

 

[donm527]

how noisy is noisy? you mean weird screeching type sounds or just so much louder than stock?

was just thinking of it the other day cause i have had the car for almost a few months so whatever i hear i consider normal for the explorer.

if i compare it to the honda ody i had previously, the explorer runs louder than the ody did in park... you can hear the fan more from the explorer. it runs louder than my wifes lexus at idle.

in another post i mentioned even the radio sounds louder from the outside of the car... 3 little bars from the bottom and with the car sealed up and idling, you hear the bass thumping away... and its only a commercial playing on CNBC!

anyways, back to fan... it seems to be normally louder than other cars... so not sure if i know how loud is loud.

I also had mine replaced under warranty since mine was starting to get noisy. Ran it 600+ miles on vacation in 90° + weather with no problems after the new fan install.

 

[luck123]

Holy cr@p!

When I first saw the new EX, read all the features and saw it in the showroom, I thought for sure a 2012 was in the cards to replace my Toyota Highlander when it reaches 3.5 yrs. It's been a while since I have lurked on the forum, and after reading everything on this and the other threads about the issues with the new EX, I am having serious doubts about buying one. At the very least, I'm not even going to consider an EX until the 2012s have been out 6 months to ensure all these issues have been resolved. I have had some issues with my HL, but whoa, this is nuts. I feel for all of you experiencing these issues, especially overheating, which could you leave you stranded somewhere.

Funny, I just helped my father negotiate the purchase of a new Hyundai Santa Fe on Tuesday, and in the car, I was extolling the virtues of Ford's new quality. He wasn't convinced. Doh!!

Best of luck to all of you in getting those issues resolved, and I certainly hope that Ford steps up to help all of you have been seriously inconvenienced.

 

[Photo01]

Got my XLT fixed

I want to thank everyone on this thread. My air conditioner died completely so I took it into the King's Ford dealership along with a printed copy of the TSB for the overheating. They not only found a cracked condenser that they replaced, but they also replaced the dual cooling fans to prevent the overheating issue.

XLT is running like new again and the air conditioner works better now than it ever did.

Thanks again.

 

[new to ford]

so not sure if i know how loud is loud.

Have your car in idle in a hot day with the AC, place your ear right in front of the vehicle grille, make sure the rad fans are runing, have someone turn off the car and listen to the fans as they come to a stop, if you hear a squealing/screeching, then this is a culprit that you might run into issues down the road.
Our ex rad fans were squealing/screeching early June but then the noise went away and hasn't come back (yet).

 

[jrmexplorer]

but they also replaced the dual cooling fans to prevent the overheating issue.

NOW THAT'S WHAT DEALERSHIPS SHOULD BE DOING......


RandyH2 - I recommend finding another dealer - yours is jacking you around if you've had an overheating situation and they haven't replaced your fans.

 

[jrmexplorer]

Holy cr@p!

When I first saw the new EX, read all the features and saw it in the showroom, I thought for sure a 2012 was in the cards to replace my Toyota Highlander when it reaches 3.5 yrs. It's been a while since I have lurked on the forum, and after reading everything on this and the other threads about the issues with the new EX, I am having serious doubts about buying one. At the very least, I'm not even going to consider an EX until the 2012s have been out 6 months to ensure all these issues have been resolved. I have had some issues with my HL, but whoa, this is nuts. I feel for all of you experiencing these issues, especially overheating, which could you leave you stranded somewhere.

Funny, I just helped my father negotiate the purchase of a new Hyundai Santa Fe on Tuesday, and in the car, I was extolling the virtues of Ford's new quality. He wasn't convinced. Doh!!

Best of luck to all of you in getting those issues resolved, and I certainly hope that Ford steps up to help all of you have been seriously inconvenienced.

The only issue that would concern me as a buyer is MFT. The cooling fan issue seems to be (for the most part) isolated to certain production timeframes.

Rain noise is taken care of on the 2012's.

 

[new to ford]

Rain noise is taken care of on the 2012's.

really? what is the production fix for MY2012???

 

[jrmexplorer]

really? what is the production fix for MY2012???

Sarge posted awhile back that he spoke to a Ford engineer who told him that they are spraying foam in that area on the MY 2012s on the assembly line.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Sarge posted awhile back that he spoke to a Ford engineer who told him that they are spraying foam in that area on the MY 2012s on the assembly line.

I missed that post. Are they creating a tsb for us 11 owners? I spoke with cs Monday and he commented on it again that Ford as duplicated the issue and now recognizes it as an issue. They have received complaints on it and a fix is in the works.

 

[jrmexplorer]

I missed that post. Are they creating a tsb for us 11 owners? I spoke with cs Monday and he commented on it again that Ford as duplicated the issue and now recognizes it as an issue. They have received complaints on it and a fix is in the works.

Nothing that I have heard of.

I have heard the rain noise very intermittently and only in some prettty heavy rain so it does not bother me.

 

[Ravs]

I have 2 other first edition cars that have given me zero trouble- 2004 Acura TL and 2008 M3 and I still have both. I have had good experiences with those vehicles so far but the EX is the first one that I have found to be troubling.

1) Accepting failure just because it is a "first year" vehicle is ridiculous. With the cumulative experience of the automotive industry I can not accept that a revision to a system is just cause for debilitating failure. Any critical system should be so refined by this point, and failure testing procedures so well refined, that failures are not commonplace. I have owned two first-gen BMW's and neither one has had any significant problems. I think there was a suspension bushing recall because the bushings were not lasting as long as expected. Certainly nothing affecting critical systems.

2) If my Explorer, with my young children on board, overheats 10 miles from home because of a TSB issue that I had previously experienced and reported to the dealer, but was told they could not fix it until it could be demonstrated (my fans quit over the 4th of July holiday, started working again, no repair), then I will expect Ford to provide a rental vehicle at no cost and to tow my vehicle to the nearest dealership for repairs.
Having a corporate policy of saying, "No repairs until problem witnessed even if there is a TSB" when someone has spent $40,000+ is absurd.

 

[steelkilt]

Hi everyone. I just had the same issue with my Explorer. I have 6,700 miles on it and it overheated in Manhattan on Tuesday. I had to limp it home as Ford wanted to charge me $185 to have it towed to my dealer which was 8 miles further then the one they wanted to take it to. It ended up being the cooling fan that broke. Its still being fixed. I have had nothing but issues with my Explorer. Its now been in the shop 3 times since I picked it up in March. The reaction control module, the steering wheel position sensor and now the fan have all been defective. Im really not sure I will buy another Ford again.

Well, I beat you by 200 miles. My 2011 EX (manufactured 1/11) overheated today in stop and go traffic on the way back from the beach. 6900 miles. Got "coolant over temp" error a couple of times as warning. Got it home and will have it at the dealer soon. Thanks to this thread I know how to proceed. I have the tow package. Sad day. Up until now the new EX has been great, no problems until today. We got hit with a lot of rain during the trip home and also noticed water leakage in rear near liftgate. Joy.