New Prospective Owner

[Kupo]

Hey All,

I am looking at getting a Crossover SUV that seats 6 adults comfortably and from my research the explorer is the only real option. Unfortunately I am discovering it has quite a few engine issues so this puts me off a bit on the choice. I am looking at something that will last me 10-15 years, should I look elsewhere or are these issues solved with the 2016 revamp?

 

[Odrapnew]

What are the "quite a few" engine issues you are referring to?

 

[blwnsmoke]

Engine issues?? Huh??

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Yeah engine issues certainly aren't a common issue. No vehicle is perfect and please remember human nature is to complain more about something vs. complimenting it.

 

[peterk9]

Hey All,

I am looking at getting a Crossover SUV that seats 6 adults comfortably and from my research the explorer is the only real option. Unfortunately I am discovering it has quite a few engine issues so this puts me off a bit on the choice. I am looking at something that will last me 10-15 years, should I look elsewhere or are these issues solved with the 2016 revamp?

Welcome to the Forum.
Are you referring to the internal water pump? Other than that, I'm not aware of "quite a few engine issues". Also, I don't think that anyone can say that a vehicle is not going to have some issues if kept for 10-15 years.

Peter

 

[Kupo]

Sorry I was reading through a lot of threads on here last night and I must have just seen a lot of one-offs which had be biased I am used to owning Hondas which always havnt given me much issues outside of normal maintenance and was looking to buy an explorer used from 2012+, what kinds of stuff should I look out for when deciding on one? I know about the water pump issue and the smell when accelerating but unsure if I can even check for that before purchasing or if I just need to get lucky.

Thanks!

 

[bdginmo]

Which engine are you considering? There are 3 options currently: 2.3L EcoBoost, 3.5L NA, and 3.5L EcoBoost. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the 2012 may have had the 2.0L EcoBoost as an option.

 

[Kupo]

Which engine are you considering? There are 3 options currently: 2.3L EcoBoost, 3.5L NA, and 3.5L EcoBoost. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the 2012 may have had the 2.0L EcoBoost as an option.

Honestly I don't plan on towing anything heavy, I am definitely looking at AWD but whatever one is most reliable is probably best. All of their provided engines is more power than I'll need

 

[bdginmo]

I went with the 3.5L EcoBoost (only available on sport and platinum trims). I knew about the internal water pump ahead of time. But, out of the millions of EcoBoost engines sold I could only find a handful of premature water pump failures so I felt the odds of a failure were incredibly low. Likewise I haven't seen enough turbocharger failure reports to warrant much of a concern there either. The biggest concern for me was the potential for carbon buildup on the intake valves, but even that wasn't a showstopper...at least for me. If a GTDI engine is still a concern for you then you can always get the NA 3.5L V6.

 

[peterk9]

Check the spare tire well for signs of water/moisture. http://www.explorerforum.com/xenforo/index.php?threads/water-leak.327803/

 

[Sixonemale]

Sorry I was reading through a lot of threads on here last night and I must have just seen a lot of one-offs which had be biased I am used to owning Hondas which always havnt given me much issues outside of normal maintenance and was looking to buy an explorer used from 2012+, what kinds of stuff should I look out for when deciding on one? I know about the water pump issue and the smell when accelerating but unsure if I can even check for that before purchasing or if I just need to get lucky.

Thanks!

The Explorer cannot be compared to a Honda or Toyota IMO, and even my service advisor at Ford who had worked at Toyota for about eight years says it like comparing apples to oranges, Toyota is an extremely well built vehicle. I own a 2015 Explorer and would like to tell you it's a great vehicle, but it's also important to be honest. The current generation Explorer has many more build quality issues than most vehicles, simple QA/QC issues. All you have to do is sort out the threads by most replies at the top of the page and you'll quickly see the hot topics on the first couple of pages of threads, worth doing.

Unlike a Honda/Toyota where the timing belt/water pump including pulleys are replaced every 90,000 miles or so, the Explorer has an internal water pump inside the engine block that some owners have had a very difficult time detecting any sort of malfunction of it. It has two seals, one seal leaks externally and the other leaks into the engine block or into the oil. If the owner is lucky enough to detect the leak early enough and only external seal has failed, then it's replacement of the water pump for about $1,500 to $2,500. If they are not lucky and internal seal has broken, it could result in an engine replacement costing much more.

Also, the other engine types mentioned in this thread have twin turbos, something that should also be considered. I've owned a Ford with a turbo, 2.5 L, and understand their advantages and disadvantages vs buying a larger and simpler engine. I'm not purposely dissing the Explorer, but if you want to keep your vehicle for 10-15 years, depending on how many miles you drive your vehicle per year, this may or may not be the easiest vehicle to maintain over that time period, let alone potentially high maintenance cost associated with water pumps, turbos, etc.

It's also important to note that current generation of Explorer is about six years old, so there are not many Explorers on the road with high mileage, 150,000 miles plus. I believe the owners will learn much more about these engines within the next few years.

 

[1995E]

Honestly, I have had tons of dealership visits with my Explorer. 10+ definitely and tons of warranty work. With that said, I have the 2011, the first generation of the unibody Explorer. The drivetrain has never failed one me. After 4 road trips to Florida with 7 adults every time, and tons of mashing of the pedal, and even that time where I towed a Ford Taurus with 7 adults, I'd like to say that the Explorer is actually a really reliable car. I have the 3.5L naturally aspirated and I'm surprised how much power it has.

Also, replacement parts are cheap due to decent aftermarket accessories and tons of heavy duty police parts thanks to the Interceptor Explorers. If you want tech, comfort, and even somewhat prestige, get the Explorer. If you want reliability and less tech, I'd go with a Toyota or Lexus. RWD and more towing capacity, go Dodge Durango.

However, standard LED headlamps is pretty awesome and the Explorer has it.

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Wow, 7 people AND towed a car... really tested your Explorer but sounds like it passed!

 

[blwnsmoke]

The Explorer cannot be compared to a Honda or Toyota IMO, and even my service advisor at Ford who had worked at Toyota for about eight years says it like comparing apples to oranges, Toyota is an extremely well built vehicle. I own a 2015 Explorer and would like to tell you it's a great vehicle, but it's also important to be honest. The current generation Explorer has many more build quality issues than most vehicles, simple QA/QC issues. All you have to do is sort out the threads by most replies at the top of the page and you'll quickly see the hot topics on the first couple of pages of threads, worth doing.

Unlike a Honda/Toyota where the timing belt/water pump including pulleys are replaced every 90,000 miles or so, the Explorer has an internal water pump inside the engine block that some owners have had a very difficult time detecting any sort of malfunction of it. It has two seals, one seal leaks externally and the other leaks into the engine block or into the oil. If the owner is lucky enough to detect the leak early enough and only external seal has failed, then it's replacement of the water pump for about $1,500 to $2,500. If they are not lucky and internal seal has broken, it could result in an engine replacement costing much more.

Also, the other engine types mentioned in this thread have twin turbos, something that should also be considered. I've owned a Ford with a turbo, 2.5 L, and understand their advantages and disadvantages vs buying a larger and simpler engine. I'm not purposely dissing the Explorer, but if you want to keep your vehicle for 10-15 years, depending on how many miles you drive your vehicle per year, this may or may not be the easiest vehicle to maintain over that time period, let alone potentially high maintenance cost associated with water pumps, turbos, etc.

It's also important to note that current generation of Explorer is about six years old, so there are not many Explorers on the road with high mileage, 150,000 miles plus. I believe the owners will learn much more about these engines within the next few years.

Just to add/clarify, the NA 3.5 has been out since 2006 so we are on year 11 of them despite being in the Explorer for 6 years. They were in the Flex and 5th gen Taurus.

The only concern with the drive train is the water pump and the PTU. Overall, the motor is very reliable and Ford knows transmissions and have really good reliability with them.

 

[Sixonemale]

Just to add/clarify, the NA 3.5 has been out since 2006 so we are on year 11 of them despite being in the Explorer for 6 years. They were in the Flex and 5th gen Taurus.

The only concern with the drive train is the water pump and the PTU.

I fully realize the 3.5L NA has been out since 2006, and put in many more cars than you listed, 2007-2014 Ford Edge, 2007-2010 Lincoln MKX, 2007-2014 Lincoln MKZ, 2008-2014, 2008-2009 Mercury Sable, 2009-2004 Ford Flex, 2012-2012 Ford Fusion Sport, etc. A nephew of mine had an Edge, while my niece drove her dad's MKX. I recall vividly the coolant in my nephew's Edge going down in the overflow tank and I could not figure out where it was going in a closed system because I could not see it leaking. Not for that reason, but he sold the car shortly thereafter and I don't doubt it could have been leaking into the engine.

I've explained it before, my niece was driving her dad's 2008 Lincoln MKX in Santa Monica one afternoon a couple of years ago when I received a call, because at the time I lived near that area, that her car was smoking from the engine and I then drove there as quickly as I could. When it arrived at the dealer via a tow truck, the service advisor and I looked at the engine and noticed the coolant was nowhere to be seen and yes it was the water pump. The Lincoln MKX had less than 50,000 miles on it.

I agree that the 3.5L NA engine is reliable but with ticking time bomb in it, the water pump. I would not have a problem if when the water pump failed the most it could do would be to cause the engine to overheat, but what I do have a problem with is the fact it can leak coolant into the engine oil that could go undetected until such time it has caused irreparable damage to the engine. There have been several sites posting potential lawsuits about the water pump due to it causing catastrophic engine failure. I think many owners of the vehicles listed above are not that sophisticated and pay the bill, probably begrudgingly. I do think this will get much more attention with Explorer owners because they are used to driving vehicles to a 150,000 plus miles without exorbitant maintenance bills or being surprised by a seized engine.

Overall, the motor is very reliable and Ford knows transmissions and have really good reliability with them.

You need to do more homework on this comment. I've had two Ford transmissions rebuilt, one at about 100,000 miles and the other at about 152,000 vs Toyota's/Lexus's that I've owned with zero problems that went more miles than these two cars. Most transmission shops will be very candid about some of the Ford transmissions of the past that were not very reliable. I have no idea how reliable the transmission on the current Explorer is or isn't, time will tell. I don't doubt they've been put in other Ford vehicles of the past, but again, Explorer owners may have different expectations.

 

[MartinF]

Keep in mind that, as far as I have seen in some articles, the Explorer is still one of the best selling SUV's on the market and it sells much higher numbers then the Toyota Highlander or SUV's like that.. So, given this, you are likely to see a few more breakdowns because of the high numbers and the statistically higher probability. This doesn't make it inherently a bad vehicle; it makes it a victim of it's own success.

That being said, I do think the water pump is in a ridiculous place. What the heck were the engineers thinking? But, given how many of these engines are out there, it doesn't seem to be a huge problem. It is more of an isolated occurrence that is really a piss off to those who experience it! hahaha.. It has made me think that I should maybe get the extended warranty! But, I'm still not sold yet. I don't think it's that bad of an issue. Even if 20 or 30 people on this board complained about it and had experienced it, it is a very small subset of a very large market between 2011 to 2017. Any car can have problems. My 2006 Toyota Corolla had a huge failure of the computer right at the very end of it's warranty too, and they are considered one of the MOST reliable cars on the market. It can happen to any car!

Also keep in mind that more people with problems write on these message boards then people who have no issues and no interest in discussing their cars. If you took every little complaint on this message board seriously, the Explorer would sound like a horrible car. But, realistically there are probably over 100,000 of the new generation explorers on the road with still half decent reviews of their reliability and quality with happy owners.

 

[Forddealz]

I fully realize the 3.5L NA has been out since 2006, and put in many more cars than you listed, 2007-2014 Ford Edge, 2007-2010 Lincoln MKX, 2007-2014 Lincoln MKZ, 2008-2014, 2008-2009 Mercury Sable, 2009-2004 Ford Flex, 2012-2012 Ford Fusion Sport, etc. A nephew of mine had an Edge, while my niece drove her dad's MKX. I recall vividly the coolant in my nephew's Edge going down in the overflow tank and I could not figure out where it was going in a closed system because I could not see it leaking. Not for that reason, but he sold the car shortly thereafter and I don't doubt it could have been leaking into the engine.

I've explained it before, my niece was driving her dad's 2008 Lincoln MKX in Santa Monica one afternoon a couple of years ago when I received a call, because at the time I lived near that area, that her car was smoking from the engine and I then drove there as quickly as I could. When it arrived at the dealer via a tow truck, the service advisor and I looked at the engine and noticed the coolant was nowhere to be seen and yes it was the water pump. The Lincoln MKX had less than 50,000 miles on it.

I agree that the 3.5L NA engine is reliable but with ticking time bomb in it, the water pump. I would not have a problem if when the water pump failed the most it could do would be to cause the engine to overheat, but what I do have a problem with is the fact it can leak coolant into the engine oil that could go undetected until such time it has caused irreparable damage to the engine. There have been several sites posting potential lawsuits about the water pump due to it causing catastrophic engine failure. I think many owners of the vehicles listed above are not that sophisticated and pay the bill, probably begrudgingly. I do think this will get much more attention with Explorer owners because they are used to driving vehicles to a 150,000 plus miles without exorbitant maintenance bills or being surprised by a seized engine.



You need to do more homework on this comment. I've had two Ford transmissions rebuilt, one at about 100,000 miles and the other at about 152,000 vs Toyota's/Lexus's that I've owned with zero problems that went more miles than these two cars. Most transmission shops will be very candid about some of the Ford transmissions of the past that were not very reliable. I have no idea how reliable the transmission on the current Explorer is or isn't, time will tell. I don't doubt they've been put in other Ford vehicles of the past, but again, Explorer owners may have different expectations.

Yeah, if you want reliability then go with Lexus or Toyota, same thing. Lexus LX 570 is a six seater SUV that is pretty reliable. Before purchasing XP sport, I was in the market for Lexus RX350 Fsport 16 but as I am 6'3", I could barely fit in it with those F sport side bolster seats. My head was touching the roof and the windshield was smaller and angled more for the less visibility up front. Maybe its designed for shorter persons.
My friend had a 550XI BMW 2011 5 series, which he sold a few years back. He said that his car got a recall for some of the engine parts due to overheating engine. He told me that if Ford has enough customers with failing water pumps and engines in the past 10 years of manufacturing the same engine, then some kind of recall would have been done long time ago. Been on a forum for 5 years reading but saw very few issues compared to hundreds of thousands of vehicles sold with this engine in the past 10 years.
Maybe I am wrong but many more people on here are asking how to put a tune on this engine instead of saying that their water pump or engine has been damaged.

 

[Forddealz]

Keep in mind that, as far as I have seen in some articles, the Explorer is still one of the best selling SUV's on the market and it sells much higher numbers then the Toyota Highlander or SUV's like that.. So, given this, you are likely to see a few more breakdowns because of the high numbers and the statistically higher probability. This doesn't make it inherently a bad vehicle; it makes it a victim of it's own success.

That being said, I do think the water pump is in a ridiculous place. What the heck were the engineers thinking? But, given how many of these engines are out there, it doesn't seem to be a huge problem. It is more of an isolated occurrence that is really a piss off to those who experience it! hahaha.. It has made me think that I should maybe get the extended warranty! But, I'm still not sold yet. I don't think it's that bad of an issue. Even if 20 or 30 people on this board complained about it and had experienced it, it is a very small subset of a very large market between 2011 to 2017. Any car can have problems. My 2006 Toyota Corolla had a huge failure of the computer right at the very end of it's warranty too, and they are considered one of the MOST reliable cars on the market. It can happen to any car!

Also keep in mind that more people with problems write on these message boards then people who have no issues and no interest in discussing their cars. If you took every little complaint on this message board seriously, the Explorer would sound like a horrible car. But, realistically there are probably over 100,000 of the new generation explorers on the road with still half decent reviews of their reliability and quality with happy owners.

Good points, I was just trying to express similar thoughts.

 

[peterk9]

Having had 3 Highlanders and lately 3 Ford products, I can honestly say that as far as reliability goes I haven't noticed any great differences. Perhaps that could be due to the fact that I don't keep them for more than 3 or 4 years.

Peter

 

[MikB]

Many of the issues expressed on this forum are of a small degree and only magnified by those that may experience them or read about those that have experienced them. In 'My Ford' website, there is a section to check for recalls for whatever Ford you own. This is information that can be passed on to those inquiring about issues such as failing water pumps and such. I check this from time to time and I am happy to say that there are no recalls of any kind to this date for my Ex.

On this forum, there is a section for TSBs. This is where you will find many issues related to the Ex. These are usually manufacturing flaws that have been discovered with corrections attached. There are numerous TSB's for the Ex as there are numerous TSBs for any Honda, Toyota, BMW, Audi or Merc. They also have their recalls. You can't always rely on consumers reporting on quality or manufacturing issues with those with the best records either. My '90 Toyota SR5 4WD had a head gasket blow at just over 100k many years ago. Since it was out of warranty, I started in on doing the job myself. By happenstance, I learned there was a TSB for the head gasket from a visit to my local Toyota dealer as I needed to buy a part for it. Talking to the parts guy, the conversation for the part I needed led to the problem with the head gasket at which point I learned about this TSB. I was directed to the service manager and the rest, as they say, is history. Had there been a forum back then to make inquiries about this, it would look much like what we read about on forums like this with people inquiring about whatever issue they may be having or just wondering about as they are in the market to purchase whatever vehicle.

Bottom line is, nobody wants to have any issues with a new car but, it happens and it doesn't matter who built it. Nobody is perfect. I never bought a new car until I bought that Toyota. I drove it for nine years before the head gasket problem and in most of that time they, had a TSB for the head gaskets which was a problem for Toyota's with the 3 litre six and four cylinder engines in model years before mine. If you had the 4 cylinder, you were out of luck with Toyota taking on the job without payment. We with the sixes whom had this problem and were lucky enough to find out about the TSB were lucky enough as Toyota took on the job with no payment required for the service. Ok, I'll stop here as there may be no relevance to this thread but, I'm not going to delete it. Took far too much of my time to type.