OK, So What Do You DISLIKE About The 5th Gen?

[anonymous]

It would be nice if the fuel filler door locked when the car is locked. My G8 did this.

 

[CalifLove]

Most of this is repeat but what the hell:

'14 Sport

1. Stock headlights are crap - need wider field and need to be brighter.

2. Gas tank size is stupid - big A$@ car, tiny tank.

3. Leave key in car, with car running, get out, close door to move trash cans or whatever outside of garage (for example) ..the freagin horn chirps twice - there has GOT to be a way to defeat this - my neighbors hate me.

4. Rear power hatch does seem slow.

5. "The Smell"...

6. Would like to be able to move the 2nd row driver side seats front/back like the passenger side seat.

7. tire jack tool seems to be an overthought design. woudnt it have been easier just to have a standalone jack and wrench?

8. Navigation should take direction requests in 1 bucket - I.E. Navigate to Joes Crab Shack on Embarcadero Street, CA" - instead of the 6 or 7 steps it currently takes. Same goes for all verbal commands. MS can do it, Google can do it, other manufactures do it - seems like a no brainer and makes the whole of an otherwise decent system seemed half-a@#!^% to me...

9. Sunroof doesnt vent doesnt really vent much. It's barely up. Related - would be cool if the rear sunroof at least opened partially.

10. Interior lighting is GARBAGE. Huge miss here Ford.

11. No auto hood prop

12. No Window up and/or down from keyfob - this is a simple programming deal - shouldn't even cost them to allow for this!

13. Sport wheel paint chips

14. Paint bumps on hood...

15. Cross traffic alert system has a TON of false positives. Pretty much every day that I back out of my garage I am alerted to cars coming from left and/or right - it's never been correct. It does work out on the street fairly well BUT still a lot of false positives coming out of parking spots or parallel parking etc, makes it hard to trust.

16. Blind spot monitor - not consistent on detection distance. It always WORKS but when it works the cars are sometimes already REALLY close or really far ( usually too close rather than far) which again, leads to trust issues and seeing that its nearly impossible to see whats behind you on your left due to the size of the vehicle its important that this works.

17. would like option to turn side view mirrors down when in reverse

18. LED DRLs should have made it on the Sport model (at least) (and Hids)

19. 1 touch up/down windows for rear... I don't get why car manufactures skimp on this on nearly every car. This isn't just a Ford miss by any means...

20. Would like a light factory tint on the front side windows. My previous cars were slightly tinted all around - the Ex is heavily tinted in back..why not add a light tint to the front...duh!

21. Whistling sound near driver side mirror at certain speeds on freeway. Experienced this one mine and a rental limited.

22. No Sport setting (Firmer shifts, firmer suspension, hold gears longer etc, RWD Bias, etc...



Oh yea, and I want it 20K cheaper

Ok, so long list, some super picky, some not so much. Overall, I still really like the vehicle. It could have been so much better but I guess that's what the aftermarket is for. Most of these things can be solved with some parts and time - others, well only if someone wants to invest $10k+ in which is definitely not in the cards for me.

 

[bigmoose15]

20. Would like a light factory tint on the front side windows. My previous cars were slightly tinted all around - the Ex is heavily tinted in back..why not add a light tint to the front...duh!

This is because it is illegal in some states to have tint on these windows.

I agree with most of your gripes are well.

The Nav system uses navteq maps. That map data has one way information, but the Nav system on the explorer doesn't display this. This is just dumb. When i'm driving around boston and looking for a cross street its nice to know ahead of time if its a one way.

I wish they would make the nav route line the same color as its traffic color.

The inability to auto down the side mirrors in reverse is a big miss.

Most of these issues are all software and can be added to existing vehicles if they wanted to.

 

[peterk9]

Most of this is repeat but what the hell:

'14 Sport

3. Leave key in car, with car running, get out, close door to move trash cans or whatever outside of garage (for example) ..the freagin horn chirps twice - there has GOT to be a way to defeat this - my neighbors hate me.

4. Rear power hatch does seem slow.

9. Sunroof doesnt vent doesnt really vent much. It's barely up. Related - would be cool if the rear sunroof at least opened partially.

16. Blind spot monitor - not consistent on detection distance. It always WORKS but when it works the cars are sometimes already REALLY close or really far ( usually too close rather than far) which again, leads to trust issues and seeing that its nearly impossible to see whats behind you on your left due to the size of the vehicle its important that this works.

17. would like option to turn side view mirrors down when in reverse

20. Would like a light factory tint on the front side windows. My previous cars were slightly tinted all around - the Ex is heavily tinted in back..why not add a light tint to the front...duh!

Ok, so long list, some super picky, some not so much. Overall, I still really like the vehicle. It could have been so much better but I guess that's what the aftermarket is for. Most of these things can be solved with some parts and time - others, well only if someone wants to invest $10k+ in which is definitely not in the cards for me.

#3 . I don't know why this would happen if you left the key in the vehicle. This horn honking thing must be something new on the 2014 Sport?
#4 . I think if it opened faster, you wouldn't be able to open it from the rear latch without getting hit.
#9 . Moonroof venting is a bit of a joke. Perhaps it is that way to prevent extra noise?
#16 , 17. Adding a couple of 2" convex mirrors would address these issues. No need for the mirror to tilt or miss traffic on the right or left side. Have used these for 50 years. These mirrors, positioned properly, allow the driver to actually see the rear wheels on both sides.
#20 . There is a light tint on the front side windows.

Peter

 

[rman66]

Ford introduced the capless fuel system in 2008. There really is no need for a locking gas cap but as you found out, it is available. Also, as the Owner's Guide states, you need the special funnel that comes with the vehicle if you ever need to add gas from a gas can or container.

From a Ford webpage;
Ford-exclusive Easy Fuel® (capless fuel filler) system deters fuel thieves from siphoning gas with a unique mis-fueling inhibitor
Inlet check valve reduces the chances of fuel theft by automatically closing after the fueling process

Peter

thanks or your response

so where do I find that special funnel that comes with the vehicle? or is that an acessory I need to pay for? Also, does it mean that I dont need that locking cap accessory? if the locking cap accessory is reedundant, then why does Ford sell it

Never mind, I found more info at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwetL_kn7gc

 

[HughCares]

so where do I find that special funnel that comes with the vehicle? or is that an acessory I need to pay for? Also, does it mean that I dont need that locking cap accessory? if the locking cap accessory is reedundant, then why does Ford sell it

You can always refer to your owner's manual. Should be the first place people look before they start griping about something IMO.

 

[LukerDooker]

#3 . I don't know why this would happen if you left the key in the vehicle. This horn honking thing must be something new on the 2014 Sport?
#4 . I think if it opened faster, you wouldn't be able to open it from the rear latch without getting hit.
#9 . Moonroof venting is a bit of a joke. Perhaps it is that way to prevent extra noise?
#16 , 17. Adding a couple of 2" convex mirrors would address these issues. No need for the mirror to tilt or miss traffic on the right or left side. Have used these for 50 years. These mirrors, positioned properly, allow the driver to actually see the rear wheels on both sides.
#20 . There is a light tint on the front side windows.

Peter

I drove a 2012 Durango last April and the auto down feature of the mirrors while backing up seemed nice at first, but became quite a pain after 2 or 3 times.

It would be nice if the side you are turning to the most would turn down, and the other side stayed level...or something like that.

I hated it when I needed to review the street on the opposite side of my turn & only to see - the actual street - and not oncoming cars.
Felt blind many times.

-In a parking garage this feature didnt help at all and resulted in some pretty good cursing while turning.

-Also hated having to turn it on or off per parking session.

 

[anonymous]

It would be nice to be able to have any radio band able to save to my favorite preset instead of having to actually switch to that radio band.

So I could have some XM and FM stations intermixed on the same favorites.

 

[peterk9]

thanks or your response

so where do I find that special funnel that comes with the vehicle? or is that an acessory I need to pay for? Also, does it mean that I dont need that locking cap accessory? if the locking cap accessory is reedundant, then why does Ford sell it

Never mind, I found more info at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwetL_kn7gc

From page 198 of the 2014 Owner's Guide;
1. Locate the white plastic funnel in the spare tire compartment. Locking gas caps are sold as an accessory for those that want them.

Peter

 

[mabupa]

Most of this is repeat but what the hell: '14 Sport 1. Stock headlights are crap - need wider field and need to be brighter. 2. Gas tank size is stupid - big A$@ car, tiny tank. 3. Leave key in car, with car running, get out, close door to move trash cans or whatever outside of garage (for example) ..the freagin horn chirps twice - there has GOT to be a way to defeat this - my neighbors hate me. 4. Rear power hatch does seem slow. 5. "The Smell"... 6. Would like to be able to move the 2nd row driver side seats front/back like the passenger side seat. 7. tire jack tool seems to be an overthought design. woudnt it have been easier just to have a standalone jack and wrench? 8. Navigation should take direction requests in 1 bucket - I.E. Navigate to Joes Crab Shack on Embarcadero Street, CA" - instead of the 6 or 7 steps it currently takes. Same goes for all verbal commands. MS can do it, Google can do it, other manufactures do it - seems like a no brainer and makes the whole of an otherwise decent system seemed half-a@#!^% to me... 9. Sunroof doesnt vent doesnt really vent much. It's barely up. Related - would be cool if the rear sunroof at least opened partially. 10. Interior lighting is GARBAGE. Huge miss here Ford. 11. No auto hood prop 12. No Window up and/or down from keyfob - this is a simple programming deal - shouldn't even cost them to allow for this! 13. Sport wheel paint chips 14. Paint bumps on hood... 15. Cross traffic alert system has a TON of false positives. Pretty much every day that I back out of my garage I am alerted to cars coming from left and/or right - it's never been correct. It does work out on the street fairly well BUT still a lot of false positives coming out of parking spots or parallel parking etc, makes it hard to trust. 16. Blind spot monitor - not consistent on detection distance. It always WORKS but when it works the cars are sometimes already REALLY close or really far ( usually too close rather than far) which again, leads to trust issues and seeing that its nearly impossible to see whats behind you on your left due to the size of the vehicle its important that this works. 17. would like option to turn side view mirrors down when in reverse 18. LED DRLs should have made it on the Sport model (at least) (and Hids) 19. 1 touch up/down windows for rear... I don't get why car manufactures skimp on this on nearly every car. This isn't just a Ford miss by any means... 20. Would like a light factory tint on the front side windows. My previous cars were slightly tinted all around - the Ex is heavily tinted in back..why not add a light tint to the front...duh! 21. Whistling sound near driver side mirror at certain speeds on freeway. Experienced this one mine and a rental limited. 22. No Sport setting (Firmer shifts, firmer suspension, hold gears longer etc, RWD Bias, etc... Oh yea, and I want it 20K cheaper Ok, so long list, some super picky, some not so much. Overall, I still really like the vehicle. It could have been so much better but I guess that's what the aftermarket is for. Most of these things can be solved with some parts and time - others, well only if someone wants to invest $10k+ in which is definitely not in the cards for me.

On #3 ........... Don't close the door all the way. Takes a few tries but, you'll get used to not closing it shut and just push in it until it "clicks". If that makes sense. My 13 limited is the same

 

[Inglewood Jack]

I just went from a '04 Eddie Bauer to a '14 Limited. It's mainly my wife's car, but the things I dislike in comparison so far are:
High door sills - make getting in more difficult, especially since the '04 had running boards.
One piece lift gate - loved the dual rear hatch on the earlier models, one of the reasons we bought the '04 instead of a minivan. The auto hatch is nice, but i'd much rather have a dual manual lift gate instead of the auto one piece.
Wiper controls - Ford needs to benchmark European cars for these. My Volvo controls are much easier to use.
Arm rests - the seat is much further from the door than before and the arm rest isn't at the right location for me. I haven't driven it on any long trips yet, but I'm sure it will be annoying once I do.
It needs to go on a diet - we're always told that they needed to go to a uni-body to reduce weight, yet the '14 is listed at over 200 lbs more than my '04 body on frame.

 

[R56 Ed]

'14 XLT

I wish it came with a locking gas cap (I bought the accessory one). I'm not worried so much about somebody siphoning gas out, but more about vandals dumping something into the tank. I park in an iffy area sometimes.

Headlights are not bright enough for me, and they throw a very strange pattern on high beam... two vertical lines of light that go from the ground up to the tree tops. WTH? That light could have been much better utilized closer to the road. And Ford doesn't offer accessory driving lamps yet.

There is too much room between the left front seat and the door... makes it darn near impossible to use the drive-up ATM. Also don't like that there's no comfortable way to rest my left arm on the window sill or arm rest when driving. And I wish the seats were a bit wider. I'm not petite, but at 240 I shouldn't be hanging over the edges of the seat. This isn't a car designed for midgets.

Biggest gripe is the navigation. The other night I had to find a hospital in Washington DC in a hurry, and the nav was useless. It often thought I was several blocks away from my actual location. And FYI, there were no tall buildings blocking the signal. Had to use my cell phone GPS to find the place. The GPS even gets 'lost' out in the country.

All that said, I still love this thing. By far the most comfortable ride I've owned over the past 40+ years. Like most vehicles, it's a compromise, but for me it's a good one.

 

[bburzycki]

Most of this is repeat but what the hell:

'14 Sport

13. Sport wheel paint chips

14. Paint bumps on hood...

15. Cross traffic alert system has a TON of false positives. Pretty much every day that I back out of my garage I am alerted to cars coming from left and/or right - it's never been correct. It does work out on the street fairly well BUT still a lot of false positives coming out of parking spots or parallel parking etc, makes it hard to trust.

Ford is replacing my chipped rims..

Paint bumps - do these looks like the hood paint is bubbling - I have that in at least 2 places.. maybe three and I think its actually getting worse as time goes on..

I have definitely seen this back up cross traffic issue.. I have sworn at the system several times as there was literally nothing behind me..

 

[walterhudson]

Piss poor head lights and no HID option on the Sport...can get HIDs on the Flex, Limited and standard on the SHO...makes no sense

 

[Hammertime3]

I agree with what several others have said. Way too much room between the driver's seat and the door. I guess I'm old fashioned, but I still like to rest my left arm up on the window sill and drive that way, at least for a while. This design negates that almost all together. The driver side arm rest is so low it's useless. It's virtually impossible to rest your left arm on it and drive left handed. I'm thinking of having my local auto upholsterer make a small padded arm rest that I could velcro to the door in case I want to take a trip that would require several hours driving.

As I said in another post some time back, it's inconvievable that Ford would make a car with so many options that some people, including me, would never use, and fail to put a garage door opener in some Explorer models. I suppose some models come with it, but mine did not. They include all kinds of things in the tech systems that I don't care about, and exclude something that I would use about six times a day, every day.

It's picky, but a steering wheel that will not stay exactly straight across irks the heck out of me. Mine is now slightly to right and I don't know how it got that way. I have my tires rotated every oil change...I don't know if that means anything or not. How do you correct this? I can't believe the car is out of line or something after only 21K.

I do like the car as much as any other I've had. I've had many compliments on the style and color (red) and I would probably buy another if the door problem was addressed.

 

[peterk9]

I agree with what several others have said. Way too much room between the driver's seat and the door. I guess I'm old fashioned, but I still like to rest my left arm up on the window sill and drive that way, at least for a while. This design negates that almost all together. The driver side arm rest is so low it's useless. It's virtually impossible to rest your left arm on it and drive left handed. I'm thinking of having my local auto upholsterer make a small padded arm rest that I could velcro to the door in case I want to take a trip that would require several hours driving.

As I said in another post some time back, it's inconvievable that Ford would make a car with so many options that some people, including me, would never use, and fail to put a garage door opener in some Explorer models. I suppose some models come with it, but mine did not. They include all kinds of things in the tech systems that I don't care about, and exclude something that I would use about six times a day, every day.

It's picky, but a steering wheel that will not stay exactly straight across irks the heck out of me. Mine is now slightly to right and I don't know how it got that way. I have my tires rotated every oil change...I don't know if that means anything or not. How do you correct this? I can't believe the car is out of line or something after only 21K.

I do like the car as much as any other I've had. I've had many compliments on the style and color (red) and I would probably buy another if the door problem was addressed.

I mostly drive with my left hand on the wheel because for some reason my right seems to end up resting on the gear shift. I just rest my left hand on my thigh and don't find it an issue. In fact I had to go out and sit in the vehicle to check this. I too found the armrest to be over too far initially but don't even notice it anymore. The window sill doesn't seem any higher than what was in my '09 Highlander. I can rest my arm on the sill but it isn't the most comfortable position and I'm 5'9" (USED TO BE 5' 10.5"). As for the steering wheel, I think that can usually be straightened when an alignment is done but they may also be able to do it other ways. I believe there is a post on it. My alignment (rear wheels) was off at 5500 miles. My Highlanders also seemed to require early alignments. My dealer does a free alignment check every time I bring it in for service.

Peter

 

[13.]

So I'm guessing no one has tried putting a 11' or longer kayak on the roof, then tried opening the tailgate?

Who would have thought that the spoiler did more than just keep your back window dirty? It's also a door stop.

My only other gripe is the hood prop rod. Seriously Ford? A prop rod? It's a $40k SUV. Not a ####ing '93 Escort.

 

[grrtrainman]

... this has been mentioned before, but I would love to have a switch that disables the interior lights, (like when you'll have the doors open for an extended time while loading). Yes, I know all about the "time out" after a few minutes, but I'd still like that option.

 

[TexasExplorer3]

I may be an outlier here but this is my 3rd EX (1992, 2000, 2013) and IMO the best of the bunch. I would like better MPG but who wouldn't with gas >$3? We have 10K miles on the vehicle and other than the fuel module recall and a flat tire, NO MAJOR PROBLEMS! I have been driving vehicles for over 50 years and my 2013 EX LTD is the best yet. Good job Ford.

 

[Quicksilver]

I may be an outlier here but this is my 3rd EX (1992, 2000, 2013) and IMO the best of the bunch. I would like better MPG but who wouldn't with gas >$3? We have 10K miles on the vehicle and other than the fuel module recall and a flat tire, NO MAJOR PROBLEMS! I have been driving vehicles for over 50 years and my 2013 EX LTD is the best yet. Good job Ford.

As the OP here I'm not saying that I don't love dozens of things about my '14 Explorer Sport because I do, heck it won me over enough that it is my first Ford product EVER This thread is just a spot to address the little things we wish Ford woulda/shoulda/coulda done to make it a better ownership experience for us. Who knows, maybe Ford is even *listening* to some of these points