So, it was -17 degrees the other day in minnesota and we packed our car to leave town. Went to start the vehicle and the power steering assist fault light came on. Along with service adv. Trac failure and terrain management system fault. This is not the first time it has happened, it has happened three or four times. Except usually we can shut the car off and then restart it and "walla" it works fine. Except this time:( (sad face)! I was a little worried about driving it to the ford dealer in order to have it checked out however life goes on (I'm ex military). The wife drove the f350 I drove the explorer. We "fist bumped" she wished me luck and we drove 12 miles without killing anyone. Yippee . $47.48 later they told me the computer is reading bla bla bla.. Dollar signs are going through my head. ($1910.42) is the estimate. Hmmm... Im thinking maybe there is a recall on this. I found the recall!!! So I thought! My car was a few months to new??? (what the) well, that doesn't make sense or (cents) (it does for ford) I contact the federal safety agency and ford to see if there is anything that can be done so I dont have to pay for this out of my pocket. I explained the problem to the ford consumer and told her that we need to drive this car if ford cant resolve the issue. The girl on the other end bless her heart, told me we will just have to drive it the way it is. What??? I don"t think she understood the problem at hand! What if the steering kicks in at 60 miles an hour? (umm not good)!!! Im hoping ford reads this blog and understands the problem. Please give me strength to drive this car and the reflexes it may take to avoid an accident. Thanks for nothing at the moment ford. I do believe in you!!
2013 Ford Explorer electrical complaints
Page 5 of 7: complaints 101 to 130 of 163, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The "door ajar" sensor on many ford products is defective and causes the door ajar light to come on even when the doors are closed. This also causes the interior dome lights to remain on at night and will not allow the doors to be locked while operating the vehicle. It is dangerous not being able to lock the doors as children could open the doors accidentally and fall out. It is also dangerous having the interior dome lights remain on while driving at night. Ford knows about this problem as when I took the vehicle in for repairs, they acknowledged a service bulletin is available about the problem. Because of the safety issues involved, there should be a recall on the door ajar. Battery drains quickly after getting new on within a year. Brakes also continues squeaks after getting them fixed.
Driving at 55mph on a highway my ford explorer sport 2013 completely shut off and a amber wrench came on along with 2 more warnings (terrain management system fault and service traction system light). I was able to pull over and restart the vehicle, but it did it 2-3 times the same night. Luckily I was able to get it to the dealership the same day without causing an accident. I can't imagine what would of happened on a interstate at a higher speed.
I found cracks in the door jam of the rear liftgate on the driver's side of the vehicle. Following this discovery I found floor boards soaked in water, water dripping down my 3rd row seat belt onto the floor boards and into the spare tire well. Following this my moonroof quit working. Then I received a letter regarding emissions entering the back of the vehicle and causing people to pass out and wreck their vehicles. Took the car to ford and the ford dealership won't cover the cracks in the non wrecked vehicle under the emissions warranty because they state they are unrelated. If water is getting into the back of the car through a crack then emissions probably are too.
Driver door ajar sensor remains on even though door is securely closed, even on repeat attempts to close the door. This causes the doors not to lock and allows doors to be opened even when car is in motion.
Keypad failed. 16 month old daughter was accidentally locked in stationary car while keys remained inside. The keypad, which worked previously, failed to work. The situation was so dire (as it was over 90 degrees that day) that police were called to break the window. The car was taken to local ford dealership for examination and determined that the keypad did in fact need to be replaced. Huge safety hazard as the car cannot be unlocked if accidentally locked with keys remaining inside. Keypad is the only option...we were in disbelief that it failed and want other ford explorer owners to be made aware of a possible keypad failure issue so that this doesn't happen to anyone else.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. When the contact started the vehicle, the power steering assist warning indicator illuminated and the steering wheel seized. The contact stated that the failure previously occurred while accelerating after being parked. When the contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, it reset itself. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that they were aware of the failure. The manufacturer further stated that the VIN was excluded from the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v286000 (steering). The manufacturer stated that the repair would be an out of pocket expense and, if the recall becomes extended and the VIN becomes included, the contact could possibly be reimbursed. The failure mileage was approximately 57,000.
While driving, my car's power steering and advance service trac will go out and I will have to drive without power steering until I can park and restart the vehicle. This has left me very at risk for an accident when driving due to the sudden jerk of the wheel when cornering or just going straight even.
I stopped for gas on a long drive. When I got back into the vehicle and started it no sound would come out of the speakers. All the stations were working just no sound at all.
Door ajar is on even when the door is close and alarm for this keeps going off also the inside front interior lights stay on.this in on going had it fix once and now its back again.with 24,000 miles and thousands with the same problem this should be a recall this happens when you shut vehicle off and when driving.
Door ajar warning during closed doors. After research on internet for a solution, seems, that this is on going issue with ford door latch locks.
"takata recall" I purchased a 2013 ford explorer new with 6 miles I currently have 59900 miles and driving on the highway my drivers side windshield trim flew off by itself without any damage. Thankfully did not cause an accident we only heard it flew off we didn't know it had until we stopped, and noticed this to it it still has the original windshield and I took to rich ford where I bought the car and was told it came unglued ! I have never had this issue before and have owned several pre-owned cares without anything like this happening my car interior has cracked at the seam again this is a 4 yr year old car with no other damage I just have a little tear on the driver side door where the door handel is. I have had the locks on the passenger door fixed twice it stops working due to mechanical error you have to manually lock and unlock it this is very unsafe as we know that are cars need to be locked in motion and when we park. This I have 2 separate invoice for fixed at quick lanes at rich ford in albuq,nm none of these issues have recalls on them
Passenger door ajar light remains illuminated when the door is closed. Interior lights remain on even at night causing hazardous driving conditions
Suv will indicate door is open when is not,due to faulty door latch.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. While making left or right turns, the steering wheel seized and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The dealer was notified and scheduled an appointment to inspect and diagnose the vehicle. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.
When shifting to park, the vehicle will not register that car is in park. I.e. The p will not light up and if you turn car off it will beep telling you to shift to park. In my 2001 explorer it would get stuck shifting to park as well. Seems to be a vehicle issue because both vehicles have different shifting mechanisms. Happened 6 months after I purchased it in 2015 and till does it to this day.
I was driving my 2013 ford explorer when I went to make a turn and the wheel froze without warning. The electronic power steering failed and I was told I needed to replace the steering rack and it was not covered under warranty.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. The contact stated that the front passenger and driver door failed to close correctly. The contact would close and lock the doors; however, the overhead light and the warning indicator on the instrument panel remained illuminated, which indicated that the doors were not closed. The contact had to close the door several times until the lights were no longer illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 98,000.
The driver door was closed, but the "door ajar" light was on and the interior light was on while sitting in the driveway. If we put it in gear to drive off the error comes on the dash to put the car in park. It was taken to the dealer and they did a reset on the electrical system. Then about three months it started again. The dealer is trying to charge us every time we come in with the same problem. I put the VIN in but it says no recalls, but some of the 2013 explorers have the same problem....
Driver door shows door ajar a majority of the time when door is closed. Issue was resolved once under warranty and is now happening again.
While driving my explorer will lose all power after 30-45 minutes it will restart and run fine for a day or so and then happen again. When it loses power all of the warnings will appear and the radio will still work. When I restart the vehicle it takes a minute for the engine to turn over. This is very scary and dangerous when I am driving down the highway at 70 MPH. I see there have been many complaints about this but no recall! This has also happened while driving a both 35-40 MPH on city streets and has happened a total of about six times.
The "door ajar" sensor on many ford products is defective and causes the door ajar light to come on even when the doors are closed. This also causes the interior dome lights to remain on at night and will not allow the doors to be locked while operating the vehicle. It is dangerous not being able to lock the doors as children could open the doors accidentally and fall out. It is also dangerous having the interior dome lights remain on while driving at night. Ford knows about this problem as when I took the vehicle in for repairs, they acknowledged a service bulletin is available about the problem. Because of the safety issues involved, there should be a recall on the door ajar.
Door ajar light comes on randomly in my pi explorer. It goes away after a while. It comes on while in motion and while still. May be a faulty sensor in the door. This needs a recall. Looked high and low for a fix and noticed that many have this issue. Most people with this issue probably don't even know to post this information/issue here. This problem could potentially be a very serious one if not addressed/recalled.
Door ajar light stays on due to a defect switch assembly located in the driver's door. Ford fixed it once while under warranty. I began acting up again shortly after it went out of warranty. It's an extremely common problem and they should fix it for their customers on their dime and not the customer's.
My car regularly shows that the driver door is ajar. It will not register that it closes, and will not allow me to lock the door. This happens on a daily basis for no apparent reason and I must repeatedly open and shut the door indefinitely until it finally registers that the door is closed. This faulty door sensor/latch issue has been recalled on other ford models but not the explorer yet to my knowledge. It happens when the vehicle is both parked and in motion. I noted the most recent date on the calendar but this has been happening for several months now.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. The contact stated that the driver's side door sensor failed to function properly, and the internal lighting remained illuminated and drained the battery. The chime sounded each time the failure occurred, which indicated that the door may be open when it was closed. The vehicle was taken to the one dealer twice and the sensors were cleaned. Within a year of the first repair, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, but the contact was uncertain if the dealer cleaned or replaced the sensor. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact to take the vehicle to the first dealer again and then a second dealer for further diagnostic testing. The contact was waiting for a response from the manufacturer. The VIN and failure mileage were not available.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. While attempting to accelerate above 30 MPH with the air conditioner activated, the vehicle filled up with carbon dioxide fumes. The dealer was unable to diagnose the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired and the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 77,370.
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. While driving at various speeds, the steering became very difficult to control. When the contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, the steering resumed normal operation. The dealer stated that the VIN was excluded from the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v286000 (steering). While driving various speeds, the windshield would vibrate and the ambient lighting would default to white on the instrument panel, which hindered the contact's visibility of all the gauges. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 40,000.
Driver side door ajar switch is malfunctioning. Dash display and warning chimes warning me that the door is open when its closed. **this should be a recall because of the hundreds of people that are experiencing this. Hard to find aftermarket parts and ford dealers want $475 to fix it! B.s.!!! Recall it. Losing faith in ford! Sad!
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. Every time the key was in the ignition switch, the door ajar and driver switch to park warning indicators illuminated. Also, the chime sounded when the door was closed. The contact stated that the same failure occurred every day for the past two weeks. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.
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