2017 Ford Explorer: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Jun 15, 2026 · Engine · 86,000 miles · FL

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was smoke coming from underneath the hood with the Check Engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the road, and the contact inspected the vehicle and became aware of smoke coming from underneath the vehicle. The failure reoccurred while the contact and the contact's minor children were traveling. A nearby Police Officer assisted the contact. The contact informed the officer that the vehicle was recently purchased from a CarMax. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the nearby CarMax. The vehicle was taken to CarMax, where the vehicle was diagnosed with engine failure. The contact was informed that the engine had severe fluid leaks. The vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was shipped back to the residence a month later. The failure reoccurred and was a persistent failure. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken back to CarMax twelve times due to the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 86,000.

Filed Aug 7, 2025 · Engine · 110,000 miles · DE

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was driving roughly, with white exhaust smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who diagnosed that there was coolant intrusion in the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 110,000.

Filed Apr 28, 2025 · Engine · 65,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the contact became aware that there was white smoke coming from the exhaust. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the turbocharger oil supply tubes had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

Filed Apr 18, 2025 · Engine · MD

The engine did not start and had a burning smell coming out. The SUV was towed to a Ford dealer to find out the engine block has to be replace. The SUV has been well maintain through out the years of ownership. It has 84000.00 miles on it. After some research, my SUV is not the only one that this has happened. It seems FORD explorer with an ecoboost engine have this issue. 2017 Ford Explore with an EcoBoost engine-ENGINE LONG BLOCK AND RETESTING (VERIFIED CONCERN AND PERFORMED DIAGNOSIS, FOUND COOLANT BOTTLE EMPTY AND ENGINE TO NOT CRANK BUT WHEN TURNING KEY THE ENGINE ATTEMPTS TO CRANK BUT STOPS, HAND VERIFIED THAT CRANK SHAFT WAS LOCKED AND FOUND HYDRO-LOCKED ENGINE DUE TO COOLANT INTRUSION) Fail $11,690.90

Filed Mar 18, 2025 · Engine · 165,000 miles · OK

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, there was an abnormal amount of white smoke coming from the engine and the exhaust. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where the vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the turbo and the engine had experienced coolant intrusion and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 16V925000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING) as a possible cause for the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 165,000.

Filed Nov 6, 2024 · Engine · 91,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an excessive amount of white smoke coming from the exhaust. The driver pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the turbo charger. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the two turbo chargers had previously been replaced 16,000 miles prior to the failure. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 16V925000 (Engine and Engine Cooling); but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the federal safety agency hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 91,000.

Filed Oct 28, 2024 · Engine · 100,685 miles · OH

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact noticed smoke coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened and the contact was referred to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 100,685.

Filed Aug 10, 2024 · Electrical · CO · fire

We notice we were getting a warning about our battery about a year ago, so we took it to Ford and they said they couldn’t find any issues. We found a mechanic in town who looked at it with a volt meter an instantly noticed that the red power cable coming from the battery had burst through the casing that once held it. Now we have an exposed power cable that could potentially catch on fire if fluids from the engine were exposed to it. We first knew something was wrong when the doors would not unlock properly. And while driving we would get a battery warning. Ford told us during our warranty period that they didn’t find anything wrong when this should have been noticed instantly. This is a serious fire hazard. The vehicle was inspected by the manufacturer but a lack of knowledge by their mechanics has led to us filling this report.

Filed Mar 5, 2024 · Engine · 131,178 miles · MD · fire

On Friday March 1, 2024 approximately 10:30pm. My SUV caught on fire while parked and off.

Filed Jul 13, 2023 · Engine · 90,000 miles · GA

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she noticed a thick cloud of gray smoke coming from the exhaust pipe and that had spread throughout the neighborhood. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that an unknown fluid had leaked into the engine. The contact was informed that the turbo charger oil supply tubes needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon research, the contact referenced the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 16V925000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) then notified the undisclosed dealer of the failure and the recall. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the recall and advised the contact to notify the manufacturer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.

Filed Apr 26, 2023 · Engine · 103,715 miles · NC

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH from a complete stop, and depressing the accelerator pedal, there was a significant amount of white smoke coming out the exhaust pipes. The contact stated that upon attempting to make a U-turn to return to the residence, the smoke impaired her visibility of the other vehicles, and a truck nearly crashed into the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact returned to her lane and continued driving straight forward. The contact then pulled into a gas station and parked the vehicle. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed a trail of oil from the front driver's side wheel to the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the driver's side turbo charger had fractured and had leaked oil into the catalytic converter, the O2 sensors. The mechanic informed the contact that the the oil was also coming out of the exhaust pipes and spattered on the rear windows. The mechanic diagnosed that the driver's side turbo charger, the catalytic converter, the O2 sensors needed to be replaced. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle could not be repaired under the federal safety agency Campaign Number:Â 16V925000Â (Engine And Engine Cooling) as the VIN was included. The manufacturer referred the contact to the federal safety agency hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 103,715.

Filed Jan 19, 2023 · Engine · 94,000 miles · OH

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she noticed a bluish-gray cloud of smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to maneuver the vehicle off the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the turbocharger leaked on the engine and the turbocharger tubes needed to be replaced. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 16V925000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was advised to call the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.