The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle jerked. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the coil and the water pump needed to be replaced. The coil was replaced; however, the water pump was not replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
2017 Ford Explorer engine complaints
Page 6 of 11: complaints 131 to 160 of 305, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Water pump failure. Engine light came on. By the time I could pull off the freeway (1 minute) the engine had stalled and the car wouldn't start. Towed to repair shop and learned the pump failure had allowed water and oil to mix throughout the engine. Metal shavings were found in the engine. Engine had to be replaced. Total cost before the vehicle was ready: over $11,000
I noticed that I had to refill the coolant/water on my car because it was low. When I got out of my work I noticed there was water on the floor, but I didn't think of anything because my car was doing fine. When I was almost home I noticed the car fans were like trying to compensate for the heat, but when I look at my dash. My car was overheating with the engine light. I parked it and noticed the water I put this morning was all gone and the car was still leaking. Come to find out it was the water pump and the engine.
2017 Ford Explorer with 114,000 miles. Engine coolant light came on while driving. The car was taken to a Ford Dealer and diagnosed with a failed water pump. As the water pump is installed inside of the engine this is now a major repair and if not caught early, can cause permanent damage to the engine. This failure can cause the engine to stop leaving you stranded. Currently having the engine repaired at Ford Auto Nation in Tustin Ca.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the vehicle was shaking violently. The contact stated that the engine failed to turn over after several attempts while starting the vehicle. There was an abnormal rotten and sulfur odor entering the cabin of the vehicle from the front end of the vehicle. The vehicle was overheating with the check engine warning light illuminated. The catalytic converter had failed due to oil leaking from the turbo charger onto the catalytic converter. The contact was informed that the catalytic converter and turbo charger needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact became aware of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 16V925000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 155,000. The consumer is requesting that their VIN be included in the recall that applies to the turbo charger failure. The vehicle has not been repaired.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer for routine maintenance and was informed by the service technician that the water pump was leaking coolant into an engine cylinder. The contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 60,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH and attempting to accelerate uphill, the vehicle lost motive power with difficulty while shifting gears. After a visual inspection, the contact observed excessive amounts of fumes coming from the exhaust. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the engine was extremely low on oil due to excessive oil consumption. Additionally, the turbocharger had failed. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, and the diagnostic test result was confirmed. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 16V925000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but was unable to provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 103,000.
Coolant was found to be infiltrating cylinders 2 & 3 of the engine. The engine was idling roughly and just about died before the check engine light came on. The service center did a pressure check and used a bore scope to confirm that there was coolant in the cylinders. My understanding of this problem is that the engine begins to misfire as coolant and oil mix and the cylinder walls start and other components deteriorate. When deterioration is bad enough the engine can quit. This can happen at any time including at high speeds on the highway. I'm not totally sure how long the rough idling had been going on, but the incident where the engine almost died and the check engine light came on was at about 80,000 miles. My guess is that the rough idling started around 70,000 miles -- give or take. Ford has not yet done a diagnostic teardown to determine how the coolant is infiltrating the cylinders, but it is a known problem for other sizes of the Ecoboost engine. I have the 2.3L Ecoboost. There was a recall on the 1.6L Ecoboost and there is a class action lawsuit for the 1.5L, 1.6L, and 2.0L versions of the engine.
The water pump went bad which cost me 1500 dollars and the shop whom done it had replaced 15 water pumps on the exact make and model car as mine this year!
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65-70 MPH, the engine seized. The contact was able to veer to the side of the roadway. The contact stated that upon attempting to restart the vehicle, the message "No Oil Pressure" was displayed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the head gasket was blown, causing coolant and oil to mix. The dealer diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 141,000.
Overheating warning illuminated, resulted in vehicle shutting down while briefly pulling over in a parking lot to get directions to a specific hospital entrance. Stop to shut down, about 1 min. This has occurred a total of 7 other times over the course of the last 12 months, beginning with the first one in july of 2022. My wife was idling while awaiting to pick up the kids from a gymnastics class. Overheating warning illuminated, resulting in the vehicle shutting down. A mechanic we know was also there awaiting his children and discovered very low coolant level. It was filled & things seemed fine until this spring, where it is a bi-weekly occurrence. Coolant bottles are on stand-by as we have no other option. Even if the water pump is failing, this is all we have to work with. Our other vehicle just shut down mid-drive in march. It was towed to the mechanic. Here we are nearly 5 months later and he doesn’t have a guess at what the problem might actually be. That vehicle, a 2012 ford focus se.
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.
When driving the vehicle, it displayed a dashboard message "Engine Coolant Over Temperature". The vehicle was brought to the local Ford dealer where it is routinely serviced. Grapevine Ford identified that the water pump needed replacing. The part was $419 but it required 14 hours of labor to install it for a labor charge of $3,425. While the part failure isn't common but it can happen, 14 hours of labor to replace it is the real issue This is clearly an extremely serious design issue. What can the consumer do? A vehicle is needed & the repair was authorized. Reviewing the federal safety agency website, multiple similar complaints were found. However, none of them referenced the extremely high labor charge to replace the water pump, which is the real issue.
For the third time in six months I had an unintended acceleration when stopped and shifting from drive to reverse or the other way. The rpm’s go way up, if I didn’t have my foot on the brake the vehicle may have crashed, injured someone, etc. Ford dealer was not helpful at all, saying they had no prior reports. I had same problem on previous Explorer but traded it in.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where the vehicle was diagnosed, and it was determined that the head gasket had blown/failed coolant leaked into cylinder # 4. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Ford Corporate was contacted and informed of the problem as dealership did not manufacture the vehicle. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with TSB: 19-2346; however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.
Car overheating, coolant holder looks empty, I added coolant and it overflowed. Once I opened the air tank all the coolant came up from below and over flowed. Took to Ford of West Covina and they said I have a water pump leak. Yet I see no leaking ever in my garage or driveway. Car is fairly new and I always take it to get serviced on time and I am very caring to my cars. I took my car for service on 2/23/2023 to Ford of West Covina where I have always gone to and they didn’t tell me anything was wrong with my vehicle, but now looking at the after visit summary paper work it says coolant leak. The service team told me my vehicle was in good condition when I picked my car up.
2017 Ford Explorer 92,361 miles. Car started over heating going 45 miles per hour. Pulled over and then had car towed to the mechanic. Mechanic said water pump was done and coolant had leaked in to the engine and engine was destroyed. Car needs a whole new engine replacement. This is happening with many Ford Explorers and Ford refuses to recall them or do anything about it!
1 week ago the check engine light came on as the car was very heated. Coolant was used and the warning went off. A few days later the car was taken to have an oil change and we realized the coolant level was low and there was old coolant fluid dried onto the underneath of the car and a bead of coolant seen. The car was taken to the garage and a leak was found in the water pump, with coolant leaking from the seep whole. The water pump is located underneath the engine which requires an expensive long process to remove the engine and other parts to fix. The car is only 6 years old with 83K miles and a major component has failed which can not be easily accessed. The water pump has now been moved to another location in more recent models. There is a class law suit in process involving many people to address this design flaw and safety hazard. One website alone has over 100 people complaining about this issue with many cars seizing completely on roads whilst in use. There is no recall currently for this problem but dealerships, auto shops are aware of the problem.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the engine overheating message was displayed on the instrument panel. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that the coolant level was low, and added coolant to the reservoir. The vehicle was taken to two independent mechanics and was informed that the water pump had failed, causing a coolant leak. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced unintended surging and engine revving. During the failure the driver had difficulty stopping the vehicle while depressing the brake pedal. The contact stated that the failure had occurred while driving at various speeds, and also while the vehicle was stationary and idling. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 35,000.
Own a 2017 Ford Explorer, bought new. Took into Ford today for routine maintenance, rotate tires, Oil & Filter. Vehicle has approximately 85,000 miles on it. Upon completion tech advised me they found a radiator leak towards the front of the car. When asked if it was radiator or something else, tech advised they wouldn't know until vehicle was broken down to find where leak was from. Took to independent mechanic to check the issue. Faulty water pump was found to be causing the problem. Reservoir was found empty. No warning lights ever came on. Repairs are being done and am notifying Ford.
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.
My suv begin to run hot and instantly water begins to boil and I was trying to pull off the road immediately.with no warning from the forward collision as a car hit me. Got a quote from many dealerships or mechanics who says that the water pump failed and is a common problem with my suv and it quoted 2500 with a two week time frame because the water pump is built inside the engine no one wants to work on it due to risk. Help!
Both turbos failed and so did the water pump. Less than 90,000 miles. When the turbos failed, there was smoke from the tailpipes. Then there was noise under the hood. When the water pump failed, there was water leaking under the vehicle. Yes, the problem was diagnosed and fixed by the Ford dealership. One of the turbos was fixed last year. The water pump was fixed in December. The other turbo is waiting to be fixed because Ford changed the part due to manufacturing issues and we are currently going on 3 months without a vehicle. The turbos or water pump failure would have been a catastrophic engine failure at some point. Apparently this is a known issue with the 3.5L EcoBoost engines, but Ford has not issued a recall. Fortunately I have a Blue Oval Certified warranty on my Explorer, so the repair is covered. There were no lamps or warning lights during the part failures. I did not let the car overheat when the water pump was failing.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that he noticed a coolant leak coming from the water pump. The coolant level was low, so the contact added coolant. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
Need a new transmission when I need to press the gas it won’t go it like I’m just pushing the gas in park
Vehicle began overheating and repair shop advised it appears to be a water pump issue. The vehicle only has 107000 miles on it. Was quoted $2500-3000 for repair due to pump being built into the engine.
Pulled my Explorer into the driveway because the temperature gauge came on While driving up my hill. Then when pulling in the driveway there was fluid leaking throughout my driveway and then there was a big puddle. I had it towed to a local service station in my town and I just got the estimate. The water pump was no good. I have only 74,599 miles on my SUV. I just found out that in the past (2011-2016) Explorers had issues with the water pumps. I brought it to a local auto repair station because I couldn't get my explorer in for 3 weeks at a local dealership.
Internal water pump failed. Dealer indicated that it needs replacement at a cost of $4,000. This is a know issue for Ford Explorer models for multiple years going back to 2011 including the model year 2017. Ford has not recalled the vehicles with this safety issue. Vehicles can overheat and cause engine damage including my location in the Phoenix Desert.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on various occasions while the vehicle was parked, there was a fluid leak underneath the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the water pump and radiator needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and was then taken to an independent mechanic, where it remained awaiting parts for the repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 134,000.
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