2025 Ford Explorer driver assistance problems

Filed Oct 20, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · VA

On October 19, 2026, I experienced a serious braking malfunction while driving my 2025 Ford Explorer ST at highway speed. While my foot was on the accelerator, the vehicle unexpectedly began braking repeatedly without me pressing the brake pedal. The vehicle jerked and pulsated as though the ABS was activating. When I attempted to brake, the pedal felt unusually loose and did not immediately respond to the pressure I applied. I eventually managed to slow down and pull onto the highway shoulder. This created a dangerous situation that put me and other motorists at risk. Multiple warnings appeared, including Anti-Lock Brake System Fault, Electronic Parking Brake, Pre-Collision Assist Not Available, and Powertrain Malfunction/Reduced Power. The dashboard also displayed “Park Brake Not Applied,” although I had not activated the parking brake. FordPass reported that the ABS control module was sending invalid information to other vehicle modules and that the electronic parking brake had a fault. This was the second nearly identical incident. On September 29, 2026, I experienced similar unexpected braking and difficulty controlling the brakes. The dealership diagnosed a software glitch and charged approximately $690 for a system reboot and update, which they stated was not covered under warranty. Despite that repair, the dangerous braking malfunction returned less than three weeks later. The vehicle was towed back to the Ford dealership on October 19 and is awaiting further diagnosis. I am concerned about this recurring braking malfunction and the risk of a serious collision. I request that the federal safety agency investigate this potential safety defect.

Filed Oct 15, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · GA · 1 injury

I was driving at approximately 5mph when my car suddenly slammed on breaks. The pre collision warning popped up. There was no obstical in site. Happened approximately 30 mins ago. Had immediate pain in my shoulder, neck and head.

Filed Sep 18, 2026 · Driver assistance · IN

I was making a left hand turn with incoming traffic. I had pleanty of time to make the turn. Next thing I know my forward pre collision alarm goes off, locks up breaks, alarms started going off. It only lasted a couple seconds, but that’s all it takes to killed.

Filed Jun 28, 2026 · Driver assistance · GA

I took my explorer in on 4-20-2026 for routine maintenance. The ford dealership perform a IPMA update. In the result the update fail and cause front, rear cameras, blind spot, lane assist, front collision, and parking sensors to fail and not work. The dealership informed they contacted ford headquarters but they have no ETA on a solution. The dearlership allowed me to leave in the vehicle that I felt very unsafe in. I have call ford headquarters and filed a complaint 5-18-2026. Still no update to the solution.

Filed May 19, 2026 · Driver assistance · MI

While driving on a clear road, the vehicle suddenly applied automatic emergency braking with no obstacle present. The braking was extremely aggressive and unexpected, creating a significant rear-end collision risk and causing physical discomfort (neck strain). Immediately following the event, the vehicle displayed a “Lane Keep Assist Off” message. There were no other vehicles around me at the time, so there was not a risk of a collision this time. However, it could have caused an accident if someone was behind me. Also, the sudden braking could have easily caused me to loose control of the vehicle. I am also concerned because my vehicle has already had Recall 26S21 performed (related to the camera/ADAS system). I took the vehicle to the dealer and said Ford is working on a fix for the 4th quarter this year, but not sure what to do in the meantime.

Filed Apr 3, 2026 · Driver assistance, Steering · MA

My 2025 Ford Explorer pulls hard to the left, the steering wheel feels heavy, stiff, and gets hard to steer my wife and I are constantly fighting with the car to get it to steer right and stay in the lane. If I let it, I can keep the steering wheel straight and the car will just veer to the left Into the left lane, it’s dangerous, my wife won’t even drive it anymore. Then there are times while driving on curvy roads, the wheel or the cars steering will get stuck and if I wanted to, it will stay turning on its own around corners or curves. Also when we take a turn onto another street sometimes it gets stuck again, doesn’t come back like most cars do. We have had it in the shop more than 3 times for these problems. They have replaced the steering rack/gear, done alignments, but the problem still persists we are afraid that the steering is going to get stuck, that we won’t be able to pull it back into our lane and cause a major accident. We have brought it to the dealer but say they have done what they can and need direction from Ford. I don’t know if it’s related but there has been warning lights but it said it was for the parking brake. I have even been on rides with a service manager from a ford dealership and it has happened but, without an answer from ford they could not do anything. This problem has going on for months now and the dealership can’t fix it I bought it September 2nd, 2025 I can’t remember when it started exactly, October or November but it has gotten worse and worse it seems by the day. The first time we brought it in was in December 31st, 2025 that’s when the dealership changed the steering rack/steering gear I tried to upload files to this form but they are too big

Filed Feb 9, 2026 · Driver assistance · FL

The vehicle failed the inspection related to Recall 25C42. Since owning the vehicle, I have experienced repeated intermittent failures of multiple safety and driver-assistance systems, which raise serious safety concerns. The Pre-Collision Assist system has activated without any apparent reason on four separate occasions, including situations where there were no vehicles, pedestrians, or obstacles present. These unexpected activations are alarming and could increase the risk of a collision. I fear for my safety when driving the vehicle due to these unpredictable safety system activations. Additionally, the Rear Cross Traffic Alert system functions intermittently and does not activate consistently when vehicles are present, further reducing confidence in the vehicle’s safety systems. While driving, the vehicle’s phone connectivity system has disconnected unexpectedly, and during these events the GPS/navigation system became unavailable, preventing the use of turn-by-turn directions. These failures occur while the vehicle is in motion and contribute to driver distraction and safety concerns. The vehicle was inspected for Recall 25C42, and I was informed that the required repair cannot be completed because the replacement part is on backorder until June. As a result, the vehicle continues to be operated with known and unresolved safety-related defects for an extended period of time. These issues occur intermittently and without warning, making them difficult to reproduce or diagnose. Due to the ongoing malfunction of critical safety systems and the delay in recall repairs, I fear for my safety while driving this vehicle.

Filed Feb 6, 2026 · Driver assistance · WV · crash

While using Ford Blue Cruise, the Blue Cruise system failed to maintain lane control and fought the driver's steering wheel input, resulting in the vehicle colliding with a traffic cone. I have had 3 other instances where Blue Cruise has randomly jerked me toward the shoulder or an exit ramp, this is the first time colliding with anything. Only damage to the vehicle from this incident is a ripped fender well liner, there are some markings on tire sidewall but no damage. Certainly could have been worse. The cone collision happened on Interstate 79 Northbound at MM101 in West Virginia. I have had lane jerking happen with Blue Cruise twice Northbound at MM105, and once Southbound at MM118. The system is on by default, I am trying to figure out how to turn it off to prevent future safety issues.

Filed Feb 3, 2026 · Brakes, Driver assistance · NJ

Ever since I bought that vehicle, it's had system malfunctions. I received three letters directly from Ford explaining the problems this vehicle had or could have. But he and the dealerships, where I took my vehicle for repairs, never did them. They always denied that it had any problems and said that my vehicle was new and had nothing wrong with it.

Filed Jan 20, 2026 · Driver assistance · 11 miles · NY

The contact owns a 2025 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on the first day after the vehicle was purchased, the pre-collision camera failed to function as intended. The contact stated that the alarm failed to beep as intended when a person or an object was in front of or passing by the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no cause for the failure was found. A diagnostic test was performed, and it was determined that the pre-collision camera worked as designed. The contact stated that the manager at the dealer took the vehicle home and confirmed that the pre-collision camera sensor had failed to function as intended; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to Biener Ford; however, no cause for the failure was found. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving at an undisclosed speed in the snow, the message "Pre-collision Camera Blocked" was displayed. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was approximately 11.