- The problem
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025-2026 Explorer, Ranger, and Bronco vehicles. The engine may fail, which can result in a loss of drive power.
- The risk
- A sudden loss of drive power can increase the risk of a crash.
- The fix
- Dealers will replace the engine long block, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 23, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S35. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on May 28, 2026.
Engine & cooling
2025 Ford Explorer Engine problems
Owners have filed 10 complaints about the 2025 Ford Explorer's engine & cooling with NHTSA - 9% of all its complaints, most recently on November 4, 2026. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.
- Complaints
- 10
- Recalls
- 3
- Crashes
- 0
- Fires
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Deaths
- 0
Engine recalls for the 2025 Ford Explorer
- The problem
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025 Ranger, Lincoln Nautilus, Mustang, Maverick, Explorer, Escape, Lincoln Corsair, Bronco Sport, and Bronco vehicles. The exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve may fail, resulting in an unexpected loss of drive power.
- The risk
- An unexpected loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
- The fix
- Dealers will replace the EGR valves, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed July 31, 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S10. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on March 4, 2026.
- The problem
- Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025 Transit, F-150, and Explorer vehicles. The connecting rod and rod bearing components may have manufacturing defects that can lead to engine damage and engine failure.
- The risk
- A damaged engine can result in engine failure and a stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
- The fix
- Dealers will inspect the connecting rods and replace the engine long block assembly as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 15, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25S55.
Engine complaints
I was driving on a highway route on October 24, 2026 with my toddler and mother in the car. I stopped at a red light. While stopped my car lost complete power and could not be restarted (no buttons worked, lock/unlock, start button/ hazard lights etc). The police had to be contacted as even my hazard lights would not activate. The police officer and the tow truck driver attempted to start my car and failed, the car could also not be put in neutral to be towed. The car was then towed the closest ford dealer which...
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kept my car for one full week. I was told the problem could not be duplicated and the car was returned to me with no repairs. Prior to this occurring there had been no warning lights on the dash board or otherwise. I find this unacceptable as this incident could have ended catastrophically and can happen again at any time.
At approximately 17,000 miles the Explorer started misfiring, would not shift out of gear and check engine light would flash. Dealer replaced #1 spark plug. 1 week later the car misfiring occurred again, where #4 spark plug was replaced. 18,300 miles later, #1 and #3 spark plugs were replaced due to cracked spark plugs which caused misfire. All instances happened under engine load while merging onto freeway which caused a hazard due to lack of acceleration and reduced speed while getting onto freeway.
The contact owns a 2025 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V122000 (Engine and Engine Cooling). The contact scheduled an appointment at the local dealer after being notified of the recall. The dealer initially stated that the part would be available within a week, but the contact was subsequently informed that the part was on backorder and there was no estimated date when the part would be available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure.
I am reporting a severe safety hazard regarding an immediate, drastic increase in fuel consumption and erratic fuel range calculations following a manufacturer recall repair. My 2025 Ford Explorer ST-Line was operating perfectly until a Ford Mobile Service technician performed safety recall 26S21 (IPMA Reset). According to official Ford manufacturer specifications, this SUV has an expected driving range of up to 501 miles on a full 17.9-gallon tank of fuel. However, immediately following this software update, the...
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vehicle's total driving range drastically dropped. On a 100% full tank of gasoline, the dashboard's "Distance to Empty" (DTE) display now only reads 316 miles left to empty - nearly 200 miles below the manufacturer's expected capability. Furthermore, during a subsequent continuous, short 1.8-mile drive near my residence with no stop-and-go traffic, the DTE display rapidly plummeted from 15 miles down to 5 miles remaining, dropping visibly every two seconds. The vehicle is physically burning through gasoline at an accelerated, unsafe rate. This creates an immediate safety risk. If the vehicle is suffering from an uncalibrated software glitch in the powertrain/fuel modules due to the recall update, or if the procedure triggered a mechanical fault, the vehicle is at high risk of a sudden highway stall or leaving the driver stranded in live traffic due to inaccurate fuel signaling. I request that NHTSA look into whether the software installation process for recall 26S21 can corrupt engine/fuel management maps or trigger fuel delivery faults on the 2.3L EcoBoost platform.
The contact owns a 2025 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle started shaking violently. The check engine warning light came on, and the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The contact used a scanner to identify an error code. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and drove to the residence while driving 20 MPH with the vehicle shaking abnormally. Upon arriving at the residence, the vehicle lost power. The contact called Ford Customer Service and spoke...
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with a Ford Roadside Assistance representative to retrieve the vehicle from the residence. An appointment was scheduled for the dealer to pick up the vehicle at the residence. The vehicle was taken to Ciocco Ford, but was not diagnosed or repaired; however, the spark plugs were replaced but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 9,000.
I am writing to formally report a series of catastrophic and life-threatening mechanical and electronic failures in my 2025 Ford Explorer Active (VIN: [[redacted]] ]), purchased in Bogotá, Colombia. Despite immediately notifying the Ford Post-Sales Support Line after the first incident, the technical response was insufficient, leading to a second, more severe event that nearly resulted in a fatal high-speed collision on February 9, 2026. Incidents Summary: 1. Total Power Loss: Engine and all electrical systems...
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shut down while in motion (40 km/h), losing steering and braking assistance. 2. Brake System Failure: At 70 km/h, The vehicle presented a multi-system failure of sensors, audible alarm and illumination of warning lights (ABS, Traction Control, Pre-collision Assistant, hill start assist not available, check brake system, BRAKE, ESC check, driving modes not available). the vehicle experienced a total loss of brake pedal response followed by a sudden, uncontrolled autonomous "hard braking" event. This happened on a high-traffic highway (Autopista Norte). Global Safety Concern: I am formally requesting a Global Technical Investigation into this unit and the 2025 Explorer Active series. The failure of the electronic brake booster and the total system shutdown represent a "Product Liability" risk that could lead to mass-casualty events. I demand: • Direct intervention from Ford Global to Ford Colombia. • A formal safety alert or recall investigation for similar units. Sincerely, [[redacted]] MAIL [[redacted]] bogota colombia phone [[redacted]] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
12 V Battery continues to die and I've had the car less than a year. On [[redacted]] the battery was dead. Our neighbor put it on his supercharger. On [[redacted]] the 12V battery low light came on while I was driving 30 miles away. It went off the next day and reappeared on Thursday [[redacted]] disappeared on Friday and back on Saturday. I called the Future Ford on Monday and technician [[redacted]] said it only showed 15% charge. I took it in to the dealership and it was kept over night and the next day he said...
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it was charged to 90%. I was not happy with the "you can come and get it". I told him I'm a [[redacted]] and bought this car so I wouldn't breakdown and now I don't feel safe with it. He checked the charge again while we were on the phone and he said it dropped to 80%. He said thats not good it will probably need a new battery. That evening he text and said it is fully charged and I can come get it without a new battery. I was not happy as I've received no reason for why it was losing charge. So I did some research on my on and text him back that evening. I told him about my research and found this was an ongoing problem and that they need to find out what is causing the draining issue. I'm sure the dealership had to know as there was a recall for this issue. I suggested a Parasitic test, or software glitch issues to check. He said they would run the parasitic test.. He said it would take several days. I checked back on 12/4/25 and he said No Progress today. I told him I want a copy of all the test run. Wouldn't you know it he gets right back to me saying a handful of modules need updated software. That they will attend them this morning. I think they were trying to get out of the fix as my warranty runs out this month. Why are only certain vehicles being recalled (mine not one of them), when they all should be recalled. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
My 2025 Ford Explorer ST-Line is up to date on recalls as of October 7, 2025. However, I am still experiencing engine "shudder" and hesitation at low RPMs (between idle and 1500 RPM) when accelerating. The 10 speed transmission is also continuing to shift harshly at times. I am very concerned that the hesitation and shudder could be an issue when pulling out into traffic. By comparison, my previous 2017 Explorer did not exhibit this behavior, whichh I consider disconcerting. Also, this car (and all 2025...
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Explorer models ) injects Fake Engine Noise into the audio speakers to make the 2.5L engine sound more powerful. These fake "bass tones" are disturbing to some passengers with hearing aides, and per Ford's website there is no way to disable the fake noise. Thus, some people with a hearing disability cannot ride in my car without removing their hearing aides. It should be unacceptable to not be able to disable that feature. Note updated form dated 8/1/25 states Fake Noise cannot be turned off.
6/2/25 tried to start vehicle, codes coming up and car would not start 6/6/25 car was in park running, starting chiming with alarms, the same alarms that came up a few days before.
While driving on an interstate with my children, my automatic braking system decided their was something in front of my car when there wasn't and slammed on the brakes. There was a semi truck behind us and it almost hit us. Took it to the dealer and all they did was shut the feature off for automatic braking. The interior screens have been reprogrammed twice to fix glitches. the rear hatch has been reprogrammed. The windows continue to randomly roll up and down on their own. My engine decided to not start for an hr before randomly turning on for no reason. And to top it all off the windshield washer fluid no longer wants to work.
Ford Explorer engine complaints by year
Explorer engine problems, every yearSource: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data