2010 FORD EXPLORER — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 115 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: POWER TRAIN (20 complaints · 17.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 8
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 13
  • Deaths 50
Compare with 2009 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution POWER TRAIN appears in 20 of 115 owner complaints (17.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. POWER TRAIN: 20 complaints, 17.4% of reports POWER TRAIN 20 · 17.4% · 1 crash reports ENGINE: 12 complaints, 10.4% of reports ENGINE 12 · 10.4% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 11 complaints, 9.6% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11 · 9.6% · 2 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 9 complaints, 7.8% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 9 · 7.8% · 4 crash reports AIR BAGS: 6 complaints, 5.2% of reports AIR BAGS 6 · 5.2% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 6 complaints, 5.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 · 5.2% FUEL SYSTEM: 6 complaints, 5.2% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 6 · 5.2% WHEELS: 5 complaints, 4.4% of reports WHEELS 5 · 4.4% STEERING: 3 complaints, 2.6% of reports STEERING 3 · 2.6% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 43 complaints, 37.4% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 43 · 37.4% · 1 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
POWER TRAIN 20 17.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 12 10.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 11 9.6% 2 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 9 7.8% 4 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 6 5.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 6 5.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 6 5.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
WHEELS 5 4.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 3 2.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 43 37.4% 1 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2009; the first recall shown was reported in Apr 2010. 2009-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2010-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2010-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2011-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2011-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2014-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2014-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2019-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2026-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 Owner reports Oct 2009 Jan 2026 Recall campaign 10V161000 ◆ Recall campaign 10V161000 Recall campaign 10E043000 ◆ Recall campaign 10E043000 Investigation AQ10001 ● Investigation AQ10001
  • Campaign 10V161000 was reported 138 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2009-Q4 Owner reports 2
2010-Q1 Owner reports 2
2010-Q2 Owner reports 6
2010-Q3 Owner reports 10
2010-Q4 Owner reports 2
2011-Q1 Owner reports 9
2011-Q2 Owner reports 4
2011-Q3 Owner reports 3
2011-Q4 Owner reports 2
2012-Q1 Owner reports 3
2012-Q2 Owner reports 1
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2012-Q4 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 4
2014-Q2 Owner reports 2
2014-Q3 Owner reports 5
2014-Q4 Owner reports 4
2015-Q1 Owner reports 2
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 3
2016-Q1 Owner reports 2
2016-Q2 Owner reports 2
2016-Q3 Owner reports 4
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 2
2017-Q3 Owner reports 3
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 2
2018-Q3 Owner reports 2
2018-Q4 Owner reports 4
2019-Q1 Owner reports 2
2019-Q3 Owner reports 1
2020-Q2 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 2
2021-Q3 Owner reports 2
2022-Q1 Owner reports 1
2022-Q2 Owner reports 1
2022-Q4 Owner reports 2
2023-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 1
2025-Q3 Owner reports 2
2026-Q1 Owner reports 3
Recall campaign 1 10V161000
Recall campaign 1 10E043000
Defect investigation 1 AQ10001
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 10E043000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    AN IMPROPERLY DEPLOYED AIRBAG COULD RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY.
    Remedy:
    MARATHON WILL NOTIFY OWNERS OF RECORD AND REPLACE THE SEAT COVER FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT MARATHON AT 1-800-735-2769.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 10V161000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEATS
    Consequence:
    IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THE SEATBACK AND HEAD RESTRAINT MAY MOVE REARWARD, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE MANUAL RECLINERS FOR BOTH POWER AND MANUAL SEATS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE APRIL 30, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD AT 1-866-436-7332.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 115 complaints · page 1 of 5

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources