2013 FORD EXPLORER — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 2,228 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (750 complaints · 33.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 44
  • Fires 11
  • Injuries 61
  • Deaths 1
Compare with 2012 →
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 STEERING appears in 750 of 2,228 owner complaints (33.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 750 complaints, 33.7% of reports STEERING 750 · 33.7% · 10 crash reports 1 fire reports STRUCTURE: 368 complaints, 16.5% of reports STRUCTURE 368 · 16.5% · 3 crash reports ENGINE: 200 complaints, 9.0% of reports ENGINE 200 · 9.0% · 3 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 108 complaints, 4.8% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 108 · 4.8% · 1 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 86 complaints, 3.9% of reports POWER TRAIN 86 · 3.9% · 8 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 83 complaints, 3.7% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 83 · 3.7% · 1 fire reports SUSPENSION: 64 complaints, 2.9% of reports SUSPENSION 64 · 2.9% · 3 crash reports VISIBILITY: 49 complaints, 2.2% of reports VISIBILITY 49 · 2.2% BACK OVER PREVENTION: 34 complaints, 1.5% of reports BACK OVER PREVENTION 34 · 1.5% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 693 complaints, 31.1% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 693 · 31.1% · 14 crash reports 7 fire 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)
STEERING 750 33.7% 10 crashes · 1 fires
STRUCTURE 368 16.5% 3 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 200 9.0% 0 crashes · 3 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 108 4.8% 1 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 86 3.9% 8 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 83 3.7% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SUSPENSION 64 2.9% 3 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 49 2.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
BACK OVER PREVENTION 34 1.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 693 31.1% 14 crashes · 7 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 Jul 2012. 2012-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2012-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2013-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2013-Q3: 22 owner reports 22 2013-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2014-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2014-Q2: 21 owner reports 21 2014-Q3: 25 owner reports 25 2014-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2015-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2015-Q2: 21 owner reports 21 2015-Q3: 26 owner reports 26 2015-Q4: 29 owner reports 29 2016-Q1: 32 owner reports 32 2016-Q2: 38 owner reports 38 2016-Q3: 78 owner reports 78 2016-Q4: 42 owner reports 42 2017-Q1: 84 owner reports 84 2017-Q2: 43 owner reports 43 2017-Q3: 90 owner reports 90 2017-Q4: 46 owner reports 46 2018-Q1: 64 owner reports 64 2018-Q2: 30 owner reports 30 2018-Q3: 56 owner reports 56 2018-Q4: 53 owner reports 53 2019-Q1: 66 owner reports 66 2019-Q2: 69 owner reports 69 2019-Q3: 95 owner reports 95 2019-Q4: 59 owner reports 59 2020-Q1: 42 owner reports 42 2020-Q2: 29 owner reports 29 2020-Q3: 32 owner reports 32 2020-Q4: 44 owner reports 44 2021-Q1: 30 owner reports 30 2021-Q2: 27 owner reports 27 2021-Q3: 51 owner reports 51 2021-Q4: 20 owner reports 20 2022-Q1: 32 owner reports 32 2022-Q2: 36 owner reports 36 2022-Q3: 40 owner reports 40 2022-Q4: 20 owner reports 20 2023-Q1: 70 owner reports 70 2023-Q2: 43 owner reports 43 2023-Q3: 59 owner reports 59 2023-Q4: 40 owner reports 40 2024-Q1: 42 owner reports 42 2024-Q2: 44 owner reports 44 2024-Q3: 38 owner reports 38 2024-Q4: 41 owner reports 41 2025-Q1: 65 owner reports 65 2025-Q2: 51 owner reports 51 2025-Q3: 73 owner reports 73 2025-Q4: 31 owner reports 31 2026-Q1: 27 owner reports 27 2026-Q2: 19 owner reports 19 2026-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 Owner reports Jun 2012 Jul 2026 Investigation PE12017 ● Investigation PE12017 Investigation PE14027 ● Investigation PE14027 Investigation EA15005 ● Investigation EA15005 Investigation PE16008 ● Investigation PE16008 Investigation EA17002 ● Investigation EA17002 Investigation PE23001 ● Investigation PE23001
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2012-Q3 Owner reports 5
2012-Q4 Owner reports 4
2013-Q1 Owner reports 9
2013-Q2 Owner reports 20
2013-Q3 Owner reports 22
2013-Q4 Owner reports 10
2014-Q1 Owner reports 8
2014-Q2 Owner reports 21
2014-Q3 Owner reports 25
2014-Q4 Owner reports 13
2015-Q1 Owner reports 18
2015-Q2 Owner reports 21
2015-Q3 Owner reports 26
2015-Q4 Owner reports 29
2016-Q1 Owner reports 32
2016-Q2 Owner reports 38
2016-Q3 Owner reports 78
2016-Q4 Owner reports 42
2017-Q1 Owner reports 84
2017-Q2 Owner reports 43
2017-Q3 Owner reports 90
2017-Q4 Owner reports 46
2018-Q1 Owner reports 64
2018-Q2 Owner reports 30
2018-Q3 Owner reports 56
2018-Q4 Owner reports 53
2019-Q1 Owner reports 66
2019-Q2 Owner reports 69
2019-Q3 Owner reports 95
2019-Q4 Owner reports 59
2020-Q1 Owner reports 42
2020-Q2 Owner reports 29
2020-Q3 Owner reports 32
2020-Q4 Owner reports 44
2021-Q1 Owner reports 30
2021-Q2 Owner reports 27
2021-Q3 Owner reports 51
2021-Q4 Owner reports 20
2022-Q1 Owner reports 32
2022-Q2 Owner reports 36
2022-Q3 Owner reports 40
2022-Q4 Owner reports 20
2023-Q1 Owner reports 70
2023-Q2 Owner reports 43
2023-Q3 Owner reports 59
2023-Q4 Owner reports 40
2024-Q1 Owner reports 42
2024-Q2 Owner reports 44
2024-Q3 Owner reports 38
2024-Q4 Owner reports 41
2025-Q1 Owner reports 65
2025-Q2 Owner reports 51
2025-Q3 Owner reports 73
2025-Q4 Owner reports 31
2026-Q1 Owner reports 27
2026-Q2 Owner reports 19
2026-Q3 Owner reports 6
Defect investigation 1 PE12017
Defect investigation 1 PE14027
Defect investigation 1 EA15005
Defect investigation 1 PE16008
Defect investigation 1 EA17002
Defect investigation 1 PE23001
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA 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.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 2,228 complaints · page 1 of 90

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 Aug 21, 2026
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