2014 FORD EXPLORER — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 1,671 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (447 complaints · 26.8%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 32
  • Fires 6
  • Injuries 38
  • Deaths 2
Compare with 2013 →
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 447 of 1,671 owner complaints (26.8%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 447 complaints, 26.8% of reports STEERING 447 · 26.8% · 4 crash reports 1 fire reports STRUCTURE: 247 complaints, 14.8% of reports STRUCTURE 247 · 14.8% ENGINE: 188 complaints, 11.3% of reports ENGINE 188 · 11.3% · 1 fire reports SUSPENSION: 85 complaints, 5.1% of reports SUSPENSION 85 · 5.1% · 6 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 62 complaints, 3.7% of reports POWER TRAIN 62 · 3.7% · 1 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 50 complaints, 3.0% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 50 · 3.0% · 2 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 39 complaints, 2.3% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 39 · 2.3% · 1 fire reports VISIBILITY: 39 complaints, 2.3% of reports VISIBILITY 39 · 2.3% AIR BAGS: 30 complaints, 1.8% of reports AIR BAGS 30 · 1.8% · 5 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 537 complaints, 32.1% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 537 · 32.1% · 12 crash reports 1 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 447 26.8% 4 crashes · 1 fires
STRUCTURE 247 14.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 188 11.3% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SUSPENSION 85 5.1% 6 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 62 3.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 50 3.0% 0 crashes · 2 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 39 2.3% 0 crashes · 1 fires
VISIBILITY 39 2.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 30 1.8% 5 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 537 32.1% 12 crashes · 1 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 2013. 2013-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2014-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2014-Q3: 29 owner reports 29 2014-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2015-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2015-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2015-Q3: 18 owner reports 18 2015-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2016-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2016-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2016-Q3: 57 owner reports 57 2016-Q4: 38 owner reports 38 2017-Q1: 76 owner reports 76 2017-Q2: 43 owner reports 43 2017-Q3: 94 owner reports 94 2017-Q4: 46 owner reports 46 2018-Q1: 30 owner reports 30 2018-Q2: 19 owner reports 19 2018-Q3: 43 owner reports 43 2018-Q4: 26 owner reports 26 2019-Q1: 37 owner reports 37 2019-Q2: 37 owner reports 37 2019-Q3: 43 owner reports 43 2019-Q4: 31 owner reports 31 2020-Q1: 22 owner reports 22 2020-Q2: 17 owner reports 17 2020-Q3: 33 owner reports 33 2020-Q4: 31 owner reports 31 2021-Q1: 25 owner reports 25 2021-Q2: 30 owner reports 30 2021-Q3: 29 owner reports 29 2021-Q4: 18 owner reports 18 2022-Q1: 21 owner reports 21 2022-Q2: 49 owner reports 49 2022-Q3: 50 owner reports 50 2022-Q4: 18 owner reports 18 2023-Q1: 67 owner reports 67 2023-Q2: 34 owner reports 34 2023-Q3: 30 owner reports 30 2023-Q4: 23 owner reports 23 2024-Q1: 35 owner reports 35 2024-Q2: 52 owner reports 52 2024-Q3: 53 owner reports 53 2024-Q4: 30 owner reports 30 2025-Q1: 65 owner reports 65 2025-Q2: 46 owner reports 46 2025-Q3: 53 owner reports 53 2025-Q4: 36 owner reports 36 2026-Q1: 29 owner reports 29 2026-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2026-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 Owner reports Jul 2013 Jul 2026 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
2013-Q3 Owner reports 3
2013-Q4 Owner reports 3
2014-Q1 Owner reports 6
2014-Q2 Owner reports 17
2014-Q3 Owner reports 29
2014-Q4 Owner reports 13
2015-Q1 Owner reports 7
2015-Q2 Owner reports 6
2015-Q3 Owner reports 18
2015-Q4 Owner reports 11
2016-Q1 Owner reports 9
2016-Q2 Owner reports 11
2016-Q3 Owner reports 57
2016-Q4 Owner reports 38
2017-Q1 Owner reports 76
2017-Q2 Owner reports 43
2017-Q3 Owner reports 94
2017-Q4 Owner reports 46
2018-Q1 Owner reports 30
2018-Q2 Owner reports 19
2018-Q3 Owner reports 43
2018-Q4 Owner reports 26
2019-Q1 Owner reports 37
2019-Q2 Owner reports 37
2019-Q3 Owner reports 43
2019-Q4 Owner reports 31
2020-Q1 Owner reports 22
2020-Q2 Owner reports 17
2020-Q3 Owner reports 33
2020-Q4 Owner reports 31
2021-Q1 Owner reports 25
2021-Q2 Owner reports 30
2021-Q3 Owner reports 29
2021-Q4 Owner reports 18
2022-Q1 Owner reports 21
2022-Q2 Owner reports 49
2022-Q3 Owner reports 50
2022-Q4 Owner reports 18
2023-Q1 Owner reports 67
2023-Q2 Owner reports 34
2023-Q3 Owner reports 30
2023-Q4 Owner reports 23
2024-Q1 Owner reports 35
2024-Q2 Owner reports 52
2024-Q3 Owner reports 53
2024-Q4 Owner reports 30
2025-Q1 Owner reports 65
2025-Q2 Owner reports 46
2025-Q3 Owner reports 53
2025-Q4 Owner reports 36
2026-Q1 Owner reports 29
2026-Q2 Owner reports 18
2026-Q3 Owner reports 4
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 1,671 complaints · page 1 of 67

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