Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2017 Ford Explorer submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 11 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
The trunk does not open. The lift gate error message comes on. The lights stay on longer than they should and the battery is drained. This all resulted after the b pillar flew off on the high way. I have had duct tape on my car for over a year and unable to access the trunk.
The driver side headlight low beam LED stopped functioning. I noticed moisture inside the headlight housing. I bought a replacement headlight unit and a control module. The replacement headlight housing has also had the low beam go out, again. Now I have to purchase a module to see if the headlight itself is fine and it's possibly just the module that's going out. A lot of other people are having the same exact issue. This is ridiculous. How is this not a recall item?
Vehicle equipped with operation red and blue auxiliary emergency lights, prohibited and protected by law for law enforcement use only, facilitates impersonation of a police officer, false detention, harassment, legal scrutiny for police, seller has actual knowledge, strictly liable upon a purchase agreement with a buyer, and can be liable for crimes committed by another by aiding an offender under the color of law. Vehicle has open recalls, mechanical/electrical/lighting issues and requires maintenance.
There is a constant drain on the battery and overnight the battery can go dead. I replace the battery every 6 months to a year and have been doing that ever since we purchased it. The dealership wants $250 to diagnose it. It's been a problem from day 1. Even when we took it to get serviced and they kept it overnight - the same thing happened at the dealership, but they just ignored it. That was when it was under warranty. I read on the internet that several people have this same problem. I feel this should be a recall. I have a 2017 Ford Platinum
Headlight went out due to water intrusion on plug and module.
Driver's side A-Pillar trim fell off while driving at highway speed
I had a piece of window trim fly off while I was driving on the highway at 70 mph. When it flew off, it may have hit another car. With the piece gone, I am not unable to open the hatch and the dome lights stays on for a considerable amount of time. There is no way to turn off the dome lights, you have to wait for them to go off, which is sometimes more than 10 minutes. When the piece was replaced, the hatch worked as normal. I had the window trim replaced and the same thing happened. I was traveling down the highway over 70 mph and the piece flew off in heavy traffic. I, again, have not been able to open the hatch nor turn off of the dome lights.
The low beam LED light has gone out which consists of replacing the whole headlight assembly. The dealership wants $2000 to replace this unit. Looking online at car forums this is a known issue on these explorers. Our explorer is from 2017 with only 31000 miles on it which means at most the headlight has been on for only 516 hours. LED lights should be lasting for 30000-40000 hours. This is a safety concern as driving without a low beam headlight is a concern to the person driving as well as any other person on the road. The vehicle issue has been confirmed and inspected by the dealer and there were no symptoms or messages of the problem prior to it occurring. Ford should be liable to repair the headlight in these instances as their product is a safety risk and malfunction on their end.
ON MAY 20TH 2020, I DROVE THE CAR FROM MY HOUSE TO THE GROCERY STORE, AN APPROXIMATE 7 MILES DRIVE. I PARKED THE CAR ON THE PARKING LOT, A FEW SECONDS AFTER LEAVING THE CAR WHITE SMOKE STARTED TO COME FROM UNDER THE HOOD, AS THE SECONDS PASSED THE WHITE SMOKE CONVERTED INTO A FIRE IN THE ENGINE, 5 MINUTES LATER THE CAR WAS LOST DUE TO FIRE. *TR
THE HEADLIGHTS ARE FAR TOO BRIGHT,EVEN IN DAYLIGHT CONDITIONS.AS AN UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE OF AN EFFORT TO INCREASE THE VISIBILITY OF THE VEHICLE,THEY ARE QUITE CAPABLE OF MOMENTARILY BLINDING ONCOMING DRIVERS.OBVIOUSLY,THIS EFFORT TO INCREASE HEADLIGHT INTENSITY IS OVERLOOKING THE FACT THAT IT MAY BE CAUSING SERIOUS INJURY TO OTHER DRIVERS.
ON 09/15/16 WE PURCHASED A 2017 FORD EXPLORER LIMITED FROM SUPREME FORD OF SLIDELL, LA. TWO WEEKS AFTER HAVING THE SUV, WE NOTICED THE RIGHT TAIL LIGHT WAS NOT WORKING AT TIMES. ON 11/16/2016, WE DROVE THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP TO REPAIR THE LIGHT. WHEN THE SALES MANAGER DROVE THE SUV TO THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT THE REAR RIGHT TAILLIGHT WAS WORKING.. BUT WHEN THE SERVICE MANAGER LOOKED AT THE SUV, THE LIGHT WAS WORKING. BUT WHEN WE STARTED BACK TO DENHAM SPRINGS, LA, THE RIGHT TAILLIGHT STARTED ACTING UP AGAIN. I TOOK SEVERAL VIDEOS OF THE LIGHT RANDOMLY GOING OFF AND ON THE TRIP BACK HOME WITH MY IPHONE. I ATTACHED VIDEO OF THE LIGHT, I EDITED IT TO A SMALLER SIZE AND EMAILED BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP. ON 11/17/16 WE RECEIVED A REPLY FROM THE SERVICE MANAGER STATING; THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO VIDEO AND SEND IT TO US REGARDING THE TAILLAMP CONCERN YOU ARE HAVING WITH YOUR 2017 EXPLORER, THE NEXT TIME THE CONCERN DISPLAY ITSELF CONSISTENTLY, A RENTAL AT OUR EXPENSE FOR A DAY TO SEE IF WE CAN ISOLATE THE CAUSE. [XXX] SERVICE MANAGER SUPREME FORD SLIDELL [XXX] [XXX] I REPLIED TO THE DEALERSHIP; [XXX], THE NEW 2017 FORD EXPLORER LIMITED STILL HAS A PROBLEM WITH THE RIGHT TAIL LIGHT INTERMITTENTLY WORKING ABOUT %50 OF THE TIME. I DO NOT THINK THERE WILL BE A TIME WHEN THE TAIL LIGHT WILL "CONSITTANTLY" GO OUT... THIS PROBLEM NEEDS TO BE REPAIRED ASAP BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED IN AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT... THE VIDEO CLIP I SENT YOU IS JUST A SAMPLING OF THE TAIL LIGHT INTERMITTENTLY GOING OUT DURING OUR DRIVE HOME TO DENHAM SPRINGS... I AM CONCERNED WITH DRIVING THE "LEMON VEHICLE" AND BELEIVE THAT FORD NEEDS TO REPLACE THE "LEMON VEHICLE" WITH A PROPER WORKING NEW 2017 FORD EXPLORER LIMITED, WITH A ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL AS THE SALESPERSON STATED THE VEHICLE HAD. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
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