2017 Ford Explorer Transmission Problems

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds and depressing the accelerator pedal, the transmission skipped gears. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the torque converter had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

NHTSA ID

11648075

Incident

Jan 13, 2025

Mileage

95,000 mi

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was lagging while changing gear. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the torque converter had failed. The contact was informed that the torque converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 62,000.

NHTSA ID

11624024

Incident

Oct 24, 2024

Mileage

62,000 mi

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the transmission jerked, and the vehicle shuddered. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the torque converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure occurred. The vehicle was towed back to the dealer, and diagnosed with torque converter failure. The contact was informed that the torque converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.

NHTSA ID

11621367

Incident

Oct 22, 2024

Mileage

118,000 mi

See attached document for complaint

NHTSA ID

11583072

Incident

Jan 22, 2024

My torque convertor has started to fail, extreme vibration when in drive or reverse at a stop, hesitation when trying to take off from a stop, RPMS will redline and the car won't move and then it will slam in to second gear. I have found a recall/customer satisfaction program (20N07) I took the car to a Ford dealership and they confirmed the torque convertor is ruined. I am terrified to drive this car, when the hesitation first happened I was pulling out in to moving traffic and the car would not move then took off very quickly. The vehicle has only been inspected by a Ford dealership where they diagnosed the torque convertor. I believe that this should be considered a safety issue. The hesitation alone could cause an accident when trying to move with the flow of traffic.

NHTSA ID

11579752

Incident

Mar 13, 2024

Mileage

170,242 mi

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while at a complete stop and depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle started shuddering. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact drove to the residence. Additionally, the contact stated that her husband had informed her that the vehicle had failed to accelerate as intended while driving. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the torque converter had failed, and the dealer determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 20,600.

NHTSA ID

11573964

Incident

Feb 18, 2024

Mileage

20,600 mi

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idling, the vehicle experienced a severe shudder and vibration. The vehicle was connected to an ODB scanner which produced a code related to a faulty torque converter. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 140,000.

NHTSA ID

11569906

Incident

Sep 7, 2023

Mileage

140,000 mi

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle was jerking, vibrating, and transmission was slipping. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the torque arm, engine mount, axle shaft, and catalytic converter were all damaged due to the jerking and vibrations from the vehicle. The vehicle was repaired. The vehicle was later taken to the local dealer who performed service repairs under an unknown Customer Satisfaction Campaign however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 46,000.

NHTSA ID

11544799

Incident

May 1, 2022

Mileage

46,000 mi

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while accelerating after the vehicle was idling, the vehicle would emit a load roaring and grinding noise while shuddering and hesitating before accelerating. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the torque converter failed and needed replacement, repointing, and reprogramming. The vehicle was currently being repaired. The failure was related to NHTSA ID Numbers: 10222455 (Power Train) 10187724 (Power Train), 10184652 (Power Train, Equipment Adaptive/Mobility), and 10181988 (Power Train). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and confirmed that the VIN was not included. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.

NHTSA ID

11512803

Incident

Feb 20, 2023

Mileage

140,000 mi

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate while the RPM was inoperable. Additionally, the vehicle experienced rough idling and shaking while driving. The contact stated that the dealer previously performed Customer Satisfaction Program: 20B27 (Powertrain Control Module Reflash). The vehicle was taken to the dealer and Grieco Ford of Raynham (1651 New State Hwy, Raynham, MA 02767) however, the dealers were unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was then taken to two independent mechanics, who diagnosed that the failure was related to Customer Satisfaction Program: 20N07 (Transmission Extended Warranty Coverage). The mechanics determined that the torque converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered by the TSB. The manufacturer advised the contact to file a complaint with the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

NHTSA ID

11499996

Incident

Sep 1, 2021

Mileage

75,000 mi

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while idle with the vehicle in drive or reverse, the vehicle would shudder. The contact stated that there was a lack of full motive power upon acceleration; occasionally, while moving from a stop, the vehicle would shudder while driving. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The mechanic informed him that the failure might be due to the torque converter overheating, causing damage to the torque converter. Additionally, there was possible internal damage to the transmission. The contact was then informed of Manufacturer Communications: 10184634 (Power Train: Automatic Transmission) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The contact was referred to the NHTSA for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 61,000.

NHTSA ID

11449707

Incident

Jan 17, 2022

Mileage

61,000 mi