2018 Ford Explorer Suspension Problems

On March 25, 2026, an authorized Ford dealership in Florida performed a safety recall involving the rear suspension toe links. The recall addressed a condition that Ford states can result in loss of steering control and increased crash risk. After the recall was completed, I drove approximately 1,200 miles home believing the safety defect had been corrected. After returning home, I began experiencing rear-end instability. The vehicle would sway when driving over even small bumps. I took the vehicle to another authorized Ford dealership, which confirmed the original recall repair had not been performed correctly. The dealership found problems with the rear suspension and alignment that required extensive corrective repairs, including replacement of rear suspension components and correction of the rear suspension alignment. Both rear tires had also developed severe, uneven wear and were determined to be unsafe, requiring replacement despite being only about two months old. No warning lights or messages appeared before or during this condition. I was unaware that the recall repair had been performed incorrectly and unknowingly drove approximately 1,200 miles with a compromised rear suspension after being told the safety recall had been completed. I am submitting this complaint because an improperly performed safety recall repair may have exposed me, my passenger, and others to the same safety risk the recall was intended to prevent.

NHTSA ID

11754682

Incident

Apr 15, 2026

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V101000 (Suspension), and the recall repair was completed. The contact stated that immediately after the recall repair, while driving on several occasions at various speeds, the rear end of the vehicle fishtailed, and the contact lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the same dealer on several occasions; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The contact was advised that the tires needed to be replaced. The contact purchased and replaced the tires and had a four-wheel alignment performed, but the failure persisted, although not as severe. While the vehicle was parked, the contact became aware that the tread on the rear tires was extremely worn. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,000.

NHTSA ID

11747980

Incident

Apr 1, 2026

Mileage

118,000 mi

Attempted to make an appointment on XXX with [XXX], 2121 W Bell Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85023 phone 602-375-7400 to have the two open safety recalls completed( 26V101 & 24v031). Could not make a service appointment because the service writer said that parts were not available and had no idea of when they would be available to fix the safety recalls. Service writer indicated they COULD NOT notify me when parts were available. I was to continuously call them for follow up as to when the car could be fixed. I continue to use the vehicle in spite of the safety defects as I can not afford another transportation method. Please help me get my Explorer fixed. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11743026

Incident

Jun 2, 2026

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V101000 (Suspension); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was made aware of the issue and confirmed that parts for the recall repair were on back order. The contact called other dealers nearby and was provided the same information. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

NHTSA ID

11727961

Incident

Mar 25, 2026

Received Safety Recall 26S08 about rear suspension toe link. However, the new toe link design Ford provided as a remedy only fixes the breakage issue, but it is known to be "inadjustable" and causing control issues from the recall on previous model years. The new toe link will lose alignment within 6 months, and causing early wore out on rear tires. It looks like Ford's remediation is only fixing one issue to create another one. A lot of owners are switching to aftermarket toe links which helps to stabilize the control.

NHTSA ID

11725805

Incident

Mar 20, 2026

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V031000 (Structure) and 26V101000 (Suspension); however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issues. The contact had not experienced a failure.

NHTSA ID

11725752

Incident

Jan 19, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V031000 (STRUCTURE) and 26V101000 (SUSPENSION); however, the parts to do the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the passenger's side A-pillar trim detached from the vehicle. The local dealer was contacted and confirmed that the recall repairs were not available. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, the driver’s side A-pillar trim became loose. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired after the most recent failure. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure with the suspension. The dealer advised the contact that the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

NHTSA ID

11723886

Incident

Mar 12, 2026

Mileage

50,000 mi

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH over a bump on a snowy road, there was an abnormal popping sound coming from the rear suspension, and the contact lost control of the vehicle. The contact stated that upon decelerating to 5 MPH, the contact was able to regain control of the vehicle and to pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The contact noticed that the rear driver's side tire was folded inward. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the driver's side rear suspension toe link was fractured and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the part was replaced; however, the rear suspension was making an abnormal squeaking sound while driving. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact became aware that the VIN was recently included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 26V101000 (Suspension), which the contact associated with the failure. The dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

NHTSA ID

11720433

Incident

Dec 2, 2025

Mileage

110,000 mi

On Saturday 10/18/2025 the rear drivers side tow link of my 2018 Ford Explorer XLT snapped while driving 70 mph under normal driving conditions on a 4-lane section of i-75 in Detroit, MI. This caused a loss of steering, and my family and almost hit the median concrete wall when it sharply veered to the left completely unexpectedly. There were no warning sounds or symptoms and happened at random on a straight away. We then spun out doing multiple 360 spins on 2 wheels, almost flipping completely, and landing in the middle 2 lanes. We had a semi truck and another vehicle narrowly miss us. I was able to then move fast enough to the side of the road and avoid being hit by more oncoming traffic. We called 911 and AAA for towing to Suburban Ford of Troy who did an inspection and found the drivers side rear tow link has snapped due to a seized knuckle. There is a recall for the exact same known issue in the 2011-2017 Ford Explorers. My wife’s 2017 explorer has the same parts as my 2018 and has the recall for the tow links and ball joint due to this known issue, yet Ford is refusing to acknowledge the issue is still affecting later model years. My Explorer only had 74,000 miles on it and never any accidents or abnormal driving conditions/hard driving. My family and I are extremely lucky to be alive after such a catastrophic failure. This type of issue should never happen on any vehicle and is a totally unacceptable engineering failure. Ford needs to inspect this issue on the later models beyond 2017 as this will cost lives. This will kill people and we are actually in shock that we lived through this. Ford should take responsibility and pay for this repair, as well as the other side the same as they do the years the recalled.

NHTSA ID

11694871

Incident

Oct 18, 2025

As I made a turn, the toe link broke and caused my car to be thrown to side of road.

NHTSA ID

11622073

Incident

Oct 25, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while his daughter was driving approximately 35 MPH over a bump in the roadway, the steering wheel turned to the left while driving straight on the roadway. The contact stated that his daughter had not seen warning light illuminated. The contact drove to his daughter location and drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the driver’s side rear wheel rear suspension toe link had fractured and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the mechanic researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V537000 (Suspension). The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 137,000.

NHTSA ID

11621195

Incident

Oct 10, 2024

Mileage

137,000 mi

On the highway doing 70 mph when the 2018 explorer started to sway back n forth and skipping across the road, got it stopped on the side of road and found out that my rear drivers toe link has broke. I see FORD has a RECALL on the 2016 - 2017 explorers for this problem... I'm lucky that I didn't kill someone or crash the vehicle. It was not a fun ride with my wife and kids in the SUV.

NHTSA ID

11620765

Incident

Oct 13, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 30-35 MPH, there was an abnormal squeaking sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the bushing joint had fractured and needed to be repaired or replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The mechanic referred the contact to the dealer. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer who had confirmed the diagnostic result. The vehicle had been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case regarding the failure. The manufacturer had confirmed that there was no recall on the VIN. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 62,500.

NHTSA ID

11616220

Incident

May 24, 2024

Mileage

62,500 mi

After dealer inspection of my 2018 Ford Explorer, I was informed that the rear knuckles needed replacement due to cracked bushing. I was informed that this is a safety issue that needs to be addressed immediately, at a cost of $2400.00. After some cursory research I found that there was a recall for 2011-2017 Ford Explorers with the same issue, but not for 2018. This is obviously a known problem and should be addressed for 2018 vehicles.

NHTSA ID

11563921

Incident

Jan 5, 2024

The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 40 MPH, and at various speeds, the vehicle would vibrate and then would start to sway, and the contact could not maintain lane control. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the wishbone and motor mounts needed to be replaced; however, the wishbone mount was on a national backorder. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 96,000.

NHTSA ID

11547697

Incident

Jan 6, 2023

Mileage

96,000 mi

In wet, or snowy conditions, or when driving over a bump in the road, the rear end of the vehicle jerks sideways. New tires and 4 wheel alignment have not corrected the issue. Vehicle feels like it may lose control. Symptoms feel the same as previous year explorer that had a rear toe link issue.

NHTSA ID

11501710

Incident

Jan 13, 2023

The contact called in for a client who owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact works at an independently owned auto body shop. The contact stated that the vehicle was towed into the body shop for inspection. While inspecting the vehicle, the contact became aware that the driver’s rear toe link had fractured. The contact stated that while the owner of the vehicle was driving at an undisclosed speed, he lost control of the vehicle and spun out, and ran off the road causing damage to the vehicle. The contact stated that he was called by the State Police to tow the vehicle. The contact was unaware of any injuries being sustained during the failure. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 59,004.

NHTSA ID

11494693

Incident

Nov 19, 2022

Mileage

59,004 mi

Driving about 50mph on dry country road, good visibility, when suddenly car pulled hard right. We went onto a grass embankment, I managed to pull left back onto the road, but car fish-tailed uncontrollably, we hit crash barrier, and finally came to a stop. Badly shaken but no injuries. Examining car, besides body damage, most notably rear drivers side wheel was mis-aligned with car by about 15 degrees. Photo of suspension I took shows broken toe-link, subsequently confirmed by body shop and loss adjuster. The car had new rear struts 2 days earlier, but at that time no report of a broken toe-link. I have subsequently learnt there is a recall for broken toe-link for Ford Explorers 2013-2017, but mine is 2018. But I suspect the recall should have been broader - my toe-link looks like one subject to recall.

NHTSA ID

11494672

Incident

Nov 19, 2022

VEHICLE WHEN ACCELERATING PULLS SHARPLY TO RIGHT . PROBLEM NOT RESOLVED AFTER 30 DAYS AT DEALERSHIP. ALIGNMENT WAS NOT PROBLEM. WAS DOCUMENTED WHILE UNDER WARRANTEE ANT WAS FIRST NOTICED AT 21000 MILES AND DOCUMENTED

NHTSA ID

11385739

Incident

Sep 16, 2020

Mileage

35,000 mi

VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH ON A SMOOTH STRAIT STRETCH OF ROAD WHEN A LOUD BACK WAS HEARD AND A SUDDEN LOSS OF STEERING RESULTING IN STRIKING THE CURB AS IT CAME TO A STOP. UPON INSPECTION IT APPEARS THE LOWER CONTROL ARM FAILED JUST BEFORE THE BALLJOINT AND HAD BROKEN IN HALF. THIS APPEARS IT'S AN ISSUE ACROSS A RANGE IF EXPLORERS THAT UTILIZE THE SAME CONTROL ARM.

NHTSA ID

11282158

Incident

Nov 5, 2019

Mileage

31,000 mi

WHEN TURNING LEAVING A SHOPPING CENTER ON A MAIN ROAD AT ~30 MPH, HEARD LOUD POP SOUND AND CAR IMMEDIATELY STOPPED MOVING. CAR WOULD NOT MOVE AND NEEDED TO BE TOWED. UPON INSPECTION THE LOWER CONTROL ARM BROKE NEXT TO BALL JOINT. CAR CURRENTLY HAS LITTLE OVER 2000 MILES.THE POLICE DID RESPOND TO THE INCIDENT TO ASSIST IN GUIDING TRAFFIC AND SECURING A TOW TRUCK. CURRENTLY THE VEHICLE IS AT THE DEALER WAITING FURTHER ASSESSMENT. IT APPEARS THE CONTROL ARM HAS A WEAK POINT IN THE STRUCTURE. IN REVIEWING INTERNET POST THE ARM APPEARS TO BREAK IN THE SAME PLACE FROM EARLY AND LATE MODEL YEARS OF THE NEW BODY STYLE EXPLORER. THE CAR WAS NEVER TAKEN OFF MAIN ROADS, AND THERE IS NO OTHER DAMAGE TO WHEEL (SHOWN IN PHOTO). I HAVE MAJOR CONCERNS THIS APPEARS TO BE A ISSUE WITH EXPLORER MODELS AND IF ON A HIGHWAY WOULD CAUSE POSSIBLE LOSS OF LIFE. WE ARE LUCKY THAT THE CAR WAS NOT GOING FASTER AND IN TRAFFIC WHEN THIS EVENT HAPPED.

NHTSA ID

11150447

Incident

Nov 8, 2018

Mileage

2,000 mi