Complaint volume
102 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2023 Ford Explorer Complaints
102 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2023 Ford Explorer, grouped by component category.
102 Total complaints
7 Crash reports
2 Fire reports
5 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are unknown or other, electrical system, structure. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 7 crash reports, 2 fire reports, 5 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 25 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 20,172 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to unknown or other, electrical system, structure?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2023 Ford Explorer?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2023 Ford Explorer
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2023 Ford Explorer complaints?
7 Crash
2 Fire
5 Injury
0 Fatality
11 Towed
3 Medical attention
What are the most common 2023 Ford Explorer complaint categories?
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 16
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7
STRUCTURE 7
SUSPENSION 6
POWER TRAIN 5
AIR BAGS 4
BACK OVER PREVENTION 4
SEAT BELTS 4
VISIBILITY/WIPER 4
ENGINE 3
102 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2025 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2023 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 60-70 MPH, the rear subframe bolt detached, and destroyed the axle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V675000 (Power Train). The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the rear axle was damaged, and the horizontal bolt had fractured in half. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 20,000 |
| Feb 2025 | FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | I have had 4 Ford Explorers that have the same problem that Ford has not commented on when I complain. If the car is parked facing down a hill with less than 1/4 tank of gas it won't start. The design of the tank precludes gas from reaching the engine. Unable to start the car, it cannot be brought out of park and rolled to a flat location. This time I had more than 1/4 of a tank and the same problem occurred. This happened in my driveway but what if you're on a street with an incline? | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | POWER TRAIN | popping/rattling sound coming from front passenger side and transmission is shifting hard at lower gears. vehicle is in shop waiting on repairs. front struts bad and had to be replaced at 12,555 miles. transmission software had to be upgraded and wiring harness for transmission under vehicle had to be repaired. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | PARKING BRAKE | The contact owns a 2023 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 27 MPH, a vehicle abruptly exited a parking lot without adhering to oncoming traffic. While attempting to avoid striking the vehicle, the contact activated the parking brake. The contact stated that after releasing the parking brake, the contact became aware that the parking brake handle became loosened and appeared to have disconnected from the socket. The contact later became aware that the parking brake had become inoperable. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, and it was confirmed that the parking brake was inoperable and needed to be repaired. The contact was informed that the repair was not covered under warranty and the contact was provided an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and the contact was provided a case number. The contact was later referred to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 20,000 |
| Jan 2025 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2023 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal rattling and popping sound coming from the passenger's side. The contact also stated that the steering wheel would veer to the left or right directions independently while driving. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed that the front passenger's strut needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 10,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 10,000 |
| Dec 2024 | AIR BAGS | On 11-21-24, I was traveling down the interstate going at 60mph when a car began to urgently brake, I proceeded to hit the brakes as well and my car would not stop, at the time of the impact no air bag deployed, driver seat belt did not lock, my driver seat moved, no pre-collision assist came up for this accident. No prior issues or lights on dash. | Crash: Yes Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2024 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS | While driving on a two lane, rural road at dusk, with adaptive cruise control turned on, the car suddenly applied the brakes (hard) and a red warning briefly appeared on the dashboard. (It was on too brief to read.) The brakes were released quite quickly, but the vehicle had slowed approximately 20 MPH. There was no other traffic on the road at the time. No animals were crossing the road when the incident occurred. The weather was clear and visibility was good. Although it was dusk, the landscape was clearly visible without headlights. This is a rental vehicle and I have not used cruise control since the incident. NOTE: Had another vehicle been driving behind my vehicle, it could have rear ended it. This is a rental vehicle. Rented from Enterprise in Woodland CA. The registered owner is EAN Holdings LLC of Tulsa. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | The contact owns a 2023 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 15-20 MPH, the vehicle stalled on several occasions. The vehicle was restarted after fifteen minutes. The vehicle failed to unlock from inside or outside with the key. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the ground wire had caused the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 10,000 |
| Oct 2024 | STEERING | The contact's wife owns a 2023 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the front end of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was determined that the front struts had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred several times. The dealer replaced the front struts three times; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V091000(Suspension, Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 2,000 |
| Oct 2024 | SEAT BELTS | The seatbelt in the middle seat of the middle row twisted and my 8 years old son got stuck. He struggled to breathe, and we had to cut the seatbelt. This situation was extremely dangerous and needs further explanation. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | STRUCTURE | While driving the vehicle, I noticed a sound like something was flapping in the wind. I checked around and under the vehicle and noticed the bottom of the back bumper was loose. I took the vehicle to the dealership where it was purchased. They told me there was nothing broken or loose. They also told me the stabilizing piece that is usually on the bumper is taken off to install the hitch and nothing is put back on the bumper to secure it. The hitch on my vehicle was factory installed. This is a safety issue in that the bumper, or pieces of it, could break off while driving causing an accident or injury. In addition, the damage to my vehicle could be substantial. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS | The driver side windows control buttons are breaking off for no apparent reason. Ford refused to fix faulty windows controls which could cause harm to a person attempting to roll windows up or down. Two buttons have broke off within a matter of a week and are in the shape of a W which could lead to injury. A 3rd button appears damaged as well. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | VISIBILITY | The contact owns a 2023 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 65 MPH, road debris was kicked up by the vehicle ahead and cracked the windshield. The contact stated that the windshield was replaced by a glass repair shop. The contact stated that on another occasion while driving on the highway, road debris was again kicked up onto the windshield, and the windshield cracked. The contact asked the glass repair shop if the windshield was replaced with an OEM windshield and was informed that the windshield was an OEM part. The contact stated that while looking at the windshield from the left or right side, and at a right angle of light, there was a wavy imperfection running from the left to the right and in the middle of the windshield. The contact stated that the windshield had been replaced five times. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 21,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 21,000 |
| Sep 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | At a stop light and all of the power in the vehicle went out and Explorer would not start. Hazards would not turn on and doors (besides driver door) would not unlock. Got out of the vehicle to try the fob and white smoke came billowing out from engine. Fire department and police were called. No warning lights or messages were seen on vehicle. Vehicle only has 10K miles on it. Vehicle was taken to dealership for diagnostics. | Crash: No Fire: Yes | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The contact owns a 2023 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH on the expressway in the center lane, the Forward Collision Avoidance system engaged, and the vehicle came to an abrupt stop and failed to restart. After several minutes the vehicle restarted, and the contact was able to continue driving. Additionally, while in a parking lot, the vehicle shut off and failed to restart. After several minutes, the vehicle restarted. The Forward Collision Avoidance warning light illuminated while driving with no other vehicle nearby. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the tailgate warning light illuminated. The contact checked the tailgate and attempted to close the tailgate. There contact was able to place her fingers between the tailgate. The contact depressed the release button, but the tailgate failed to respond. The contact climbed into the vehicle and pushed the tailgate closed, but the tailgate reopened. The tailgate came partially downward. After several attempts, the tailgate was closed. While her husband was driving, the cruise control was inoperable. The contact stated that all the buttons on the steering wheel were stuck. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who opened a case and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 6,700. | Crash: No Fire: No | 6,700 |
| Aug 2024 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2023 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 80 MPH, the driver's side exterior A-pillar trim dethatched from the vehicle. Additionally, upon inspection, it was discovered that the passenger’s side A-pillar trim was loosened and unsecured. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were contacted but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 60,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 60,000 |
| Jul 2024 | SEAT BELTS | 2nd row seat belt was not Installed at the factory. The bolts were loose. If I was hit in the side and someone was sitting in the seat there would be a high probability of ejection. Has been taken to a dealer and confirmed. No warning lights. Found the problem when body shop was fixing hail damage | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | AIR BAGS | Side seat airbag has exhaust port facing inwards, instead of outward, towards the door of the vehicle, that caused the hot chemical from the airbag to push out all the gas at the left side of my body, melting my clothes and causing chemical burns to my side when it deployed upon a wreck. | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 2 Towed Medical attention | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | POWER TRAIN | Was driving and my transmission skipped an entire gear went from 1 to third gear and it felt like my transmission was going to fall out of the bottom of my explorer. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | STRUCTURE | The contact owns a 2023 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the wheel well inner liner fell onto the tire. The wheel well liner was rubbing on the tire. The tires were rubbing with ice, mud, and snow in the wheel well. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the bracket and bolts for the wheel well liner were missing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that there was no repair coverage on the vehicle for the failure. The failure mileage was 4,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 4,000 |
| Jun 2024 | SUSPENSION | The right front suspension collapsed after crossing railroad tracks at less than 10 mph, causing the vehicle to collapse and deploying all four airbags causing Minor injuries . A higher rate of speed would have caused severe injuries and possible fatalities. Ford has sent field engineers to examine the vehicle and pulled data from the rcm stating starting speed of 4.4 mph and 17.7 mph at time of impact. No collision and nothing in road way. THE Insurance company has the vehicle at a total loss and initially denied my claim, stating manufacturer defect, which I agree with. Ford has since denied my claim returning the liability to the insurance. No warning lights, or symptoms before the incident | Crash: Yes Fire: No Injuries: 1 Towed | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | SEAT BELTS | The seat belt minder is not working. it works when you are at park and dont put the seat belt and start driving. but if you are buckled, start driving and then while driving take the belts off, no warning sound is provided. this problem is not yet reported to the dealer. no warnings or problems noted prior. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | POWER TRAIN | The first two gears while coming from a stop shift extremely rough causing foot to bounce off accelerator pedal. This has been happening since vehicle was purchased at approximately 4000 miles. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | Tether, Lower Anchor (on car seat or vehicle) | I have had to re-install the seat multiple times in the last 2-3 weeks because it keeps coming loose in rear facing mode. I installed the seat in early to mid-March. I first noticed it was loose on 4/26/24. I had it installed with the seatbelt at that time. I re-installed with the seatbelt and continued checking it daily until I noticed it being loose again within about a week. I again re-installed with the seat belt so it was secure and moving less than 1 inch side to side and front to back and continued checking for excess movement. I attended a CPST training the week of 5/6/24 and had my seats looked at by an instructor who told me it was done correctly. For the sake of practice, I installed it with LATCH instead and had an instructor confirm it was correct. That was all on 5/9/24. On 5/13/24 I had to re-install it yet again as the latch had loosened. I used the seatbelt that time and submitted a complaint to Graco. Today, 5/15/24, I had to re-install twice, first with seatbelt and then with LATCH (around 6 pm) which at the time of this writing (8 pm) has held. The seat has repeatedly become loose after a proper install, putting my child at risk because of the seat moving more than one inch side to side which does not meet Graco or CPST installation requirements. The remedy supposedly provided by Graco to others is to use LATCH. However, in my situation that has not helped and in general that is not a long term solution since LATCH has weight limits. I’ve also heard from others that Graco just tells them their seatbelt or vehicle is incompatible and nothing can be done. From what I can tell, it’s a known issue that Graco hasn’t acknowledged. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | POWER TRAIN | The contact owns a 2023 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the transmission slipped and unexpectedly downshifted to first gear, causing the vehicle to jerk. The contact pulled to the side of the road and parked the vehicle. The contact revved the engine, shifted the transmission to drive(D), and drove to the destination. Additionally, on a separate occasion, the vehicle lost motive power while driving. A bystander helped the contact by pushing the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The failure recurred and later the vehicle failed to restart. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, but no diagnostic trouble codes were retrieved. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The contact was informed that assistance would be provided with the release and substitution of the collateral agreement. The failure mileage was approximately 1,200. | Crash: No Fire: No Towed | 1,200 |