AutoUtility currently tracks 291 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2019 Ford Explorer. Body & Structure issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 147 complaints (50.5% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 2 filings cite a crash, 5 report one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 291 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Body & Structure (147 reports • 50.5% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Powertrain & Transmission (35), Electrical System (19)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 2 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 5 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2019 Ford Explorer
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Body & Structure
NHTSA records list 3 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #24V031000 STRUCTURE:BODY:ROOF AND PILLARS
- Campaign #26V012000 EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:ENGINE BLOCK HEATER
- Campaign #26V448000 STRUCTURE:BODY
Powertrain & Transmission
Electrical System
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #26V012000 EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:ENGINE BLOCK HEATER
Fuel & Propulsion System
Engine & Cooling
NHTSA records list 1 official safety recall campaign for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #26V012000 EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:ENGINE BLOCK HEATER
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2019 Ford Explorer
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"I was driving down the road when the warning lights suddenly came on, and the vehicle would not allow me to accelerate. As a result, my vehicle slowed unexpectedly, and another vehicle nearly struck me from behind."
"In November 2025 vehicle began experiencing intermittent instances of rough shifting when the engine was under strain due to mountain driving. Since we do not live in the mountains, we returned home and waited to see if it would replicate. Vehicle began intermittently, replicating, hard shifting..."
"Both the rear toe links were replaced under NHTSA # 26V101 on March 26th, 2026. On August 8th, 2026, the vehicle experience significant handling issues at highway speeds. Was found the toe links shifted post recall. Significant cambered tire wear located on both rear tires. The axel shaft seal..."
"The contact owns a 2019 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer to be repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V031000 (Structure); however, the recall repair was not performed because the A-pillar trim had not completely detached. While driving the vehicle at an..."
"Passenger side exterior B pillar trim came off while driving on highway on July 3, 2026. Trim was on vehicle when it left home. It was not on it when it arrived at destination. Possible danger to other drivers from flying trim component. No inspection or any symptoms of the problem prior to..."
Complaint History for Ford Explorer
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2026)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Ford Explorer | 1773 | 37 | 9 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Ford Explorer | 2441 | 38 | 15 | View 2016 Problems → |
| 2017 Ford Explorer | 1687 | 33 | 14 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Ford Explorer | 720 | 15 | 7 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Ford Explorer Current Page | 291 | 2 | 6 | Current |
| 2020 Ford Explorer | 1198 | 35 | 34 | View 2020 Problems → |
| 2021 Ford Explorer | 416 | 16 | 27 | View 2021 Problems → |
| 2022 Ford Explorer | 257 | 17 | 25 | View 2022 Problems → |
| 2023 Ford Explorer | 105 | 8 | 15 | View 2023 Problems → |
| 2024 Ford Explorer | 19 | 1 | 10 | View 2024 Problems → |
| 2025 Ford Explorer | 95 | 7 | 19 | View 2025 Problems → |
| 2026 Ford Explorer | 0 | 0 | 12 | View 2026 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2019 Ford Explorer
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 45 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 138 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine & Cooling NHTSA category: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Tires NHTSA category: TIRES | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION,WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,WHEELS,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING,STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Official NHTSA Defect Investigations (1)
Formal safety defect inquiries and engineering analyses opened by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
Windshield trim molding Item detachment
On January 27, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE23-001 to investigate allegations of A-pillar trim panel detachment on model year (MY) 2011-2019 Ford Explorer vehicles. At the time of opening, the office had received 164 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) reporting this failure. ODI has received 671 VOQs regarding this failure, including 1 alleged crash and 2 alleged injuries. Some consumers have reported that the failure...
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.