AutoUtility currently tracks 95 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2025 Ford Explorer. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 20 complaints (21.1% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 7 filings cite a crash, 4 report one or more injuries.
Factual proportion of owner complaints categorized by automotive subsystem in NHTSA records
20 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
18 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
17 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
15 owner complaints submitted to NHTSA ODI for this subsystem.
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"On XXX, my 2025 Ford Explorer Platinum experienced a complete unexplained no-start failure while approximately six hours from home. The vehicle had less than 1/4 tank of fuel but was not empty and was parked on a slight decline. It remote-started normally and ran for approximately 10 minutes before..."
"The contact owns a 2025 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the vehicle was started and the doors were unlocked and the contact walked over to the front passenger’s side door to put her purse inside the vehicle; however, after the contact walked over to the rear..."
"The contact owns a 2025 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 50 MPH, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The vehicle crashed into the driver's side of another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The vehicle was towed to a local tow..."
"Steering fails to self-center after slight bear-left such as lane change manuver or steering to track a gentle left bend in road, typically holding ~10 degree left position of the steering wheel. Center feel is "notchy." Behavior is almost completely a bear-left problem and only a slight similar..."
"This vehicle was a rental car. The rear door opens and closes at random times. On multiple occasions even after locking the car, we would come out to the door being open. The door came down on its own and smacked my wife as well as hitting my [XXX] daughter in the head. While driving down the..."
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 | 291 | 2 | 6 | View 2019 Problems → |
| 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 Current Page | 95 | 7 | 19 | Current |
| 2026 Ford Explorer | 0 | 0 | 12 | View 2026 Problems → |
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 48 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Injury Entries | Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility & Wipers NHTSA category: VISIBILITY/WIPER | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Service Brakes NHTSA category: SERVICE BRAKES | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forward Collision Avoidance NHTSA category: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle Speed Control NHTSA category: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VISIBILITY,STRUCTURE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Connected Vehicle & Communications NHTSA category: COMMUNICATION | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel & Propulsion System NHTSA category: FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LANE DEPARTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doors, Latches & Locks NHTSA category: LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat Belts NHTSA category: SEAT BELTS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats & Restraints NHTSA category: SEATS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,AIR BAGS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SERVICE BRAKES,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,POWER TRAIN,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| STEERING,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STRUCTURE,SEATS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,SERVICE BRAKES | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER,VISIBILITY/WIPER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility / Glass NHTSA category: VISIBILITY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Cross-reference safety recalls, crash test safety ratings, and EPA fuel economy for this model year
Key performance indicators, EPA fuel economy specs, powertrain variants, and summary ratings.
Official recall campaigns, safety defect descriptions, and manufacturer free remedy instructions.
NHTSA 5-Star NCAP crash test results, driver assistance systems, and rollover resistance ratings.
EPA fuel economy ratings, electric range, and annual energy cost benchmarks.
Direct, deterministic answers synthesized from verified United States government databases for the 2025 Ford Explorer
In official NHTSA consumer records, the most frequently cited issue area for the 2025 Ford Explorer is Electrical System, appearing in 20 records (21.1% of submitted filings).
Secondary reported categories include Driver Assistance & Safety Tech (18) and Brakes & Traction Control (17).
AutoUtility does not issue subjective reliability scores or commercial ratings. In official United States government records, NHTSA tracks 95 consumer defect complaints and 19 safety recall campaigns for the 2025 Ford Explorer.
Reviewing documented component complaint distributions, recall remedy notices, and active federal investigations provides an objective, evidence-based view of the vehicle's historical safety and defect record.
Among consumer complaint records on file with NHTSA for the 2025 Ford Explorer, 7 filings cite a crash, 0 cite smoke or fire, and 4 report one or more injuries.
Incident entries represent consumer descriptions at the time of submission to federal authorities and do not establish mechanical causation or legal liability.
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database under 49 CFR Part 576.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.