Ford · Explorer · 2018
2018 Ford Explorer: problems & reliability
NHTSA has logged 733 owner complaints and 7 safety recalls for the 2018 Ford Explorer. The most-reported problem area is the body & structure (39% of complaints), followed by engine and electrical system. Make sure every open recall has been fixed by a dealer before you buy.
Common 2018 Ford Explorer problems
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Body & structure problems
288 owner complaints to NHTSA (39% of all complaints for this model year) involve the body & structure, including 4 crashes. One owner reported: “I was driving on the freeway when one of my A pillers flew off and cause the person behind me to loose control of their car. About 5 min later the other a piller flew off almost causing an accident with a semi and trailer.”
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Engine problems
95 owner complaints to NHTSA (13% of all complaints for this model year) involve the engine, including 2 crashes, 2 fires, 4 injuries. One owner reported: “My 2018 Ford Explorer rolled backwards down a hill while in park and engine off.”
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Electrical system problems
57 owner complaints to NHTSA (8% of all complaints for this model year) involve the electrical system, including 3 crashes, 2 fires, 2 injuries. One owner reported: “The contact owned a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, a message displayed on several occasions instructing the driver to pull over and shut off the vehicle because the battery would shut off. Upon…”
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Transmission & powertrain problems
50 owner complaints to NHTSA (7% of all complaints for this model year) involve the transmission & powertrain, including 1 crash. One owner reported: “The driver side Keyless door entry pillar has come off on the highway and hit something. The keyless door entry panel came off in 2023 and Koons Ford of Annapolis charged me $ 523.00 to fix the panel. The panel has a small clip and double…”
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Engine & cooling problems
29 owner complaints to NHTSA (4% of all complaints for this model year) involve the engine & cooling, including 1 fire, 1 injury. One owner reported: “The contact owns a 2018 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, there was an abnormally strong odor of fumes throughout the vehicle. The contact stated that there was no warning light illuminated. The…”
Owner complaints by area
| Area | Complaints | Share | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body & structure | 288 | 39% | |
| Engine | 95 | 13% | |
| Electrical system | 57 | 8% | |
| Transmission & powertrain | 50 | 7% | |
| Engine & cooling | 29 | 4% | |
| Visibility & wipers | 27 | 4% | |
| Backup camera & sensors | 26 | 4% | |
| Fuel system | 23 | 3% |
733 complaints filed with NHTSA in total, reporting 15 crashes, 7 fires, 12 injuries. A complaint can involve more than one area.
2018 Ford Explorer recalls
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Structure › Body
Risk: A detached roof rail cover can create a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the roof rail covers and as necessary, repair or replace the push-pins, rail clips, or roof rail covers, free of charge. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed August 28, 2026. Additional letters will be sent once the remedy is available, anticipated in January 2027. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S54. This recall expands previous NHTSA recall number 21V316. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on July 16, 2026.
Full recall summary
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2019 Explorer vehicles. The roof rail covers may come loose and detach from the vehicle.
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Suspension › Rear
Risk: A rear toe link fracture can result in a loss of steering control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the toe links, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 16, 2026. Owners may contact Ford Customer Service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 26S08. This recall is an expansion of previous NHTSA recall number 21V537. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning February 25, 2026.
Full recall summary
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2017-2019 Explorer vehicles. The rear suspension toe links may fracture.
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Equipment › Electrical › Engine block heater
Risk: An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Owners are advised not to plug in their block heater until the vehicle is remedied. Dealers will replace the block heater, free of charge. Owners will also have a alternative option to replace engine block heater element with a threaded blanking plug, and remove the block heater electrical cord. Interim letters, notifying owners of the safety risk, were mailed December 3, 2025. Additional letters will be sent once the final remedy is available, anticipated December 2026. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 25SA4. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on October 15, 2025.
Full recall summary
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2019 Lincoln MKC, 2016-2023 Explorer, 2019-2020 Fusion, 2019-2024 Ranger, 2020-2022 Lincoln Corsair, Escape, 2021-2024 Bronco, Bronco Sport, and 2022-2024 Maverick vehicles. The engine block heater may crack and develop a coolant leak, causing it to short circuit when the block heater is plugged in.
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Structure › Body › Roof and pillars
Risk: A detached trim piece can fall off the vehicle, becoming a road hazard and increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the A-pillar trim as necessary, free of charge. This will be a phased campaign, with the remedy becoming available in different phases based on model years. Owner notification letters were mailed between July 18, 2024 and December 16, 2025. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 24S02.
Full recall summary
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2011-2019 Explorer vehicles. The A-pillar trim retention clips may not be properly engaged, allowing the trim to detach.
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Structure › Body
Risk: A detached roof rail cover can create a road hazard, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will install push-pins and replace any damaged rail clips and roof rail covers, as necessary, free of charge. The interim owner notification letter was mailed on June 22, 2021. Owner notification letters (remedy available) were mailed on October 1, 2021. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 21S22.
Full recall summary
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2016-2019 Explorer vehicles. The retention pins could loosen and allow the roof rail covers to detach from the vehicle.
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Seats › Front assembly › Recliner
Risk: A seat back with an improperly assembled recliner mechanism may have reduced strength and may not adequately restrain an occupant in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and Ford and Lincoln dealers will inspect the seat structure and replace them, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 21, 2019. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 19C07.
Full recall summary
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018-2020 F-150 and 2019-2020 F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 Super Duty pickup trucks, and 2018-2019 Ford Explorer, 2019-2020 Expedition, and 2020 Escape vehicles equipped with driver and/or passenger's manual front seat back recliner mechanisms. Also included are certain 2020 Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator vehicles equipped with rear outboard seats and manual seat back recliner mechanisms. The recliner mechanisms may be missing the third pawl required for seat back strength, resulting in a loose seat back. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) numbers 202, "Head Restraints" and 207, "Seating Systems."
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Fuel system, gasoline
Risk: A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.
Remedy: Ford will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel line assembly, free of charge. The recall began December 7, 2018. Owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332. Ford's number for this recall is 18S35.
Full recall summary
Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2018 Ford Explorer vehicles equipped with 2.3L or 3.5L GTDI engine. Due to an assembly error, the fuel pressure sensor may leak fuel.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. To check whether a specific car’s recalls have been repaired, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
2018 Ford Explorer crash-test ratings
NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2018 Ford Explorer 4 DR SUV AWD. Ratings can differ between body styles and drivetrains (2 versions tested or listed).
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Specifications
- Drivetrains
- AWD, FWD
- Body styles
- 4-door
Other Ford Explorer years
About this data
Problems, complaint counts, recalls and crash-test ratings come from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) public databases, last checked 2026-11-03. Complaints are reports from owners and have not all been verified by NHTSA.
How we score reliability: every model year starts at 100. Points come off for the number of owner complaints (on a log scale, up to 40 points), for each safety recall (2 points each, up to 15) and for complaints involving crashes, fires, injuries or deaths (up to 15). Popular vehicles get more complaints simply because more are on the road, so compare scores between similar vehicles. More about our method.
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