Ford Explorer Years to Avoid — and the Years to Buy Instead

Search for the Ford Explorer years to avoid and you will find a dozen lists, most of them agreeing with each other and almost none of them showing their working. This one shows its working, because the working is the only part that is worth anything: every figure below comes from the two federal databases that record what actually went wrong with these cars — owner complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and recall campaigns filed by the manufacturer with the same agency.

There are 26 Ford Explorer model years on record, 2000 through 2025, carrying 24,782 owner complaints and 283 recall campaigns between them. That is enough data to say something specific. It is also enough data to say something misleading, which is what happens when a list ranks model years by raw complaint count.

Here is the trap in one comparison. The 2000 Explorer has 1,078 complaints against it. The 2025 has 95. Read that as a quality ranking and you would conclude the Explorer has improved beyond recognition. Read it as what it is — a car that has been on the road for years against one that has been on sale for months — and it says almost nothing about either. Complaints accumulate. Any ranking that ignores that is measuring age.

What survives the correction is narrower and more useful: four Explorer model years drew materially more complaints than the years immediately around them, which had nearly the same time on the road. Those are the years worth being careful about, and the sections below name them, say what owners were reporting, and quote the recall campaigns that ran alongside.

If you already have a specific car in mind rather than a model year, the fastest thing you can do is run its plate or VIN before you drive anywhere. Our guide to checking a used car’s history walks the free federal checks in order.

How these years were ranked

Two federal datasets sit behind this page. Recall campaigns are filed by the manufacturer when a defect is judged to present an unreasonable risk to safety; they are investigated, they are public, and the repair is free. Owner complaints are the opposite kind of record — unverified, self-selected, filed by whoever was annoyed enough to fill in the form. Neither is a reliability score. Together they are still far better evidence than an opinion piece.

The problem with complaint counts is exposure. Every year a car stays on the road is another year in which something can fail and an owner can file. Older model years therefore carry higher totals almost by construction, and a list that sorts by that total will hand you the oldest cars in the range and call them the worst.

The correction used here is to compare each model year against its own neighbours instead of against the whole range. For every Explorer year, the two years before it and the two years after it form a comparison group that has been on the road for approximately as long. If a year draws substantially more complaints than that group, exposure cannot explain the gap, and something about that year probably can.

Crash-test ratings are handled separately and not blended into anything. NHTSA’s rating programme changed substantially for the 2011 model year, so a five-star car from before that date and a five-star car from after it did not pass the same test. 13 Explorer model years carry an overall star rating, and they are reported as their own section rather than folded into a ranking.

The Ford Explorer years that stand out from their neighbours

Four model years clear the threshold. They are listed worst first, by how far each one sits above the years around it rather than by how many complaints it has in absolute terms — which is why the order may not match the raw counts.

2020 Ford Explorer

Owners filed 1,194 complaints against the 2020 Explorer. The four model years around it median 353.5, which puts this year at 3.38 times its neighbourhood. Those neighbouring cars have been on the road within a year or two of as long, so the gap is not explained by age.

What owners were reporting, by the categories NHTSA files them under: powertrain (472), uncategorised (203) and electrical system (182). 31 distinct component categories appear in the year’s filings in total.

Those filings include 35 reports involving a crash, 11 involving a fire and 38 recorded injuries. These fields are owner-reported and unverified, and a complaint marked as involving a crash is not a finding that the vehicle caused one.

The 2020 also carries 35 recall campaigns, concentrated on back over prevention (nine) and powertrain (eight).

A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.

— NHTSA campaign 19V859000, fuel system, gasoline

Every one of those campaigns is repaired free of charge, on any age of vehicle, by any franchised dealer. Whether the work was actually done on the specific car you are looking at is a different question, and one you can answer in about two minutes — see how to check a car for open recalls.

2002 Ford Explorer

Owners filed 3,612 complaints against the 2002 Explorer. The four model years around it median 1,195.5, which puts this year at 3.02 times its neighbourhood. Those neighbouring cars have been on the road within a year or two of as long, so the gap is not explained by age.

What owners were reporting, by the categories NHTSA files them under: powertrain (1,575), structure (532) and suspension (444). 32 distinct component categories appear in the year’s filings in total.

Those filings include 163 reports involving a crash, 71 involving a fire, 213 recorded injuries and 6 recorded deaths. These fields are owner-reported and unverified, and a complaint marked as involving a crash is not a finding that the vehicle caused one.

The 2002 also carries 14 recall campaigns, concentrated on exterior lighting (four) and seats (two).

This could result in an underhood fire.

— NHTSA campaign 07V336000, vehicle speed control

Every one of those campaigns is repaired free of charge, on any age of vehicle, by any franchised dealer. Whether the work was actually done on the specific car you are looking at is a different question, and one you can answer in about two minutes — see how to check a car for open recalls.

2011 Ford Explorer

Owners filed 1,194 complaints against the 2011 Explorer. The four model years around it median 468.5, which puts this year at 2.55 times its neighbourhood. Those neighbouring cars have been on the road within a year or two of as long, so the gap is not explained by age.

What owners were reporting, by the categories NHTSA files them under: steering (740), uncategorised (112) and structure (110). 28 distinct component categories appear in the year’s filings in total.

Those filings include 30 reports involving a crash, 4 involving a fire and 15 recorded injuries. These fields are owner-reported and unverified, and a complaint marked as involving a crash is not a finding that the vehicle caused one.

The 2011 also carries eight recall campaigns, concentrated on suspension (two) and structure (two).

If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist it will require extra steering effort at lower speeds, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

— NHTSA campaign 14V286000, steering

Every one of those campaigns is repaired free of charge, on any age of vehicle, by any franchised dealer. Whether the work was actually done on the specific car you are looking at is a different question, and one you can answer in about two minutes — see how to check a car for open recalls.

2006 Ford Explorer

Owners filed 635 complaints against the 2006 Explorer. The four model years around it median 388, which puts this year at 1.64 times its neighbourhood. Those neighbouring cars have been on the road within a year or two of as long, so the gap is not explained by age.

What owners were reporting, by the categories NHTSA files them under: powertrain (301), engine and engine cooling (165) and engine (58). 31 distinct component categories appear in the year’s filings in total.

Those filings include 13 reports involving a crash, 7 involving a fire and 12 recorded injuries. These fields are owner-reported and unverified, and a complaint marked as involving a crash is not a finding that the vehicle caused one.

The 2006 also carries four recall campaigns, concentrated on visibility (two) and exterior lighting (one).

After a period of continuous use on the high speed setting, lack of grease on the output shaft gear may cause the gear to distort or fracture during operation resulting in a loss of wiper function. Inoperative wipers under inclement weather conditions could cause a crash due to impaired visibility.

— NHTSA campaign 05V520000, visibility

Every one of those campaigns is repaired free of charge, on any age of vehicle, by any franchised dealer. Whether the work was actually done on the specific car you are looking at is a different question, and one you can answer in about two minutes — see how to check a car for open recalls.

The years that came in quietest

The same comparison run the other way. These are the Explorer years whose owners filed fewer complaints than the owners of the years around them, ordered by the size of the gap. A quiet year is a weaker signal than a loud one — silence has more possible causes than noise, including simply fewer cars sold — but the pattern is worth having.

2024 Ford Explorer

The 2024 Explorer drew 19 complaints against a neighbourhood median of 104 — 0.18 times, which is to say meaningfully fewer than the years either side of it despite having had the same time to accumulate them.

What owners were reporting, by the categories NHTSA files them under: forward collision avoidance (3), visibility/wiper (3) and uncategorised (3). 14 distinct component categories appear in the year’s filings in total.

Those filings include 1 report involving a crash, 1 involving a fire and 3 recorded injuries. These fields are owner-reported and unverified, and a complaint marked as involving a crash is not a finding that the vehicle caused one.

The 2024 also carries ten recall campaigns, concentrated on equipment (two) and seats (two).

A short circuit increases the risk of a fire.

— NHTSA campaign 24V685000, hybrid propulsion system

Every one of those campaigns is repaired free of charge, on any age of vehicle, by any franchised dealer. Whether the work was actually done on the specific car you are looking at is a different question, and one you can answer in about two minutes — see how to check a car for open recalls.

2009 Ford Explorer

The 2009 Explorer drew 33 complaints against a neighbourhood median of 178 — 0.19 times, which is to say meaningfully fewer than the years either side of it despite having had the same time to accumulate them.

What owners were reporting, by the categories NHTSA files them under: uncategorised (5), vehicle speed control (5) and engine (4). 24 distinct component categories appear in the year’s filings in total.

Those filings include 5 reports involving a crash and 5 recorded injuries. These fields are owner-reported and unverified, and a complaint marked as involving a crash is not a finding that the vehicle caused one.

The 2009 also carries one recall campaign, concentrated on equipment (one).

An improperly deployed airbag could result in serious injury.

— NHTSA campaign 10E043000, equipment

Every one of those campaigns is repaired free of charge, on any age of vehicle, by any franchised dealer. Whether the work was actually done on the specific car you are looking at is a different question, and one you can answer in about two minutes — see how to check a car for open recalls.

2010 Ford Explorer

The 2010 Explorer drew 115 complaints against a neighbourhood median of 485 — 0.24 times, which is to say meaningfully fewer than the years either side of it despite having had the same time to accumulate them.

What owners were reporting, by the categories NHTSA files them under: powertrain (28), seats (20) and service brakes (15). 22 distinct component categories appear in the year’s filings in total.

Those filings include 8 reports involving a crash, 13 recorded injuries and 50 recorded deaths. These fields are owner-reported and unverified, and a complaint marked as involving a crash is not a finding that the vehicle caused one.

The 2010 also carries two recall campaigns, concentrated on seats (one) and equipment (one).

In the event of a crash, the seatback and head restraint may move rearward, increasing the risk of injury.

— NHTSA campaign 10V161000, seats

Every one of those campaigns is repaired free of charge, on any age of vehicle, by any franchised dealer. Whether the work was actually done on the specific car you are looking at is a different question, and one you can answer in about two minutes — see how to check a car for open recalls.

2019 Ford Explorer

The 2019 Explorer drew 290 complaints against a neighbourhood median of 956.5 — 0.3 times, which is to say meaningfully fewer than the years either side of it despite having had the same time to accumulate them.

What owners were reporting, by the categories NHTSA files them under: structure (147), uncategorised (44) and powertrain (35). 22 distinct component categories appear in the year’s filings in total.

Those filings include 2 reports involving a crash and 6 recorded injuries. These fields are owner-reported and unverified, and a complaint marked as involving a crash is not a finding that the vehicle caused one.

The 2019 also carries six recall campaigns, concentrated on structure (three) and seats (one).

An electrical short circuit can increase the risk of a fire.

— NHTSA campaign 26V012000, equipment

Every one of those campaigns is repaired free of charge, on any age of vehicle, by any franchised dealer. Whether the work was actually done on the specific car you are looking at is a different question, and one you can answer in about two minutes — see how to check a car for open recalls.

Separately, and on a different axis entirely: the highest overall NHTSA crash-test rating in the range goes to the 2013 Explorer at five stars, made up of five for frontal impact, five for side impact and four for rollover resistance. Star ratings measure how the car protects occupants in a controlled crash. They say nothing about whether it will need a gearbox.

What actually goes wrong on a Ford Explorer

Set the years aside for a moment. Pooling every complaint across every Explorer model year on record and sorting by the component category NHTSA files it under gives you the model’s actual failure profile — the things that recur regardless of which year you buy.

The structure leads with 4,690 citations of the 21,210 in the top eight categories, followed by the powertrain at 4,678 and the steering at 3,586. Read the leader carefully before you read anything into it: some categories are broad enough to collect unrelated faults, and a large count can mean one common failure or twenty uncommon ones.

A complaint is one owner’s account, filed voluntarily, with nobody checking it. That makes the list above a map of what annoyed people enough to write it down rather than a failure-rate table. It is still the closest thing to a public failure record that exists for this car, and it is free.

Every Ford Explorer model year on record

The whole dataset, so you can check any claim above against it or draw a different line than we did. “Neighbour median” is the median complaint count of the two years before and the two years after. “Ratio” is the year’s own count divided by that median: above one means more complaints than its neighbours, below one means fewer.

Blank cells mean the agency holds no figure, not a figure of zero. “Not judged” marks the years at each end of the range, which have neighbouring years on one side only: their complaint counts are real, but there is no full comparison group to set them against, and the newest year on the list has been collecting filings for months rather than years. Crash-test ratings in particular are patchy: NHTSA does not test every trim of every year, and the programme was made significantly harder for the 2011 model year, so ratings either side of that line are not comparable.

Recalls: the column that scares people for the wrong reason

A long recall list looks like bad news and is often the opposite. A recall means a defect was identified, reported to the regulator and is being fixed at the manufacturer’s expense, on every affected car, forever. The failure mode you should worry about is the defect that never became a campaign.

The Ford Explorer range carries 283 campaigns across 26 model years, with the 2020 carrying the most at 35. By component, they cluster on back over prevention (33), structure (30), powertrain (29) and suspension (28).

The number that matters is not how many campaigns a model year has. It is how many are still open on the specific vehicle in front of you — a figure that depends entirely on whether previous owners took it in. NHTSA’s own lookup answers that from the VIN, free, and our walkthrough of checking a car for open recalls covers what to do when it comes back with something outstanding.

What this data cannot tell you

Worth being blunt about, because the pages competing with this one are not. Three things the figures above genuinely do not establish.

They are not failure rates. NHTSA publishes complaint counts, not the number of vehicles sold. Without a denominator, a year with more Explorers on the road will tend to collect more complaints than a year with fewer, independent of quality. The neighbour comparison reduces this — adjacent years usually sold in similar numbers — but it does not eliminate it.

They are not verified. Anyone can file a complaint and nobody checks it. A model year that attracts press coverage attracts complaints, some of which would never have been filed otherwise. Recalls do not have this problem; complaints do.

They are not about the car you are buying. This is the big one. A well-maintained example of a bad year will outlast a neglected example of a good one, and it is not close. Service history, previous owners, accident record and whether outstanding recalls were done are all properties of the individual vehicle, and all of them outweigh the model year on the windscreen.

Checking the Explorer in front of you

Everything above is about a model year. Buying is about one car. The gap between those two is where the money is lost, and closing it takes about ten minutes of desk work before you spend an afternoon driving to see something.

1. Run the VIN for open recalls. Free, direct from NHTSA, instant. If the year you are looking at appears in the recall section above, this is not optional.
2. Check the title status. A salvage or rebuilt brand changes what the car is worth and what it costs to insure. Our guide to what a salvage title means explains why the brand is a financial verdict rather than a mechanical one.
3. Check the mileage against the record. A VIN holds no mileage, but the reported readings attached to it across titles and inspections will show a rollback as an inconsistency — see mileage check by VIN.
4. Ask for the service record against the component list. If the Explorer you are looking at is a flagged year, the components named above are the ones to look for in the invoices.

A commercial vehicle history report by VIN pulls the title, odometer and reported-damage records into one document, which is the part the free federal tools do not do for you. What it cannot do is tell you whether this particular Explorer was serviced — that still comes from the invoices and the inspection.

Comparing against something else in the same class? We have run the same analysis on the Toyota Highlander.

Ford Explorer years: frequently asked questions

What year Ford Explorer should I avoid?

On this data, 2020, 2002 and 2011. Each drew at least 1.6 times the owner complaints of the model years immediately before and after it, which have been exposed to the road for nearly as long. The 2020 is the clearest case at 1,194 complaints against a neighbourhood median of 353.5. None of this makes a specific car a bad buy — it makes it a car worth inspecting harder.

What is the most reliable Ford Explorer year?

Relative to the years around it, 2024 — 19 complaints against a neighbourhood median of 104. Two cautions. Federal complaint data is not a reliability score, and a quiet year can be quiet because fewer were sold rather than because fewer went wrong. Use it to narrow a shortlist, not to skip an inspection.

How many recalls does the Ford Explorer have?

283 campaigns across 26 model years, 2000 to 2025. That figure is close to meaningless on its own, because a campaign covers whichever cars the defect affected and says nothing about your car. The number that matters is how many are still unrepaired on the specific VIN, which NHTSA will tell you free in under two minutes.

What are the most common Ford Explorer problems?

By the categories NHTSA files complaints under, the structure leads across the whole range with 4,690 citations, then the powertrain at 4,678 and the steering at 3,586. These are broad categories rather than specific faults — one category can hold a single recurring failure or a dozen unrelated ones — so treat them as where to look, not as what is wrong.

Does a recall mean I should avoid that Explorer year?

No, and the instinct usually runs backwards. A recall is a defect that was found, reported and is repaired free of charge for the life of the vehicle by any franchised dealer, regardless of how many owners it has had. The years worth worrying about are the ones with complaints and no campaign behind them, because there is nothing standing behind the repair bill.

Is a high-complaint Explorer year actually unreliable?

Not necessarily. Complaint counts have no denominator — NHTSA publishes how many people filed, not how many cars were sold — and nobody verifies a filing. That is exactly why every year on this page is measured against the years either side of it rather than against the range, since adjacent model years usually sold in similar numbers and have had similar time on the road.

Which Ford Explorer has the best crash-test rating?

The 2013 carries the highest NHTSA overall rating in the range at five stars. Compare star ratings within an era rather than across one: the programme was made significantly more demanding for the 2011 model year, so a rating from before that date and one from after it were not earned against the same test.

Where does this data come from?

Two public federal databases, pulled directly rather than through an intermediary: NHTSA’s owner complaint database and its recall campaign database, plus its New Car Assessment Program crash-test ratings where a Explorer of that year was tested. Every figure on this page is reproducible — the sources are linked at the foot of the page, and the year-by-year table prints the raw counts rather than a score derived from them.