2014 Ford Explorer Engine
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was stopped, the vehicle jerked, and the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, the vehicle stalled. No warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving at various speeds, the vehicle jerked and then the engine stalled. After several attempts, the vehicle was restarted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, when the contact was able to restart the vehicle, the failure recurred after driving a short distance. The contact stated that the failure persisted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle had experienced hard start-ups, and the engine was revving high while idling, with the check engine warning light remaining illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the timing chain, crankshaft, and cam shaft sensors were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 84,000.
The contact owned a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, black smoke started to come from the rear end of the vehicle. The contact pulled to the side of the road and turned off the vehicle. The contact noticed the smoke continued and that black smoke was now coming from underneath the hood of the vehicle. The contact opened the hood of the vehicle and noticed a fire starting near the engine on the driver's side, closer towards the windshield. The fire department arrived and was able to extinguish the fire. The fire diagnosed a mechanical error was the cause of the fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed and deemed totaled. The contact had not sustained any injuries and did not need medical assistance. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was informed of the failure, and a complaint was made. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a safety complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed exhaust Y-pipe. The contact was informed that the exhaust Y-pipe needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 135,000.
Making a right turn I was startled by a vehicle running a red light. Front wheel passenger side cleared the curb. Right rear tire jumped the curb jolted back to ground. I looked at tire pressure gauges and no leaks were evident. Being on a single lane road I continued driving looking for a turn in place after traveling about a quarter of a mile an engine rattle developed and there was faint smell of smoke. I traveled another block and turned into a dollar general parking lot. The entrance was on an incline and the car stopped. I had just purchased a new battery a week before and had an oil change about 3 weeks before. The car refused to start. I called triple A and had it towed to dealer. They looked at car and could not come up with a rational reason and doubted car stopped because of violent rear contact with curb at right rear wheel was cause of engine seizing. I called USAA my insurance company their investigating agent agreed. My car is serviced at this dealer and I follow all of the maintenance guidelines I have the records as well as dealer. The car has 125,000 miles and has been well maintained. I am curious if there are any other reports this has happened with 2014 Ford Explorer or any other vehicle. I find it hard to accept such a violent jolt of the running engine did not cause something to fall loose on the running engine. The dealer and appraiser found the car oil full and in pristine condition. There was no frame damage.Turning the crank towards rear they hear metal falling into oil pan. Your thoughts?
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed failures with the camshaft position sensor and the ABS. The vehicle was not repaired. Later, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge began to indicate that the engine was overheating. After a visual inspection of the engine compartment, the contact observed that the coolant level was abnormally low. The vehicle was taken back to an independent mechanic, who determined that coolant was leaking into the engine, resulting in damages to the engine, and advised the contact to take the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Customer Satisfaction Program: 21N12. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 151,000.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while approaching a stop light, the vehicle started to lose motive power and stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted, and the vehicle was towed to the residence. The dealer was not contacted; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.
VEHICLE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. TOOK CAR INTO MECHANIC AND FOUND OUT A CODE POINTS TO A PROBLEM WITH THE TIMING CHAIN/CAM POSITION SENSOR. PRIOR TO THE ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON CAR PREVIOUSLY HAD (2) RANSOM ISSUES THAT NOW AFTER GETTING THE DIAGNOSIS MAKES SENSE WHY THE CAR WAS AT TIMES MAKING A FLUTTER SOUND WHEN STARTING ALONG WITH THE ENGINE RANDOMLY AT TIMES ACTING LIKE TO WAS GOING TO STOP RUNNING WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE. I TOLD FORD AND THE MECHANIC ABOUT IT PREVIOUSLY BUT THEY BOTH SAID AS LONG AS THERE'S NO ALARMS KEEP DRIVING IT. THE VEHICLE STILL DRIVES GOOD, BUT I WAS ADVISED NOT TO DRIVE IT UNTIL REPAIRS MADE. THE REPAIR IS $4,000.00 AND PUTTING THAT KIND OF MONEY INTO A VEHICLE THAT IS CURRENTLY VALUED AT $8 TO 10K WITH 136,000 BASED OFF MY RESEARCH IS NOT PRUDENT CONSIDERING OTHER THINGS THAT WILL EVENTUALLY NEED EXPENSIVE REPAIRS. I HAVE TAKEN GOOD CARE OF THE VEHICLE ALONG WITH KEEPING UP ON ALL SERVICES. DISCUSSED WITH A COUPLE EXPERIENCED FORD MECHANICS AND THIS REPAIR IS UNFORTUNATELY VERY COMMON. I BOUGHT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY WHEN THE CAR WAS NEW FOR YOUR INFORMATION. I HOPE FORD CAN STAND BEHIND THIS MECHANICAL FAILURE THAT APPARENTLY IS A KNOW ISSUE AND ACCOMMODATE ME FOR MY LOSS OF EQUITY IN A VEHICLE THAT SHOULD NOT BE HAVING THIS KIND OF WELL KNOWN BREAKDOWN. 1. VEHICLE IS AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION 2. SAFETY AT RISK WHEN ENGINE LOSES POWER AND ALMOST STOPS RUNNING 3. YES, YESTERDAY I WAS AT THE LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP MET THERE TOP "HEAVY END" MECHANIC WHO WAS VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE PROBLEM ALONG WITH (2) INDEPENDENT EXPERT MECHANICS FAMILIAR WITH THE DIAGNOSIS. 4. THE MANUFACTURER YESTERDAY SAW THE VEHICLE, AFTER TALKING TO THE HEAD MECHANIC, BASED OFF THE CODE AND SYSTEMS I DECIDED IT WAS NOT PRUDENT TO THROW MONEY AWAY ON GETTING AN OFFICIAL DIAGNOSIS BASED OFF MY COMFORT LEVEL FROM THE DISCUSSIONS WITH THE MECHANICS. 5. YES, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND I HAD THE CAR PROMPTLY INSPECTED BY A MECHANIC.
Fumes are leaking into the cabin of the car. Possibly issues with an exhaust leak that is causing nausea and headaches when driving vehicle.
My car keeps running out of coolant yet I’m leaving no puddles anywhere
IN 11-2022, (NOVEMBER 2022), I NOTICED NO HEAT IN CABIN AND AFTER FURTHER INVESTIGATION, FOUND LOW COOLANT IN THE COOLANT RESERVOIR. I ADDED COOLANT BUT STARTED NOTICING COOLANT LEAKS ON DRIVEWAYS. HAD VEHICLE CHECKED BY FORD DEALER, WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS BOUGHT NEW, AND REGULARLY SERVICED; AND WAS TOLD THAT THE WATER PUMP INSIDE THE 3.5L ENGINE IS BAD WITH A COST OF $4,900 TO FIX. IT APPEARS THAT THERE ARE NUMEROUS FORD EXPLORER VEHICLES FROM 2011 - 2019 WITH THE 3.5L ENGINE WITH THIS ISSUE. REQUEST INVESTIGATION AND RECALL BY FORD.
Water pump coolant leak. I’m experiencing this problem and have seen that Fire has known about this issue and hasn’t recalled it and it’s causing engine failure and leaving consumers to fort the 2000 bill to fix since it’s internal. Does needs to recall and fix this issue and replace the pump.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35–40 MPH, the engine was overheating. There was fluid leaking from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the water pump was leaking. Additionally, antifreeze was leaking from the vehicle. The contact was informed that the timing chain and water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The failure mileage was approximately 113,535.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the engine coolant temperature warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to park the vehicle at a friend's residence nearby and added coolant to the engine. The contact stated that the failure recurred. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the radiator and the water pump to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 132,720.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the temperature gauge increased without warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the water pump failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was advised to take the vehicle to the dealer for service. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the water pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 155,000.
Every time while accelerating and RPMs reach above 2500 the cab of the vehicle fills with an odor . After doing a lot of research we have come to realize it is carbon monoxide. There are several open law suits and complaints about this already. When we purchased the vehicle in May of 2021 it was taken to the Ford dealership and they told us everything in the vehicle was fine. The car is available for inspection at any point. No warning lights or anything have come on at all!
While driving my 2014 Ford Explorer from South Florida to Millegville Georgia the high temp Light came on and the engine slowed on I-16. Managed to get off The Interstate at Macon Ga. Almost caused accidents in traffic. Finally got to Ford dealer said water pump failed like so many others. $2600 estimate. End of my trip, had to rent car to get home car Still in shop in Georgia waiting for repairs.
Ford built the motor with a water pump when it leaks leaks right into the crank case where the oil is so the motor seizes up and that’s what happened to my car now my car is shot
When turning on the rear Auxililary climate control the cabin of the vehicle had a large amount of exhaust smell enter the cabin.
Driving my explorer and the water pump went bad. Got overheat warnings and now I find this happens to all of these engines. A class action suit has been filed. The cost to repair is nearly $4000 for an issue does knew about it? Not recalling and fixing these is negligent and dangerous.
Repeated catalytic converter failure. Issue was repaired at least twice. Converter failure caused both turbos to need replacement and has now caused engine damage. This appears to be a common issue with this engine model.
The contact owns a 2014 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that that while driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard a popping sound and the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle however, the engine shut off. The contact stated that upon inspecting the vehicle, she noticed that coolant was leaking onto the ground. The oil warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rotor fractured, and coolant leaked into the engine and the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000.
My ford Explorer has a 3.5L V6 motor. This motor was designed with the water pump installed in the crank shaft. As a result of this when the water pump fails and leaks coolant can leak into the motor and mix with the oil costing thousands of dollars in damages.
My vehicle gradually started getting louder and at the same time we started to notice exhaust fume smell in the vehicle. I had taken it to the dealership and and a different mechanic for a confirmation. They both explained the exhaust is coming apart at the seam. Not due to rust. Just the exhaust on both sides are doing the same thing. Since the first visit with them, I had taken it back again when we noticed it even more and it just keeps getting worse. It'll eventually come off and continue to allow fumes in the car until replaced. I called Ford and they said they did have a customer satisfaction program to replace it, but it was only for police cars and it expired anyway. I explained this is a huge concern for the fact we inhale the fumes in the car and that it can just come apart at any moment, driving. No help at all from Ford.
Water pump leakage
Trend Over Time
Complaints by year
Other Issues
Common problems reported
Quick Summary
The 2014 Ford Explorer has 160 Engine complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.