2016 Ford Explorer Power Train

I filed a complaint yesterday 5/4/24. The complaint number is #11586924. Yesterday I gave you the details of what happened with my transmission and when it happened. Today I want to give you the Manufacturer Comm. Number. From Ford Motor Co. the service number is SSM46069. It states that Ford knew there could be a problem with some 2015/2016 vehicles equipped with 6F50/6F55 transmissions built on 11/02/2015 and through 2/01 2016 may exhibit no reverse, 3rd and 5th gear. The service bulletin goes on to explain what would cause the transmission to fail and how to repair the damage. This tells me Ford should be responsible to the consumer. My safety concern is this; I was traveling at 30 - 35 mph when the tranny failed and , not knowing at the time, I lost 3rd, 5th and reverse gears. There was a noticeable decrease in my cars speed. At that speed, I was able to control my car and get stopped. Picture if I was on a 5 or 6 lane highway traveling at 60 - 65 mph and the tranny failed. The results could be deadly. I am sure I'm not the only owner that has had this safety issue. Kindly investigate this safety issue asap. Thank you.

I own a 2016 Ford Explorer. My Wife and I bought the car In Jan. 2016. On April 20th 2024, I was on my way to work when a warning came on the dash that said "check manual" and displayed an open end wrench. The car hesitated and then continued on. I was not far from the Ford Dealership where I bought the car so I went there. The service writer was working that day so I left the car at the dealership and called for a ride. On 4/23/24, the service writer called me and said the transmission was shot and would need to be replaced. My bill would be approx $5954.81.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and restarted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that PCM needed to be updated. The vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. The contact stated that the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 56,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the contact heard a loud clanking noise coming from the transmission. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the flex plate was cracked, causing transmission failure. The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,060.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that when the vehicle was shifted into drive(D), the vehicle started shaking abnormally. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with a failed transmission and that the transmission needed to be replaced. The contact was informed about TSB: [XXX]. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I was driving and stopped in the left turn lane and the car wouldn't move. Had to have the vehicle towed and now I have to replace the transmission on a car that has 72,000 miles on it. There was no advance notice that there was a problem. I have the vehicle serviced regularly.

Several weeks ago we noticed a propane or natural gas smell in the vehicle' cab and around the vehicle. The smell was stronger sometimes and lesser others, but more so when the heater was on. In the very cold weather, I would have to dress in extra warm layers and keep the windows lowered with fresh air flowing through - in order to drive it... to keep the cab warm enough to drive with the heater on. The smell would be stronger when the heater/air was on. The smell would make me cough and gave me a headache. At first, we thought it was a bad batch of gas. Our mechanic couldn't say what it was and referred us to our local Ford dealer. I also researched on-line and found that several thousand U.S. customers have had the same problem [XXX] ; [XXX] ; [XXX] ). It looks from one article as if Ford settled a class action law suit on this issue in 2016, yet when I called the Ford Customer Service Help Line today, they said they cannot offer us any financial help for this repair, which is costing us over $3,100.00! The car is not that old! 2 days before we brought our vehicle to the Ford dealer, thick black liquid drained onto our garage floor under the front of the vehicle. The Ford dealer says the transfer case is going bad and spitting fluid on the vent/onto the exhaust and the smell was coming from that. The vehicle is still at the Ford dealer and repairs should be complete by 1/31/24. I am writing to you for help with this. It seems to me that Ford has already offered and should continue to offer some repair expense reimbursement for this apparently widespread problem! Can you help advocate for us in this? Thank you - [XXX] , [XXX] , [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

While driving vehicle down the road, steering locked up. Vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed as a bad rack and pinion. This vehicle has 84,000 miles and should not already have issues with the rack and pinion. This incident, could have put my family and many other people's lives/vehicles at risk.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 5 MPH and coming to a complete stop, the vehicle shuddered. The contact stated that the vehicle shuddered increasingly while at a complete stop. The contact stated that upon depressing the accelerator pedal to drive, the vehicle failed to respond. The contact stated that she depressed the accelerator pedal harder, and the vehicle responded. The check engine warning light was illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the failure recurred while reversing. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the torque converter, the Body Control Module (BCM), the solenoid body and transmission fluid and other unknown parts needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to Ford Campaign Numbers: 20B27 and 20N07. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 126,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. Additionally, the vehicle failed to exceed 3000 RPM. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a general failure with the transmission. The dealer informed the contact that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the transmission. The dealer informed the contact that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but did not assist. The failure mileage was 93,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving uphill, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the contact was informed that the torque converter was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not under recall or warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle shuddered and made an abnormal sound. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the driveshaft was fractured at the PTU connecting point. The mechanic determined that the failure was related to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V692000 (Power Train) and referred the contact to the dealer. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

Torque converter

2016 Ford Explorer transmission failure while traveling at highway speeds, with less than 52,000 miles. Engine RPMs ramped up quickly and to unsafe levels as vehicle seemed to drop to a low gear, which then impacted vehicle speed and necessitate maneuvering multiple lanes of traffic to pull over to shoulder of road. Then had to limp along at very low speed to exit highway. Later testing at dealership generated two error codes, and suggested fix after initial diagnosis was tranny replacement, except the replacement tranny is on indefinite backorder through Ford. How issue will be addressed/corrected is still to be determined. A package of "kits" was best dealership could offer. There was no prior indication of an issue, no warning lights or other symptoms prior to failure.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 55 MPH, there was smoke coming from the engine compartment. Additionally, the "PTU Failure" message was displayed before the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the transmission had failed due to the faulty "PTU". The contact was informed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 15,000.

I just bought this vehicle and only had the chance to drive it for a few days now. I was told all recalls were repaired. I have not had the chance to bring it to a certified garage yet. The problem is when the vehicle is going at say walking speed like turning into a parking spot the whole vehicle is jumping to the point where I could have no control and jump into another vehicle or someone walking nearby. As the wheels are turned it's much worse. I believe it's the transfer case.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal loud sound. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact’s wife was able to navigate off the road. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was previously recalled for a PCM software update. An unknown dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

The transmission on our vehicle has failed twice now. First in May 2019, at 41,000 miles, the transmission and torque converter failed, causing heavy shaking when idle. The repair was supposedly repaired under warranty by a Ford dealership. However, fast forward a few years and 40,000 miles, and the transmission failed again. In March 2023, my wife and daughter were at a busy intersection. My wife pressed the gas, but the car wouldn't move and began to lurch backward, putting my wife and daughter's lives in danger as well as the lives of anyone who came up behind us. Before this incident, we had also felt a violent shaking in idle that we had unsuccessfully tried to repair with a new motor mount. The transmission problem was diagnosed by police and confirmed by our local mechanic. It is now at another Ford dealership. But it is unclear how much Ford will cover. I want you to know, however, that a Ford dealer looked up my records on the first transmission repair that occurred under warranty. He said he was surprised that the Ford dealer that was supposed to do the initial warranty repair had only done a partial rebuild given the condition the transmission was in. The notes said the transmission was full of metal fragments and shards throughout, and he said that "they should overhauled the whole thing." The defect, combined with the shoddy repair, is likely why the transmission failed a 2nd time, putting my family's lives in danger. Transmission issues in Ford Explorers appear to be a known problem. I noticed on NHTSA's website that Ford has two customer satisfaction programs (20N07 and 20B27) related to Explorer transmissions. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10181988-0001.pdf I am hoping that NHTSA can look into these continuing Ford Explorer transmission issues and the botched warranty repair and get Ford to extend the customer satisfaction program or initiate a recall to refund customers' repair, tow and rental car costs. Thank you.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, she heard an abnormal sound coming from underneath the vehicle, and the vehicle was shifting hard. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the gear position sensor. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 12,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while inspecting the vehicle, he noticed that the power transfer unit (PTU) was leaking fluid onto the exhaust system. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was out of warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.

On December 17th of 2022, I was driving my car when it abruptly became sluggish and felt like it wasn’t shifting gears correctly. After coming to a stop, when I resumed driving, it sounded like the engine was getting gas, racing, but the car was hardly moving at all. Then it seemed like it would shift into gear suddenly and lurch forward. A warning light came on the dashboard stating there was a “powertrain fault.” I was less than a mile from my home at the time, so I limped home, parked in my garage, and then looked up the issue in my owner’s manual. It said to quit driving it and to get it to a Ford dealership. The car was not driven thereafter. I had it towed to the Ford dealership, who did not honor my extended warranty because it wasn't towed in until 4 days after its expiration, despite having the failure occur while it was under the extended warranty. According to them, they couldn't tell from any "black box" that it happened while under warranty. So I was stuck for $6,031.55 for the repair. I implored the dealership to at least help me out with the price, but they would not. I wrote to Ford and explained in detail the event, and I sent that letter to every department I could find within Ford that may be able to help me or pass my letter to someone who could help me. No one ever even bothered to reply. The $6,000 expenditure was hugely hurtful. I had to leave it with the dealer for almost 3 months before I could pay. And this was a Certified Pre-Owned Vehicle with 53,000 miles on it. Maybe you can help? The repair bill was $6,031.55.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle started to shake and vibrate. After restarting the vehicle, the failure recurred. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer who diagnosed that the motor mounts and spark plugs were faulty and needed to be replaced. The spark plugs and motor mounts were replaced but the failure persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer who diagnosed that the torque converter was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 120,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated upon taking the vehicle to the dealer for routine maintenance, he was informed that the Power Train Unit (PTU) was leaking and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the Power Train Unit (PTU) installed on the vehicle was not the original part and would not be repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was opened. Additionally, the manufacturer referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000. The VIN was not available.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while stopped in traffic, the vehicle was shuddering and appeared to be going into idle mode. The contact depressed the accelerator pedal and the vehicle responded as needed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the torque converter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle was previously repaired under Customer Satisfaction Program Number: 20N07, which had expired. The failure mileage was 130,000.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission became inoperable. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the torque convertor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to NHTSA. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.