The Used Car Index

2005 Ford Explorer problems

NHTSA lists 502 complaints for the 2005 Ford Explorer, 22 of them mention a crash and 6 mention a fire. 13 complaints mention an injury, with 14 injuries and 1 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-08.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as FORD EXPLORER.

At a glance

Complaints
502
With crash
22
With fire
6
With injury (complaints)
13
Injuries
14
Deaths
1
Recalls
0
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
Unavailable
Investigations
2
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
54

Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. The available sales group does not match this vehicle variant.

Where the complaints are

Top systems
SystemComplaintsShare of this vehicle's complaints
STRUCTURE15330.5%
POWER TRAIN9919.7%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL448.8%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE408.0%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM367.2%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING295.8%
VISIBILITY234.6%
ENGINE173.4%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM173.4%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER173.4%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
STRUCTUREBODY127
POWER TRAINAUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION42
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLINGENGINE13
POWER TRAINAXLE ASSEMBLY6
SUSPENSIONREAR6
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROLCRUISE CONTROL6
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHERSTORAGE5
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGESHATCHBACK/LIFTGATE4
TIRESPRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS4
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROLACCELERATOR PEDAL4

One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.

Model-generated complaint tags: This model year has not been tagged.

Recalls

See new recalls and investigations this week.

0 recalls.

Investigations

2 investigations; 0 open.

EA09013

Opened: 2009-08-18. Closed: 2013-02-12.

Vehicle Rollaway Allegations

This investigation is being closed based on several considerations.By the most inclusive counting of all alleged rollaway incidents (i.e., counting all alleged rollaway incidents and assuming a singular failure mechanism), the incident rate is low, however during EA09-013, ODI identified a number of different failure mechanisms in 180 incidents related to the alleged defect.The highest rate for an

Systems: POWER TRAIN, STEERING.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

PE09020

Opened: 2009-04-21. Closed: 2009-08-19.

VEHICLE ROLLAWAY ALLEGATIONS

IN RESPONSE TO AN INFORMATION REQUEST (IR) LETTER SENT BY THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI), FORD STATED CONSUMER REPORTS OF HIGHER THAN EXPECTED EFFORTS WHEN SHIFTING INTO AND OUT OF PARK COULD BE A RESULT OF A GROOVE BEING WORN INTO THE SWING ARM RAMP OF THE STEERING COLUMN. THE SWING ARM IS A COMPONENT BOLTED TO THE STEERING COLUMN THAT ASSISTS IN SHIFTING THROUGH THE TRANSMISSION GEARS

Systems: STEERING.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

Manufacturer communications

54 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
POWER TRAIN16
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING10
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM9
STRUCTURE5
ENGINE3
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER2
SUSPENSION2
TIRES2

10155551

Date: 2019-02-07. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STRUCTURE.

Some 2000 and newer Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles equipped with aluminum body panels may exhibit corrosion concerns appearing as bubbled and/or peeling paint with or without accompanying white dust. Panel replacement is recommended. Follow the Service Procedure steps to correct the condition

10156863

Date: 2019-02-07. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT, STRUCTURE.

Some 2000 and newer Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles equipped with aluminum body panels may exhibit corrosion concerns appearing as bubbled and/or peeling paint with or without accompanying white dust. Panel replacement is recommended. Follow the Service Procedure steps to correct the condition

10109070

Date: 2016-09-21. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

The Powertrain Control/Emissions Diagnosis (PC/ED) manual has been revised for diagnosing electronic throttle bodies (ETBs). The ETC_ACT and ETC_DSD PIDs should not used to diagnose possible ETB concerns. The IDS has a limited refresh rate when reading these PIDs and cannot display quickly enough to

10048099

Date: 2012-08-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.

FORD/LINCOLN/MERCURY: MAY HAVE SLUDGE BUILDUP IN THROTTLE BODY LEADING TO LESS AIRFLOW OR ENGINE IDLING RPM FLUCTUATION AND HARD STARTS OR BATTERY DISCONNECT OR DEAD BATTERY AFTER KEEP ALIVE MEMORY (KAM) CLEAR. MODELS 2003-05 THUNDERBIRD, 05-06 MUSTANG, 06-08 FUSION, 04-05 EXPLORER, 05-06 EXPEDIT

10045340

Date: 2012-07-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE.

FORD/LINCOLN/MERCURY: IF BATTERY WAS DISCONNECTED OR DEAD, VEHICLES/TRUCKS MAY EXPERIENCE HARD STARTS AND ENGINE IDLE RPM FLUCTUATION AND EXHIBIT DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES (DTCS) P0505, P0506, P2111 AND P2112. *PE

10028736

Date: 2009-05-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

FORD: SOME VEHICLES MAY EXHIBIT OIL SEPARATION FROM THE INTERNAL LUBE FOUND IN THE UNITIZED CARTRIDGE SEAL. OIL SEPARATION APPEARS TO BE AND IS OFTEN MISDIAGNOSED, AS AN AXLE LUBE LEAK. *PE

10023943

Date: 2007-10-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.

SOME 1997-2008 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A 4.6L 2V, 5.4L 2V, OR 6.8L 2V ENGINE--SPARK PLUG THREAD REPAIR PROCEDURE--NOT COVERED UNDER NEW VEHICLE LIMITED WARRANTY. *NJ THIS INCLUDES F-53 MOTORHOME CHASSIS. UPDATED 2/23/10. *PE

10019379

Date: 2006-01-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER.

MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP ON WITH PCM DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE P0463 AND/OR IC DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODE B1201 - FUEL GAUGE DROPS TO EMPTY OR SLOW TO UPDATE AFTER REFUELING. *TT

10019384

Date: 2006-01-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: TIRES.

LOW TIRE INDICATOR ON - TPMS SYSTEM SENSOR WAKE UP. *TT

10019947

Date: 2006-01-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

NEUTRAL TOW CAPABILITY - SERVICE KIT REQUIREMENTS. *TT

Notes on this record

  • Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
  • System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
  • Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
  • A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.

Other names NHTSA uses

None listed.

Matched NHTSA models

Matched labels and complaints
NHTSA model labelComplaints
EXPLORER497
EXPLORER SPORT5

Same model, other years

All model years | All Ford models

Other Ford models, 2005

Sources

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