The Used Car Index

2010 Ford Explorer problems

NHTSA lists 115 complaints for the 2010 Ford Explorer, 8 of them mention a crash and 0 mention a fire. 3 complaints mention an injury, with 13 injuries and 50 deaths reported.

Data build 2026-10-08.

NHTSA lists this vehicle as FORD EXPLORER.

At a glance

Complaints
115
With crash
8
With fire
0
With injury (complaints)
3
Injuries
13
Deaths
50
Recalls
1
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
33,256
Investigations
1
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
25

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
POWER TRAIN2824.3%
SEATS2017.4%
ENGINE1412.2%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL1412.2%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1210.4%
SERVICE BRAKES97.8%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM87.0%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER87.0%
AIR BAGS65.2%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC65.2%
Top subsystems
SystemSubsystemComplaints
SEATSFRONT ASSEMBLY3
AIR BAGSFRONTAL2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMINSTRUMENT PANEL2
POWER TRAINAUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION2
AIR BAGSSIDE/WINDOW1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLINGENGINE1
EXTERIOR LIGHTINGHEADLIGHTS1
POWER TRAINDRIVELINE1
VISIBILITYGLASS, SIDE/REAR1
VISIBILITYSUN/MOON ROOF ASSEMBLY1

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.

1 recalls.

10V161000

Date: 2010-04-20. Systems: SEATS.

Defect: FORD IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2010 FUSION, EXPLORER, EXPLORER SPORT TRAC, AND MERCURY MILAN AND MOUNTAINEER VEHICLES MANUFACTURED BETWEEN DECEMBER 15, 2009 THROUGH FEBRUARY 3, 2010 EQUIPPED WITH FRONT SEAT MANUAL RECLINERS. THESE VEHICLES FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 202, "HEAD RESTRAINT." THE RECLINER GEAR PLATE TEETH MAY BE OUT OF DI (excerpt)

Consequence: IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THE SEATBACK AND HEAD RESTRAINT MAY MOVE REARWARD, INCREASING THE RISK OF INJURY. (excerpt)

Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE MANUAL RECLINERS FOR BOTH POWER AND MANUAL SEATS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE APRIL 30, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FORD AT 1-866-436-7332. (excerpt)

Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.

Investigations

1 investigations; 0 open.

AQ10001

Opened: 2010-11-18. Closed: 2015-12-28.

Fleet Vehicle Recall Completion Audit

On November 18, 2010, NHTSA's Recall Management Division (RMD) opened an audit query (AQ10-001) to investigate recall remedy completion by rental car companies on safety recall campaigns.It was expected to provide the agency an indication of how completely and how quickly rental car fleets perform necessary recall-related remedies on the vehicles owned and then rented/leased for use on the roadway

Systems: UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Linked campaign numbers: None listed.

Manufacturer communications

25 manufacturer communications.

Communications by system
SystemCount
EQUIPMENT8
POWER TRAIN6
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM3
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING3
ENGINE2
SERVICE BRAKES2
SERVICE BRAKES, AIR2
STRUCTURE2

11029052

Date: 2026-02-24. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STRUCTURE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER.

Ford and Lincoln vehicles equipped with wired keyless entry keypad systems and accessory wireless keyless entry keypad systems may or may not come with a wallet card containing the master code. Unlike the integrated wired keypad, the accessory wireless keypad master code cannot be retrieved from the

10254138

Date: 2024-04-24. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

All accessory stick-on keyless entry keypads come with a wallet card containing the master code. If the accessory keypad was factory installed, this card will be placed in the glove box and should be handed to the vehicle s owner during initial delivery. Unlike the integrated (wired) factory keypad,

10164508

Date: 2019-08-09. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: VISIBILITY.

Some 2010-2020 vehicles may exhibit distorted glass with a subtle orange peel pattern or streaking etched into the surface. This is caused by hydrofluoric acid which is used in some car wash solutions as a cleaning agent. Hydrofluoric acid can attack the glass and cause visual distortion and/or disc

10160931

Date: 2019-05-10. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.

On vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission it is imperative that the converter pilot hub be greased with Motorcraft Multi-Purpose Grease Spray XL-5-A even if grease was not applied from the factory. Also verify that the engine/transmission alignment dowel pins are present as well as the eng

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

10148819

Date: 2018-10-02. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STEERING.

This SKU is a front upper ball joint. The Customer communication requested return of unsold inventory to inspect for ball studs with excessive rotational friction in the ball joint assembly. Excessive friction in the ball joint assembly may cause a perceptible increase in steering effort.

10143079

Date: 2018-06-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ENGINE, EQUIPMENT.

Various vehicles equipped with a 4.6L, 5.4L, 6.8L modular 3 valve engine built on or before 8-Jan-2016 may exhibit symptoms that may include upper end engine noise, rough running, misfire and/or engine damage. If diagnosis leads to only camshaft/camshaft roller follower(s) requiring replacement, rep

10137113

Date: 2018-03-30. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

Replacing the original equipment SYNC/Navigation system with either an aftermarket SYNC/Navigation kit or modifying original SYNC/Navigation parts to provide additional features is not recommended nor supported on any Ford, Mercury or Lincoln vehicle. Only approved Genuine Ford accessories or origin

10136597

Date: 2018-02-14. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.

2010-2018 various vehicles equipped with SYNC or SYNC 3 may not function when attempting to find or use the Spotify app via AppLink. As of an update released on 1/15/2018 Spotify will no longer be supporting their AppLink integration. No repair attempts should be attempted to correct this concern.

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
EXPLORER115

Same model, other years

All model years | All Ford models

Other Ford models, 2010

Sources

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