Ford Explorer reliability by year
109 recall campaigns and 16,867 owner complaints across 22 model years. Best year to buy: 2009. Year to avoid: 2021.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 13 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2019, 2024 . Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 22 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 243, more than the 109 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Explorer aggregated across 22 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Ford Explorer?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2009 Ford Explorer scores 8.2/10 — the strongest in the 2005–2026 range. 33 complaints on file, 1 active recall. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Ford Explorer year should I avoid?
The 2021 Ford Explorer scores 2.0/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 447 owner complaints with NHTSA, 26 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2021 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Ford Explorer should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2022 (avoid — the powertrain — powertrain: 55 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 10,000–40,000 mi); 2021 (avoid — the electrical system — electrical system: 38 complaints, classified severe); 2020 (avoid — the electrical system — electrical system: 140 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 5,761–41,000 mi); 2017 (avoid — the engine — 6 fire-related complaints and 1 crash-related complaint on the electrical system); 2016 (avoid — the powertrain — 6 fire-related complaints on the electrical system); 2015 (avoid — the engine — engine: 207 complaints, classified severe, failures cluster 24,400–90,000 mi). The cleaner years on the data are 2009, 2024, 2019, 2012, 2010, 2008. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Ford Explorer are tracked?
22 model years (2005 through 2026) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 109 distinct recall campaigns and 16,867 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 243 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Ford Explorer?
steering is the most-reported category — 3,536 complaints across 19 model years. Average shop repair runs about $700.