2017 Ford Explorer Electrical Problems

I am filing a safety defect complaint regarding my 2017 ford explorer. The B pillar has broke in half a couple of years ago and nearly struck a vehicle behind me and if the remaining trim piece detaches, it could become a serious risk of collision, injury or property damage. it states NHTSA works to prevent unsafe traveling which is why I'm writing this.

We notice we were getting a warning about our battery about a year ago, so we took it to Ford and they said they couldn’t find any issues. We found a mechanic in town who looked at it with a volt meter an instantly noticed that the red power cable coming from the battery had burst through the casing that once held it.

The locks on the doors do not all unlock at the same time or lock at the same time. The passenger door has locked and would not unlock. My daughter had to climb through car to get out.

We had an issue with Fuse 34, it popped and sent warning lights to the dash regarding safety systems and sensors, as well as the cameras in front and back stopped working. We replaced the fuse and it held for a while, but then popped again. I noticed a lamp flickering one day on the front of the vehicle, and upon further inspection saw that the front camera and wiring harness had started on fire.

Our model is a platinum explorer with the panoramic sunroof. Apparently there is a sunroof leak which due to the way the headliner is made , fills the headliner (holds like a bowl) then either spills out at the front of the vehicle or rear depending on going forward , reverse, accelerating, braking, uphill, or downhill etc.

The APIM is malfunction in my 2017 explorer. Accessories stay on after vehicle turned off, killed battery, vehicle collision sensors and camera intermediate malfunction. Cruise control intermittent function, GPS and screen options /operations inoperable

The srs warning light on the dash is illuminated indicating that in the event of a collision the airbags will not deploy. Vehicle was taken to local ford dealer where fault codes indicate that two wire harnesses or connectors need to be replaced. Cost of service was quoted as $1600.

On may 20th 2020, I drove the car from my house to the grocery store, an approximate 7 miles drive. I parked the car on the parking lot, a few seconds after leaving the car white smoke started to come from under the hood, as the seconds passed the white smoke converted into a fire in the engine, 5 minutes later the car was lost due to fire.

Tl* the contact drives a 2017 ford explorer police vehicle. While the vehicle was stationary, smoke appeared under the hood. The vehicle was pushed out into an open parking lot where it caught fire.

Tl* the contact owns a 2017 ford explorer. While traveling on the highway at an unknown speed with the cruise control engaged, it suddenly disengaged on its own. The failure caused the vehicle to brake on its own and swerve from side to side.

While driving to work, while the vehicle was in motion, I heard a loud pop sound, engine began to smoke. Had vehicle towed in to local ford dealership which indicated bad cell in manufacturers battery causing it to blow and spray battery acid all over engine components at 26,127 miles. Dealership did not follow proper procedure when replacing battery and left acid on engine and components.

On 09/15/16 we purchased a 2017 ford explorer limited from supreme ford of slidell, la. Two weeks after having the SUV, we noticed the right tail light was not working at times. On 11/16/2016, we drove the vehicle back to the dealership to repair the light.

Your vehicle may contain police-related markings or equipment that could be mistaken for an actual police vehicle. This creates a safety and legal risk, as it could facilitate impersonation of law enforcement. Additionally, your vehicle has an open recall that needs to be addressed.

Your vehicle is equipped with red and blue auxiliary emergency lights that are illegal for civilian use and reserved for law enforcement only. The seller knew about these lights when selling the vehicle. Your vehicle also has open recalls and mechanical/electrical/lighting issues that need maintenance.

The rubber seal around your windshield was dry rotting and falling off, and a recall was supposed to fix it. When the dealer completed the repair in October 2025, they only replaced the left and right seals but refused to fix the top and bottom without charging you $800 extra. Since the repair, you're experiencing a loud whistling noise at 40 mph, water is leaking inside the vehicle, and the windshield wipers are turning on by themselves. The water leak has also caused electrical system problems that put you at risk of being stranded, especially since your vehicle is your only reliable transportation to medical appointments. Fixing this will likely require replacing the remaining windshield seals and diagnosing any water damage to the electrical system.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle made an abnormal beeping sound, the cabin lights illuminated unintendedly, and the message "Tailgate Ajar" was displayed. The contact decelerated and pulled over to the side of the road.

Driving on the highway heard large rattling noise coming from engine loss of power engine light came on battery light came on no acceleration cause to slow down on highway fortunately I was able to get to shoulder had it towed to service shop had p0012 code tensioner may have broken off on timing belt causing low oil pressure and causing engine rattling noise and engine shut down but service garage don’t do that type of work

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that he attempted to start the vehicle however, the engine failed to turn over. No warning lights were illuminated.

I was driving on the highway and my car started shaking and sounding different. The vibrations kept getting worse. Then I was trying to accelerate and my speed was going down.

When driving car lost all electrical functions, power steering, radio, lights, etc. I had it towed to service and they said nothing came up in diagnostics or error codes. I picked the car up and within a couple weeks it started happening again.

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while having an Emission test performed on the vehicle to have the vehicle registered, the test discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that at start up, the contact became aware that the ON/OFF ignition switch was fractured, and a half of the ignition switch was missing. No warning lights were illuminated.

Constant fail of O2 sensor and ABS causing check engine and ABS lights to come on. After diagnosis, did research and it is a common problem on Ford Explorers

I recently found out about a Ford recall regarding the backup cameras malfunctioning which did not include my vehicle even though my vehicle is showing the unsafe defect. The backup camera goes fuzzy/glitchy as well as black sometimes while backing up.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 24V031000 (Structure) and 25V347000 (Structure). However, the parts to do the recall repairs were not yet available.

The following is a letter I sent to Ford. I've yet to hear back from them. This is a picture of what happened in my 2017 Explorer on Thursday, June 5, 2025.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while seated in the parked vehicle, the rear passenger’s side head restraint became unhinged. The contact stated that the exterior front driver’s side pin paddle had failed.

There is a constant drain on the battery and overnight the battery can go dead. I replace the battery every 6 months to a year and have been doing that ever since we purchased it. The dealership wants $250 to diagnose it.

The sunroof gets stuck in the tilted open position and sunshades will not close. This creates an unsafe condition if it starts to rain. Cannot secure the vehicle.

Keyless entry panel on driver's side continues to fall off while driving, hanging by wires, which then blow fuses. Lift gate ajar warning comes on and then unable to open/close rear lift gate. Indoor overhead lighting remains on due to "liftgate ajar" even though liftgate is not ajar.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the front driver’s side door keypad fractured in half leaving the wires exposed. No warning lights were illuminated.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while her husband was driving at an undisclosed speed, the "Liftgate Ajar" message was displayed. The contact's husband pulled over and inspected the trunk, and the trunk was properly closed.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 80 MPH, the contact heard a loud bang, and the "Door Ajar" message was displayed. The contact pulled over and noticed that the front driver's side keyless entry keypad had detached, exposing the wires from the door.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the speedometer and RPM gauges were sticking. There was an abnormal ticking sound detected.

Like the existing recall for the exterior A pillar , the exterior B Pillar is lifting from the car at the top. This has since caused rain water to leak in from the top and caused a short in the touch entry keypad within the pillar, causing it to flash on and off over and over draining the cars battery until it is dead and won’t start.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was running rough and was shuddering while starting and driving. The check engine warning light was illuminated.

Air bag light came on the dash board Headed to dealer to see why Code B141C Cost to repair the problem was very high not covered by warranty The problem seems to me a poor design. Because of this weak design I feel this puts passengers in danger.

Our Explorer, experienced this in June of 2022. My daughter had just graduated college and we were moving some of her stuff back home 350 miles away. The Driver side area where the codes are put into to unlock the door if locked out, fell off and was hanging while we were driving on the freeway.

All plastic parts around all doors and windows have become detached. Windshield wipers do not stay on. All lights and GPS go haywire and flash on and off GPS system goes off and makes loud buzzing noise

I had a piece of window trim fly off while I was driving on the highway at 70 MPH. When it flew off, it may have hit another car. With the piece gone, I am not unable to open the hatch and the dome lights stays on for a considerable amount of time.

Bad APIM, available for inspection. Diagnosed by Ford dealer when I took it in for Sync screen going black, navigation fault, steering wheel Sync controls not working. Backup camera does not work periodically - which is my prime safety concern.

I took my Vehicle in because the AC stop blowing cold air, and the overheating lights kept coming on. After waiting for a week, I was told it was a water pump but that did not fixed the AC being at all, couple days later I got a call from the dealership (GRAPEVINE FORD) that the compressor went out.

The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the front driver’s side the keypad on the door detached from the vehicle and was hanging on by a wire. The contact stated that the liftgate ajar warning light was illuminated however, she was unable to open the liftgate.

The GPS, radio, backup camera, front facing camera and other items controlled by the APIM have been malfunctioning in the vehicle. The GPS will freeze, phones will not answer properly, the cameras will not engage often and the cruise control will occasionally malfunction. The only remedy is to replace the APIM.

Started car back up after driving noticed mirrors on both doors didnt extend out. and both front door windows wouldn't work the the defroster was on and I had climate set for AC then the tire pressure monitoring fault came on Sync touch screen would not do anything , the radio was working But nothing else , rear windows worked and sunroof as well.

My 3 yr old truck already has a leaking coolant line which come to find out is draining into the water line in the engine. I can't drive more than 5miles before I need to refill my coolant. In addition, the heating elements in both the driver and passenger seats has gone out.

The car has drained battery excessively fast. The amount of corrosion on a 2017 factory battery is not normal. The component board is malfunctioning and won't allow the battery to accept charge.

Tl* the contact owns a 2017 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 65 MPH, a piece of equipment detached from the vehicle. The contact stated that the panel which housed the digital locking system that opened the vehicle detached.

On january 11, 2020, I turned on the ignition of my 2017 explorer sitting in my driveway and immediately had 4 warning lights and multiple error messages appear. It was the ABS, stability control on and off lights and a wrench. Then there were multiple messages about my four wheel drive not working.

I bought my explorer brand new. At 28,000 miles the battery was leaking and was replaced under warranty. The other day I did an oil change and noticed the battery was leaking again and causing corrosion.

Tl* the contact owns a 2017 ford explorer. The contact stated that the bluetooth disconnected and the GPS and temperature sensors were unresponsive. There were no warning indicators illuminated.

After the 2017 ford explorer sport was started, the instrument panel was blank, the climate would not work, the wipers, blinkers, windows, etc. Would not operate. I tried restarting the vehicle multiple times to see if the problem would correct itself and it did not.

Tl* the contact owns a 2017 ford explorer. While driving, a burning odor emitted through the vents of the vehicle. There were no warning indicators illuminated.

I purchased my ford explorer 2017, in september of 2016, I have returned back to the dealer more than 10 times less than a 2 year period. My first problem was the truck would not get enough speed, unless I hit the gas 2 oir 3 times, the dealer came it wasn't a problem until the engine light came on, and than I was told it was a recall on it, but when I check, there was no recall on my VIN.

I have encountered too many issues with this vehicle, my biggest issue has to do with what I thought I was having a "falling asleep at the wheel" issue. There were a few times last winter, after letting the car sit stationary and warm up , that I couldn't "stay awake" while driving home on the freeway.

Tl* the contact owns a 2017 ford explorer. The contact stated that they observed an abnormal odor of fumes throughout the vents. In addition, the contact stated the odor was so absorbent that it caused headaches.

Problems with ford sync 3 system while driving: 1) navigation system shows incorrect location, and does not provide guidance. Car must be pulled over to the side of the road, turned off for a period of time, and restarted to correct the problem. 2) mobile phone show connected after starting the car, shortly there after disconnects and makes hands free operation impossible.

The windshield wipers activate by themselves, even when it is not raining and there is no water.

In January of 2025 the rear windshield suddenly blew a hole in it after starting the vehicle with the remote start. I was advised that due to the cold temperatures and then the heat from the rear defrost caused this to occur. On Wednesday 12/31/25, the same exact thing happened.

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy after the purchase.

Ya me marco el funcionamiento del motor

My instrument panel completely went blank, flickering and when the car is shut off it continues to click, I'm having to disconnect battery when exiting the vehicle. I have no speedometer, oil gauge, temperature gage. I have no way of knowing my speed when driving.

My locks on my doors will not lock with keyfob or when I push my lock button in the car. I am scared that if I can't lock them someone will fall out the car. Someone can steal my car because I cannot lock my doors.

The driver side heated seat does not work at all the passenger side heated seat works just the driver side does not work

Car dies repeatedly while on the road driving and also while parked. Car has errors on dashboard when attempting to turn on, which I have a video of. First mechanic was able to replicate issue once and got some scan tool codes but he said after that, they all cleared out and he wasn't able to replicate.

My two back doors wont lock or unlock. Very frustrating

My door do not lock/unlock automatically. It started with one door. Then that door started working and another door stopped working.

The automatic locks on both right passenger sides quit working. It imposes a danger because if you are trying to get out of the vehicle you can’t if it’s locked. If it’s left unlocked then it imposes a danger if someone is trying to get into your vehicle that you don’t want and you can’t lock them out.

The APIM module failed in our 2017 Ford Explorer.

My car keeps saying charging system service now but I’ve checked my alternator and my battery and they are both good. And I’m not the only Ford that has this problem as well. Multiple people who have had Ford have this problem.

Car pulled in my lane my car auto breaked, I also put on break then icon came on about airbag issue. Took to ford run test. The pig tail that goes to airbags, need to sauter 21 pins that goes to connection of pigtail to airbag.

Rear camera glitches out and image is distorted on many cases when backing up.. Similar to concerns on recent recall on newer models. Additionally, back electric 12v port does not disengage and has live connection even with no key in ignition.

Ford explorer xlt "in-dash control screen blanks out-leaves no electronic control drive, odometer, speed, climate control, backup camera, steering wheel controls, turn signals etc"

I was leaving a parking lot at the mall with my baby girl. I started the car and started to drive out of the parking garage when I realized my entire instrument panel was off. I couldn't see my speed limit, blinkers, fuel gauge, etc...

Driving down a dirt trail from a mountain outlook the cars electrical shut off. We had no control of brakes, or anything but stearing. Not to mention we were picking up major speed down a mountain, and bouncing everywhere.

After a stop, the car was at stationary, was not able to start the car by pushing the start button, gave me error on the dashboard "full accessory power active". Tried to turn it off, after multiple times of trying, was able to start the car, it has 606 mi on it.