2015 Ford Explorer Engine
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
ENGINE LIGHT ACTIVATION code: P0430 Catalyst system efficiency below threshold Bank 2
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on several occasions, while starting the vehicle and while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormally loud sound coming from the engine compartment. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the long block assembly had failed, and that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds on several occasions, there was an abnormally strong odor entering the cabin of the vehicle. The contact was experiencing reoccurring headaches from the odor. No medical attention was needed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic however, the failure could not be replicated. The contact stated that shortly after a visit to the mechanic, the check engine warning light intermittently illuminated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 166,000.
Took vehicle in to see local mechanic due to small drops of antifreeze on ground. Mechanic concluded water pump would need to be replaced. Since water pump is built into the engine for this Ford model, the engine would need to be dismantled to fix. Repairs are going to cost around 3500-4000 to fix just a water pump.....(poor design by Ford) 2015 Ford Explorer Sport has 110,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at approximately 60 MPH, there was a strong abnormal odor intermittently coming from the inside of the vehicle. The failure occurred on several different occasions. The contact stated that it became difficult to breathe; there was no medical attention sought. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the place of residence. A dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the water pump was leaking. The contact added coolant. There was cool air being distributed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined there was a water pump leak and that the water pump needed to be replaced. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.
See attached document for complaint.
Car kept overheating and I checked the antifreeze. Several times during the week it was empty. Took it to PepBoys and found out the water pump was faulty.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the engine overheated with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with water pump failure. The contact was informed that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 136,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was condensation underneath the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the water pump, timing chain, and belt needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 49,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was overheating while driving. The message "Engine Coolant Overtemperature" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the water pump had failed and was leaking. The mechanic informed the contact that the water pump was built into the engine, which required the engine to be disassembled for the water pump replacement. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 101,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the engine overheated. The contact stated that the coolant had leaked from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The driver pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the water pump was leaking. The engine had to be removed before accessing the water pump. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 86,500.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the warning message "Engine Overheating" had been displayed. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the engine coolant reservoir was low and coolant had leaked from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who diagnosed that the engine water pump had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 130,000.
Had the car for about a year. After the last service I brought in car was fine for a few months, but just recently Had a coolant leak start, very slow but not good. Took it to the service department and they said The water pump is bad. I’ve heard several case of this being a known issue but am learning that it has not been issued as a recall. Now expected to drop $5K on replacing the water pump on a known issue.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended. The contact stated that the RPM increased to 6,000 and the vehicle lost motive power. In addition, the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to two independent mechanics where it was diagnosed with a failed leaking turbo charger. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, she noticed the coolant fluid was low and the engine overheating warning light was illuminated, but there were no visible coolant leaks. The contact was able to drive a short distance to the residence. The contact refilled the coolant reservoir, but the coolant level was low the following day. The dealer was not made aware of the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 105,418.
Water pump inside the engine went out and was leaking coolant all over the engine and transmission. Caused the engine to over heat and the cabin heat to fail. Risk of fire with fluids on engine. Problem so common there is a class action lawsuit but no recall.
Water pump and timing belt failure, causing overheating and leaving driver stranded and posing threat for engine failure.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the contact noticed a gasoline odor coming from the exhaust. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic but was not diagnosed. The mechanic stated that it was a known failure associated with the vehicle. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance since the vehicle was not under warranty. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled with a thumping sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that when the ignition was turned to the on position, the vehicle failed to start with the lights illuminated inside the cabin of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 128,000.
While driving at 40 mph the car suddenly lost power. The accelerator would not respond. We were luckily able to coast downhill and get on the shoulder. This has happened four times in six months. The car is not safe for highway driving.
Leaking water pump
Component failure- Water Pump , causing extensive repairs. Car shut down while driving . I have estimate from independent service center. No inspection by manufacture on my particular vehicle, but a class action lawsuit was filed in February 2022 for another individual. Warnings didn’t appear until vehicle started to shut down.
The contact owns a 2015 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. During the failure the message "Terrain Management Fault" was displayed along with the wrench icon. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated normally, and the message and the wrench icon were no longer displayed. The contact stated that the failure had occurred on several occasions and at various speeds. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.
Turbocharger oil supply tubes leaking onto exhaust manifold Same engine as the recalled 2016-2017 Models
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Quick Summary
The 2015 Ford Explorer has 183 Engine complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.