2017 Ford Explorer Structure
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
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that there was water leaking from around the front windshield. The contact took the vehicle to the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000. The VIN was not available.
While driving in the freeway the plastic cover on the front "A" pillar flew off causing it to crash onto the front passenger side window before falling off. It could have caused serious bodily injury to my wife (front passenger) if the window was rolled down.
windshield trim panel detaching and flying off my car while driving at highway speeds.
The A pillar panel on the windows are a hazard. While driving yesterday the panel flew off and hit the car behind us causing the driver to over react and almost crash into several other vehicles. Ford has been unhelpful with this matter on making these safe.
Front windshield side panel flew off on freeway. Other side very loose as well. Glue, rubber seal crumbling. I have talked to dealer and they said âIt just happens sometimes. They just fall offâ Happened within the first week of purchase. Luckily no one was close behind me on the freeway. No warning besides the loud noise of it flying off and now there is a noise of air coming through since itâs no longer sealed. I am worried my windshield is next. I have seen tons of cars with the exact same thing!
Was driving at highway speeds when a hitting sound was heard to the body. Could not determine while driving what or where the noise came from. Later discovered the RH side a-pillar trim had detached from the car. Unsure whether the trim piece affected other vehicles on the road.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the passengerâs side windshield trim detached. Additionally, while driving at 80 MPH, the driverâs side windshield trim detached. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 126,415.
Right side of windshield frame piece fell off while driving
The windshield trim flew off and almost caused two accidents and the car is unsafe to drive with this missing as well as what happens when the other one flies off. The trim on the top of the car, both of them have flown off and almost cause two additional accidents. The trim on the back is completely cracked and came that way on the car. This has been very dangerous and could harm my children and I and other drivers. As well as extremely stressful. I have three children's live at risk. There were 3 different incidents.
I noticed a couple of months ago that the rubber gasket that lines my windshield on both sides has started to crack. Within the last month pieces of it started to fly off while driving, even at standard speeds of 45mph. I started looking for replacement parts and cost for having this repaired but could not afford the dealership cost. Last week while driving on a busy highway at 72mph my passenger side windshield pillar molding completely detached from my car and flew into traffic behind me. Luckily, it did not hit any vehicles but was run over by several behind me. There are multiple complaints about this being a VERY common issue with Ford Explorers from 2011-2019. I'm unsure why this hasn't been recalled yet as most owners of these vehicles have had to replace them on their own. I've seen several reports of this costing upwards of $1000 of done by the dealership. As an owner of this vehicle, I expect when I pay $30,000+ that it be a vehicle that is safe not only for my family but others traveling around us. There are no warning signs of this happening and it's very dangerous. Ford has been made aware by multiple complaints and nothing is being done to correct the issue.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH, the contact heard a slapping sound coming from the vehicle and became aware that the front driverâs side windshield trim had detached and struck the vehicle behind. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 126,000.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that the rubber on the window trim between the passengerâs side front door and windshield had started to separate. One day while driving at highway speeds, the window trim detached from the vehicle. The contact stated that the rubber on the driver side window trim had also started to separate. The contact believed that the panel would also detach. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
My right side A pillar flew off of my car while driving on the highway. Luckily this did not cause an accident but very much could have. I have seen numerous other Ford Explorers with the same piece missing from their windshield. Very dangerous! I uploaded my car (the black explorer) and another car I seen on the highway with the same piece missing. I also have a friend who has an Explorer and her piece flew off as well.
As with 2 million other Ford Explorer drivers my passenger side windshield trim came off.
A-post (passenger side) trim because detached at high speed, striking another car.
Both of the A-pillar body panels between the windshield and front driver/passenger doors have blown off at different times while driving on the freeway. The second flew off today and the other was months ago.
PASSENGER SIDE WINSHIELD TRIM FLEW OFF GOING DOWN THE ROAD
Passanger side pillar broke off while traveling about 60mph. Hit window and almost hit a motorcycle traveling in adjacent lane. Looking for a replacement online and found several forums requesting it to be reported for a possible recall.
Outer plastic A-Pillar Trim detaching from body of vehicle, putting other drivers at risk of vehicle parts coming off and hitting vehicle or causing accident
Passenger side Window trim. Trim detached flying off at traffic behind almost striking vehicle traveling directly behind my vehicle on interstate. No inspections have been completed by any professionals at this time. trim retainer is broke in half while still attached to the car. the trim piece itself was unable to be safely recovered. rubber along windshield next to trim came loose minutes before.
I was driving on the interstate highway- I-20 in Alabama going eastbound at approx. 70 mph. Suddenly, the driver's side windshield trim moulding blew off without any warning. Mileage was 51,278. The safety issue is that this trim moulding is approx. 18 inches long - 4 inches wide which may have hit another vehicle as it departed my vehicle at highway speeds. I further read that approx. 170 Ford Explorer owners have also reported the identical issue, so I wanted the goverment to be aware that this occurred and hopefully there is a full recall. The dealer wants $650 to replace this moulding.
Wind pulled the âAâ pillar trim off the vehicle, breaking g the plastic trim and rubber gasket. This is a know problem that FORD has not issued a recall on, but should.
Traveling west on I90 out of Boston a piece of the bodywork (plastic trim sealing the windshield) on the passenger side of the car tore away and flew into the path of vehicles behind. The car has been inspected and repaired by a Ford dealer to the expense of $250 parts and labor. I have filed a complaint with Ford. They simply said that they would not pay for the damage. Nevertheless, this should not be happening. The bodywork should not failing while driving. No police or insurance representatives have been involved. And there was no indication this would happen prior to the incident on Thursday, January 26, 2023.
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front passengerâs side windshield pillar fractured. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was given an estimate for the repair. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the vehicle was not covered under recall or warranty. The contact also noticed that the front driverâs side pillar had also become loosened. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.
August 28, 2021 I was driving on the interstate when out of nowhere the rubber moulding/trim on my passenger side came partially detached and continued to bang up my window for the remainder of my trip (about 20 minutes at that time) until I could safely pull over and see what was happening. Majority of the rubber was missing and continued to disintegrate and fall off over the last 2 years. Yesterday, May 7, 2023, I was again driving on the highway when the entire pillar trim/moulding and rubber flew off the driver's side going 60+ mph which hit my mirror and side door chipping the paint on it's departure from my vehicle. This is obviously a major safety issue and needs to be a recall immediately. I've had nothing but continuous problems with this poorly manufactured vehicle (including the roof racks STILL not being repaired after over 10 repairs from the local Ford service department). Thank God no other car was around to get hit by the flying parts off my car!
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Quick Summary
The 2017 Ford Explorer has 535 Structure complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.