2016 Ford Explorer Electrical Problems

While driving on the NJ Turnpike, your dashboard displayed a "lane assist no longer available" message along with a check engine light. When you stopped, you noticed the front of your car was burned with parts of the bumper melted. An electrical fire started in the front-facing camera, which shorted out and damaged the camera, front bumper wiring harness, and engine wiring harnesses, causing the vehicle to be declared a total loss.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notifications of NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 19V435000 (SUSPENSION), 24V031000 (Structure), and 25V347000 (STRUCTURE). However, the parts to do the recall repairs for 24V031000 (Structure) and 25V347000 (STRUCTURE) were not yet available.

The electronic door clocks are continuously failing where the door cannot be opened in an emergent situation. On 6/24/20 the front driver door latch had to be replaced and on 03/21/21 the left rear door latch had to be replaced. Presently the right rear door latch is not operating and the vehicle has been scheduled for service on 7/9/21..

There is an srs airbag warning light on the dashboard that used to intermittently display. Now it is on consistently when the vehicle is driven. It is due to a circuit failure or a broken cord leading to the driver side middle row seatbelt airbag.

On august 20, 2020, my vehicle had last been driven around 12 noon. It sat in the driveway with all of us home. My son went to get in the vehicle around 6:30 pm.

Seat heat under driver seat keeps going bad. Only the seat bottom, not the top. I noticed as this is the 3rd time it has been in for this, that when I have the seat in the farthest back position it works, but when the seat is moved further it pulls on the wires.

Airbag warning light appeared on instrument gauge @ approx 65,000 miles. The concern is for the rear seat restraint systems that have airbags built into the seatbelt shoulder straps. This design flaw by ford motor co has resulted in faulty wire harness systems for the seat belt airbags.

Standard driving drug with no crashes. Airbag light began coming on intermittently while driving in early to mid october of 2018 (around 45,000 miles). After a full week of the light staying on vehicle was taken to dealership.

The airbag warning light has come on. In taking the car to the dealership, this was traced back to ford's error code dtc b141b and/or b141c. This error code has to do with ford installing a defective wiring harness for the rear seat inflatable airbags and could cause them to fail to operate during a collision.

The car was weak to start for 2days.. Day 3@ 5am I pushed the key 2xs to start my 2016 for explorer from inside my house. It didn't start so I got inside the car & pushed the start button, it made clicking sound then said system shutting down!

I have a 2016 ford explorer limited edition under my dads name and my wife is the primary driver on it.

I just got back my vehicle from the dealerships service center and according to their finding their was an issue with the vehicles starter. I drove home parked the car in the garage then turned off the ignition. The vehicle would turn off, so I pushed the start button again but still did not turn off then seconds later I smell smoke.

With only 3.9 k miles the vehicle stopped acceleration and turned off. I was able to turn the car on, however, the vehicle would only move at idle speed while in drive. Fortunately I had enough to idle my way to the side of the road.

Wife was driving car & stopped at traffic light , called me & said car filled with smoke & smelled burning , upon further investigation found cooling fan motor & fan shroud caught on fire

Cooling fan caught on fire.

While I was sitting in the driver's seat of my rental (the vehicle running and in park), I pressed #2 of the numbered buttons, next to the lock controls, and the seat started moving by itself. The seat moved up and forward, while the steering wheel moved down.

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. While driving 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning and lost power. The contact was able to restart the vehicle.

I am an owner of a 2016 ford explorer that was purchased brand new at a dealership here in az last year in january. Immediately after purchase, I started noticing fuel leakage from the vehicle and vehicle using a lot of gas everyday. I took my truck back to the dealership and was told everything is ok.

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the vehicle lost power. In addition, the accelerator pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to accelerate.

I rented a 2016 ford explorer from avis at the portland (me) airport (avis vehicle #40933351). On friday, july 15th, the unit stalled as I pulled into an intersection. The accelerator was non-responsive and the car moved at a very reduced rate of speed.

Vehicle equipped with operational red and blue emergency lights prohibited by law, facilitates criminal activity such as impersonation of a police officer, civil regulatory laws regarding excess auxiliary lights, etc. Seller has actual knowledge and can be liable under color of law upon a purchase agreement with a buyer. Vehicle has open recalls and unresolved mechanical/electrical maintenance.

Vehicle equipped with red and blue emergency lights, excessive auxiliary lights prohibited by law, facilitates color of law violations, poses a risk to general public regarding harassment, impersonation of police officer, seller has actual knowledge, strictly liable upon a purchase agreement with buyer, and can be liable for crimes committed by others as a coconspirator.

The display screen keeps rebooting and not available. Its a safety issue as the backup camera is not available for sometimes up to 10 minutes

Intermittently, the vehicle's backup camera displays a blank (black) image when the vehicle is placed in reverse. The issue resolves its self by turning the vehicle off and back on.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving in the rain, water leaked inside the vehicle from the dome light. No warning lights were illuminated.

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while attempting to register the vehicle, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy.

The rear camera, mounted on the lift gate, is no longer operating correctly. At times, it will flicker off and on, camera picture 'rolls', or does not work at all (black screen with error message - "camera is no longer operational, contact the dealership"). These incidents with the camera have occurred multiple times each month over the last year.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V347000 (Structure); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the front passenger side door was opened, and the contact noticed water on the carpet after it had rained overnight. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the keypad detached and flew off the driver’s side door. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer.

Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while attempting to apply for a loan, it was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the sunroof opened independently, and an abnormal burning odor was coming from inside the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the A/C unit became inoperable. The vehicle was driven to a dealer and an independent mechanic to be diagnosed.

All of my warning notifications (911 Assist, airbag, front camera, parking assist, lane departure, lane keeping, etc.) turn on after 10 minutes of driving or turning on AC/heat.

The water pump failed vehicle only has around 105,225 miles on it. This has been a known issue with the 3.5L Twin turbo ecoboost. The water and coolant continuously coming out happens to be on the alternator which has caused it to short out and no longer be working properly.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while making left and right turns on several occasions at various speeds, the parking assist warning light illuminated, and the steering wheel became stiff. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that on several occasions while driving at various speeds, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the second-row seat wiring harness plugs were damaged and needed to be replaced.

Stereo/ inside lights turn off randomly. Unable to know if others can see if blinkers are on or not. Has not been checked due to high out of pocket cost through dealership.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that rainwater had leaked into the driver's side B-pillar trim panel causing electrical failures to occur which included the battery failure and the keyless entry failure. The cause of the failure was not yet determined.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving 70 MPH, the driver’s side front door panel became loosened due to failed adhesive exposing wiring in the door. The front door lights remained illuminated while the door was closed.

Vehicle sat for a little more than a week, and battery dies has happened multiple times. I consider this a safety issue, because I cannot leave my car for longer than a week. If I go on a trip, and coming back to a dead battery in the middle of the night is clearly unsafe.

Faulty power steering making noise while turning, difficult while driving because power steering seems to be failing. Making it hazardous to drive because it is difficult to keep straightforward in the road. Day before occurrence the back hatch (lift gate is ajar) would not open and shows light on dashboard and not sure if it's electrical or related to power steering.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated while driving at undisclosed speeds, the instrument panel intermittently went blank. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for a diagnostic test.

The contact owns a 2016 Ford Explorer. The contact stated upon conducting a routine inspection on the vehicle, he became aware that the battery was leaking acid onto the terminal connectors, and the terminal connectors were severely corroded. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where the battery and the terminal connectors were replaced; however, the failure reoccurred.

My fuel evap pump check engine light keeps coming on. I’ve owned this vehicle since July 2022 and I have paid for the evap pump 3x’s. My fan constantly runs in the engine.

My vehicle had a rear seat air bag recall. I brought the vehicle in for the recall and during a test of the airbag system the driver side air bag had a fault and the harness was replaced. Ford indicated that the vehicle airbag system is operational.

On 6/16/22 my vehicle was put in the shop for overheating. It was a water pump leak. It is a timing chain run water pump.

The airbag light comes on due to the connectors in the wiring harness used for the airbag and seatbelt restraint system. When the light is on the airbags will not deploy, making this a safety related issue. Ford has a technical service bulletin Ford TSB 16-0001 showing the issue.

Vehicle displays airbag warning light. Dealership diagnostic test determined there is a faulty connection to the 2nd-row inflatable seatbelt sensor. Ford issued a service bulletin to replace the wire harness pigtail connection.

Airbag light has been coming on intermittently for over 1 year. Diagnostic test determined there is a faulty connection to the 2nd row inflatable seatbelt sensor. Ford issued a service bulletin to replace the wire harness pig tail connection.

Per ford website, I was told that my sync software need an upgrade when I typed in the VIN, then I follow the instruction on website but the program I downloaded messed up my apim module on my car and radio, GPS, and other function ae not working. So I took my SUV to the dealer and they said it will cost me $1050 to fix the issue.

At approx 48,000 miles, airbag light came on. Car was not moving, was parked for 9 hours after a day of work. Nothing hit, no impact.

2016 ford explorer - the backup camera will come on while traveling down the highway at 55-60 MPH. Will cause it to loose power, the RPM's drop right below 1000, the wrench symbol comes on, and it will barely move down the road. A screen will pop up on occasion saying hill assist is unavailable.

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. While driving 20 MPH, the instrument panel lights flashed on and off. The contact also stated that the rearview camera was not functioning properly.

Wiring/battery problem. Positive post on battery corroded along with wiring going to post. Replaced positive wiring and accessories wiring along with a new battery.

The airbag controller light is on on the dash. I had a diagnosed and my dealership and they come to say that the wiring harness control in the rear airbags is damaged and needs to be replaced. The dealership I said this is a significant issue that has been noticing in 2016 ford explore models more and more.

I was driving on the nys thruway around 70-75mph and the car decelerated to 55mph then was like in a coast mode. The wrench light came on and it said see manual. I pushed the pedal all the way to the floor and it would not go any faster.

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. While driving various speeds, all the warning indicators on the instrument panel intermittently illuminated. In addition, the instrument panel indicators intermittently dimmed.

Dash/speedometer went black - heat and air system inoperable - no turn signals - power decreased and power steering not fully functioning. All of this happened when I placed the car in park and realized the radio and interior lights were not automatically shutting off so I restarted the car and still nothing.

"system off to save battery" message on ford explorer 2016. I have read over 500 post to this problem which my wife's SUV just started to show. Most of them are saying in some cases the SUV died while in traffic.

The vehicle was parked, and when we attempted to start the vehicle by pushing the start button, the vehicle did not start but a large amount of smoke poured out of the dashboard. The repair facility performed a significant amount of work with the electrical system, but stated that they did not discover what the root cause of the issue was.

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. While traveling 25 MPH, the tailgate inadvertently opened without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the issue could not be duplicated.

The vehicle keeps losing fuel and fuel has to be replaced every other day. Took vehicle into ford dealership to be checked out and was told vehicle is safe to drive. Gas can be smelt and visibly gushes after fueling in stationary position.

Hi I need help we are having issue with our 2016 ford explorer sport we only have it for 3 months 2k mileage, we noticed the hood vibrate at 65mph or over on freeway, I brought it to my nearest ford dealer, "ford serramonte" on 05/16/16 the service manager name henry said they are aware of it but couldn't do anything & they are waiting for ford to find the solution to fix it, but they didn't even check the hood.

Cooling fan shut down noise, since new the engine cooling fan makes a lot of noise when "spinning down" at the fan comes to a stop/shutting down engine. Fan is working, but for how long?

See attached document for complaint.

The car will give an error “service charging system now” the car will then lose power steering and the ability to give it gas. Eventually , minutes later it will completely lose all power while in use. This has happened on several occasions, started in 2023.

The problem remedied by TSB 21B11-s2 did not occur in my vehicle while the TSB was in effect. It has now surfaced

The power liftgate stop working. The liftgate light on dashboard shows liftgate open and the power liftgate does not work open nor closes.

water pump blew up at 120k miles, motor locked up leaving me in the middle of the road

Everytime my AC/heat is on it affects my engine as I’m driving. My speedometer fast jumps. As soon as I turn it off it seems to run better.

My touch screen isn’t working properly and I have brand new converters in there is smoke coming out of my tail pipes, also I have to jump my vehicle every time I want to go somewhere.

The accelerator for the climate controls is malfunctioning. Cannot defrost the windows to see, when driving the windows get so fogged I have to pull over to get them to defrost. Over 50k people online have stated the same issue.

Radio sparking and smoking plus peeling and bubbles inside the hood paint

Air bag light on dash. Caused by dtc b141b. Found TSB related to connectors under rear seat mp 130.

The 2nd row airbag light came on, and ford told me it was a shortage in the wires and it wasn't covered under the manufacturers warranty. They stated that since the airbag light was on, the short in the wiring would stop the airbag from deploying, which in turn is a safety issue.

Right rear passenger heated seat suddenly stopped working. The light turns on briefly but shuts off. I have seen multiple complaints about this issue but not on this site.

2016 ford explorer. Consumer writes in regards to inadvertent opening or closure of rear cargo door. *ld the consumer stated when the rear cargo door inadvertently closes it strikes the occupant on the head or back.

Navigation and radio screen keeps going out or turning black rear passenger door lock won't lock or unlock.

On a city street experience loss of accelerating power while coming to stop and crossing an intersection the vehicle will star at a snail pace bringing up the speed to 40 MPH on limp mode since the vehicle service wrench tool and air bag light up on the dash board vehicle will not respond pushing down on the gas pedal.

There is a design defect in the front parking sensors where after freezing, water can enter the opening of parking sensor and short circuit the wiring harness causing the parking aid system to fault. This prevents the driver from utilizing this key safety feature when parking or being alerted on their close proximity of surrounding objects.

I bought my ford explorer 2 years ago brand new and everys since I bought it I have had headaches. Dizziness while driving and electrical problems with it. My husband has also been treated for headaches and we believe it is from our ford, we don't have these issues until we are in the car for long periods of time.

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 ford explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle independently started itself without warning. Woody sanders ford (235 w mitchell ave, cincinnati, oh) was contacted and stated that this particular failure only applied to the police cruisers.

I was backing out of a parking space. The rearview camera on the ford sync system wound up showing a frozen image. It took me several seconds to realize that the image I was looking at was actually an old image!

Auto hatch closes without warning when load the rear of car trapping person between door and car. Door does not reverse to open.

When stationary the auto hatch feature opens by itself when walking by adjacent to the vehicle or pulling on the driver's door handle to unlock the car.

When cold starting car in garage, panoramic moon roof opened by itself.

All front parking assist red lights and alarm came on while stopped three feet behind another vehicle at a traffic light. When I took my foot off the brake and accelerated the lights and alarm stopped. It has never happened, again.

The rear hatch opens and then while someone is loading the back of the car (with groceries, etc.), the hatch starts to close. The hatch hits the person and does not reverse. Instead, the hatch tries to close even tighter on the person who is trapped underneath.

While placing groceries into the trunk today the lift gate began to close spontaneously on my daughter and I. We were fortunate enough to jump out of the way before it closed. We tried to push on it but it continued to descend.