Ford Explorer Years to Avoid and the Best Years

Years to avoid: 2015 to 2017 At least twice the 193 complaints of a typical Explorer year. Most described: exhaust fumes in the cabin (2015 and 2017), power steering problems (2016).
Best years: 2019 Under three quarters of the 143.5 complaints of a typical Explorer year since 2016, with no open NHTSA investigation or do-not-drive or park-outside recall. The 2023 drew few complaints too, but it is named in an open NHTSA investigation.

Based on owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, not adjusted for sales. The 2024 to 2026 models are too new to judge. See every year ranked

Data: US EPA and NHTSAUpdated Nov 12, 2026

Every model year since 2010 in one place: EPA fuel economy, NHTSA recalls, owner complaints and crash test ratings. The best fuel economy rating, 28 mpg combined, arrived in 2020. Excludes the Police Interceptor Utility (EPA lists its 3.3L flex-fuel engine as an Explorer from 2020).

Explorer problems by year, ranked by owner complaints

How the years are ranked

Model years ranked by owner complaints filed with NHTSA in their first three years (model year Y: filed by the end of Y+2), so every year is measured over the same time on the road. Years without three full years of data, and launch or final years with very few sold, are left out. Counts are not adjusted for how many were sold.

A typical Explorer year drew 193 complaints in its first three years: the median of all its ranked years, higher than the median of its years since 2016 (143.5). Years to avoid drew at least twice that, and at least 50. Best years are up to three years since 2016 with the fewest complaints, each under three quarters of a typical year since 2016 (143.5), with no open NHTSA investigation and no do-not-drive or park-outside recall that covers all versions; the 2020 is never picked, as its first three years fell in the pandemic. How the verdict works.

Model year	First 3 years	All complaints	Recalls
2016 Explorer Avoid Most described: power steering problems or locked steering	659	2,467	14
2015 Explorer Avoid Most described: exhaust fumes in the cabin	443	1,820	8
2017 Explorer Avoid Most described: exhaust fumes in the cabin	400	1,706	13
2020 Explorer Most described: jerking, lurching or harsh shifting	339	1,256	34
2011 Explorer Most described: power steering problems or locked steering	259	1,198	6
2013 Explorer Most described: power steering problems or locked steering	231	2,239	11
2014 Explorer Most described: power steering problems or locked steering	229	1,684	6
2021 Explorer Most described: loss of power or limp mode	157	463	27
2012 Explorer Most described: power steering problems or locked steering	138	831	5
2022 Explorer Most described: backup camera problems	130	277	25
2018 Explorer Most described: exhaust fumes in the cabin	118	736	7
2023 Explorer Most described: jerking, lurching or harsh shifting and suspension part problems	78	115	15
2010 Explorer Most described: unintended acceleration or surging	46	115	1
2019 Explorer Best Most described: transmission failure or replacement and shaking, shuddering or vibration	41	303	6

Compare other models' worst years in the worst model years guide.

Check your Explorer for open recalls

Opens NHTSA's lookup in a new tab; your VIN goes to NHTSA, not to us. The VIN is on the driver's side dashboard, the door jamb and your registration. Safety recall repairs are free at Ford dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

How to check a car for recalls, step by step

Get a vehicle history report from EpicVIN (opens in a new tab): a paid report with the car's title, odometer and salvage records, from an approved NMVTIS data provider. Affiliate link: we earn a commission if you buy. If you typed a full VIN above, the link sends it to EpicVIN and opens its checkout page for that VIN. Check the price before you pay: EpicVIN's $1 trial lasts 3 days, then becomes a monthly subscription until you cancel ($49.99 to $99.99 a month on its pages as of Oct 2, 2026). Disclosure

Year by year

Model year	Best rating	Recalls	Complaints	Crash test
2026 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Gas	16	44
2025 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Gas	22	113
2024 MPG · Recalls and problems	24 mpg Gas	10	21
2023 MPG · Recalls and problems	27 mpg Hybrid	15	115
2022 MPG · Recalls and problems	27 mpg Hybrid	25	277	Not rated
2021 MPG · Recalls and problems	27 mpg Hybrid	27	463
2020 MPG · Recalls and problems	28 mpg Hybrid	34	1,256
2019 MPG · Recalls and problems	22 mpg Gas	6	303
2018 MPG · Recalls and problems	22 mpg Gas	7	736
2017 MPG · Recalls and problems	22 mpg Gas	13	1,706
2016 MPG · Recalls and problems	22 mpg Gas	14	2,467
2015 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	8	1,820
2014 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	6	1,684
2013 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	11	2,239
2012 MPG · Recalls and problems	23 mpg Gas	5	831
2011 MPG · Recalls and problems	20 mpg Gas	6	1,198	Not rated
2010 MPG · Recalls and problems	17 mpg Gas	1	115	Not rated

Owner complaints by model year

All complaints filed so far. Counts rise with sales volume and with time on the road, so recent years look better than they may turn out. The highlighted bar is the model year with the most complaints in its first three years.

2016: 2,467 complaints

Show as a table

Owner complaints by model year, Ford Explorer
Model year	Complaints
2010	115
2011	1,198
2012	831
2013	2,239
2014	1,684
2015	1,820
2016	2,467
2017	1,706
2018	736
2019	303
2020	1,256
2021	463
2022	277
2023	115
2024	21
2025	113
2026	44

Best combined rating by model year

The best-rated version in each model year. Gas: 17 to 24 mpg (every year from 2010 to 2026); 24 since 2020. Hybrid: 27 to 28 mpg (2020 to 2023); highest in 2020.

Best gas version
Best hybrid version

2026: gas 24 mpg · hybrid not offered

Show as a table

Ford Explorer best combined mpg by model year
Model year	Best gas version	Best hybrid version
2010	17	–
2011	20	–
2012	23	–
2013	23	–
2014	23	–
2015	23	–
2016	22	–
2017	22	–
2018	22	–
2019	22	–
2020	24	28
2021	24	27
2022	24	27
2023	24	27
2024	24	–
2025	24	–
2026	24	–

Every Explorer year's ratings in one table

Comparisons

Ford Explorer vs Toyota HighlanderMPG, fuel cost, recalls and crash tests

Questions

Which Ford Explorer years should you avoid?

The 2015 to 2017 Explorer are the years to avoid: each drew at least twice the 193 owner complaints of a typical Explorer year in its first three years. Owners of the 2016 most often describe power steering problems. Complaints can't tell you whether a particular car is sound, so whatever the year, check its open recalls by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before you buy. Safety recall repairs are free at Ford dealers for vehicles up to 15 years old from first sale.

What are the best Ford Explorer years?

The 2019 Explorer is the best year: it drew 41 owner complaints in its first three years, under three quarters of the 143.5 complaints of a typical Explorer year since 2016, and it has no open NHTSA investigation or recall telling owners not to drive or to park outside. The 2023 drew few complaints too, but it is named in an open NHTSA investigation. Only years since 2016 are considered, since owners filed fewer complaints in the early 2010s. The 2024, 2025, and 2026 are not ranked yet: they have had fewer than three full years on the road.

Which Ford Explorer years have the most problems?

Counting owner complaints filed with NHTSA in each model year's first three years, the 2016 (659) drew the most, then the 2015 (443). Owners of the 2016 most often describe power steering problems or locked steering.

Which Ford Explorer years have the most recalls?

The 2020 has the most safety recalls in NHTSA's file (34), then the 2021 (27). A recall can cover a problem that affects only a few cars, so open a year's page to see what each one covers. No recall for 2010 to 2026 models tells owners not to drive the car or to park it outside.

What are the most common Ford Explorer problems?

In the 15,388 owner complaints NHTSA lists for 2010 to 2026 models, owners most often describe power steering problems or locked steering (2,263 complaints, most of them for the 2011, 2013, and 2014); exhaust fumes in the cabin (1,254 complaints); and steering rack problems such as sticking, play or pulling (1,016 complaints, most of them for the 2013, 2014, and 2016). One complaint can describe several problems. Each year's recalls and problems page lists what owners describe for that year.

Which Ford Explorer year has the best MPG?

The best EPA fuel economy is 28 mpg combined, first reached by the 2020 hybrid version.

Sources and method

US EPA fuel economy data (fueleconomy.gov), file dated Nov 4, 2026.
NHTSA recall file dated Nov 12, 2026 and owner complaint file dated Nov 11, 2026; NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings.

Complaint counts are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume. How we build these pages. Spotted an error? Tell us.