2016 Ford Explorer problems: recalls, complaints and whether this is a year to avoid

Is 2016 a good year for the Ford Explorer?

The spread across this nameplate is wide: the 2016 draws 117 times the complaints of the 2024. On a run like that the model year you buy matters more than the badge, and 2016 sits near the top of it.

Older years have been on the road longer and collect more complaints for that reason alone, and a year that sold in higher volume collects more while being no worse.

This retrieval holds 8 of the nameplate’s model years. 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 are absent, which means no records came back for them — not that they were clean. The ranking above is among the years shown.

The 2016 accounts for 31% of every complaint filed against the Ford Explorer in this retrieval, which works out to 245.9 complaints per year on the road across the 10 years since it was sold new — the figure to compare against other years, because it removes the advantage a newer car gets simply from having had less time to accumulate reports.

Complaint volume is broadly flat against the 2015 (1.4×), so on this measure the two years are interchangeable and the choice between them comes down to condition and price rather than the model year.

Which recalls cover the 2016?

NHTSA records 15 recall entries against the 2016 Ford Explorer. The campaign text for this year was not part of the stored sample — check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls, which is the only way to know whether a specific car’s campaigns were carried out.

What do owners report on the Ford Explorer?

Across every Ford Explorer year, not the 2016 alone — NHTSA does not split component totals by model year.

• Steering — 2,146 reports
• Structure — 1,332 reports
• Unknown or Other — 1,234 reports
• Engine — 579 reports

If your 2016 is doing something now, these are the guides for that system — each opens with whether it is safe to keep driving:

• Clunk over bumps
• Shaking at highway speed
• Pulls to one side
• Humming rises with speed

Which other Ford Explorer years should you compare?

← 2015 Ford Explorer · 2021 Ford Explorer → · All Ford Explorer years

If you are deciding between years, the table above is the short answer and the Ford Explorer page carries the full run with the component breakdown. Before money changes hands, run the VIN for open recalls and read the inspection checklist — ten minutes in the seller’s driveway finds most of what matters.