2022 FORD EXPLORER Engine Problems

Ford Explorer Recall – Ongoing Safety Hazard In July 2025, Ford issued a recall notice for my vehicle. Shortly after, the check engine light came on. Starting October 15, 2025, my vehicle began failing to start after refueling—making noise and taking multiple attempts to start. The same issue occurred repeatedly on October 23 and October 30, worsening each time. On November 3, we brought the car to a Ford dealership. They confirmed there is no available fix for the recall and said there’s “nothing they can do.” I explained this was a safety issue since I drive my son with a disability to therapy daily. They told me I would have to pay out of pocket for repairs even though the problem is linked to the recall. On November 8, while driving in Arizona, my vehicle again failed to start after refueling. Later that day, it lost power on the road, the speed dropped suddenly, and it would not accelerate. The same stalling and jerking occurred again on November 10 while my husband was driving. We contacted Ford Corporate and NHTSA, but both said nothing could be done because the recall label says the car is “still drivable.” This is inaccurate and dangerous. The car stalls and loses acceleration randomly, creating a serious risk of an accident. On November 21, the car again failed to start after refueling. This has happened multiple times each week, and Ford continues to delay a fix. My vehicle is unsafe to drive, and this unresolved recall poses an ongoing safety hazard to my family and others on the road.

2022 ford explorer with less than 100,000 miles on it. Started getting engine shudders and a check engine light. It’s currently in the shop and I’m being told by the shop and a third party adjuster that I need a whole new engine because there is coolant leaking into the cylinders.

When i accelerate, the car jerks back and forth and stalls. ford has said the car was throwing codes but the TECH didnt feel the issue so they sent me on my way.... well fast forward to today, i am informed my car has thrown codes 4 times in the past few days and this morning i was scared to drive my car it was bad... and i have a [XXX] daughter. Our safety is my top priority and it doesnt seem to matter to anyone else INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owned a 2022 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that upon taking off after yielding to a stop sign, the vehicle inadvertently lost motive power in the middle of an intersection. As a result, the vehicle was struck by another vehicle on the rear driver's side door, sending the vehicle careening back through the inspection past the stop sign before coming to a complete stop. All air bags were deployed. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard and deemed a total loss by the contact's insurance provider. A police report was filed, and injuries were reported. The occupants did not immediately receive medical attention but later transported themselves or were transported to area hospitals for evaluation. The contact received a full-body MRI and was treated for whiplash, neck pain, and various bruising caused by the seat belt, while her husband received a CAT scan and was treated for whiplash, neck pain, back pain, and bruising on his arms. Meanwhile, the [XXX] occupant was transported to his primary care physician by his parents and treated for a neck burn caused by the seat belt. The contact also stated that the driver of the other vehicle was transported to an area hospital by EMT but was unaware of her condition or treatment. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Mileage: 80,000

The contact owns a 2022 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was turned off, the contact was notified by the Ford App that the check engine warning light was illuminated and the message “Fuel Door Open" was displayed. The contact stated that the vehicle previously had a transmission software update due to the vehicle hesitating to accelerate while driving. Additionally, the speedometer intermittently failed to function as needed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that there was water intrusion into the body control module fuse panel. The contact was informed that the battery and body control module fuse panel needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 61,500.

Mileage: 61,500

My wife was driving the car all of a sudden the check engine light came on, and it started to flash on and off. The car started sputtering. She pulled over turned the car off and called me. I informed her to wait a little bit and restart the car. She did – and then the check engine light came on, but was no longer flashing, and a car started running as if no problem. I had the code checked out it is P0300 – which is an error code of random misfire detected in the engine. Fortunately, she was not evolved in an accident, even though she was traveling on the highway. I am taking it to the dealer as his recommended. This happened when the mileage on the odometer read 40,144.

The contact owns a 2022 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, he heard an abnormal knocking sound emanating from the engine compartment. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the camshaft and timing chain. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 38,000.

Mileage: 38,000

On 10/28/2024 at approximately 0515 I was traveling at 51 MPH when my 2022 Ford Explorer King Ranch edition with ~25k miles experienced catastrophic engine failure. The vehicle had no prior indication of failure. No engine light, no warning lights, etc. The vehicle started shaking violently and lost all power. I was able to safely pull to the shoulder of a two-lane road. The vehicle was completely dead and would not start. I am not sure if there was oil or anything leaking as it was dark outside. I called a tow truck and had the car taken to the Ford dealership. After initial inspection, the dealership moved the car to the "heavy maintenance" part of the service department. After a few days, I called to find out what they found and was informed the engine had "thrown a rod" and the entire engine would have to be replaced. After a week and a half, I called back and was told they are still disassembling the engine and their next step will be to submit a "cost cap" to Ford for permission to replace the engine. After researching the issue online, I came across the Safety recall 24V-598 on engine failures in the 3.3L size engine, typically only on police interceptor versions of the Ford Explorer. The information in the recall sounded exactly like what happened to my explorer but was told by the dealer the 3.0L engines were not affected and they had never seen one fail like this. I truly believe the 3.0L engine sizes are affected and the recall should be expanded to include this version of the explorer. I was lucky that I was able to safely drift to the side of the road, however, others may not be that lucky.

Mileage: 177,175

The vehicle is a hybrid police interceptor utility. The unit was moving running radar and activated its emergency equipment, made a u-turn on a highway cross over, when accelerating in pursuit of a vehicle its engine stalled out and shut off. The vehicle stated to shift to neutral and restart when safe. The officer shifted to neutral and the vehicle would not restart. It was coasted off the roadway and towed. This is the third issue of this type that has occurred with our fleet of ford hybrid police interceptor utilities.

I was driving down the highway and my vehicle suddenly lost power and the motor blew up.

Transmission fails to smoothly shift, vehicle delays going in reverse after driving causing delays to park and shakes while downshifting. Drivers anticipate the vehicle to be able to backup sooner and can cause accident with delays. Safety 360 display and rear view camera goes completely out, inverts, and has delay when functions. Vehicle has full power failure while driving and can take 10 minutes to turn back on, happened twice.

I smell exhaust/gas fumes when driving my car. It is a very intense smell. This happens several times a week.

I have received six (6) notifications of a power train failure, which causes the vehicle to "shudder" at highway speeds. The first issue took place 09/01/2023, and the last was on 11/1/2023. The vehicle then continues to operate normally. If the vehicle is turned off and then on again, the light clears. I took the vehicle to Tamiami Ford for service. They reported that they can see that their is an issue, but are unable to diagnose it.

Vehicle was pushing blue smoke, dealership replaced the turbo. Blue smoke returned furiously and dealership replaced the top end including valve assembly. While on a 900 mile journey through northern idaho, the engine completely failed at highway speed leaving me stranded. Ford believes they have cured the valve issue when in fact a new long block motor failed on first long distance trip. Please don't let anyone else go through this I lost thousands of dollars in out of pocket expenses, missed my best friends funeral among other things. These manufacturers need to be held accountable for poor workmanship!!!

When engaging vehicle from park to gear (ex drive, reverse) or from gear into park there is a delay. Meaning vehicle doesn’t engage into drive or reverse when it is placed in that gear, it will take a moment for gear to engage, sometimes resulting in a jerking motion of vehicle. This jerking motion also happens when vehicle is automatically shifting as speed (rpm) increase. There is also a delay when pacing the vehicle from a moving gear into park, there is a delay of vehicle locking into park, sometimes motion is still felt.

As you drive and pick up speed at the range of 29 to 31 mph, exactly the car shutters and shakes. It is known by Ford that the driveshaft needs to be angled due to the hybrid battery location in the car. This particular problem is consistent with a driveshaft replacement that has been known by Ford as well as bearings in the driveshaft. I have had problems with the shuttering in this vehicle almost since day, one of owning it.

I was driving (at a fairly low speed) recently when my vehicle began driving erratically. I pulled over and noticed that there was smoke in the passenger compartment. I exited the vehicle and walked to the passenger side (out of traffic) and opened the passenger door to retrieve my cell phone. At that point there was a burst of flame upon opening the door, and the fire quickly spread to the passenger compartment.

The powertrain failed together with the gearshift was shown in screen. Ther is also problem with the seat harness beacuse of wire problem. The car is available for inspection. There is huge risk in the passenger and others because there almost a lost control in the vehicle while running on the road. It is confirmed by the service center of ford. It was inspected by service center od ford. It is currently there because it is not safe to use. I bought the car as brandnew November 2022 then December in the same year it was started showing in the screen the sign of powertrain malfunction. Now January 2023 I still have the same problem and I left the car in the ford center service. It is not safe to use especially i have my 3months old baby and my wife using it.

4 days after purchase car started shutting off after cranking. Sometimes it would be just once and sometimes it could be up to 4 times within the first 1-2 min of attempted driving. It would re-crank easily each time but by the time you would reach for seatbelt, it would stall. Sometimes you could put it in gear and drive a few yards and it would stall. This only happened with me in the mornings and no more through the day. It has now been with the local Ford dealership for 3 weeks. They replaced a vapor valve that they believe was stuck open within the first day of having it. When I picked it up and cranked it, it shut off again. Twice while I was at dealership so I left it again. Have not gotten back as of today which is 3 weeks now.

The contact owns a 2022 Ford Explorer. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the engine randomly disconnected from the transmission and the vehicle started idling while losing motive power while attempting to accelerate. During the failure the message "Brake Applied; Power Reduced" was displayed. The contact indicated that the failure occurred on six separate occasions and lasted approximately four minutes each time. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the brake sensors, but the failure continued to occur. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 1,200.

Mileage: 58,002

On four occasions over the past 30 days the vehicle has simply lost power while driving. No acceleration and the vehicle coasts to a stop and will not restart. On a few occasions it restarted after some time. Just shutdown while driving down the road. The third time it happened we took to the dealer and they claimed to fix a fuel pump module. It happened again a few days later. Took it back to the dealer and they claimed it was just low on gas even though it’s happened four times and there was gas in the tank. Took it home from the dealer a second time and simply ran it in the driveway for ten minutes and the engine stopped. Tried a second time and same result. Wouldn’t start again for 10 minutes.