1. Ford Explorer
  2. Problems
  3. 2006
  4. Engine

2006 Ford Explorer Engine Problems

54
Owner complaint records in our dataset

Records are owner complaints, not a measured failure rate.

Owner complaint recordsComplaint records reflect reports in our dataset and do not measure how frequently the problem occurs across all vehicles.

Among these 54 stored complaint records:

  • 0 indicate a crash
  • 0 indicate injury
  • 1 indicate fire

What owners report

  • radiator replaced · 8 records
  • failure mileage · 7 records
  • times taken · 4 records
  • notified failure · 4 records
  • eddie bauer · 4 records
  • power steering · 4 records

Mileage in stored records

BandRecords
60–100k mi26
100–150k mi7
30–60k mi7
1–30k mi4
150–400k mi2

Complaint records

Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.

  • May 13, 2013 · 97,000 miles

    Engine

    Tl* the contact owns 2006 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds the vehicle stalled and the check engine light illuminated. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be diagnosed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vin was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 97,000.

    ODI 10598625

  • April 2, 2013 · 87,000 miles

    Engine · Power Train

    Transmission disengaged at red light. It started going backwards instead of forward. Had to put into park and then back into drive to get it to drive. Still going on. Now when actually on the road it is getting out of gear when vehicle is at driving speed. Engine revs up to 5000rpms, then down to 1000rpm. Vehicle lunging. Will get hurt i'm sure. *tr

    ODI 10535277

  • March 18, 2013 · 86,000 miles

    Engine · Power Train · Service Brakes, Hydraulic · Tires

    With only 86,000 miles our ford explorers transmission has failed once again. When we had 23,000 miles on our vehicle we noticed the transmission was shifting rather hard and took it to the dealer and they found nothing wrong. At 58,000 miles the transmission engagement was so rough that we had to get it repaired. Since the warranty is only up to 36,000 we decided our best bet is to not take it to the dealer. We had…

    ODI 10505294

  • March 15, 2013 · 100,000 miles

    Engine · Power Train

    I've had multiple problems with this car. First the car shifts hard approx between 10 mph and 20 mph, the car lunges, stalls, then shifts hard into gear. When it first happened, i took the car to a certified mechanic and they did a complete transmission flush... The car ran smooth for about 10 days, then it started leaking transmission fluid which resulted in my radiator being ruined. Replaced the radiator and a…

    ODI 10599182

  • March 5, 2013

    Engine · Fuel/Propulsion System · Service Brakes

    Upon starting the vehicle it suddenly excelerates. I now keep my foot on the brake at all times immediately following ignition. It has has happened four or five times in the last several months. I have owned the vehicle since 2007 when i purchased it from ocala lincoln mercury as a ford certified vehicle. It had approximately 14,000. Today it has only 54,230 mostly highway. That is less than 7000 miles per year. Itr…

    ODI 10515883

  • January 14, 2013 · 87,000 miles

    Engine · Power Train

    Just like many others who have reported the same issue with their 2006 ford explorer, when backing out of the driveway, i put the vehicle in reverse. There was a jerk as the transmission seemed to finally engage. I thought the trans broke at the time? This has happened more then once. I have also experienced the same issue as others with the delayed shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. My explorer has just 88k miles on…

    ODI 10504436

  • November 24, 2012 · 83,000 miles

    Engine

    Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford explorer. The contact stated that when driving approximately 50 mph the temperature gauge started to rise. A few miles down the highway he saw a large cloud of smoke coming from his engine. The contact was able to merged to the side of the road and have the vehicle towed. After diagnosis from the dealer they advised him that the radiator fractured and started to leak onto the engine.…

    ODI 10486343

  • October 1, 2012 · 87,000 miles

    Engine · Power Train

    Range shifter needs to be replaced, truck is jerking with acceleration and changing going between 1st to 5th gear jolting the vehicle. Very big safety issue as i have almost been rear-ended multiple times. Ford says no recall on transmission issues. Mine is a 6r60 transmission in the 2006 eddie bauer explorer which has the range shifter located inside transmission. Will cost $2300 to fix! *tr

    ODI 10494484

  • September 13, 2012 · 80,700 miles

    Engine · Power Train

    While trying to stop my vehicle suddenly accelerated and i had to put it in neutral to come to a stop. I pulled into a parking lot and shut the engine off and then started it up again and my engine revved at around 4000 rpm. The only way i could drive the vehicle home was to keep constant heavy pressure on the brakes. It always wanted to accelerate. *tr

    ODI 10475348

  • August 15, 2012 · 50,000 miles

    Engine

    Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford explorer. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the vehicle hesitated. The contact was able to accelerate into traffic however within moments, fire emitted from under the hood. The fire department was called to extinguish the fire and advised that the fire originated from the right side of the engine bay area. The fire had spread to the windshield and dashboard as well.…

    Fire reported

    ODI 10471233

  • July 12, 2012 · 554,000 miles

    Engine

    Engine lost power and began vibrating. Engine driven to dealership and engine light came on. Dealership states "seized" spark plug but because part is defective wants to replace all eight plugs. Unable to quote cost as plugs are known to break off during removal. Plug replacement recommended orginally to be 100000 now dropped to 60,000. Service writer stated "you must have had someone messing with your spark plugs".…

    ODI 10465627

  • June 5, 2012 · 55,000 miles

    Engine · Fuel/Propulsion System

    I noticed a yellow fluid leaking from the thermostat housing. I took it to a mechanic and he said that the antifreeze was leaking from somewhere in the manifold, probably the thermostat housing. We replaced the thermostat housing and brand new o-rings and added silicone sealant around the affected areas. We are still seeing the leaking. I have seen this complaint numerous times and it is time that ford take…

    ODI 10460906

  • May 3, 2012 · 72,000 miles

    Engine · Vehicle Speed Control

    The vehicle was driving at a speed of 40-45 mph and stalled. This again happened on may 25, 2012 while leaving on our vacation. We parked the vehicle and rented one to drive the remaining distance. When taken to a mechanic it was found the throttle body was bad. We have replaced it and in the month of november the vehicle began doing it again. As you drive it will just completely shut off. As the mechanic told us…

    ODI 10500626

  • April 11, 2012

    Engine · Power Train

    First incident occurred in early april 2012: my car was emitting a foul smell and overheating. Upon inspection, it was discovered that my radiator was leaking. I turned my vehicle into ford and it was replaced. Second incident occurred early-mid oct 2012: my car was jerking and the check engine light came on. It was taken to have the codes checked and it was indicated that i had 2-3 random "miss-fires" to my spark…

    ODI 10486027

  • March 26, 2012 · 97,000 miles

    Engine

    We bought the used vehicle in march 2012 with a 30 day warranty. During the first month, noticed engine slipping (usually around 45 mph). Checked fluids, added coolant and naively thought the problem would go away, and it seemed to for about a month. However, the engine/transmission slippage has gotten much worse since then. We are constantly adding coolant and driving very carefully to avoid a hard jerk in the…

    ODI 10556224

  • October 26, 2011 · 69,364 miles

    Engine · Power Train

    Purchase this vehicle in 2011 once it was home within 3 months began having problems, i also purchase the ford extended warranty and took it back to the dealership. They explained they could not find an issue with the transmission. It jolts, lunges, and sometimes the transmission doesn't engage. I feel extremely unsafe trying to pull out at an intersection because the car starts to jolt and i have to slam on the gas…

    ODI 10651017

  • September 12, 2011 · 65,000 miles

    Engine · Power Train

    When i moved from park to drive the transmission jolted and slammed into gear... Today while driving the truck went from 40 to about 10 mph and will not go above this speed. *tr

    ODI 10484699

  • September 9, 2011 · 70,000 miles

    Engine · Power Train

    During a left turn across three lanes of traffic our explorer would not accelerate. It lurched to start and would not go above 10-15 mph, nearly stalling. We were able to drive the car home but could not get it to go above 20 mph. At speeds 10 - 20 mph it jerked violently. This was a common occurrence at speeds 45 - 60. Moderately accelerating between 45 - 60 mph has caused hard jerks for years with this car prior…

    ODI 10514682

  • February 11, 2011 · 40,130 miles

    Electronic Stability Control · Engine · Power Train

    Driving at 45 mph ,transmission shifted with a jerky motion ,first started then.when you first take off it jerks and makes a noise. When you back up it jerks hard enough it whips you body back. Had it checked at a transmission place. They tore it down and found nothing ( $400). Still jerks and shifts rough. Don't know how long it's going to last. *tr

    ODI 10566284

  • February 2, 2011 · 80,000 miles

    Engine · Vehicle Speed Control

    While traveling on the highway the vehicle suddenly lost power as if it stalled. Engine was running but vehicle had no power. Vehicle had to be turned off and restarted to regain power. Always feared being rear ended or stalling on railroad tracks. Dealer determined it was electronic throttle control and replaced it. The vehicle has not had this malfunction since the repair about 18 months ago. *tr

    ODI 10567988

  • January 20, 2011 · 74,000 miles

    Engine

    Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford explorer. The contact stated that the vehicle was abnormally leaking fluid. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a diagnostic was performed. The dealer advised the contact that the radiator plastic failed and caused the radiator crimp to leak. The contact stated that the failure also occurred in 2010 and the radiator was replaced at that time. The dealer advised that the…

    ODI 10486465

  • October 13, 2010 · 73,000 miles

    Engine

    Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford explorer. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the vehicle stalled and all the warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact pulled the vehicle over and restarted it and it functioned properly. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not…

    ODI 10479533

  • May 5, 2010 · 44,000 miles

    Engine · Radiator Assembly

    Tl* the contact owns a 2006 ford explorer. The contact stated that while traveling approximately 40 mph, there was a loud noise in the front end as the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact had already taken the vehicle to an authorized dealer who replaced the radiator twice but the failure recurred. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer who diagnosed that the radiator and engine needed to be…

    ODI 10588698

  • March 21, 2009 · 38,000 miles

    Engine

    While driving to florida from missouri, to take my kids to disneyworld, with a car that was well kept and relatively new, on the highway a few miles after pensacola, the vehicle overheated and stalled, so we had to stop on the side of the highway at night. Steam was coming out from a crack on the top of the radiator. I had to call for a towtruck and lost a couple of days of our vacation until the closest mechanic we…

    ODI 10496898

  • March 2, 2009 · 72,000 miles

    Engine · Power Train

    Shifting of transmission slams hard on a fast take off, then at 45 or above cycles gears and won't stay in overdrive. *tr

    ODI 10567801