2012 Ford Explorer Power Train Problems
- 48
- 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 48 stored complaint records:
- 1 indicate a crash
- 0 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
What owners report
- power steering · 14 records
- throttle body · 6 records
- wrench icon · 6 records
- light came · 5 records
- without warning · 5 records
- side road · 5 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 30–60k mi | 24 |
| 1–30k mi | 10 |
| 60–100k mi | 7 |
| 100–150k mi | 4 |
| 150–400k mi | 1 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Engine · Power Train · Steering
CAR WON'T GO INTO PARK
ODI 11241162
Power Train · Suspension
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford explorer. The contact took the vehicle to billy howell ford lincoln (1805 atlanta hwy, cumming, ga 30040, [redacted]) for routine service. The dealer noticed that the power transfer unit was leaking and needed to be replaced. Two weeks prior, the vehicle was repaired by the same dealer per nhtsa campaign number: 19v435000 (suspension). The vehicle was not repaired and the failure…
ODI 11228697
Power Train
Twice in 5 days the vehicle has 'awd off' error message pop up when driving at 25mph, and has forced the vehicle into idle while in traffic. All of the mechanics we talked to won't touch the vehicle because this a known issue, and direct us to the ford dealership to have it serviced. There is zero sense of safety when driving it.
ODI 11207949
Electronic Stability Control · Power Train · Steering
Steering wheel locks up when you start truck and have to turn off and restarts to go away
ODI 11195568
Electronic Stability Control · Power Train · Service Brakes
Purchase vehicle 2 21 2019 and the two engine lights warning lights breaking decelerates which is very dangerous driving on the highways. Service light tracking light stays on and the vehicle does all this on it's on. I have contacted by chat the ford corporation about this serious issue with this make and model. I was told their was no service bulletin so they could not help me. They refuse to address the dangerous…
ODI 11231174
Power Train
At beginning, vehicle frequently suddenly reduce the speed while driving, then i experienced the difficulty to start the engine in the morning. Miss fire of the engine experienced during both in driving and morning engine start. The vehicle also accelerate when the driving speed around 20 mph in city driving, and suddenly reducing the speed when it is around 80 mph on highway. So i decided to send it to a local…
ODI 11180972
Engine · Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford explorer. The contact stated that the throttle body assembly was faulty. When the contact depressed the accelerator pedal, the vehicle would not accelerate. The contact pulled the vehicle over and it started shaking. When the contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, it operated normally. Sames ford ([redacted], corpus christi, tx 78415, [redacted]) diagnosed that the throttle…
ODI 11165600
Electrical System · Power Train
2012 ford explorer xlt 4w. The terrain management system fault light came on and car went immediately into limp mode on a major road.there was no warning and was almost rear ended. Took to dealer oct.1 and they kept it two days. The dealer said they could not find a code. Dealer said it is fixed by updating and calibrating the abs system. It was not fixed. . Oct 13 same light went on and car immediately into limp…
ODI 11140260
Power Train
The problem occurs again twice on 5/23/18 the wrench icon appears again, lost power, no acceleration, turn off the engine and restart..made an appointment back to coggins ford and they checked and still there is no code to see what is wrong with the car. They suggest that it might be the electronic throttle body if i want to replace it but not guarantee. With my approval i am taking my chances to replace it because…
ODI 11098258
Power Train
This is the continuation of my 2012 ford explorer follow up complaint about the power train malfunction and reduced power that happen on 5/12/2018. As i mentioned in my last complaint that i took it to coggins ford in jacksonville on 5/14/18 and they checked my car and the service advisor said that they test droved and checked but no codes so they cannot do anything and he advised to keep on driving until it happens…
ODI 11093738
Power Train
I was driving on the highway with the speed of 60 miles per hour and suddenly the wrench icon shows on the left hand side of my steering wheel and my car speed is slowing down. I tried to push my accelerator harder but it will not pick up speed, so i pull off the road and turn off my engine. After a few minutes, i started my car and it starts and drove home with a low speed and made an appointment to coggins ford in…
ODI 11093488
Electrical System · Power Train · Steering
After starting the car while parked the 'service advance trac" warning came on. After driving approx. 100 feet the warning went away. There was a slight hardness in the steering at this time. That went away when the warning went away. This occurred on nov. 10, 2017. The second problem occurred on nov. 23, 2017. While parked overnight and all day in our garage i started the car and the "power steering assist fault''…
ODI 11048224
Electrical System · Engine · Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 ford explorer. While driving various speeds with the accelerator pedal depressed, the vehicle stalled and the oil pressure and power train wrench warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was unable to start on the first attempt. The failure recurred over three times. The contact noticed the failure after she depressed the accelerator pedal after a complete stop. The local dealer (gulf…
ODI 11041955
Power Train
2012 ford explore limited. While driving on highway, the car suddenly with no warning decreased speed then a wrench warning light came on in the lower left dash panel, and the car was idling very rough. Even though i was pressing on the gas pedal to accelerate, there was no response. I was able to limp it home at literally 2 mph in "limp mode". The car did not respond when i pressed the acceleration pedal although i…
ODI 11035808
Engine · Fuel/Propulsion System · Power Train
(re)starting august 1, 2017, while driving, the vehicle would suddenly and without warning decelerate, with no response from the gas pedal. Ford calls this their "limp home mode." the wrench icon warning would display and the entire vehicle would shudder until it was put in park and turned off. Usually, it would resume normal operations after being restarted, however, on one occasion, it took three attempts to…
ODI 11020395
Power Train
I have had the car for 2 years and have had at least 10+ incidents of my car losing all power for acceleration. It has happened on the highway going 65+, it has happened accelerating onto the high way, it has happened on residential streets, it has happened on state highways, it has happened in parking lots. The car suddenly revs super high but pressing the accelerator does absolutely nothing. I have to limp to the…
ODI 11003707
Power Train
Experiencing hard shifts with a thud. Happens when the vehicle is slowing down then when i accelerat there is a delay then a thud when it finally shodts into gear. Apparently i'm not the inly one from what ive heard. I wish ford would fix this issue. I have taken it to garage but they were unable to determine the issue.
ODI 11208914
Fuel/Propulsion System · Power Train
Fuel and exhaust fumes or smell of burning oil. Problems with turbo.
ODI 10967501
Power Train
While driving the vehicle started to make a grinding noise coming from the front area. Pull over and tow to dealer . The transmission pto had a internal failure. The car only has 51k miles normal driving. I search on the internet and found that ford had several issues with this part breaking in low time. This could be a safety hazard. *tr
ODI 10939129
Engine · Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
While driving the vehicle suddenly power would be lost. When applying more pressure to the accelerator, no usable power was present and the vehicle could not exceed 30 mph. After this occurred on the 4th time on a subsequent day, the "engine" symbol was displayed. Currently the vehicle is at a ford dealership to troubleshoot the problem. On two occasions this discrepancy with acceleration and functionality of…
ODI 10923895
Fuel System, Gasoline · Power Train
My 2012 ford explore ltd. Stops in the middle of the road while driving. A wrench light comes on in lower left dash, and the car loses power. I can no longer once this happens. I must turn off the car and restart the engine to get it going again. This has happened on a highway going 70 miles per hour, and in the middle of intersections, on regular city, suburban or neighborhood streets, not to mention it is now…
ODI 10919359
Power Train · Steering · Unknown Or Other
Gear shift message - 'shift to park' after putting vehicle in park and ignition is turned off.
ODI 11033282
Engine · Power Train
My 2012 ford explorer would all of a sudden sound like it was slipping out of gear while driving. I would lose all control of the accelerator & vehicle would idle very rough. The "wrench" light would appear on the dash display. I would have to drift over to the side of the road, turn the vehicle off, & then re-start the vehicle. This happened without warning & became more frequent. Dealership replaced the throttle…
ODI 10949795
Power Train
The ptu unit went bad and had no oil in it- whole unit needs to be replaced. Should have oil, should be permanent. No reason for this- car is 4 years old and now we are paying $2000 to fix. Read that this problem is an epidemic. Should be recalled for this problem. It's everywhere ford has awd!!
ODI 10896926
Power Train
Car sputters and hesitates when orange wrench comes on intermittently while in motion.
ODI 10850998