2013 Ford Explorer Power Train Problems
- 79
- 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 79 stored complaint records:
- 7 indicate a crash
- 1 indicate injury
- 0 indicate fire
- 1 indicate a death
What owners report
- shift park · 17 records
- transfer case · 7 records
- same issue · 5 records
- power steering · 4 records
- lost power · 4 records
- hard acceleration · 4 records
Mileage in stored records
| Band | Records |
|---|---|
| 30–60k mi | 25 |
| 60–100k mi | 24 |
| 1–30k mi | 20 |
| 100–150k mi | 4 |
| 150–400k mi | 1 |
Complaint records
Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.
Power Train
2nd time the transfer case has had to be replaced. 115k miles.
ODI 11143711
Power Train
The car warning system would advise to shift into park after turning car off. Shift lever appeared to be in park, but would have to be manipulated several times with car running to get message to disappear. This first started happening with just 15769 miles and was taken in for service 24 jan 2014 while under warranty. The shifter assembly was replaced. It started happening again at 50043 miles and was taken in for…
ODI 11128632
Power Train
Tl* the contact owns a 2013 ford explorer. When the vehicle was engaged in park, the vehicle still showed that the gear shifter indicator was in drive. In addition, the shift to park warning indicator illuminated. In order to get the vehicle to engage in park, the vehicle had to be turned on and off multiple times. The vehicle was taken to capitol ford lincoln llc ([redacted], santa fe, nm 87507, [redacted]) where…
ODI 11127907
Power Train
When the vehicle is in motion, an orange wrench light will appear on the dashboard and then the gas pedal no longer works. All you can do is attempt to safely slow down and get to the side of the road. Once at a complete stop, you can turn the engine off and back on again. Then the car seems to be back to normal and the wrench light goes away. It is very frightening for the car to just shut down at any speed, let…
ODI 11105113
Body · Engine · Power Train
Smell of exhaust inside cabin under hard acceleration. This vehicle had the ford complementary repair done in july. Defect still occurring.
ODI 11128364
Electrical System · Engine · Power Train
Driving at 55mph on a highway my ford explorer sport 2013 completely shut off and a amber wrench came on along with 2 more warnings (terrain management system fault and service traction system light). I was able to pull over and restart the vehicle, but it did it 2-3 times the same night. Luckily i was able to get it to the dealership the same day without causing an accident. I can't imagine what would of happened…
ODI 11055195
Power Train
The vehicle sputters and shakes upon acceleration. Making it difficult to get to the needed speed, especially when merging onto the expressway. I know multiple people who are having this same issue with their 2013 explorers. Ford has also been having this issue with their focus. When the vehicle is taken into their mechanics you are told that they can not find anything wrong with the vehicle since there is no check…
ODI 11128851
Power Train
Codes p2111 and p2112 lack of/no power vibration and sudden jerk backwards. Was driving 45 mph down a busy road and instant loss of power putting me and my family in serious danger
ODI 11030745
Power Train
Shift to park/transmission not in park message: ford has tech serv bulletin tsb-0047 on file. A switch or component in multiple ford (explorer, edge, taurus, lincoln mkx; years 2011-2015) and mazda 6 vehicles is failing and indicating that vehicle is not in park. The switch is within the shift lever assembly. This is an extreme safety hazard when a vehicle is not secured in a parked position. Ford is charging…
ODI 11019564
Power Train
There is an exhaust smell coming through my vents when driving the vehicle. When parked in the garage, the inside of the vehicle and the garage smell as though there is a vehicle running with the doors shut. When i get in the vehicle after work and it has been parked outside all day, the inside of the vehicle smells like exhaust.
ODI 11022167
Power Train
A yellow wrench comes on in the dash without any reason. Car experience complete loss of acceleration. Brakes are functional. Engine experience hesitation. Restarting the engine makes the problem go away. This is a very dangerous situation which happens randomly at highway speed.
ODI 11016395
Power Train
The power transfer unit (ptu) leaks. The ptu supplies power to all 4 wheels to my 2013 awd ford explorer. The ptu is sealed and is lubricated with a "lifetime" lubricant. This lubricant is not recommended to be changed or serviced, as it has a lifetime longevity. Losing functionality of the ptu causes the vehicle to run rough and reluctant to move.
ODI 11012059
Power Train
Loss of drive control transmission shifts out of first gear and rpms go up to rev limit, but no or extremely slow forward motion like the vehicle is stuck between 1st gear and neutral. Happened twice from a cold start several months between occurrences. Start vehicle, back out of driveway, stop, change to drive, move forward about 200 feet and the shift from 1st to second gear does not happen correctly like the…
ODI 11002474
Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
About 6 months ago my car stalled after being parked at a major highway red light. I was luckily able to pull off the road safely. The wrench warning light came on (power train issue) but after shutting off & restarting the car worked fine. I had it serviced after & it didn't happen again until last friday,6/16/17. Again after being stopped at a light on a major road & causing me to pull off the road. It has now…
ODI 11000925
Power Train
Transmission failed badly at 50,982 miles (under warranty still). Brought in for repairs on 1/31/17 and picked up on evening of 2/8. Dealership overhauled transmission replacing front pump/torque converter/center support and seals/gaskets. On 2/9, at 75 mph on interstate with semi-truck behind me, transmission suddenly dropped gears and red-lined to 6500 rpms, before i was able to re-engage it by manually dropping…
ODI 10958056
Power Train
The power take-off unit had to be replaced within a little over 3 years of purchase at a cost of $14781.11, which would have been double the cost had it been taken to a ford dealership. The warranty had expired. I was surprised to learn that this is an endemic problem that is neither subject to recall nor prior notice from ford. I spoke to a ford representative who was careful to say that she had no statistics about…
ODI 10930228
Power Train
Vehicle will not shift into park. Receive message "shift to park". After several attempts, will eventually shift to park (so far). Familiar with several complaints of same issue on ford explorer and expeditions with center console
ODI 10905123
Power Train
Vehicle is a 2013 explorer xlt that was purchased new. It has 69k and is outside the 5yr/60k powertrain warranty. My wife commutes to work and drives the kids to school. We do not tow or haul anything with it. A few days ago she was pulling out of the driveway and hit about 20mph when it lost power and wouldn't accelerate (like it was in neutral). She pulled over and tried to turn around, but there was no reverse.…
ODI 10905479
Power Train
While driving air conditioning clutch seized and came apart destroying serpentine belt
ODI 10901916
Engine · Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
The throttle body fails causing my vehicle to enter "limp" mode regardless of location or current speed. Will go 70 on a highway then all of the sudden lose speed and speed control. This issue can also happen when accelerating, slowing down, etc. The biggest worry is losing speed control regardless of location. This issue has been identified in other ford models and is being voluntarily repaired (by ford). However,…
ODI 10894129
Power Train · Unknown Or Other
On 7/29/16 as i was driving home (less than a ten miles) after washing my vehicle a warning light with a wrench came on and i loss acceleration vehicle went from 50 mph to 5 mph unsure due speedometer becoming inoperative i pulled over into a shopping center stopped engine and restarted it again i then put the vehicle in drive at which time i had acceleration again at which time i continued home arrived and parked…
ODI 10891759
Engine · Fuel/Propulsion System · Power Train
On two separate occasions, the car stalled after de-accelerating to a stopped position and made a "clunk" sound from the transmission area. During the first event at a traffic light, a very noticeable "clunk" was heard that sounded like the transmission. The car was re-started and seemed to drive normally. To be on the safe side, we brought the car to the dealership to have it checked but they could find nothing…
ODI 10893006
Power Train
Shift to park issue - the vehicle is in park but the dash lights up and says "shift to park'. This happens even though the vehicle is actually in park. After several tries cannot get the dash light to turn off. Problem is even though the car is turned off the back light on the dash will stay on thus draining the battery. If you don't drive the car for a few days you could come out to a car that won't start because…
ODI 10911052
Engine · Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
Delay or lag under heavy acceleration, was making a left onto incoming traffic from a complete stop, should have had enough time under normal circumstances to make the turn but there was about a 3 second delay before the engine really kicked in and started accelerating and ended up almost causing an accident, i've never felt so powerless to do anything other than veer out of the lane to avoid getting hit
ODI 10884378
Engine · Power Train · Vehicle Speed Control
Delay or lag under heavy acceleration, was making a left onto incoming traffic, should have had enough time under normal circumstances but there was about a 3 second delay before the engine really kicked in ended up almost causing an accident, i've never felt so powerless to do anything other than veer out of the lane to avoid getting hit
ODI 10884376