1. Ford Explorer
  2. Problems
  3. 2013
  4. Body

2013 Ford Explorer Body Problems

149
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 149 stored complaint records:

  • 3 indicate a crash
  • 6 indicate injury
  • 1 indicate fire

What owners report

  • passenger side · 15 records
  • side door · 13 records
  • door ajar · 10 records
  • drivers side · 10 records
  • side windshield · 9 records
  • paint bubbling · 8 records

Mileage in stored records

BandRecords
30–60k mi64
60–100k mi35
1–30k mi19
100–150k mi5

Complaint records

Owner-submitted complaint content, presented as stored.

  • March 16, 2016 · 28,000 miles

    Body · Electrical System

    The driver's side door sensor is not working properly. It can take up to 10 minutes for the door ajar light to turn off, even though you can slam the door shut 20 times.

    ODI 10855275

  • March 12, 2016 · 42,000 miles

    Body

    Paint is bubbling and separating from the front of the hood on the top and underneath of the surface. No break in paint noticed from the surface. Showed to dealer and they sent on to ford with no resolution.

    ODI 10871074

  • March 1, 2016 · 30,000 miles

    Body · Electrical System · Exterior Lighting

    The driver side "door ajar" alarm is constantly on, even though the door is firmly closed and secure.the alarm keeps going off and the dome light is on while the vehicle is in motion for a dangerous period of time. This seems to be a common and dangerous complaint for similar vehicles in similar years.according to what i have read online and watched online there are a lot of like vehicles out there with this problem.

    ODI 10855323

  • February 20, 2016 · 28,000 miles

    Body

    Door ajar issue. The door doesnt want to latch and the dome light stays on. Doesnt matter if your driving or stationary the issue still persists. While driving it will tell you onboard that you have to put the car and park and close the door. Very dangerous.

    ODI 10860440

  • February 19, 2016

    Body · Steering

    Paint bubbles on hood inside and out with corrosion, 2) power steering failing, recall for issue in effect, but, not mine have to pay $2000 for repairs, unable to steer while driving low speed

    ODI 10845977

  • January 22, 2016 · 38,000 miles

    Body

    The paint is bubbling and flaking off the edge of the hood. Ford refused to assist.

    ODI 10824930

  • January 18, 2016 · 53,000 miles

    Body

    While i was driving on the highway doing 65mph, the moldings both left and right that are attached to the front windshield flew off and could have caused an accident or something more serious. Now i am left with all the nuts and bolts exposed and ford will not cover, instead they want me to pay $500 to fix it. I just purchased this vehicle 6 months ago and have read online of this same thing happening to many others…

    ODI 10821115

  • January 4, 2016 · 37,000 miles

    Body

    While driving at night on a back road the driver's side door of my ford explorer suddenly opened for no reason while the vehicle was in motion. The sudden door opening caused me to swerve and i hit the passenger side mirror on a sign post. Upon examination after pulling over, the driver's side door handle appeared to be defective. It had fallen apart, a small latch in the handle was broken causing it come loose on…

    Crash reported

    ODI 10905947

  • December 21, 2015 · 37,800 miles

    Body

    Contamination of the metal in the hood at the factory is causing the paint to bubble and flake off.

    ODI 10928893

  • December 4, 2015 · 41,000 miles

    Body · Electrical System

    Driver's door latch will not move. Door will not close. Door ajar light stays on.

    ODI 10808344

  • November 30, 2015 · 51,000 miles

    Body

    I was washing my car this weekend and noticed bubbles under the paint on the edge of my 2013 ford explorer hood. I immediately thought it was rust and went straight to the dealer. Once at the body shop they told me they have seen many fords with aluminum hoods with the same problem but they could not help me cause i was over 36k miles. Apparently this problem goes back to 2007. I could not believe ford had the…

    ODI 10809284

  • November 18, 2015 · 45,000 miles

    Body

    PAINT BUBBLING AND FLAKING ON THE HOOD.

    ODI 10955723

  • November 1, 2015 · 70,000 miles

    Body

    Corrosion bubbles on hood. It is a sahem on a 2013 truck.

    ODI 10908508

  • October 10, 2015 · 63,000 miles

    Body

    My drivers side and passenger side doors only open from the inside. My back passenger side door does not open at all. I've had the front locks greased and they still only open from the inside. So to get in the vehicle, you have to unlock it, open back driver side door, reach in and open driver door and then passenger from inside. No mechanic i've spoken with or taken my vehicle to has been able to get in the back…

    ODI 10980948

  • October 2, 2015

    Body

    Paint on hood has corroded causing the paint to peel off. It is happening all along bottom edge of hood. Car has been garage kept.

    ODI 10794735

  • October 1, 2015 · 34,000 miles

    Body

    Exhaust fumes in occupant compartment. While accelerating exhaust fumes are entering the passenger cabin. This problem is not limited to just the explorer. Our 2013 ford edge also had the same issue.

    ODI 10891834

  • October 1, 2015 · 57,000 miles

    Body

    Paint is bubbling up on the hood of the car. Called ford and they say its out of warranty sorry. The car is only 2 years old this should not be happening to a 40,00 dollar car.

    ODI 10783796

  • September 15, 2015 · 55,000 miles

    Body

    Aluminum hood corrosion causing paint to bubble and chip.

    ODI 10884699

  • September 1, 2015 · 50,000 miles

    Body · Engine

    We bought our vehicle used in 2015 with less than 40k miles on it. It is our main, family vehicle. The first issues started with paint chipping on the hood. The ford store we bought it from never stated this was a problem. We did notice it after having it at home and it has gradually become worse. I have had usaa inspect it and they said it looks like "someone drove it where there was high sulfur present"---near…

    ODI 11030625

  • September 1, 2015 · 45,000 miles

    Body

    As with most ford's my explorer has significant paint bubbling on the hood. It is a known problem with ford's and they never mentioned it to me as an owner. I only noticed it after an unrelated fender bender and the body shop pointed it out to me. My vehicle was already out of warranty by a few thousand miles but clearly the problem did not just occur after they warranty ended but i never though to look at the paint…

    ODI 10888221

  • September 1, 2015 · 52,000 miles

    Body

    Paint on hood is bubbling. Dealer will not honor ford's 5-year extended corrosion coverage period because the body panel is not showing a hole "though" the body panel. The warranty defines the coverage only if the body panel becomes perforated due to corrosion from normal use. However, nowhere in the warranty does it state it must be through the body panels. In my book, the definition of perforation is a pattern of…

    ODI 10763540

  • August 20, 2015 · 28,000 miles

    Body

    Corrosion (oxidation) on the hood of the vehicle. Not necessarily a safety concern but a concern non the less. I entered, through my local ford dealer, a prior approval claim for the damage and was turned down, ford says they don't warranty rust claims unless the part has rusted through. Searching on google, "ford hood rusting", i see that this is a national problem and that ford is well aware of the issue, yet they…

    ODI 10778065

  • August 15, 2015 · 32,000 miles

    Body

    Pealing paint on hood which has expanded across hood since purchased in 2014, ford motor company refused to do anything at that time.

    ODI 11220349

  • August 6, 2015 · 37,000 miles

    Body

    With just over 37,000 miles on the vehicle, i noticed that the paint on the hood was bubbling and flaking off. It had obviously been occurring long before i first noticed it. I brought it to my ford dealer who told me it is a common problem for those vehicles because the hood is made out of aluminum and vibration from driving causes the paint to fracture which results in this problem. He also told me that it was not…

    ODI 10748372

  • July 30, 2015 · 50,000 miles

    Body · Electrical System

    For the past 2 months the drivers door is saying it is open when it is shut. The dome lights stay on which makes it hard to see at night. The doors will also not lock. That is very unsafe if you have children in the back when driving down the highway. They can easily open the door and possible fall out. I have read multiple complaints on this issue for ford owners. Ford should really do a recall on this very…

    ODI 10778147