Problems · by component
2013 Ford Explorer exterior lighting problems
25 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2013 Ford Explorer cite exterior lighting, 1% of all 2,237 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
25
1% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the exterior lighting
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The power steering failed on my 2013 Ford Explorer while driving which made steering extremely difficult, especially at slower speeds. I was very startled by the immediate loss of steering while traveling at a high rate of speed. I also had to be extremely cautious turning to ensure there was ample time to turn and not cause an accident. My turn signals also quite functioning properly. When turning on my turn signals they would only blink once unless I held down the turn signal which would then allow it to work which is difficult to do as it takes the strength of both hands to steer the wheel with the power steering not functioning. The vehicle is available for inspection and I have an appointment to take it to a Ford dealership next week. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or anyone else. It will be taken to a Ford dealership next week as that is the soonest they were able to see it. The two warning messages that went off at the time of power steering failure were Power Steering Failure and Service AdvanceTrac System.”
“Water was leaking in somehow through the drivers side. I had windshield replaced as well as moonroof motor (because the moonroof stopped working after leak also) . The water does not seem to get in anymore but Now my headlights randomly work. I have had the headlights replaced but it did not fix the problem. The mechanic has seen the problem but is stumped so now its a process of elimination I guess. When the headlights go out if I completly turn them off and back on again it will ussually fix it temporarily. Ive got a police warning because I got pulled over for no headlights but as the police were writing the ticket, the headlights randomly came back .There has been a lot of sensors going on the dash and ford has had to reset them.”
“LIGHTS AND PASSENGER DOOR AJAR STAY ON. LIGHTS DON'T TURN OFF WHEN BACKING UP OR UNTIL DRIVING FORWARD AT A CERTAIN SPEED. LOCKS UNLOCK BY THEMSELVES. LIGHTS WILL RANDOMLY TURN ON WHEN NO ONE IS BY THE CAR. HAVE 3 LITTLE KIDS NEED A CAR THAT SHOULD BE RELIABLE TO LOCK THE DOOR TO S AND STAY LOCKED OR TO SAFELY BACK UP WITH VISIBILITY BUT CAN'T BC THE LIGHTS STAY ON”
“COMPLAINED OF FAULTY POWER STEERING ERROR MESSAGE COMING ON WHEN STARTING VEHICLE FOR 1.5 YEARS TO FORD DEALERSHIP WITH NO EXACT RESPONSE REGARDING THE ISSUE. THEY SAID THEY RESET THE SYSTEM AND IT SHOULD WORK FINE AFTERWARDS. THE NEXT DAY I STILL HAD THE ISSUE. I THEN COMPLAINED AGAIN ABOUT IT BUT IT WAS IN THE SHOP FOR NUMEROUS ISSUES AND THAT WAS OVERLOOKED/IGNORED. MY POWER STEERING HAS NOW GONE OUT COMPLETELY AND THE RECALLS FOR THE POWER STEERING ENDED FOR EXPLORERS MANUFACTURED AFTER FEB. 2012 AND MINE WAS MANUFACTURED IN DEC. 2012. I ASKED IF THE DEALERSHIP WAS REQUIRED TO REPORT ISSUES WHEN CUSTOMERS BRING THEIR VEHICLE IN TO THE SHOP AND THEY SAID NO. THEY ARE ONLY REQIURED TO REPORT THEM WHEN THEY REPAIR IT OR DO WORK TO IT, NOT JUST ASSESS THAT THERE IS AN ISSUE. LESSON LEARNED, ALWAYS REPORT YOUR ISSUES HERE. MY POWER STEERING COULD HAVE GONE OUT WHILE DRIVING BUT THANK GOD IT DIDN'T. IT WENT OUT AS I WAS PAYING A BILL AND HAD TURNED MY CAR OFF FOR LESS THAN 2 MINUTES. THEREFORE, THE VEHICLE WAS STATIONARY. IT IS INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING THAT THEY WANT ME TO PAY FOR SOMETHING THAT IS A KNOWN FORD ISSUE AND THAT MY CAR IS CURRENTLY NOT ABLE TO BE…”
“BOTH DRIVER AND PASSENGER DOOR LOCK/LATCH MECHANISMS FAILED SHOWING CAR DOOR IS AJAR WHEN DOOR IS ACTUALLY SHUT. DRIVER DOOR LOCK ACTUATOR FAILED AROUND 30,000 MILES AND PASSENGER LOCK ACTUATOR FAILED AROUND 135000 MILES. WHEN DRIVING AT NIGHT, THE INTERIOR LIGHTS OF CAR CANNOT BE TURNED OFF UNTIL SPEED REACHES APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH. THIS LEADS TO UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITIONS AND LIMITS DRIVER VISIBILITY OUTSIDE OF CAR DUE TO GLARE.”
“DOOR AJAR NOTIFICATION REMAINS ON WHEN ALL DOORS ARE CLOSED AND VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. ALERT TONE WILL SOUND WHEN VEHICLE STARTS MOVING OR COMES TO A STOP. AUTO DOOR LOCKS WILL NOT FUNCTION OR DOORS WILL NOT REMAIN LOCKED. INTERIOR DOME LIGHTS REMAIN ON UNTIL VEHICLE STARTS MOTION. THE VEHICLE WAS SERVICED BY FORD AND SENSORS CLEANED UNDER WARRANTY AT 25K MILES. FIX LASTED ABOUT 4 MONTHS. CURRENT MILEAGE 67K.”
Showing 6 of 25 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 3, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.