2026 Ford Explorer problems

“I purchased a new 2026 Ford Explorer and had owned the vehicle for approximately three days when the driver-side front power window failed at approximately 315 miles. The failure occurred on the evening of October 23, 2026, while the vehicle was parked in my driveway. I operated the driver-side window normally and heard loud crunching/mechanical noises from inside the driver door as the window went down. The glass went fully down and then would not raise. When I attempted to operate the window switch afterward, additional crunching noises could be heard from inside the door, but the glass would not move. Because the Ford service department was already closed, I was unable to have the vehicle inspected that evening. With possible rain, I had to cover the open driver-side window with painter's plastic and tape to protect the interior of a vehicle that was only three days old. I took the vehicle back to the selling Ford dealership the following morning, October 24, 2026, as soon as the service department opened. The vehicle had approximately 328 miles when it was documented by the dealership. The Ford dealership subsequently verified the failure. According to the…”

“- Driver seat back reclines by itself when vehicle is approached by key fob. As acknowledged by Ford, this situation could result in harm to a passenger sitting behind the driver. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. - This issue was demonstrated to several dealer service personnel as early as June 12, 2026, at which time there was no service recall or known fix available. A repair order dated August 28, 2026 indicates that seat was operating normally but that "easy exit" was turned on; service tech notes "easy exit" has been turned off. - We received a notice from Ford in late September 2026 that an open recall--26S53--has been issued. Took vehicle to dealer on September 30, 2026 and repair order states that they updated the driver seat module per the recall (Software validation #R47CF90GJUHMR. 26s53b-0.3). Issue continues after this update.”

“On several occasions when trying to drive from a stopped position I press the gas and the car will move slowly but not shift into gear and then after turning off it struggles to restart. The check engine light is solid but goes away by the next day. This has happened after sitting idling in a parking lot most often but recently it happened 2 times as I was turning left onto a street where I luckily was able to slow roll to the side and not get hit. I brought it in once for service and they struggled to find the issue for hours and eventually said pins in the fuel injector were lose and replaced but it is continuing to randomly happen.”

“Seal around the panoramic sunroof is failing and has caused loud wind noises and lack of proper weather seal. Vehicle has 7000 miles and this has randomly started. Loud wind whistle noise occurs now 100% of the time when speed reaches 35mph and stays present at higher speeds.”

“Traveling of the freeway at 80 mph, pull left to pass Semi, upon getting halfway past the truck the adaptive cruise Control activates and brings the vehicle to under 65 mph extremely fast. After a few seconds the vehicle rapidly accelerates back to 80 mph. This has happened at least four times since purchasing the vehicle new. The problem is very erratic and only happens when passing a Semi while driving up a hill or passing on a left turning bend on the freeway. The incident that disturbed me the most was when this malfunction happened the last time a vehicle following me had to take to the borrow pit to prevent collision with my vehicle. Fortunately there was no accident or injuries that occurred but I can imagine that at one time this problem will take place and someone will have a serious accident. Contacted Ford Customer service and was given a case number to give to the dealer concerning this problem, upon taking the vehicle to the Dealer I have now been told that Ford stated that if the Dealer could not replicate the problem there was nothing that Ford will do about it. Adaptive cruise control is not a safe option on any vehicle if corrections cannot be…”

“This 2026 Ford Explorer has stopped, stalled, hesitated and jerks after fuel fill-ups. It stopped twice for myself in busy intersections. The dealer has had it for weeks and when driving the vehicle back to me, stalled and hesitated for Ford Service dept. twice. They told me I could not have my car back for safety reasons.”