2000 Ford Explorer: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 1203 complaints
1203
Total Complaints
77,938mi
Median Mileage
TIRES
Top Issue
115
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

45,800 25th Percentile
77,938 Median Mileage
108,500 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

TIRES
154
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
78
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
76
TIRES:TREAD/BELT
70
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
42
AIR BAGS
38
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
29
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
28
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL
27
STEERING
24

Severity Assessment

115
Crashes
84
Fires
125
Injuries
5
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"ACCELERATOR PEDAL WOULD STICK WHEN APPLYING FUEL. THIS PROBLEM ONLY HAPPENS AFTER STOPPING FOR A STOP LIGHT OR STOP SIGN. WILL BE TAKING VEHICLE TO DEALER TO CHECK. *AK"
"WHILE TURNING RIGHT / LEFT THE VEHICLE VIBRATES IN THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. DEALER SAYS IT'S NORMAL. ALSO, WHILE TEST DRIVING VEHICLE DEALER CLAIMED IT ACTED LIKE THE CLUTCHES IN THE POSITION UNIT WERE GRABBING. SO THEY ADDED A FRICTION MODIFIER TO REAR DIFFERENTIAL AND TRANSFER CASE. PROBLEM SOM..."
"WHILE TURNING RIGHT / LEFT THE VEHICLE VIBRATES IN THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. DEALER SAYS IT'S NORMAL. ALSO, WHILE TEST DRIVING VEHICLE DEALER CLAIMED IT ACTED LIKE THE CLUTCHES IN THE POSITION UNIT WERE GRABBING. SO THEY ADDED A FRICTION MODIFIER TO REAR DIFFERENTIAL AND TRANSFER CASE. PROBLEM SOM..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28